We all know about the advantages cycling provides when it comes to saving on fuel and the positive contribution you can make towards reducing carbon footprint. However, one another great advantage associated with cycling as an activity is often not given the importance it deserves and that is the effect it can have on the body as well as mind. Traditional bikes due to the manner in which they are put together with simple body lines present you with the perfect opportunity to revisit your early school and teenage years when you first enjoyed the wonderful freedom and pleasures of riding a bike.

It is important to mention here that unless you are very comfortable using a bike in terms of seating convenience and strain on the body, you would not like to use it frequently. All of us are also aware that when you cover long distances on the bike, the strain on the spine can be a lot and unless the seating position is upright, you would not be able to enjoy the ride. That is where the positioning of the pedals as well as handlebars on these bikes holds such great importance such that there is minimum pressure on the wrists as well as the tailbone. An uncomfortable sitting position can have its negative impact not only on the spine but also on the tailbone and that is where the ergonomic design of these bikes score over others in that the rider is put to no inconvenience at all and can cover long distances without a problem.

These bikes are ideal for city use equipped as they are with mudguards, lights and with good padding. There is provision to keep a briefcase or a bag and the upright riding position makes visibility easy. The hub gears hardly require any maintenance and the chain too is kept well away so that it does not get in the way of your trousers and is also not susceptible to road grime and dust. You thus have the perfect machine that is low on maintenance, very functional and gives your body the perfect workout as you cycle to your destination and back daily.

Another point that needs mention here is that traditional bikes are not the sporty kind and therefore cannot be used for competitive racing events. That is because of the sturdiness of the bike structure as well as the upright riding position that is not considered aerodynamically friendly.

There is a debate on which bike would lend itself better to physical exercise. Now if you are really overweight and suffer from some back or neck pain, then these traditional bikes may not be very convenient for you due to the weight not being distributed equally as in a recumbent bike. For those who are not heavily built and prefer a daily workout, this bike is the ideal option for its basic functionality as well as low maintenance costs.

Anna Louise Jones is a cycling enthusiast who has been writing for top bike retailers such as CycleSurgery for over 8 years. CycleSurgery is an online bike retailer with over twenty stores nationwide with expert staff on hand to advise on top of the range bikes including mountain bikes, folding bikes, commuting bikes and traditional bikes in addition to cycling clothing, components, bike lights, mtb shoes and luggage. To view the collection, visit the CycleSurgery website.

Like wedding favours a wedding guest book plays a very important role on your special day. It offers those who you have invited to celebrate this important day in your lives with a chance to put in a special and personal message that you can then look at in the future and help you to remember what a wonderful day your wedding was.

But most couples will often leave looking at sorting out the guest book until the last minute as other important matters have taken over. Below we offer a few tips you may find useful in relation to not only deciding on the style of wedding guest book to have but how it should be displayed.

Tip 1 – If you have time available then get hold of photos of everybody that has been invited to your wedding and in alphabetical order stick them on top of each page of the guest book. This way they won’t have to spend ages looking for where they will need to sign and leave a message. You will also find that doing this then your guests are going to be more willing to add a message rather than just signing it.

Tip 2 – If you have invited children along to the wedding then why not present them with their own special book in which they can sign their names. As well as making them feel very special it offers them the opportunity if they wish to draw pictures of the happy couple and so the one you get the adults to sign won’t look so worn.

Tip 3 – Many couples tend to have the wedding guest book situated in one place but of course this increases the chances of guests forgetting to sign it. To avoid this problem why not place some sheets of paper on the table where the guests will be sat and they can sign it whilst they are comfortable. Then all the pages can be collected holes made in them through which a ribbon can be threaded and this will help to bind all of the pages together.

Tip 4 – Generally the guest book that those invited to a wedding sign is displayed just after the place where the bride and groom are greeting their guests. But instead it is worth thinking about placing it in front of the top table so as guests choose to come up and speak with the couple they can sign it then. The other way is to place the book at the exit of the reception and they can sign it at the end of the evening. Doing it this way will provide them with more chances to write down a personal message about how much they loved the wedding.

Tip 5 – If you want to save money when it comes to your wedding guest book then just like wedding favours it is worth thinking about making your own. Why not purchase plain covered book in which guests can sign and place messages then cover it in some white satin or black or burgundy velvet using glue. You can purchase any of these items through a local craft store or online.

Carpeting is a fact of life in our modern society, and who doesn’t love a carpet that’s clean and in good condition. It makes a room look richer and cozier (invites lounging!), and it helps dampens sound in the process. Keeping it clean, however, is often a tough job because it’s a given that anything we use regularly will get dirty. Few households can afford the space to isolate a ‘company only’ room to maintain its carpet in pristine condition.

And then you can’t mess with Murphy’s Law – or at least a logical corollary: “The likelihood of an open faced peanut butter and jelly sandwich landing face down correlates perfectly with the price of the carpet!” While we may generally win the battle against messy food, carpet care remains problematic for most and too often constitutes an embarrassment when we fail. Here are some important carpet care tips to simplify the challenge.

Vacuuming

Regular vacuuming is the primary strategy for maintaining a clean carpet. Under normal circumstances, vacuuming twice a week is typical, and more often is recommended when heavier traffic and use is unavoidable. Vacuuming doesn’t cause excessive wear, so there’s no real limit to frequency. In some families, vacuuming is on someone’s daily to-do list and actually gets done that often.

