Only about 2% of London's 8 million+ residents ride bikes to get to work each day, according to an analysis by the Transport for London.

Unsafe conditions seem to be a huge reason people stay off their bikes. According to the Department for Transport, London pedestrians and cyclists are 11 times more likely to be killed in a road accident than people who travel by car. Heavy traffic and an obvious lack of extra space in the city make coming up with a solution for safe cycling a difficult task. 

A new collaboration from Exterior Architecture, Foster + Partners, and Space Syntax could help to make London's roads safer for cyclists, in addition to having applications for other major cities worldwide.

They call it SkyCycle, a network of bike paths that would be constructed above existing railroad lines and could put cyclists in the sky. 

According to a press release from Foster + Partners, each route could accommodate up to 12,000 cyclists per hour and improve travel times by 29 minutes. It's an efficient use of space in a city whose population is expected to grow by as much as 12% over the next 10 years.  

Plus, developing a usable bike system with 200 entrance points in heavily populated areas could be good for the local economy. 

"Early studies of a SkyCycle system indicate that it provides capacity at a much lower cost than building new roads and tunnels," a press release from Foster + Partners says. "The possibility of the deck providing development opportunities for businesses along the route, particularly where it intersects with stations and bridges, has also been the subject of the study, exploring ideas for public/private commercial growth and regeneration." 

And though there's no word on when or if the proposal could become a reality, a spokesperson for London's Network Rail told RelaxNews, "We welcome the proposals which have been put forward by Foster + Partners and Exterior Architecture and are always happy to look at ways we can contribute to improving travel and transport in London."

Here's another look via Exterior Architecture at what London's SkyCycle could be like:

SEE ALSO: There Was An Army Of Citi Bikes Under The Williamsburg Bridge During The Blizzard [PHOTOS]

Join the conversation about this story »

The Tour de France is a bike race, not a beauty contest. But winners tend to be hotter than losers, new research finds.

The link between sexiness and cycling success hints that male attractiveness might signal evolutionary fitness, researchers report today (Feb. 4) in the journal Biology Letters. Women may clue into some facet of male hotness as an evolutionary remnant of the days when long-distance hunting and gathering meant the difference between life and death, said study researcher Erik Postma, an evolutionary biologist at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zürich.

"If a woman chooses a man with high endurance, she can be sure he will bring home plenty of food for herself and her children," Postma told Live Science.

Sexy signals

In the animal kingdom at large, it's clear that females choose males for their sexy accessories. Female deer like big antlers; birds like long or colorful tails.

"In our own species, it's much less clear why we find some faces more attractive than others," Postma said. "What does attractiveness actually signal in humans?"

Evolutionary biologists and psychologists have tested theories that attractiveness correlates to strength and coordination, with mixed results. Pulling men from the general population to test these ideas is tricky, Postma said, because they may not be particularly motivated, and differences in diet or exercise routines may mask their natural abilities.

No one had ever tested endurance, because dragging volunteers into the lab and forcing them to run miles on end is unlikely to go over well, he said. But in professional cyclists, researchers had a group of similarly aged men with similar motivation and training regimens.

The Tour de France bike race takes competitors over 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) of mountainous roads over 23 days, which approximates the kind of aerobic exertion an early hunter-gatherer would have to perform, day in and day out, Postma said. [Winter Warriors: The Fitness Skills of 9 Olympic Sports]

Hot cyclists

Postma recruited 816 participants, 72 percent of them female, to look at images of the 80 competitors in the 2012 Tour de France and rate the men's attractiveness. Because people usually perceive famous people as more attractive than ordinary schlubs, Postma excluded ratings if the participant indicated they recognized the cyclist (this happened about 1 percent of the time).

Next, Postma compared the hotness ratings to the cyclists' performances, as measured by the time it took each to complete the race's prologue, two time trials and the rest of the race. (He picked this method over simply looking at the final finishing times, because team tactics influence an individual's final standings.) And the results showed a link: More attractive athletes tended to perform better in the Tour de France.

The correlation wasn't perfect. In fact, the cyclist ranked as hottest, France's Amaël Moinard, who got a score of 4.2 out of 5 on the attractiveness scale, finished 42nd out of 80 in Postma's standings. American Tejay van Garderen ranked 17th in attractiveness and performed best.

But, overall, the pattern held, Postma said. "If you were to take the 10 percent best-performing riders and compare their attractiveness to the 10 percent of riders that performed least well, the top 10 percent is about 25 percent more attractive than the lowest 10 percent," he said.

"This preference might be sort of an evolutionary relic of our past," he added.

Other examples of high-performance hotties included the Portuguese Rui Costa, who is the current world champ and ranked ninth in attractiveness and 15th in performance. Maxime Monfort of Belgium ranked third in attractiveness and sixth in performance.

The findings suggest that something in the riders' faces hints at their endurance abilities. Cycling, of course, is notorious for doping scandals. But such use of performance-enhancing drugs, Postma said, would only weaken the hotness-performance link by allowing the more homely to cheat. Thus, he said, he'd expect the results to be even stronger if no one doped.

Postma would like to conduct the study on other groups of athletes, including sprinters, who need speed and strength, but not endurance.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

• 51 Sultry Facts About Sex
• The Sex Quiz: Myths, Taboos and Bizarre Facts
• 10 Fitness Apps: Which Is Best for Your Personality?

