Not content with being one of the very best forms of exercise that an individual can take, cycling also allows you to take in some of the most beautiful and scenic routes available anywhere in the world. There are thousands of designated cycle paths throughout Europe and beyond, each of which weaves its own path through a region’s culture, heritage and natural beauty. So where exactly are the best places for you to cycle, while experiencing a genuine route through the worlds most picturesque cities and towns?

Shannon and County Claire in Ireland:

With all of its natural majesty, Ireland was always going to be home to one of the worlds most extraordinary cycling routes. Starting at the periphery of the Shannon estuary and iconic Dromoland Castle, you cycle past the breathtaking coastline until you reach the stunning Cliffs of Moher at he tips of the Atlantic Ocean, before eventually entering the limestone haven of Burren. There are few routes anywhere in the world that offer such a diverse and beautiful selection of sights as County Claire in Ireland, especially within such a short geographical distance.

National Highway 1 in Vietnam:

Vietnam is a country with a chequered and often tragic history, but National Highway 1 remains a landmark that stands as the regions most outstanding and iconic. It is the most popular cycling route in the whole of Vietnam and stretches the entire length of the notoriously tapered country. With challenging hillside terrain to test the more competitive cyclists and a glorious view of towering mountain ranges and stunningly blue coastal waters, it has something for everyone who would consider themselves a cycling enthusiast, in addition to being located in one of the world’s most historically fascinating nations.

Luberon and Mount Ventoux in France:

For those of you who enjoy the physical challenging of cycling alongside the pursuit of all things beautiful, then the hill laden landscape of Luberon is ideal for you. Steep and winding, it is well signed and able to offer an extremely exciting experience for the more worldly wise cyclists,while offering a tantalizing glimpse into nearby ancient ruins and structures. However, the real competitors and sporting enthusiasts among you will have eyes only for Mount Ventoux, which is renowned as part of the Tour de France circuit and an ultimate test of physical endurance. While the structure itself may be picturesque, cyclists all over the world will appreciate the challenge that it sets for them.

The Bottom Line for Cyclists

Each of these locations offer appeal to different tastes, and stand out as being both visually stunning and physically challenging to cycling enthusiasts all over the world. While your level of enjoyment of each route ultimately depends on your level of experience as a cyclist and physical ability,you can rest assured that they will at least surpass all of your expectations when it comes to their aesthetic and unique visual imagery.

Written by Michael Chidzey, Product Development Manager of the popular Stag Weekends & Bachelor Parties Company Chillisauce. 

You saw her ride a bike and lap up ice cream in an egregiously sexy manner on a picnic blanket. Now, here she is again. Greek-Irish model Georgia Salpa, once again putting Kim Kardashian to shame and being all attractive and what not in the June 2012 issue of FHM Magazine UK.

Motocross racing can be one the most thrilling experiences you ever take part in. But it can also be very physically demanding and if not done properly can be hazardous and dangerous. For this reason being safety conscious and taking precautions while racing is of the utmost importance. Here are some simple, common sense ways to keep yourself safe when motocross racing.

Use a good helmet

The first and most important thing you need to invest in is a good quality helmet. A helmet protects your neck and head on impact and reduces or prevents any injury to the head. Most motocross helmets have elongated chins, long visor portions, a sturdy chin bar and a semi-open face for additional protection of riding glasses or goggles. The visor helps keep the sun out, which is essential during jumps.  

Motocross gear

Helmet, goggles, boots, gloves, pants, jerseys and neck braces are all a part of your essential motocross gear requirements. While your head protection is the most important part of your kit, the other parts of the body protection are also as important. When buying your goggles, take your helmet with you to ensure that they fit properly and are comfortable.

Motocross boots can be expensive, but they protect your feet, ankles and lower legs. Investing in cheap boots is a waste of money as they aren’t likely to offer good protection. It is well worth spending a little extra to ensure you’re safe. Buy lightweight gloves to protect your palm, hands and fingers against injury and harsh weather conditions. Pants will help protect your legs from the hip to the ankle. Use one that allows ventilation and flexibility. A neck brace will help prevent spinal injuries by supporting you neck in case of an accident.

Awareness of the surrounding environment

For motocross racing, it is important to be mentally alert. Keep an eye on what is ahead and behind you. Look in the side mirrors, but ensure that your primary focus is on the track. Signalling in time and appropriately is important as it helps avoid accidents.