Most users realize that vacuuming slowly with repeated passes over an area is the best technique. Follow recommend procedures to maintain the vacuum (empty the bag, fool!) to insure optimum results. First off, however, remember to remove potentially damaging objects before starting – paperclips, marbles, legos, power cords, small animals (gerbils really mess with suction!), and incendiaries. Breaking an otherwise good vacuum belt as a consequence for inattention is truly annoying!

Regular vacuuming is the best preventive strategy, but won’t affect stains once they appear. The number one technique for handling stains is to do it fast. The longer a stain remains, the harder it is to remove. Some spills are more problematic than others. Regular soda makes a resistant stain, whereas diet soda doesn’t stain at all (something to do with the fixative power of sugar!).

Home Remedies

Don’t forget home remedies for stain removal. Club soda blotted on a stain with a simple cloth isn’t an uncommon solution. Using baking soda and corn starch as a kind of paste with a cloth or brush can be used to remove oil stains. Undiluted vinegar can also be used to successfully remove unsightly chocolate and coffee stains. As a general rule, use the friendliest solution possible to remove the stain.

Shampoo

Carpet shampooers are readily available and should be used periodically to keep carpet from developing resistant stains. Domestic models are becoming more popular so homeowners and renters needn’t wait as long to deep-clean their carpets. Commercial cleaning solutions and spot removers are readily available for both types and work well, especially if allowed to soak for 30 minutes or more. ‘Stubborn’ stains tend to stay that way if the cleaner is in too much of a hurry. Scrubbing a resistant stain with a brush is advisable for durable carpet types, whereas less durable fibers may be damaged by repeated mechanical action. Know your fiber! If in doubt, always test somewhere inconspicuous.

No-Shoe Zone?

One strategy for reducing dirt and stains is to declare a ‘no shoe’ zone and require visitors to remove footwear before entering a carpeted area. Living in Hawaii, I’m used to this tradition, but realize how difficult it might be to suddenly institute the practice. Dealing with seasonal changes in footwear would likely complicate a change. If this approach is for you, make the changeover in late spring or summer when compliance would be the easiest.

Strategic Rugs

Finally, consider using runners or small area rugs to complement the carpet and protect high traffic areas (e.g., in front of the lazy boy!). Entryways into the carpeted area or high-use spots like in front of sofas are logical targets. This is a no-brainer solution for keeping dirt and stains away from the carpet. Another no-brainer is to strictly ban high-stain substances from a carpeted area. Hosting a wine tasting party over expensive carpet would be a true Homer Simpson moment!

Carpet says a lot about our homes, but must be cared for regularly to keep it looking clean and presentable. Regular vacuuming and periodic shampooing are two solutions for aiding this goal, as is a commitment to remove stains quickly. The rest is behavioral – use common sense guidelines about what gets even close to the carpet. Employ critical carpet care tips and keep it clean!

Getting your car transported from a particular spot to the other is apparently a hard and difficult job to carry on. It would require services from a trusted auto transport company which renders a lot of services and the way you make use of these services would depend entirely on your persistence and on the need for the services to be done as soon as possible. It would also rely on the finances which you would be paying for you to get your car moved from one place to your desired destination.

Having your car running over long distances could really get your car a lot of wear and tear despite of the best tracks and the finest weathers. Aside from the extra miles that your car runs, everything from your engines to your radio and your transmissions could get a lot of hard workouts when you would be planning to drive it on your own across countries. Therefore you would get to thinking about those long hours that you would be spending driving your car along, for example those poor weather conditions and a lot more factors that could be a painstaking process, and see why car owners as well as dealers hire auto transport companies to do the job for them.

Moreover, there would be a lot of benefits that auto transport companies present to you to get your car transported and do the job for you instead you getting to drive it yourself. And here would be some of them:

Your Car wouldn’t be Used Up
Since these auto transport companies would get the job done for you, then it wouldn’t be necessary for your car to do any of the working and running to get it from a place to another and therefore it could avoid all the wear outs it could receive when preferring to do it on your own. And these companies would do their best to ensure that your cars would arrive in the preferred destination without any problems or damages at all.

You Could Save Your Time
With the auto transport company doing the job for you, it would simply mean that you won’t have to spend time getting this job done and won’t have to use your energy needed for driving. Perhaps you could ride on a plane, a train, bus or any means of transport for you to reach your desired location therefore you could just simply relax and sit out there doing things you like to do.

It’s the Safest Means of Moving your Cars
Mostly all of the auto transport companies are the most dependable and the most secure ways to get your car transported. And almost all of them are licensed and certified therefore their customers could simply relax and wait until their cars reach the destination allocated.

No matter what type of car you own or no matter how old-fashioned it is, as long as you look for the help of auto transport companies, they would do the job for you. So if you would be planning to move your car as soon as possible, take a second look at the benefits I recommend for you, and you would get to thinking that these one could be right and yes they are. Just always make sure that in order to get the best services for your car, look for the best and reliable company for you. Take time to look for them on the web, there are a lot of them. And they simply won’t fail you. I hope this one helps you as well as your car. Good luck with the transporting!