Copyright 2014 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the conversation about this story »

Michael Hutchinson is a former professional cyclist who has competed in three Commonwealth Games and won multiple national titles in Britain and Ireland. The author of a new book on speed and cycling, here he shares what he’s lento about going as fast as you can on two wheels:

Equipment

Heart monitors are essential if you’re taking it seriously, and power meters are terrific. They give you an exact knowledge of your performance; with cycling it depends so much on the weather or the wind or the day, but with a power meter you can see exactly how hard you are working at a given moment. Then you can download it to a computer file and measure your progress.

When buying a bike the most important thing is that it fits you. You’re buying the chassis for your dream car, but you’re the engine and it all needs to fit together. Anyone can tell the difference between a $1,600 and a $3,200 bike, but when it gets to $8,000 to $10,000 it’s really a matter of degree.

Diet

When you’re doing a long race, you need a steady stream of carbs coming in. You want to be thinking about carb drinks, glucose and energy drinks.

You’ve got to make sure there’s 60 grams of carbs coming in every hour, with 500 to 600 ml of liquid. There’s always someone who eats 120 grams of carbs during a race because they think extra energy will make them go faster, but they’ll end up barfing into a ditch because they can’t absorb it.

Clothes

Build up a base layer with a breathable fabric that keeps the sweat away from you so you stay warm. Then wear a good, snug jersey. The tightness is 90 per cent of the game: If you have a power meter you’ll be able to see the huge difference in the amount of energy you need to put in when you’re wearing a baggy jersey compared to a tight one.

Training

You can train in 1,000 different ways - depending on who you are and what you’re aiming for - but what you should be trying to do is replicate the demands of the race as far as possible. If the race is at high altitude then you have to train at high altitude too.

I find interval training works; it makes someone who’s already quick really quick. You might do a minute on and a minute off, or two minutes on and three off - whatever suits you best and will make you see it to the end of the interval. So people like doing blood-in-the-mouth interval training, going full pelt for seven or eight minutes at a time, but I’ve never really understood that.

Psychology

There are two psychologies to performance cycling. There’s the psychology of training, the discipline, and then there’s the psychology of doing the race. The fact that you have one says nothing about whether you have the other.

Before the race, you need to rehearse everything in your mind calmly so you know what you are going to do and can recreate that calmness on the day. There’s one trainer I know who will take you through all the possibilities months before: what will you do if you’re in the lead at this point? What will you do if you’re second and you’re overtaken? What’s the worst thing that could happen? You have to be quite careful with visualizations though, because if you start visualizing things that might go wrong, they probably will go wrong. It’s a powerful tool.

Genetics

Cyclists really do come in all shapes and sizes. You don’t necessarily need long legs, it’s more the internal mechanics that are important. I’ve always been able to go fast because I have an enormous aerobic system; I can take a lot of oxygen out of the air and burn through it. You can’t do that much about it but you can always optimize what you’ve got. Somebody with poor genetics, who doesn’t have that aerobic capacity, probably won’t ever win the Tour de France - but then that’s not what most people are setting out to do.

Faster: The Obsession, Science and Luck Behind the World’s Fastest Cyclistsby Michael Hutchinson is published by Bloomsbury and available from 27 March, priced at £10.99 in paperback

Join the conversation about this story »

A video that we found on Reddit shows a Brazilian biker allegedly hitting a top speed of 124 kilometers per hour (that's 77 mph!) while riding in the draft of a big truck. 

The video appears to be shot using a GoPro. At one point the cyclist pans to the speedometer attached to his bike. You can see that he's tailgating a very large truck. 

We don't recommend this technique, known as highway drafting, as it seems insanely dangerous. The bike is able to go faster because in the right spot of the wake of the truck there is less drag on the biker, which in turn lowers the amount of energy required to maintain speed or speed up. 

SEE ALSO: NASA's Experimental Lander Just Completed One Of The Coolest Launches We've Ever Seen

Join the conversation about this story »

[Editor's note: This article was first published in April 2013. With the spring weather finally approaching, we've decided to republish it.

Copenhagenize is a consulting and communications company that specializes in all things cycling-related. The company gave Business Insider an exclusive first look at its new ranking of the world's most bike-friendly cities.]

There are lots of cities where it's good to be a cyclist, but some are truly two-wheel paradises.

The newly released Copenhagenize Index 2013, produced by the Copenhagenize Design Co., ranked 150 cities around the world on 13 parameters, including cycling facilities, culture, sharing program, gender split, politics, and traffic calming.

It also gave bonus points for categories like political leadership.

Here are the top 20 cities, each with a score out of 100 points.

The list starts at number 14, since there are a few ties.

14. Hamburg, Germany

Score: 54

2011 Rank: 13

Why It Works: The Index always offers up surprises. More often than not it is when cities show up on the list. To be honest, we were surprised that Hamburg made the cut and clung onto the last spot in the Top 20.

In a global perspective, Hamburg is a premier league player, no doubt about it. The city's modal share has been steady and is slowly rising. The citizens are returning to the bicycle, especially in the neighborhoods.

The city's planners haven't really realized that it's a new millennium and much of their infrastructure is sub-standard. But it's there. Ready to form the foundation for more, better protected cycle tracks.

Fixes: If Hamburg gets the right political leadership, the city will blossom as an urban cycling paradise. The need for infrastructure that adheres to best practice is becoming more and more apparent.

The 20th spot on the Copenhagenize Index is a fragile position to be in what with so many other cities making impressive efforts and eager to move up the list. Get with the global programme or get left behind. You're snuggled in between Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Figure it out.