Speed control

You should have good control over your speed and know when to increase and reduce it. Moderate speed is the safest in most situations. Always slow down at intersections and slippery roads. Make sure your breaks and tires are in the best shape as they play a large part in the way speed is handled. Remember that you are not the only one riding and speeding irresponsibly can spell disaster.

POA Racing are Motocross specialists in the UK who sell a wide range of Motocross sports equipment including Suomy motocross Helmets, protective boots, clothing and other accessories like Fox motocross goggles.

Massachusetts is known for its classic New England style, its historical landmarks and its gorgeous shoreline. However, what many people do not realize is that it is also a great place for rock climbing. In fact, Massachusetts has many hidden gem climbing destinations, that any climber would appreciate. In Eastern Massachusetts there are many crags that people like to climb all the time. Many Bostonians are turning to climbing as their choice of a weekend pastime, so on a nice summers day you should expect modest crowds at the most popular locales. So if climbing in the peak season opt for a weekday. And if you must go out on a weekend be ready to be sharing your space—patience is always virtue.

Although if you find yourself free on a nice spring day, feel free to head on out, many spots don’t get busy till the kids are on summer vacation. Nevertheless, busy or not busy, you will find yourself having a great time, especially because there are many places not too far outside Boston.

3 Must-See Climbing Spots in Massachusetts

If you are a Bostonian climbing enthusiast, you should definitely check out these great spots:

Crow Hill

Crow Hill is one of the best climbing spots in MA. There are plenty of different routes, so rarely gets crowded. Cliff heights go from: 20-110 feet. This spot has all the options: Cracks, slabs, steep faces, and bouldering. However, be sure to bring pretty long slings for “TR Anchors”.

Red Rock

Red Rock is a great top rope location. It was named for the dark red granite on the mountain. The chief cliff is about 60 feet tall. There are several secondary cliffs as well. There are many youth climbing groups that go through here so be wary of crowds.

Hammond Pond

The best bouldering is found at Hammond Pond. The quarries here offer a great climbing spot very close to Boston, in fact there are some great views of Boston here as well. So if just want to take a short respite from the city, go here and have a climb!
These are only some of the many great places to climb in and around the Boston area. Get out there and climb!

About: JustRopes.com is the online leader in climbing ropes. Founded in 2004 by five climbing enthusiasts, JustRopes.com aims to provide the widest selection of ropes available online.

It’s that time of year (too late) that we all start hearing about and talking about “summer diets” and “fitting into swimsuits.” While I’m all for people cleaning up their eating habits, I always get a kick out of the seasonal swing that people go through. This time of year it’s “trim down” and “get in shape”. Then in the fall people start to talk themselves into gaining weight for the winter and the fact that their bathing suits are going to hibernate.

While this has a very similar pattern to the body builders “cutting & bulking” cycles, the vast populace doesn’t cut fat and put on lean muscle mass throughout the years. Most people cut some fat, some muscle and do it unhealthily, then just get fat. It’s a cycle that, after many years will leave people frustrated in the spring, fat in the winter and unhealthy year-round.

In my years I’ve heard of and done a handful of “diets” and I’d like to give a brief summary of some of the bigger/stupider ones, then provide my thoughts:

The Paleo Diet

This is a very basic diet. In essence, you’re supposed to eat like a caveman. Sounds simple enough right?

No. Bad Grok. Put milkshake away.

No grains, no dairy. Lots of fruit, veggies and meat. This eating regimen gets a bad rap from the Hardcore Paleo people who will never ever ever even look at a piece of bread or a glass of milk. While this can be a great diet for people looking to find out if they have any gluten sensitivity or are lactose intolerant, it shouldn’t be the end-all-be-all for you.

Verdict: This can be a great diet if you loosen your belt a little bit. If you can stick to this diet 75-80% of your week you’d be in great shape. Save that 20-25% for re-feed meals and para-workout nutrition where the addition of grains and other carb sources are needed.

The Zone Diet

I grew up seeing this book at my house, and really didn’t know what it was for a long time. I thought it was a cookbook to be honest.

Wrong zone.

