The Swedish capital is notorious for high prices, but you don’t have to break the bank to see something good. Find out how to see museums, theater, and more for free or cheap — just so long as you plan ahead.

Original post by Jennifer Olvera

Alaska was in the news incessantly during 2008, with new developments splashing into national consciousness at the speed of the Internet. Alaska’s tourism website saw traffic increase six-fold after the state’s governor was tapped as a Vice Presidential candidate.

Original post by Charles Wohlforth

Stand up. Now, touch your toes.

If you’re like me, a serious runner with a stretching deficiency, you probably got your hands right about to your ankles before the tightness kicked in. You have trouble touching the floor. You laugh in the face of your yoga instructor.

This is not good.

I recently spent some time with our Lab Rat fitness columnist, Nick Heil, who was demonstrating some moves that diagnose inflexibility. The move was simple: Bend at the waist, touch your toes, and walk your hands forward until you are completely splayed out, keeping your knees perfectly straight the whole time (your heels can come off the ground). Then, walk your feet up until they meet your hands, and stand up—never bending your knees.

I splayed myself out on the sidewalk and shuffled my feet a few inches forward, then crinked to a stop.

“That’s it?” Nick said, with a laugh.

Sad to say, yes.

I, like most runners, have tight hamstrings, and locked up hips. It just goes with the sport. All our training emphasizes endless repetitions in a limited range of forward motion. As your muscles grow stronger, they can also effectively shorten. You can go years like this, never realizing that your stride is actually a few inches shorter than it should be. For any number of reasons, that’s bad.

What to do:

Well, stretch. Not because it’s going to help you avoid pulling a muscle in your workout (that’s what warming up is for), but because it’s the only way you’re going to capture the range of motion you need to make the most of your stride, and to avoid the extra stresses that stiff joints and muscles radiate through the rest of your body. Focus on your hamstrings, lower back, glutes, calves, and hip flexors. Here’s a good, recent article with pictures some basic stretches. To them, I’d add a glute stretch–lay down, pull your knee to your chest and hold. Of course, there’s also the social benefits of yoga, which is Sanskrit for “Let’s all go stretch together and grab a drink afterward.”

If you’re as chronically, pathetically, dangerously inflexible as me, then I’d suggest browsing this article on RunthePlanet.com. It’s one of the more comprehensive but peruseable I’ve found. It says with regular, proper stretching, you’ll notice marked range of motion gains in one month.

So go to. I’ll check back in in a month. From Mariachi Pose.

—JUSTIN NYBERG

Original post by Travel Robot

By Stephen Regenold

Flip up the kickstand, swing a leg over the frame, check
your handlebar-mounted computer display, and go. The OHM XU700, an
electric-assist bicycle, is now rolling, and you’re in for a unique ride.

Indeed, ratchet up the pedal-assist mode and you’ll be
whirring on a city street at 20 miles-per-hour with little effort beyond
balance.

OHM Cycles Ltd., a small outfit in Abbotsford, British
Columbia, is one of a handful of companies now selling electric-assist bicycles
to commuters and the physically compromised.

OHM (www.ohmcycles.com) calls its line of bikes
“purpose built, long-range, power-on-demand bicycles.” To me, the
line, which includes “sport” and “urban” models, feels like
an amalgamation of a moped and a Pee-wee Herman cruiser.

I tested the XU700 model, a 27-speed commuter bike that
comes standard with fenders, a cushy seat, disc brakes, a rack, and front and
rear halogen lights. A microprocessor and a lithium-ion cell enable a ghostly
power source that adds oomph to your pedal strokes.

 Or, forgo physical effort in full and hit the throttle:
The XU700 glides along like a moped, your thumb on a lever initiating a motor
integrated within the back wheel.

It is a weird feeling to ride an electric-assist bike.
This one has three modes: It can be operated as a regular bicycle or in
auto-assist. The third option, the generative mode, adds resistance to your
pedal strokes, recharging the battery pack in the process.

If OHM Cycles can get more people out of cars and onto
bikes, that is a good thing. But the bikes will likely not win over many
serious cyclists. The XU700 is heavy and slow when you pedal without the motor.
It weighs an absurd 53 pounds and is outfitted to the point of feeling clunky.

Further, the bike costs $2,995. I’ve purchased cars for
cheaper, and you can certainly get a dynamite road bike for much less.

But for its intended demographic of commuters looking for
a faster ride to the office, the elderly, or people who are not physically fit,
the XU700 could be a boon. It will also allow office workers to arrive after a
commute sweat-free.

With its 2009 line of bikes, OHM incorporates a
lithium-ion cell battery pack that recharges to 90 percent capacity in 20
minutes. A full charge takes three hours. Plug it in at work and it’ll be ready
to ride for lunch or at the end of the day. The company touts its new battery
as being able to charge more than 500 times without a loss of capacity.

I can’t say I would ever buy an electric-assist bike. But
companies like OHM offer an alternative for people — wealthy people, mostly –
who may be scared off by a regular bike.

As the company puts its, “expanding the bicycle
network is an important step to support a clean, green and healthy mode of
transportation.” I guess I can’t argue with that. 

–Stephen Regenold writes a daily blog on outdoors gear
at www.gearjunkie.com.

Original post by Travel Robot