Scoring: Cities were given between 0 and 4 points in 13 categories, with a potential 12 bonus points for particularly impressive efforts or results, for a maximum of 64 points. The final score was adjusted to be out of 100. Categories included advocacy, bicycle culture, cycling facilities, infrastructure, bike share program, gender split, modal share, modal share increase since 2006, perception of safety, politics, social acceptance, urban planning, and traffic calming. See the full index at Copenhagenize.

13. Paris, France (tie)

Score: 55

2011 Rank: 7

Why It Works: The second global mega-city on the list after Tokyo, Paris continues to impress. If every city had political vision like Paris, regarding liveable cities, the world would be a better place.

Paris has left London and New York in the dust over the past six years. In particular, New York is making efforts to catch up, but Paris' commitment to improving conditions for Citizen Cyclists remains strong.

The city's bike share system remains a success and an impressive number of stretches feature bicycle infrastructure.

With 30 km/h zones and the removal of archaic expressways along the river, bicycle traffic will benefit. The fantastic role of the bike share system in the nightlife shows that the citizens are embracing the bicycle for all purposes. Nobody would have thought that Paris could have done all it has done but the city continues to pinch us to tell us we're not dreaming.

Fixes: Planners have been searching for space for bicycle infrastructure and Paris has some unique solutions. They are, however, solutions that are not sustainable in the long run.

It's time to up the stakes and go after a more permanent solution with the creation of more protected cycle tracks. The success of the bike share system is impressive but better maintenance is required, as well as increasing the number of stations at both transport hubs and popular nightlife neighborhoods.

Scoring: Cities were given between 0 and 4 points in 13 categories, with a potential 12 bonus points for particularly impressive efforts or results, for a maximum of 64 points. The final score was adjusted to be out of 100. Categories included advocacy, bicycle culture, cycling facilities, infrastructure, bike share program, gender split, modal share, modal share increase since 2006, perception of safety, politics, social acceptance, urban planning, and traffic calming. See the full index at Copenhagenize.

13. Budapest, Hungary (tie)

Score: 55

2011 Rank: 10

Why It Works: Budapest continues to build upon the successes of the past few years, although we fear the pace may have slowed. The city's force remains visionary advocacy and the social acceptance of the bicycle.

One of the leaders among Emerging Bicycle Cities, Budapest is getting it's brain wrapped around infrastructure and development of a sensible network for bicycle users.

A city that can gather 50,000-80,000 for peaceful bicycle rides has some golden opportunities that can and must be exploited.

Fixes: Like every other city on the planet, it's all about the infrastructure. The city has brilliant advocacy, but it is now time to push for more protected cycle tracks. Paint ain't the same.

Budapest is a regional leader in bicycle culture but without political will and a modern desire for mobility change, their role will be overtaken by others. The upcoming bike share system, if implemented correctly, will be a game-changer for the city.

More infrastructure should be in place before the bike share system starts up.

Scoring: Cities were given between 0 and 4 points in 13 categories, with a potential 12 bonus points for particularly impressive efforts or results, for a maximum of 64 points. The final score was adjusted to be out of 100. Categories included advocacy, bicycle culture, cycling facilities, infrastructure, bike share program, gender split, modal share, modal share increase since 2006, perception of safety, politics, social acceptance, urban planning, and traffic calming. See the full index at Copenhagenize.

According to a recently released report from the Alliance For Biking & Walking, the number of people biking to work in America has steadily grown for much of the last decade.

That growth can largely be attributed to the increased availability of bicycle facilities in the form of bicycle lanes, multi-use paths, and signed bicycle routes. 

The Alliance compiled a ranking of cities with the most miles of bicycle facilities per square mile using data submitted by the 52 largest municipalities in America. 

According to the report, San Francisco is the most bicycle friendly city in the country, with 7.8 miles of bicycle facilities per sq. mile. Austin and Long Beach came in second and third, with 4.6 and 4.5 miles of bike facilities per sq. mile, respectively. San Francisco's time at the top of the list may be short lived, as Austin plans to expand its facilities by an additional 1,100 miles over the next eight years. 

Interestingly, 16 of the top 20 cities in the Alliance's rankings are located west of the Mississippi, with 6 of those cities located in California. However, eastern cities like New York, Charlotte, and Memphis are expected to move up the rankings in the near future with construction of 3,100 miles of bicycle facilities planned over the next two decades.

Here are the 20 best cities in America for bicyclists:

1. San Francisco (CA)
2. Austin (TX)
3. Long Beach (CA)
4. Philadelphia (PA)
5. Mesa (AZ)
6. Albuquerque (NM)
7. Seattle (WA)
8. Minneapolis (MN)
9. Boston (MA)
10. Washington D.C.
11. Sacramento (CA)
12. Fresno (CA)
13. Tucson (AZ)
14. Denver (CO)
15. Portland (OR)
16. San Jose (CA)
17. Honolulu (HI)
18. New York (NY)
19. Chicago (IL)
20. San Diego (CA)

SEE ALSO: The 10 Least 'American' Cars From Detroit's Major Automakers

Join the conversation about this story »

According to a new infographic from Mint.com, swapping your car or train ride for a bicycle could not only make you fitter, but richer. 

As National Bike Month winds down, the personal finance site gathered stats on the cost of cars, the price of commuting, and the benefits of bikes. Cycling to work isn't just for those low on cash, Mint found: Between 2009 and 2011, households with incomes of over $70,000 increased their bike mileage by 122%.

The infographic below pegs the cost of owning and operating a car at $8,220 a year, and the cost of a bike at only $308 a year, resulting in savings of $7,912. Additionally, many people who bike regularly are also more productive, take fewer sick days, and pay less in health costs. That could explain why New Yorkers have pedaled more than seven million miles since the launch of the city's Citibike program in 2013.