The Zone Diet has very modest roots and a massive best-seller book. The basis of this book is on the proper portioning of your carbs and proteins. This diet allows for things that others like the Paleo Diet asks you to restrict like dairy and whole grains. The belief of this diet is that by eating healthier foods, and not reducing calories; you will lose weight. Um….what? They even go so far (which I like) as to provide you with percentages of your marcos (protein 30%, fats 30%, carbs 40%).

Verdict: This diet does a good job at preaching healthy foods. It falls short with the 30/30/40 ratio of your macros. This amount would be geared more towards either someone trying to gain some mass while training hard, or someone very active (or with a killer metabolism) that’s trying to maintain their weight. Taking in almost half your calories from carbs will hold lots of water weight and not allow you to burn it all off with some training. Plus, people can take it the wrong way and eat 40% of each day’s worth of calories in something ridiculous like mashed potatoes and white bread since it’s technically allowed.

Juicing Diets

The basis of this “diet”: (really a fast) is that it will help detox your body from….? Toxins I suppose. With this sort of fast you choose a time period, and only drink fruits/veggies from a blender and water. You will absorb some great nutrients and antioxidants with this and you may even lose some weight.

Verdict: Having never done this one, I won’t be able to speak from experience. But I am one hell of a guesser. So my guess is, that with this “fast” you will be starving, lose energy, be in the bathroom (doing one or both) often and generally hate life for the length of your fast. Drinking 100% of your calories is a sure fire way to not absorb the maximal amount of your calories. Humans absorb more from whole foods because it takes longer for it to go through your actual intestines, etc.

Weight Watchers Points Plus System

This system has always mystified me, so I wanted to talk about it to force myself to do the research. Done and done. Let me first say that I am a believer in the Weight Watchers meetings system. I have multiple friends and family that go to, went or are still going there for support and to keep themselves on track. Doing any sort of weight-loss regimen with a group increases your chances of success.

Now, the points system is where my belief starts to walk off a cliff into a sea of annoyance and mild confusion. From what I read, you are given a number of points a day (with some flex points per week for cheating) that you are to stay at/within. This number is proportional to the amount of protein, fat, carbs and fiber in your daily diet. Want to calculate your own number of points? Here you go:

Now, for those of you who already did your time in school and are done with this type of math forever (me); Weight Watchers will gladly calculate this for you ($$).

Verdict: Outside my agreement with the meeting system, this diet plan gets a big old “fail” from myself. Yes, this calculation is very complicated and I’d never want to do it but, I see it as a complicated way of counting calories. Counting calories is very simple and basic. Want to lose weight? Eat less than you burn. No need for differential equations.

Summing It All Up

While each of these has something good, they all fail in their own special way. The strictness of the Paleo should be loosened up for it to be acceptable, the Zone Diet doesn’t have the strictness that it should, the detox/juicing diets are temporary and leave you hungry and you’re more than likely to gain that weight back (and probably more). And lastly the WW points system take something simple (counting calories) and complicates it, then charges you.

I’m not a huge hater, so I will say this for all of the above. They all have great points to them:

• Paleo: Great food selections & great for people with long term health in mind
• Zone Diet: More great food selections and emphasis on portion control
• Juicing: Great way to introduce your body to more fruits and veggies
• WW Points: A great way to get people to look at what they are putting in their bodies

In the end, it’s all up to what works for each individual but having a diet that works and sticking to it for the long term is more important that finding that special one. And by “long term” I don’t mean for the summer. Six months to a year at the minimum.

Say what you will about these diets and/or my thoughts on them but there’s a massive problem in the US where people can’t stick to one thing for long enough to see results. Stick to it and stop hatin’.

Well, if this isn’t one of the most amazing photoshoots in history and incentive enough to start working out… then frankly, we don’t know what is. And if that’s the case, then I don’t know what to tell you. Except for this: Be you man, woman, child, canine, lupine, feline, ursine, or annelid; you’re doomed to be a disgusting, immobile slug the rest of your life. So prove us wrong and nicely allow these photos to motivate you, friends. (Click images to enlarge.)

According to Wikipedia:

Shayk was born in Yemanzhelinsk, Russia. She says she inherited her unusual looks from her father and she has said that people often think she is South American.
“My father was dark skinned, because he was Tatar, sometimes Tatars can look Brazilian,” she says. “I get my light eyes from my mother.”

Frankly, we could care less if she was Bhutanese or from the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros Islands… granted she looks as damned amazing as she does here. Sweet Merciful Jehoshaphat.