Outdoor Recreation: Gear Maintenance, Safety & Fitness

Leisure activities like kayaking or rock climbing provide significant wellness benefits when coupled with proper gear maintenance and safety skills.

Woman cycling through spring landscape

Cycling & Patellar Tendonitis

Cycling provides a low-impact -- or non-weight-bearing -- exercise. Still, it's possible for a cyclist to suffer from a weight-bearing type of injury. It's just caused by a different mechanism of injury. Tendonitis can occur at any tendon site in your body -- areas that anchor muscle to bones.

Read more →
Woman riding bike

What to Wear for the Temperature in Cycling

For many cyclists, even those who live in colder climates, cycling is a year-round sport. The difference between a horrible ride and a great one often is determined by how you dress. As a rule of thumb, when cycling in colder weather, always dress so that you are slightly cool during your warmup.

Read more →
Father and teenager oiling bicycle chain

How to Fix Slipping Gears on a Mountain Bike

One of the most important things to maintain on a mountain bike, or any bike, is the drivetrain. This includes the shifters, chain, front and rear derailleur, the cassette and crankset. All of these parts work together to form your bike's engine.

Read more →
Bicycle gears

How to Fix a Clicking Chain on a Road Bike

When a road bike is properly set up and maintained, it should be relatively free of squeaks, creaks and clicking noises. Most bike owners, however, will have to diagnose an unusual noise at some point. Fortunately, a clicking chain doesn't require the assistance of a pro mechanic.

Read more →
Low angle of a woman riding her bicycle on a dirt road near a rocky coastal cliff.

How to Adjust the Hydraulic Disc Brakes on a Mountain Bike

There are many advantages to hydraulic disc brakes on a bicycle. Unlike rim brakes, discs have tremendous stopping power in mud, rain and snow, and they can also be used with any tire width. They are available in mechanical and hydraulic. Hydraulics tend to cost more but have more stopping power.

Read more →