Daily Cycle [a UK blog] (biking)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Daily Cycle, by Tim Bland
(If you're in the UK this link takes you to Amazon.uk, if you're in the US the link will take you to Amazon.us.)

WEB ADDRESS: http://dailycycle.co.uk/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: A cycling blog for everyday heroes. With personal accounts of the trials and tribulations of cycling in the real world - Daily Cycle offers you a one-stop-shop for your daily cycling fix. If you can't actually get out on the bike - you may as well read about it.

Daily Cycle is updated by a team of seven strong writers ranging from a professional triathlon coach to beginner cyclists. We have both male and female cyclists on board who are all keen cyclists and writers. All the content is unique, personal and hopefully inspiring.

There are no dull "how to change a puncture" articles, nor are there any regurgitated product reviews. We do offer gear reviews by they are from real cyclists who genuinely own the product and have been using it for a substantial amount of time.

Example articles:
- The Pro's and Con's of being a cycling WAG - a personal account of what it is like to be going out with a pro cyclist.
- Fall in love with cycling again by going back to basics - chuck your cycling computer away and enjoy cycling for what it is - pure bliss.
- Hilly - a personal account of a first attempt at a Hill Time Trial
- The physiology of stretching - your guide to why exactly we need to stretch.

MY REVIEW: This is a pretty interesting blog if you're a bicyclist - and if you're not you should be. Ride a bike for exercise and to save on gas (or petrol). It's fun and it's economical.

Although this blogger is based in the UK, any biker anywhere can benefit from these posts - in one aspect to learn what's going on in the British bike scene, but also just as a biker.

Recommended!

RECENT POSTS:
--Bespoked Bristol 2011 25 May 2011 .
--Real Reviews – Effetto Caffelatex Sealant for tubs 19 May 2011 .
--Returning cycling to the dark ages 13 May 2011 .
--We cyclists are our own worst enemy 12 May 2011 .
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Reviews published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Mountain Biking by 198

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Mountain Biking By 198, Robb Sutton

WEB ADDRESS: http://mountain.bike198.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: In depth and informative riding tips; cycling editorials and riding tips; biking product reviews on mountain biking components, hardware, parts and related biking technology. We work directly with manufacturers to deliver quality material and content for beginning and amateur mountain bikers through advanced and extreme mountain bike riders.

MY REVIEW: This is an excellent blog for the tech-head mountainbiker, the one who is always working on ways to improve the performance and speed of their bike. It is all about reviews - no other types of articles.

RECENT POSTS:
--Review: Shimano SLX Mountain Bike Component Group
--Specialized S-Works Epic Carbon 29er Mountain Bike Revealed
--Poll Results: Who’s Mountain Bike Suspension Are You Running?
--Discount Bike Parts: Where To Find and What To Trust
--Mountain Bike Maps, Routes and Courses – Plan Your Next Trip

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Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Bicycle Touring Pro (Bicycling, Travel)

REVIEWED BY: Ms Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Bicycle Touring Pro, by Darren Alff

WEB ADDRESS: http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: BicycleTouringPro.com is a website aimed at those interested in bicycle touring and long distance travel.

Here you will find:

- A repository of useful articles for bicycle travelers. The articles are aimed to help you with all aspects of planning, preparing for and executing a short or long distance bicycle tour.

- A collection of audio recordings about long distance travel. You can listen to the recordings at any time through your computer speakers.

- Fresh content is added regularly. New content includes audio interviews with bicycle tourists and long distance travelers, how-to instructional articles and videos, as well as news and information from the world of bicycle travel.

MY REVIEW: Readers really get the trifecta with this blog - bicycling tips, bicycling gear and travel info.

The articles are well written, informative, and illustrated with photos. You get no-holds-barred reviews of new cycling gear, as well as reviews of travel destinations.

I enjoyed this blog a lot, every serious bicyclist will.

RECENT POSTS:
Kindle Readers – Get Free Lodging For Your Travels
You can now download The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging for the Amazon Kindle. Click...

The Bicycle Touring Pro’s 4×9 List
I saw this on Alastair Humphrey’s website. He saw it on Ben Saunders’....

Hybrid Backpack – The All Purpose Bicycle Carrier
The Hybrid Backpack is a product designed to help you carry odd-sized items on your...

The Village Of Arrow Rock: A National Historic Landmark
The tiny village of Arrow Rock is located 13 miles north of I-70 on Hwy 41 in Saline...


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Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

London Cyclist (biking, local travel)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: London Cyclist, by Andreas

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: This personal blog run by Andreas is for commuters in London and everywhere. It aims to help you get the most out of your every day cycle.

MY REVIEW: If you're a bicyclist, or a cyclist, as they say in England, you'll enjoy this blog. If you're planninng on visiting London and want to be able to bike around, you'll love this blog.

Even though the author is in England, and some of what he talks about - accesories and so on, are only available in England, I think this will be of use to all cyclists everywhere, just to know what's out there.

Recommended.

