Ultegra or Dura Ace?

I?m often asked this question by cyclists and triathletes about to purchase a new bike. (Note: A step back for non-riders?unlike the bikes sold at Toys R Us, REI, Sports Authority, and other general sporting goods stores, specialty bike shops allow for picking/choosing various parts and accessories to add to the bike frame. The most important decision relates to the gearing/shifting/drive-train mechanisms as these parts along with human power make the bike go (and stop). ?Dura Ace? is the Japanese manufacturer Shimano?s top-of-the-line group.

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Smart OTC Pill-Packing for Overseas Travel

When there's a Walgreens or CVS on every other corner, there's no need to worry about finding familiar over-the-counter meds to help remedy an illness. But overseas travel to more remote countries can make finding a bottle of Tylenol as challenging as running a 4-minute mile.

According to Robert Edelman, MD, director of the travelers' health clinic at the University of Maryland medical center, the savvy athletic-minded traveler headed abroad will pack the following five pills as an emergency supply:

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Buy More Legroom on JetBlue

Airlines are charging extra these days for many items that used to be free: food, pillows, check-in luggage, help from the skycaps, etc. Southwest is now even charging more for those wanting to board first...so called, "business fares".

Find your perfect hotel gym and more on AthleticMindedTraveler.com.

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Training and Tubing in the UK and Europe

Most travelers to the UK and/or Europe ride the efficient train systems--as they should. The vast network of underground, above ground, and high speed rails make airflight so...yesterday. We'll discuss the high speed arteries in a future blog, but here are a few tips to help you feel like a UK/European railway veteran:

1. London's Underground (aka "The Tube") - it's clean, quick, convenient and the first choice of London locals. Don't be afraid to take the Tube just because it's below ground.

Buy a DAY PASS and you'll enjoy unlimited access within certain zones.

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Another Use for Your Bike Pump

Walking out the front door this morning, I noticed our car had a flat tire. The nearest gas station to our house with an air pump is about two miles away. The closest Discount Tire shop is located approximately four miles from our house.

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Using a cellphone in Europe and the UK

Unfortunately for American travelers, most U.S. cellphones do not work in Europe. I'll save the detailed explanation for the technical experts, but the bottom line is that U.S. cellphones operate on CDMA chips/bands and Europe's phones are programmed on a different standard...GSM. Just like the electrical outlets and plugs, cellphones are configured differently too.

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Milk Factoid

A while back we posted about organic milk . It's a fairly detailed post and worth a peruse for anyone curious about organic versus non organic milk. Anyway, our local paper recently demystified the whole "sell by date" thing. I found it helpful and interesting.

Summary:

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AMTs Take on the New Southwest Boarding Policy

Three cheers for open seating!! We previously posted about how we hoped Southwest would not change their A, B, C boarding because we've perfected how to work the system.

A Numbers Game
Now, Southwest has announced that only a slight modification will be made to the notorious "cattle call". A, B, and C boarding passes will still be issued. However, passengers will now receive a number as well as a letter when printing their boarding pass--a sub-set of the letter categories, if you will.

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Jogging Strollers are Overrated

Upon the birth of my now 14-month old daughter, I couldn't wait to take her out for a run with Daddy in a new jogging stroller. Within a month or two of her birth, I spent hours online researching the various brands and features, thought about and planned the best and least bumpy route to explore, and imagined how special the bonding would be between us.

Whoops.

Of all the baby items purchased, I think the jogging stroller has been the least utilized.

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Chicago Triathlon Helpful Hints

As the largest triathlon in the world, the Accenture Chicago Triathlon is a popular race among beginners and veterans alike. Many of our members will be sweating along (and in) Lake Michigan in a few weeks, so we thought we would give some "insider" advice. Our staff has a collective 10+ years of Chicago tri experience. Here are some less obvious helpful hints to make it a great day:

CHICAGO TRIATHLON TIPS

1.

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