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Biking is a useful means to improve your aerobic capacity, economise financially, while helping in keeping the air clean and unpolluted. Bicycling doesn’t damage your muscles that jogging and working out in the gym can. Not only that, it’s pragmatic as one is able to get exercise by biking to work, or doing the shopping, so you don’t have to to put time aside for working out as nearly all other sorts of exercise impose on your schedule.

But what variety of cycle to buy? A bicycle that’s comfy for you as you’re riding, and has many gears to enable you to tackle inclines with general comfort - after all, not everyone lives in a completely flat area! One should be able to pick up your bike with comparative comfort as you will discover this is necessary sometimes, for instance up some stairs.

In addition, make sure you have decent add-ons for your bicycle : reliable cycle brake system parts, front and back light, bike mudguards, reflector lights, reflective jacket, helmet and strong lock. These will aid you in staying secure in bad light, and the bike out of reach from robbery. Ensure you lock your cycle in a somewhat public area.

Finally, it’s a good idea to invest some time into how to repair your cycle. You don’t need to be a bicycle repair master, but it’s handy if you can learn how to set the brake pads and brake cables as these oftentimes demand fine-tuning following heavy usage. Also ensure you keep the bicycle well oiled and the tyres pumped up to a reasonable pressure to make it that much easier to actually bike.. And it nearly goes without saying, be sensible on the roads - indicate with your arms while turning, and stay on the left-handside on all roads.

The ATV has gained huge popularity because of its versatility. It is included in many different outdoor activities like racing, hunting and camping. This has made way for many customizable features that you can add to your ATV.

Racing ATVs look very different from conventional ATVs that you may see in rural areas. They are usually customized with different wheels, shocks and exhaust systems. The wheels on a racing ATV are narrower to give it more speed and turning ability. The wheels are also upgraded to a lighter and stiffer aluminum alloy the reduce weight and handle impact from jumps. The shocks are one of the most important upgrades because there are many jumps on a typical course. The shocks need to give enough to absorb impact with minimal speed loss. They also must be stiff enough to maintain the vehicles integrity on tight corners. Loose shocks could result in a rollover if the turn is too tight. Many riders are constantly tweaking their shocks to find the perfect combination to maximize their speed and safety. The exhaust is simply made up of a more free flowing muffler and intake to move air through the engine much quicker. This altered exhaust results in more noise output, but it can significantly raise the torque of an ATV.

ATVs for hunting and camping are very similar overall. They have wide tires for good off-road traction. Hunters will sometime use a stricter muffler, so that the ATV is not so loud. Both types of ATVs will have extra storage compartments and rails on the front and back to tie down their gear. A large capacity fuel tank is always a good option for extended trips. Extra gas cans are also a common on such ATVs. One of the best options to ensure that you do not get stuck in the wilderness is a front mounted winch. This is primarily for dragging the ATV out of deep mud or sand in case it gets stuck. The winch cable can be fastened around a nearby tree, and it will pull the vehicle toward the tree.

To find out more great information about ATVs, visit http://atv-rider.info

Information gathered from stats and reports on convicted motorcycle thieves. As well as, from the victoms of motorcycle theft.

The market for stolen bikes right now is so big, it is rediculous! Most bikes get taken around 2:00-3:30 am when noone is up looking out the windows. The theives will first drive around and look for bikes they and/or their customers want. Then they will return with their van and three or four other guys to help throw the bike in the back of van. It is a one, two, three process taking no longer than 5 minutes. Once the theives have your bike, they take it home, pop the ignition, get a new ignition done. Get the bike stamped up through the junk yard, get a new salvage title, new numbers and that’s it.

Thieves are looking at: R1s, R6, CBR600. Looking at anything that is fast. Most thieves are into the fast Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki bike. Not the Harley, Buell, Triumph. Why? because that is the bike scene. The customer will tell the theif what they want. Most will charge $100 per cc of engine the bike has. The Hayabusa is $1500 on top. R6 will cost you $600.

Easiest place to snatch a bike is from an apartment complex. Thieves have cutters for all the high-end cable locks. A screw driver will pop any Kryptonite lock. People think that gated communties are safe. They are not. The keypad entry sequence is easy to compromise. A decoy will enter the complex and get the security guard to work with him while his accomplices take the bikes while the guard is distracted. The bikes and thieves are gone and the guard loses his job the next day.

The next easiest place to steal a bike is at hotels. Alot of people attend bike events and leave their bikes parked in a dark-ass corner. Thieves love this. This is not very smart. This is the first place they are going to look.

The next easiest place is the track. About 6000 bikes at these tracks. The bike owners will leave their bike to go watch the events. The thief is watching your bike and watching where you are at. Their accomplice will make sure you stay at the track while the thief takes your bike. Thieves communicate by Nextel and keep each other informed as to the best opporutnity to steal your bike.

The safest place to put your bike to prevent it from being stolen is inside your house or your garage. Thieves will not waste time trying to break into your house to get your bike. If you have it in a complex or a storage unit, Yes, they will get it. If it is in your garage, they will not try to take it. Not worth taking the chance to get shot for your bike.

When I lived in Sunnyvale, CA and owned my 1987 Kawasaki EX-500. I lived in an apartment complex. I had a car port. No garage. I had my bike locked to the support pole of the carport with a $80 high-end cable lock. I also had a $2 two-inch Masterlock on the front rotor of the bike. The Theives enter my complex with their pickup truck around 2:00 am. The bastards cut through the expensive cable lock with no problem at all. Do not waste your money on this crap. Next the thieves try cutting off the 2″ Masterlock on the front rotor. The bastards could not get a good angle and make enough noise to wake me. I look at and yell, “Your Busted.” They scatter like roaches. I call Sunnyvale’s finest, they catch the idiots speeding at 2:00 am down the expressway, find bolt cutters in the back. A clean bust. I go to court, the punks get sentenced, I get restitution and learn all the personal information on the theives. Go by where they live. Guess what? they live in a high-security condo complex. Go figure.

What have I learned from this:

1. Do not waste your money on expensive locks! — especially those crap cable locks.

2. Get a 2″ MasterLock and put it through your disk rotors. Those Kryptonite locks suck. Thieves make them so they can easily steal bikes.

3. Cover your bike. Out of sight, out of mind. If you see a van driving around your neighborhood at night, get the tags and report it.

4. The thieves that were after my bike could have easily picked the bike up once the cable was cut, despite the 2″ padlock still on the front rotor. I guess they were too stupid to realize this and paid for it by being gang raped in jail.

Contributing editor to Cycle Solutions
http://www.cyclesolutions.net