If there was ever a reason to break out the ol' 10-speed, this might be it:

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misreported the cost savings of having a bicycle as $800.

SEE ALSO: Here's How Money CAN Buy Happiness

Join the conversation about this story »

PARIS (Reuters) - France has started a six-month experiment with paying people to cycle to work, joining other European governments in trying to boost bicycle use to boost people's health, reduce air pollution and cut fossil fuel consumption.

Several countries including the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Britain have bike-to-work schemes, with different kinds of incentives such as tax breaks, payments per kilometre and financial support for buying bicycles.

In France, some 20 companies and institutions employing a total of 10,000 people have signed up to pay their staff 25 euro cents (34 U.S. cents) per kilometre biked to work, the transport ministry said in a statement on Monday.

French Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier, noting that commuting using public transport and cars is already subsidised, said that if results of the test are promising, a second experiment on a larger scale will be done.

The ministry hopes that the bike-to-work incentive scheme will boost bike use for commuting by 50 percent from 2.4 percent of all work-home journeys, or about 800 million km, with an average distance of 3.5 km per journey.

In Belgium, where a tax-free bike incentive scheme has been in place for more than five years, about 8 percent of all commutes are on bicycles. In the flat and bicycle-friendly Netherlands, it is about 25 percent, cycling organisations say.

The Brussels-based European Cyclists' Federation has European Union funding to study best practices among various cycling incentive schemes, the group's Bike2Work project manager Randy Rzewnicki said.

City bike-loan schemes have played a large role in boosting bicycle commuting and cities including Barcelona, London and Stockholm have followed the model of the Velib in Paris.

($1 = 0.7328 euros)

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Join the conversation about this story »

Samsung is teaming up with bicycle designer Giovanni Pelizzoli to create a smart bike that you can control with your phone.  

The Samsung Smart Bike was shown off at a design trade show in Milan, according to a report from DesignBoom first spotted by Gizmodo.

The bicycle works in conjunction with a Samsung smartphone, which a rider would mount between the bike's handle bars.

Through the phone, a user could control the bike's smart features, which include switching laser beams on and off to create bike lanes or viewing directions.

These laser beams could also turn on automatically as it gets dark outside since they work with the ambient light sensors on your Samsung phone. 

GPS routes picked up by the bike and your phone can also be sent to local authorities so that these paths can be turned into real bike lanes. 

The bike comes with a camera on the back that syncs with your Samsung phone to function as a rear-view mirror too. This means you'll be able to view footage from the camera on your phone's screen to see what's behind you.

It's constructed of curvy aluminum tubes, which are supposed to neutralize vibrations from bumps on the road. 

Samsung's Smart Bike is essentially a computer you can ride. It comes with its own battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, digital camera, and laser projectors all packed inside. 

It's unclear if the bike is just a design concept at the moment or if it'll swing into production in the near future. 

SEE ALSO: The Guy Who Invented The Segway Made A Prosthetic Arm That Really Works

Join the conversation about this story »

Over the course of the next five years, De Bruyn Joubert is attempting to cycle coast to coast through all seven continents and 70 countries. The 29-year-old South African started last August, and he's already made it through Australia and much of Europe.

"At the beginning of 2013 I didn't have any big commitments, so it was the perfect time to pursue something that would make me happy," he told Business Insider. "I was doing some travel research and couldn't find anyone who had ever tried to cycle all seven of the continents before."

Joubert had held jobs in manufacturing and distribution before. He didn't consider himself a cycling enthusiast, but he had a simple goal for this trip: "to cycle coast to coast through all the continents." 

So he sold "basically everything [he] had back home," and started planning. He budgeted for food and water, accommodations, visas, medical insurance, and set aside a small marketing budget. His budget is currently $15,000 per year, but varies from continent to continent.

So far on the journey, two things have really stood out for him: the Nullarbor Plain, a flat arid region in southern Australia, and the charming towns in the Netherlands. He says that he's most looking forward to cycling through Antarctica.

Joubert shared some photos of his journey. We've included them here, along with his original captions. To learn more about the undertaking, follow Around 7 Continents on Facebook and Twitter.

Have an amazing travel story and photos to share? Send an email to travel@businessinsider.com and we could feature your adventure next.

Australia was up first. By the third day, I already needed a quick nap on the side of the road before tackling Macquarie Pass. Not exercising much before I left made it difficult for the first two months, but I got into cycling long distances very quickly. I always believed that you have to be stronger mentally than physically.

The first part of Australia from Sydney to Adelaide was beautiful and filled with rivers. The sceneries surprised me everyday.

The small village of Jugiong in Australia had a population of only 234 people. They had one coffee shop and a small grocery store where you can buy some basics.

This year’s Tour de France (July 5-27) is gearing up to be the most hotly contested edition in years. It’s the 101st running of la Grande Boucle, or Great Loop, and it looks like it’ll be a relatively open three weeks of racing with no single rider or team able to completely control the 21 stages run over 2,277 miles from Leeds, England, to Paris, France.

Defending champion Chris Froome of Great Britain and two-time winner Alberto Contador of Spain are the favorites, but there are American riders who could wreak havoc on the European-dominated peloton and make a legitimate run for the podium. It’s the best opportunity the U.S. has had in a long time to put one of its own in the leader’s yellow jersey.

