Looking for a fun family activity this spring? Dirt Bikes Are Your Ticket to the Great Outdoors

By "TechnoDad" Mike Ferrara*

(MS) - One of my goals this year is to spend more quality time with my three teenagers, who are growing up way too fast. Playing computer games and watching DVDs works during the winter, but when spring approaches, outdoor activities are in order.
Now, bicycles are fine, but require a bit more effort than I care to expend. Our family is lucky to be living in a part of the country that offers lots of approved trails for ATVs and dirt bikes. It seems to me we ought to take advantage of what our hard-earned tax dollars have built!

Before heading out to the trails, keep these factors in mind:

· Wear appropriate protective gear. Mom and Dad need to set a good example, here.

· Review your state's regulations for Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs).

· Be familiar with your vehicle's safety features.

· Have your kids take a certified training course.

I fooled around with dirt bikes when I was a teenager, but my parents didn't ride, so it wasn't that much fun riding alone. Riding is a great activity for the whole family, even if you have a few younger kids at home. Luckily, there's a new crop of safe, user-friendly dirt bikes designed specifically for kids of different heights and abilities.

ELECTRIC START IS KEY

For instance, Yamaha has a model called the TT-R50E that is a great starter bike for young kids and features an electric starter. That might not seem much to you now, but speaking from experience, you NEVER want to buy a dirt bike, or anything with an engine for that matter, without electric start. For very little extra, you get the convenience of having your little guy or girl start up their own engine without knocking yourself out slamming your foot down on a recalcitrant kick starter. The TT-R50E and larger TT-R90E also feature three-speed transmissions with automatic clutches and adjustable throttle stops, making it easy for your little ones to get started safely.

But watching your kids learn to ride is not as much fun as riding with them. Models like the larger TT-R125E and TT-R230E are perfect for bigger kids (and novice adults like me), with more powerful four-stroke engines, easy-shifting manual transmissions, and yes, electric start.

As a closet race fan, I love watching professional riders like Chad Reed on his Yamaha YZ. This same engineering and styling is carried down to the TT-R's, including the cool Team Yamaha Blue/White color scheme.

GETTING WHAT YOU PAY FOR

The old adage of "getting what you pay for" is certainly true with dirt bikes. If you've ever visited your local auto parts store, you've probably seen a bunch of dirt bikes and ATVs made by companies you've never heard of before. Most of these bikes are made in China, and are not the best quality; you certainly don't want a defective weld breaking off on your child's mount.

Japanese bikes like the Yamaha have superior engineering and proven durability, since the company has been making motorcycles since 1955 - about as long as I've been around! Plus, they have been selling bikes in the U.S. for over 35 years and have service and support from a nationwide dealer network of more than 1,400 dealers that can help you choose the right bike and keep it running smoothly for years to come. Many Japanese manufacturers have supported the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and rider education programs for many years, so you can be sure they are built with safety in mind.

So you can spend $500 on an auto parts store brand, or you can spend $1,149 on a Yamaha TT-R50E. I believe paying a little more for a quality product is just good common sense, especially when your kids' safety is involved. An added bonus to buying a well-known brand is the availability of factory-approved racing parts and accessories so the performance of the bike can grow with you.

With many choices of fun, safe and reliable dirt bikes, you'll be sure to find a brand that fits your needs and budget. Just tell the dealer TechnoDad sent you!

*"TechnoDad" Mike Ferrara is a former newspaper reporter and editor. Mike began his magazine career under the wing of the seasoned editorial staff of Home Mechanix, where he was in charge of new product testing of outdoor equipment. Mike then went on to work at Rodale Press and was a contributor to Practical Homeowner and Consumer Digest magazines. For the last 12 years or so he's been a frequent guest on morning TV news shows, showing viewers the easiest and best ways to use technology. You can reach him through his Web site: www.technodad.tv.

CAPTION: Dirt bikes are gaining popularity among families who recognize how much fun they are to ride and own.

Tags:

dike+bikes bikes ATV dirt+bike bike

Dirt Bikes

Golf Technology Becomes Par for the Course

(MS) - Remember when golf used to be simple? You'd grab your clubs and hit a golf ball down the fairway.

But that was before golf went high-tech. Nowadays, more and more golfers are whipping out a handheld personal digital assistant (PDA), global positioning system (GPS) or other gadget to obtain diagrams of the course, distance measurements, pro tips, information on wind velocity or elevation and maybe order a beer and burger from the clubhouse's restaurant. Even the golf ball has become complex, tweaked to allow golfers to hit the ball farther with greater accuracy.


Such high-tech devices are promising to improve golfers' games not to mention help some golf courses across the country lure golfers to their courses with the latest technology, golf experts say. Indeed, some golf courses are installing WiFi hotspots to help golfers measure course distances and surf online for stock updates and sports scores.

Companies are identifying golfers' needs and developing specific technology geared to improving the speed and precision of their games, says Andy Brumer, author of "The Golf Revolution: How Technology is Driving the Game" (TechTV, 2003).

GPS SYSTEMS: DIGITAL CADDY

Before, golfers needed a caddy to inform them about the course, yardages, hazards and dangers to avoid. Now, a GPS can tell you that.

And some golfers have found them useful in getting them to the green faster and staying below par.

