David's Bicycling Blog

A post last week included a question from a reader about the need for special bike shoes for non-competitive riders who mainly cycle for fitness. Here's a related question for you:

The answer is that for me personally it depends on which bike I'm riding, because I have four. Yes, I am a bike nerd. I don't wear bike shoes on my commuter bikes because of frequent stops and starts in traffic, nor on my mountain bike because of the need to keep my feet free when I go sailing off the trail or fall down in a mud hole. But I do wear the lock-in bike shoes on my road bike because of the types of longer distance rides I do on that bike with relatively few stops.

Why do you wear what you do on your feet? Comment below.

Related article: What Kind of Pedals Are Right for You?

One of the bigger problems to plague cyclists who ride for any length of time is chafing and rashes. Moisture and friction are usually to blame and there are specific things you can do to minimize or eliminate these factors altogether that can otherwise lead to miserable cycling in a very short time.

To learn more on how to prevent this problem, read the whole article on how to avoid chafing caused by your bike shorts and/or bike seat.

The Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) kicks off today, and About.com's guide to Spain, Damian Corrigan has written a terrific guide for tourists on taking in the Vuelta a España. This three-week stage race is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI ProTour circuit. Whether you want the ultimate bicycling experience or if you want to combine the bikes with other touristy activities, Damian's got the expert insight to make the race a memorable one for you, with recommendations on which stages to go for depending on if you want to enjoy Spain's best architecture, cities, scenery as part of the experience.

Check out a Tourist's Guide to Vuelta a España.

In the mailbag recently was this note from a reader:

I recently started riding a hybrid bike. I'm mostly doing shorter rides on pavement, some off-road. And I don't lock into my pedals (just straps). I was wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of cycling shoes. How do they improve the ride? Should beginners invest in a pair? What should you look for in a pair of cycling shoes? Are they really necessary for fitness riders?

Thanks, Amanda

I know what I'd tell Amanda, but I'm curious as well as to what sort of advice you'd offer, particularly based on your own experience. Got any opinion on this? Comment below.

Related article: What kind of pedals are right for you

Image: Nashbar road shoes with cleats - David Fiedler

When Spanish cyclist Maribel Moreno, a competitor for the women's road race and individual time trial got busted for doping in the Olympics, it was a big collective yawn. Unfortunately it happens all the time, so it was disappointing but not exactly headline news for cycling fans. Remember, this crowd is used to seeing hot drug tests hit even the leaders of the Tour de France in recent years, with them getting yanked right out of the race faster than you can say maillot jaune.

But get this. An Olympic shooter from North Korea forfeited his medals when he turned up hot in a drug test. Kim Jong Su of North Korea was stripped of his two Olympic medals (Men's 10m Air Pistol and Men's 50m Pistol) after testing positive for Propranolol, a beta-blocker, which helps the heart beat more regularly and reduces shaking or trembling.

Huh?

I'm just certain there's a really good joke in here somewhere. I just haven't figured it out.

• Read the whole article here from about.com's guide to hunting and shooting, Russ Chastain.
  
• More about drugs and doping in competitive cycling
  

Mike Day and Donny Robinson took the silver and bronze medals in the men's Olympic BMX final, while Jill Kintner took the bronze in the women's race, providing a major medal haul for the US in the sport's Olympic debut.

World champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia took the men's gold by getting out front early and staying safe and out of the pile-ups in the men's race. The top two spots on the women's podium were won by the French, with Anne-Caroline Chausson and Laetitia le Corguille taking the gold and silver medals.

Both races had a ton of crashes on the tightly-banked track, including one in the final turn of the women's race that took favorite Shanaze Reade (GB) out of the lead.

Image: Maris Strombergs of Latvia pumps his fist as he finishes first in the Men's final; Getty photo by Phil Walter.

With the advent of BMX as an Olympic event, you know there's going to be a bunch of people wanting to jump right into it. Just as sure as we'll have a ton of junior Michael Phelpses wanting to get into swimming, so too will there be kids all over the place wanting to become BMX heroes like Mike Day.

But before you or your kids just get on the bike and start jumping, you'll want to make sure you're doing it right so that you stay safe. Check out our primer on the necessary BMX protective gear, and learn the basics of protecting yourself so you can keep the fun in your new sport.

Article: The basics of BMX Protective Gear

Image: Feng Li/Getty

Okay, so we all know that you'll find "watch out for wet paint" signs on a bench or handrail after the painters have been there and we're waiting for it to dry. But the wet paint I'm warning you about is the markings on the streets -- arrows turning this way or that, big fat reflective stripes, lane markings, etc. When they get wet whether it's from rain or something else, they can get slick as the dickens for cyclists. The reflective material in the paint causes them to get way slicker than ordinary pavement when just a little bit of moisture is added, and this is especially true if you're in a place where it doesn't rain much and as there will be a thin sheen of grease and oil already on the pavement.

This is the voice of experience talking too, as I had a darn good wipeout the other day from just this situation, taking a right turn in a small town city square when my tires got wet from where a lawn sprinker was leaking over on to the road. I wasn't going very fast but just like that I was laying on the pavement with my bike skidding out in the middle of the intersection after the wet tires shot out from under me when they got on the paint.

So if there's moisture on the street or your tires, all I'm saying is to be very, very careful around the stripings and painted markings on the road.

Ever had this happen to you? Comment below.

Image: Photographer's Choice/Getty

Olympic Track Cycling starts Friday. So get ready for lots of cool team and individual events.

First up Friday is the first rounds of the men and women's team sprint event and the individual pursuit (both men and women), where all eyes will be on 18-year-old phenom Taylor Phinney.

Saturday hits it big with continuation of the individual pursuit events, plus keirin events and the 40 km points race. Sunday, American sprinter Jennie Reed takes on all comers in the women's sprint.

Monday and Tuesday offer continuation of the sprint competition plus the women's points race (with Sarah Hammer of Team USA as another rider to watch), the madison race plus finals of the team pursuit event.

• Schedule of Olympic cycling events
  
• Main Olympic cycling page
  
• Other Olympic cycling coverage:
  
  • track cycling
    
  • BMX (new Olympic event!)
    

Image: Jennie Reed by Adam Pretty/Getty

American Olympic cyclist Kristin Armstrong brought home gold today with a terrific performance in the women's time trial road race. She covered the 14.6-mile course in only 34 mins and 51.72 seconds, an average speed right around 25 mph. Armstrong was faster than second place finisher Emma Pooley (Great Britian) by 24.29 seconds and finished almost a minute ahead of Switzerland's Karin Thuerig, who came in third.

Armstrong is only the second American woman to win a cycling gold medal. Connie Carpenter-Phinney, mother of current American track cycling phenom Taylor Phinney, won the road race in the '84 Los Angeles Olympics.

• Schedule of Olympic cycling events
  
• Main Olympic cycling page
  
• Other Olympic cycling coverage:
  
  • track cycling
    
  • BMX (new Olympic event!)
    

Image: Jeff Gross/Getty