SEE ALSO:  Stunning Photos From The 2013 Tour De France

Chris Horner

The most astute tactician in bike racing, Chris Horner has won all kinds of races throughout his long career, from the Tour of California to the Tour de Langkawi. But it wasn’t until last year that he took his greatest victory at the Vuelta a España, or Tour of Spain, and became the oldest rider to win one of cycling’s three-week Grand Tours just short of his 42nd birthday. At the Tour, Horner’s best result came in 2010 when he was riding as a team helper and still managed to finish ninth overall. He thrives on long, steep climbs — the harder the better — so a mountain-stage win is possible, as is a high finish in Paris. More than anyone else in sports, Horner shows age is but a number and that he can still hang with the best in the world. Fitness freaks and fast-food lovers, take note: Horner loves McDonald’s, and on a long training ride he can consume enough Snickers and Coca-Cola to feed a French family on Bastille Day.

Age: 42
Team: Lampre-Merida
Birthplace: Okinawa, Japan
U.S. bases: Bend, Oregon; San Diego, California
European base: Como, Italy
Strengths: climbing, stage racing, tactics

Ted King

Crowd favorite Ted King is professional cycling's Mr. Nice Guy, but don’t let his niceness fool you: Under that smile is a tough New Englander with serious pedaling ability. For years, he has ridden on one of the world’s top teams, Cannondale Pro Cycling. But last year’s Tour de France, King’s first, was a disaster as he was controversially booted from the race after missing a time cut because of injuries suffered in an earlier crash. This year he’s headed back to the Tour to help his team leader, superstar Peter Sagan, win his third consecutive green points jersey and score a stage win or two. And along the way to Paris, King will offer colorful updates on Twitter that are likely to include mentions of maple syrup. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Middlebury College.

Age: 31
Team: Cannondale Pro Cycling
Birthplace: Exeter, New Hampshire
European base: Girona, Spain
Strengths: all-rounder, stage racing, domestique

Ben King

Ben King (no relation to Ted) is going to be an exciting young rider to watch at this year’s Tour if only because it's his debut in the world’s greatest bike race. King won the U.S. national road title in 2010, and he’s a solid all-around rider who can climb and ride strong on the flats. His maiden Tour should provide a huge opportunity to gain valuable experience and possibly go for a stage win. Above all, King will be tasked with helping his team leader, Andrew Talansky, ride to a high place overall in Paris. This compact American is a loyal teammate who has already shown lots of grit in his career — he won the Most Aggressive award at the USA Pro Challenge in 2013 — and he’s psyched to get this opportunity to race against the world's best.

Age: 25
Team: Garmin-Sharp
Birthplace: Richmond, Virginia
European base: Lucca, Italy
Strengths: breakaways, all-rounder, domestique

Once a niche sport, cycling has become so popular in Britain that it has spawned a new breed of fans who would rather buy a bike than a Ferrari and who confront their expanding waistlines by taking to the open road.

These "middle-aged men in Lycra" or MAMILs, as the tribe has unflatteringly been dubbed, will be out in force this weekend as the Tour de France begins in the northern English country of Yorkshire, many of them wearing day-glo outfits and tight shorts.

The typical MAMIL is over the age of 35 and paid enough to afford the expensive brands favoured by their tribe, such as stylish cycle clothing maker Rapha, as well as pilgrimages to sites such as the mythical Mont Ventoux in the Provence region of southern France.

"Twenty-five years ago they might have gone out to buy a Porsche, or a supersport motorbike, now its a $5,100 carbon fiber bike," said Michael Oliver, a marketing specialist who claims to have come up with the term "MAMIL", which has now entered the dictionary.

The hobby often starts as a way of saving money and getting fit by cycling to work, moving leisurely to weekend jaunts in the country.

Then, during the summer months, it means taking the family on stages of the Tour or even training in the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca, where they follow the path of British champions Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. 

'The new golf'

MAMILs shave their legs to reduce wind resistance and are always working on their bikes, sharing an obsessive interest in their equipment, whether it is new handlebars, GPS device or brakes.

"Cyclists tend to be like geeks when it comes to equipment, they are very aware of the latest developments," Oliver told AFP.

It is an expensive hobby but as such is self-selecting and for many is a good opportunity for networking.

"They talk of cycling as the new golf, where business people do business," said Richard Moore, who has written numerous books on the Tour de France.

"The demographic of the sport here in Britain is different to France, Belgium, Italy, Spain or other traditional cycling countries where cycling is more a working-class sport."

Stephen Wheatley, a 59-year-old business development specialist, admits that the hobby is "expensive, yes, but cheaper than keeping a mistress and certainly less risky".

A self-confessed "cycling addict", he set off on Thursday from London with five friends to cycle to Yorkshire for the start of the Tour on Saturday.

But he rejects the term MAMIL and the mockery that follows, most recently from Prime Minister David Cameron, who said this week he was willing to do everything he could to promote the Tour "apart from wearing lycra".

"We would never call ourselves that -- it is a bit of an insult," Wheatley said, adding that if he wasn't wearing the shirt of his cycling club Grappa this weekend -- named after a memorable trip in Italy -- he would wear black.

"I'm nearly 60 years old and I think it looks faintly ludicrous wearing the same kit as Andy Schleck or Bradley Wiggins," another British cycling star, he explained. 

'Old and too heavy' 

For all that, Wheatley rejects the stereotype, he admits he has a lot of gear and proudly shows off his Gios bike, which he put together himself.

He won't say how much it cost, but quips: "When I die and my wife sells my bikes, please ask her to add a zero to the price I told her it cost."