These GPS devices - mostly found installed in golf carts at high-end golf or resort courses - boast high-resolution color monitors that pinpoint distances to the hole. Many GPS devices also can suggest game strategy and recommend which club the golfer should use. Furthermore, GPS programs often allow golfers to compare their games to other players', monitor the position of other golfers on the course to determine when they should tee off, and provide instant contact to the clubhouse in case of golf cart troubles or a medical emergency.

"The graphics are continually getting better," Brumer says about GPS monitors. Plus, they've been useful in improving golfers' games and speeding up the game, he adds. That's because precise information golfers need to set up the perfect shot is often at their fingertips.

"[Golfers] can carry them around, get measurements of how far their shot is, outlines of each hole with diagrams and suggested course strategies," Brumer says. Some golf courses are also finding these devices can be useful in gaining revenue by flashing advertising on the monitors.

Golfers can also turn their Smartphone or Palm Pilot into their golf caddy. Software on such systems can be integrated with GPS to provide golfers with scoring, course information and shot tracking.

GOLF CLUBS

The golf club also continues to get technologically advanced. Golfers may tap simulators to determine club movement, club head speed, path and ball flight in helping to take the guesswork out of choosing the right club or improving their swing.

Brumer says the sport is seeing more of these launch monitors in club fitting and testing. Launch monitors might use a camera or digital method to measure data when the golfer hits a ball against a wall, which can then be used to reveal such items as the spin rate, speed and direction of the ball, Brumer says.

Some golfers may even be able to put this technology right into their club. For example, one such product - SmartSwing, developed by an Austin, Texas-based golf systems company - allows golfers to have a circuit embedded in their club that collects information on their swing while on the course. The data is stored in the club's memory and then later can be downloaded into golfers' computers to access a graphic of their swing. It provides information about the acceleration and rotation of the swing too.

Some products - such as EDH Sport's FlightScope - can also trace or record the actual flight of the ball when it is struck. These products track the ball and analyze the characteristics of the ball's flight to help golfers find the club that produces the best shot for them, Brumer says.

Along those same lines, some golfers are finding that using virtual reality programs - such as Virtually Perfect Golf - may also help improve their swings. Golfers wear a virtual reality head monitor as they swing in a simulated environment. A virtual instructor offers swing analysis, including errors in the swing and overlays the golfer's swing with a model for comparison. It then guides golfers on how to achieve the perfect swing.

Whether tapping virtual reality or accessing satellites for GPS, golfers are finding many options in ball, club and system technology to choose from in improving their game.

"There is always new technology being introduced," Brumer says. Some golf experts predict that many of these devices will soon become more prevalent among amateur golfers. Brumer expects that launch monitors used for club fitting will especially grow in popularity in the coming months.

"I think [golfers] will start to see it more at driving ranges," he says, "and we're already seeing it at the big retailers."

Technorati Tags:golf, gps, pda, wifi, golfer, golf club, golfers

Golf Technology

The History of Football/Soccer

A form of football, or soccer as it is sometimes called, can be traced back to China and Japan in 1004 BC, where a ball was kicked around a defined field of play. There is evidence of a match between China and Japan, in Kyoto, the then capital of Japan, in 611 AD.

There is also evidence of a form of football being played by the Ancient Greeks, Italians, Native American Indians, Persians, Central Americans, Scottish Clans, Vikings and Assyrians. The early Roman Olympic Games had an event that resembles modern day Football. The game was so taxing that two thirds of the players required hospitalization by the end of the contest.



However, the origin of football, or soccer, as we know it today can be clearly traced to England. The best evidence of the game's history in England are the laws enacted in the early 1300's by the reigning monarch to outlaw the game. A prison term was the punishment for playing. A succession of reigning monarchs also enacted laws to stop the practice of what was seen to be a very unseemly pastime. Queen Elizabeth 1st not only ordered a week in prison for players, but prison was to be followed by penance in the church.

Official sanction was finally given to the game in England in 1681. It was not until 1815 that rules were finally applied by a group of five English schools. As the sport spread, rules varied from school to school, region to region, country to country. The first united set of rules was drawn up by the world's first football federation in England in 1886. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) was founded in England in 1888.

FIFA, (The Federation Internationale de Football) is the governing body of international football and was founded in Paris in 1904. The rules of the English football association were adopted as standard for the international soccer community.

The game of football as we know it today was established in, and exported from England. For example, football was introduced to Brazil, by an Englishman, in 1885. English teachers and their students held matches in Tokyo, Japan, in 1871. British soldiers, sailors and settlers took the game with them to the four corners of the world.

The first football club to be established outside England was in Boston in 1862. The first international game of football was held in 1872 with a match between Scotland and England. The first international match held outside Great Britain was between the USA and Canada in 1885.

According to a 2001 FIFA survey, football is now played by more than 240 million people in more than 200 countries worldwide. Billions watch both local and international matches live and on television. The estimated television audience for the 2006 World Cup, held in Germany and won by Italy, is up to 60 million viewers for some matches.

Records of the movement and development of individual sports were not a focus for historians in days gone by, so there is no definitive proof of the ancient origin of our current sport of football. It is just possible that the English simply recognized what many other cultures had experienced; it is fun to kick a football around a paddock!

Tags:
football, soccer, history, fifa

The History of Football/Soccer