RECENT POSTS:
--Continental City Contact Tyre i.e. Whoooosh!
--What is the best cycling accessory you’ve bought in the past 12 months?
--Barclays cycle hire arrives on the Android
--10 reasons you’ll love the London Cyclist newsletter
--The lessons London can learn from the Velo’V cycle hire scheme

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Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Six Sports Blogs

From now on, at least one entry per day (of the two I intend to make) will be devoted to one of the ten categories into which the blogs at Amazon/Kindle are divided. The other entry will be on one or two blogs that catch my fancy.

So, let's start with six sports blogs. I had hoped to find some that talked about the Olympics or Olympics sports - but could find none. (Mostly what's on offer are baseball, football and basketball blogs - and I'll be reviewing them all, eventually.)

1. Girly Fitness NO
2. Motorcycle-Intelligence.com NO
3. Podium Café YES
4. The Prep Beat MAYBE
5. Running Blog (LogThtRun.com) NO
6. Surviving Grady NO

Girly Fitness. Women's fitness advice and tips. Women's nutrition & workouts
Well, first off I hate the title. “Girly fitness.” Please. Girl’s Fitness or Women’s Fitness. But “girly”? Sounds kind of pejorative to me. The posts may be of value, but unfortunately the blog has not been updated since October 29, 2009. And it’s not the Kindle, because I double-checked their website, and its moribund there, as well. girlyfitness.com.


Motorcycle-Intelligence.com . Motorcycle-Intelligence.com is a popular motorcycle blog about bikes, gear, destinations, and rider safety. Heck, some of the comments alone are worth the price of admission! ;-).

I have to give this a no because the interface is unsuitable for Kindle. At the original blog (and you see the website URL in their title) the title is a hotlink, and below that is the first paragraph of the article. If you want to read more, you click on the title and are taken to the complete text. Not so on the Kindle. The title is not linked to anything, so all you get is a useless first paragraph of an article that goes on for pages and pages. I know there’s software that allows the entire entry to be viewed on a Kindle – Podium café uses it, as does The Hermitage (green living) which I reviewed a couple of days ago, but this one doesn’t.

I left them a comment on their blog, so perhaps they’ll fix the problem.


Podium Cafe. Podium Café provides news and updates of the latest cycling stories. This blog is for cyclists and cycling enthusiasts, and provides valuable advice in addition to the latest event recaps.

They are still road racing right now in Europe! In winter. Who knew? If you’re a bicycling enthusiast – from road racing to cyclocross (and I was delighted to see the author of the blog was featuring both men and women – he has a profile of cyclocross rider Amy Dombrowksi who is touted to be of champion caliber, for one thing) you will enjoy this blog. www.podiumcafe.com/ to see their home.

The Prep Beat. News updates on area high schools, including North Kitsap, Central Kitsap, Olympic, Bremerton, South Kitsap, Bainbridge and North Mason high schools. By Sun sports staff writers Chuck Stark, Jeff Graham, Annette Griffus and Nathan Joyce. pugetsoundblogs.com/kitsap-preps

I give this blog a MAYBE. If you’re in the area – and I believe the area is around Puget Sound, Washington, you’ll be interested in this material, so it deserves a YES. (They cover both boys and girls sports, which is refreshing.) But if you’re elsewhere, I don’t think the same interest applies. So, we’ll compromise with a maybe.

Running Blog. Running blog that covers running tips, hints and more. As well as covering information on upcoming races, running news, info about changes to our website's running log and other related information in a runner's world.

This is a blog attached to a commercial site that sells a computer program to help runners log their run. It’s at LogthatRun.com.

Unfortunately, they update it about once a month. This would not necessarily be a bad thing, if they updated it with information about running, as they promise in their blog description. But instead, its just updates to their program. So, not worth bothering with, I don’t think. I’ll keep an eye on it, and if they start proving other material on a regular basis, I’ll report it here.

Surviving Grady. Like most Red Sox fans, we were sick after Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Couldn't sleep. Didn't want to eat. Listened for hour after hour as fans lambasted Grady and dissected the game on sports radio. Watched with some sense of satisfaction as the Marlins celebrated on the Yankees' turf. But it couldn't keep us from thinking that it should have been us. Spiraling, we caught our breath and decided to channel our energies into something positive. No more punching walls, throwing beer cans or threatening the kids when the Sox dropped a game. No, we'd start a weblog! A place to vent our frustrations and slather our joys as the Sox, restocked and reloaded, make their way through the 2004 schedule in a bold attempt to right the wrongs of last season, set the universe back on its proper axis, and stuff a bat up Steinbrenner's south 40.

I give these guys a no, for a simple reason. They actually would have been willing to accept Manny Ramirez back in the clubhouse, had he chosen to leave the Dodgers this trading season. They actually hoped it would happen!

They are clearly insane. (Also, from their website: survivinggrady.com - it appears they may be having to move hosts soon, so one wonders if their Kindle feed will continue unabated. If not…no loss! Manny Ramirez back in a Red Sox uniform – gag me with a spoon!