Noel Edwards, a 60-year-old design manager, paid $11,100 for a new bike and extra kit last year and has a second folding bike which he uses on his commute into work in London.

Edwards is general secretary of his local cycling club, Gateway Cycling, and remembers with joy how, after winning a magazine competition in 2007, he had the chance to shake the hand of five-times Tour winner Bernard Hinault.

Heading towards 61, he admits he is "old and too heavy" but has no intention of quitting anytime soon. "I am better than I was, but I will never be good," he said.

Join the conversation about this story »

Each July the Tour de France brings together 198 of the world's best cyclists to race for three weeks in sports' most grueling contest. This year's Tour (July 5-27) started with three stages in England before heading over to France.

In addition to the thrilling racing over huge mountains and down high-speed descents, there is plenty of beautiful sports photography.

The Red Arrows flew past Harewwood House at the start of the first stage.

This year 198 riders started the Tour in England's historic county of Yorkshire.

The pack rolled through the beautiful Yorkshire Dales as a TV helicopter relayed live images to millions around the world.

The Tour de France is here again — and with it a perennial question arises. Why do cyclists shave their legs? Here are some of the purported reasons:

• It looks sexy and lets you show off your diamond-cut calves.
• It makes post-ride massage easier and way less painful.
• It makes cleaning and treating wounds easier and speeds up healing.
• It's a tradition and part of the sport, so you just do it.
• It makes you faster because it's more aerodynamic than hairy legs.

Depending on who you talk to — whether it's a massage therapist, a doctor, or your partner — there is an argument to justify each of those reasons.

But perhaps the most compelling reason is that shaved legs are faster, at least according to two guys at Specialized, a major California-based manufacturer of performance bicycles, which has a state-of-the-art wind tunnel. 

Recently, they set out to determine whether shaved legs were in fact faster than hairy legs. They tested a number of riders "across the entire spectrum of Chewbacca scale," eventually choosing one cyclist, Keith, who had level-six hairiness — "fairly dense follicles."

They tested him with hair, and then they tested him without hair, 10 separate times. The results? They were "shocked" at how big of a performance difference they found. Over 40 kilometers, or about 25 miles, Keith saved 82 seconds — nearly a minute and a half. Although they found that Keith was on the high end of performance savings, even a rider on the low end could still save 50 seconds. That's huge. On average, that's about 70 seconds saved just by shaving your legs. After hundreds of hours of testing in the wind tunnel, the guys at Specialized said this was the most surprising revelation they have ever had.

In a bike race or triathlon, where races are won and lost by seconds and sometimes hundredths of a second, that is a huge difference. The closest Tour de France in history was won — after three weeks of racing — by just 8 seconds by American Greg LeMond in 1989.

So, hair slows you down — "smoother is faster," as Specialized says. Is that why cyclists shave their legs? For many, especially amateur riders, it's probably a combination of all the reasons above. But for the pros, you can be sure it's all about saving time and going fast.

Will Keith keep shaving his legs? "Depends on what the girlfriend thinks," he said. 

Watch the full video from Specialized below:

SEE ALSO: Meet The 9 Americans In The Tour De France

SEE ALSO: The Newest Danger To Tour De France Cyclists: Selfies

Join the conversation about this story »

Professional bike racing is one of the most dynamic sports when it comes to relentlessly pursuing technological advances. Today’s bikes are incredibly stiff, lightweight, and fast, making use of materials like carbon fiber that allow riders to fly up high mountains. Helmets are super-lightweight, ventilated, aerodynamic, and the safest they’ve ever been. Jerseys, shorts, and gloves offer sweat-absorption, protection from UV rays, and aerodynamic benefits. Food has come a long way for endurance athletes, with energy bars, drinks, and gels now the norm.

But until recently there’s been at least one area where technology was missing — a means for a team to get water bottles easily and safely from the support cars to the riders.

For the better part of a century, team helpers have had to awkwardly stuff their already tight jerseys with a half dozen or so water bottles, handed out from team cars, then ride back through the pack, delivering each bottle to thirsty teammates — hopefully without dropping a slippery bottle and causing a crash.

Now a company called Sportful has produced the “bottle vest,” which is worn by a designated team rider and loaded with up to seven bottles neatly and securely, as first reported by peloton. Once the vest is filled with bottles by support staff back in the team car, the rider puts it on and pedals back up to his teammates:

The helping rider no longer has to remove his hands from his handlebars to hand out bottles, which means he’s safer to himself and those around him since he’s less likely to lose control of his bike and cause a crash (something that’s happened countless times in the past).

He just lets his teammates grab a bottle while he rides along next to them. Care for a refreshing drink? Why yes — thank you!

The idea apparently came from a pro rider, Michael Rogers, according to his Tinkoff Saxo team. His team’s apparel sponsor, Sportful, produced the vest exclusively for the squad to use in this year’s Tour de France.

“It’s a really nice idea and no one has thought about it before,” said Italian rider Daniele Bennati. “The bottle vest is much faster. When I go to the team car, the sport director or mechanic has prepared it for me, I put it on and off I go. When I reach my teammates, they can just take the bottles straight of my back.”

A lot of technology comes and goes, but this handy bottle vest looks like one that might stick around. It's inexpensive, easy to use, and safe.

DON'T MISS: Meet The 9 Americans In The Tour De France

SEE ALSO: The Most Stunning Pictures From The Tour De France So Far

Join the conversation about this story »

As if we needed it, we have more evidence cellphones have invaded every aspect of modern life, sports being no exception.

Consider a sacred institution now infiltrated: the Tour de France, the greatest of all bicycle races, celebrated the world over for its strong traditions and panache.

Yes, a rider has been caught using his phone during the race— apparently at nearly 40 miles an hour.

On the Tour's eighth stage, Italy's Luca Paolini of the Katusha team was caught red-handed by sports photographer Graham Watson, who tweeted the photo and called out the rider:

This wouldn't be Luca Paolini texting from his iPhone in today's stage, would it - at about 60-kph..! http://t.co/Spbcz5ZniL

— Graham Watson (@grahamwatson10) July 12, 2014

The race organizers caught wind of this and published a note reminding everyone that the use of cellphones during the race by riders was not allowed according to the sport's governing body, the International Cycling Union:

"RAPPEL A TOUTES LES EQUIPES: L'utilisation du téléphone cellulaire en course par les coureurs n'est pas autorisée en référence de l'article 9 de l'épreuve et de l'article 2.2.024 du règlement de l'U.C.I."

Paolini, a very charismatic rider and heavy Twitter user with a penchant for emoticons, admitted what he'd done and claimed he merely forgot his phone was in his jersey pocket and was simply turning it off: He apologized to the organizers for breaking the rules and thanked them for letting him off with only a warning:

Thankfully his actions didn't cause an accident. The Tour is already wild enough with crashes happening nearly every day — not to mention those dangerous Tour de France selfies.

It didn't take long for folks on Twitter to make fun of Paolini's bungle: 

What Paolini was really doing with his phone yesterday. #TDFpic.twitter.com/mU0sfutKIS

— Alex Oates (@Velocentric) July 13, 2014

Paolini is actually really popular among cycling fans, and he's celebrated for his intense passion for racing, so this little fiasco should blow over quickly.

We can just add it to his colorful career highlight reel, which includes the throwing of a $10,000 bike.

SEE ALSO: Simple Invention Solves Old Problem For Tour De France Teams

SEE ALSO: Why Cyclists Shave Their Legs

Join the conversation about this story »

Walking or biking to work may be good for your health, but it's pretty rare in the United States. Only about 3.4% of people get to work on foot or on a bike, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

That number varies a lot from place to place. The District of Columbia — an urban area that can't really be compared to states — had the highest percentage: 14.8% of D.C. residents walk or bike to work.

The state with the largest percentage of walking/biking commuters (8.9%) was Alaska. The state with the smallest percentage was Alabama, where just 1.4% of residents walk or bike to work.

Here's a full picture of the country — darker green means more walkers/bikers. Just hover over a state to see its percentage.

As for Alaska's surprising number one spot, Jeffrey Miller, the president of the Alliance for Biking and Walking offered a guess in an interview with GOOD magazine: the price of gasoline in our frigid state.

Indeed, gas prices in Alaska are some of the highest in the nation. While there are undoubtedly many factors that affect people's commute, perhaps costly gasoline is reason enough to motivate people to drive less and walk and bike more.

SEE ALSO: Here's How Americans' Fast Food And Exercise Habits Vary Around The Country

Join the conversation about this story »

Wednesday's stage 11 of the Tour de France will go down as one of the most unforgettable in American cycling. But not because a U.S. rider won.

Quite the opposite: One almost quit.

One of the best hopes at this year's Tour de France for the U.S. was 25-year-old Andrew Talansky of Miami, Florida, who finished 10th in last year's race and looked to have a decent shot at finishing in the top five this year. But crashes have left Talansky with an injured back, and he was nearly forced to quit during Wednesday's hilly stage before making a courageous run to avoid being eliminated.

The worst came over the weekend when Talansky hit the deck in back-to-back stages. By the end of Monday's stage 10, Talansky was over 14 minutes behind the yellow jersey.

The crashes really caught up to Talansky on stage 11. After falling behind the leaders by more than nine minutes, Talansky had to stop — he was clutching his lower back, clearly in a great deal of pain.

The Miami native sat down on the side of the road for more than four minutes and talked over the situation with team Garmin-Sharp director Robbie Hunter. At one point, it appeared Talansky was fighting back tears as speculation grew he would withdraw from the race.

Even the official Tour de France Twitter account, among others, jumped the gun and said he had abandoned the race:

.@andrewtalansky abandonne / @andrewtalansky quits #TDFpic.twitter.com/kFZGtbjfV6

— Le Tour de France (@letour) July 16, 2014

But this Pit Bull doesn't heel so easily. 

Pit Bull got up on his bike and decided he would finish the stage.

Here's the exact moment @andrewtalansky did not abandon the Tour de France. #TdF#PitBullhttp://t.co/l6RskEQ1ar

— peloton magazine (@pelotonmagazine) July 16, 2014

Talansky spent time in conversation with his team car.

Announcers speculated they may have been trying to calm him down and try not to do too much.

Meanwhile, not only was Talansky battling an injured back, he was also fighting the clock as he needed to finish with 37 minutes of the stage winner to remain in the Tour.

A little more than three hours into stage 11, Talansky was 24 minutes behind the leaders. He had to maintain his pace all by himself as the last very rider on the road.

Talansky was still nearly 15 minutes from the finish line. The other riders were already taking to the podium.

About 105 minutes after sitting on the side of the road, and 32 minutes after the first riders finished the stage, Talansky crossed the finish line to thunderous cheers of the many fans who stuck around to see the last rider cross.

Here he is finishing Wednesday's stage solo — just in front of the "broom wagon," a van that drives ominously behind the end of the race to sweep up struggling riders who can no longer carry on: 

Talansky 1, broom wagon 0. #TdFhttp://t.co/vQh2AAE6BH

— peloton magazine (@pelotonmagazine) July 16, 2014

Business Insider spoke with Elizabeth Talansky, Andrew's cousin, after the stage.

"As I was watching today's race I kept on thinking what a brave man he is," she told Business Insider. "I know how important the race and cycling is to him. He has been injured but continues to push through. He is not a quitter. That's what makes him a Pit Bull.

SEE ALSO: A Cyclist In The Tour De France Was Busted For Using His Cellphone At Nearly 40 MPH

SEE ALSO: This Incredibly Simple Invention Solves An Old Problem For Tour De France Teams

Join the conversation about this story »

The Tour de France can be unforgiving and crushingly heartbreaking. On Sunday's stage 15, Jack Bauer experienced this firsthand.

Bauer is from New Zealand, and he was trying to become the first Kiwi ever to win a stage in the world's largest annual sporting event. He had a dream. He wanted to win. And he went for it. The 29-year-old, who rides for the American Garmin-Sharp team, picked what looked to be a good stage for him to go for a victory.

He broke away with Martin Elmiger, a Swiss rider, at the very start of the stage — which was 222 kilometers, or 138 miles, long. And for a good part of the day they benefited from a strong tailwind, which gave them an advantage over the chasing peloton.

They flew along at an average speed of nearly 28 mph for the five hours. Bauer took risks, like when he went into this extreme aerodynamic tuck in hopes of gaining precious seconds:

And the duo rode well together. At one point their lead over the peloton reached nearly nine minutes. Things were looking pretty good.

They rode through a storm that moved over the race. There were reports of hail, thunder, and lightning, and yet the two just kept working, knowing full well that the peloton would eventually begin chasing in earnest.

Breakaways rarely succeed at the Tour, so as the kilometers ticked away, people were starting to wonder: Could these guys actually make it to the finish?

After five hours of all-out racing, the riders entered the finish town of Nîmes. They were flying along the finishing stretch with the hungry pack behind. They knew they were in the crosshairs.

That's when Bauer made his move on Elmiger:

At 400 meters to go — with the peloton surging behind — Bauer sprinted, leaving an exhausted Elmiger in his wake. Bauer gave it absolutely everything.

But it wasn't enough. After racing his heart out all day, Bauer was caught in the final 25 meters, passed by the big, burly sprinters, with Norway's Alexander Kristoff robbing the Kiwi of glory.

It's not the first time the Tour was brutally unforgiving of its riders, or Bauer, and it won't be the last. In last year's Tour, Bauer crashed hard and had to quit the race:

Alas, this year again, the Tour was not kind to him.

"It's just bitter, bitter disappointment,"Bauer told the AFP. "It's a childhood dream to win a stage of the Tour and for a domestique, like myself, I'm normally working for others. This was my first chance to be up the road and with the chance in the wind and the weather, me and Martin realised we had a chance for the win ... 

"I faked to be tired but felt I had more punch left. I left it until 400 metres to go," he said. "I thought I had it but then I realised in the last 50 metres that I had nothing."

"It was so close but so far," Bauer said.

He collapsed on the ground, becoming very emotional as his teammates tried to console him.

To add insult to injury, Bauer didn't even get the prize for being the day's "Most Combative" rider. That honor went to Elmiger, who initiated the breakaway.

And, as they say, that's bike racing. Cruel as it may be.

Watch the video recap from NBC Sports below:

SEE ALSO: Everyone Thought An American Nicknamed Pit Bull Was Quitting The Tour De France But He Courageously Fought On

SEE ALSO: A Cyclist In The Tour De France Was Busted For Using His Cellphone At Nearly 40 MPH

Join the conversation about this story »

First it was the clueless selfie-takers nearly crashing Tour de France riders out of the race's first week; now it's cellphone users almost taking down the race leader with only a few days to go in the Tour.

The latest incident took place Thursday on stage 18, the last mountain stage of the Tour, which concludes on Sunday in Paris. A spectator was hanging out on the last big climb of the entire three-week race, at Hautacam. She was apparently chatting on her phone with her back to the race and to the yellow jersey, Vincenzo Nibali of Italy.

Nibali was cruising up the climb, having broken away from his rivals. As he neared the top of Hautacam and toward his fourth stage victory, he was making his way around a turn and — smack!— he hits a spectator standing too far out in the road. Nibali makes a last-moment move to his right to avoid hitting her directly — and possibly going down and out of the race. He flicks his arm out to protect himself. The spectator's phone goes flying. Social media goes nuts. Fortunately, no one was injured. 

A cop following Nibali even taps the woman's shoulder after the hit.

Barring disaster — you know, crashes and clueless spectators — Nibali is set to win his first Tour de France on Sunday. There are just a few stages left, but the big mountains are done and dusted. The Italian has a lead of over 7 minutes on his nearest rival and has effectively been untouchable all race long.

Nibali managed to go on and win the stage without incident:

Earlier in the Tour, a rider was busted for using his cellphone during the race. He didn't hit anyone and was let off with a warning.

This wouldn't be Luca Paolini texting from his iPhone in today's stage, would it - at about 60-kph..! http://t.co/Spbcz5ZniL

— Graham Watson (@grahamwatson10) July 12, 2014

DON'T MISS: Newest Danger To Tour De France Cyclists: People Taking Selfies

SEE ALSO: Cyclist In Tour De France Was Busted For Using Cellphone At Nearly 40 MPH

Join the conversation about this story »