As beautiful spring days begin to appear in the weather forecast, many of us are resurrecting our bikes from the garage and the trainer to hit the road. That first sunny, warm day of the year spent cycling is a feeling that's tough to match. We all know that investing in a bike of quality and following a proper maintenance schedule will only make rides more enjoyable. Proper fit to your bike is also an extremely important aspect of your cycling fitness, which is why we're introducing the Retul system at J&A.

For a glimpse at what's in store when the weather is warm and sunny all the time, check out the many wonderful kickoff events held throughout Central Texas this month. You'll meet fellow triathletes, have a chance to win prizes, pick up cool swag and eat great food. Plus, you'll learn more about awesome races later this spring like The Rookie Tri and the Skeese Greets Women's Tri. When you're on the road getting in shape for all these awesome events, learn what you should carry in your saddle bag in the mechanic's corner.

Welcome to kickoff season! This is the time of year when organizations from Austin and throughout Texas host awesome events to spread the word about their events, meet people and just have a good time.

You can find J&A at the Pure Austin Fitness Expo, a great way for you to learn all about exciting and fun ways to stay healthy and fit. If you want to support The Breast Cancer Fund, Lunafest is coming up at La Zona Rosa. Please be Kind to Cyclists, a local organization dedicated to increasing harmony between cyclists and drivers, is hosting their annual ride. Finally, The Champions Tri Weekend will close out the month at Lake Pflugerville for a fun, fast event for all triathletes.

Even though it's early in the season, there is an event for any type of athlete, from beginners to professionals. If you're still looking for the perfect way to jump into your season, stop by the shop and ask us or check out our events page.

The Rookie Tri is a short early season event that is perfect for a beginner to test the waters or an intermediate to advanced triathlete to get warmed up for the season to come. Last year, pros Brandon and Amy Marsh won their respective divisions and tons of fun was had by all. The Texas Ski Ranch is a great location that is safe, and participant and spectator friendly. Come join us for an outstanding event and then relax on the beach with food and music.

Ladies, if you're interested in a women's-only competition, the Skeese Greets Tri is just for you. Also held at the Texas Ski Ranch, this event offers beginners a warm, friendly environment to compete in their first race. It's also a week after The Rookie Tri, for those of you who would like to compete in an early season race, but need that extra week of training.

Both events count as credit towards your standings in the Texas Tri Series. Be sure you sign up soon, since entries for these outstanding events sell out quickly!

At J&A, we're constantly striving to help cyclists and triathletes be safe and comfortable on their bikes. Our desire to help you find the bike that's right for you is just the first step. Your "fit" on your bike may change as time goes on. For instance, many athletes new to the sport will increase strength and flexibility, calling for tweaks to capitalize on that new efficiency. Others may be recovering from an injury and require adjustments according to their personal recovery plan. No matter what your needs are, keeping a close eye on your fit is always a benefit to your cycling.

The Retul system uses motion capture technology to take a three-dimensional picture of your movement on your bike (think: fight scenes in "The Matrix"). This allows our bike fit specialists to interpret extremely accurate data in order to make valuable assessments and adjustments to your bike.

Call or email the staff at J&A to learn more about Retul or make an appointment.

Why is fit or the incorporation of fitting systems so important? First the most critical aspect is to recognize that most people are taking part in the sport of cycling for the enjoyment, to gain fitness and live healthier lives. Taking this into account, like any occasion, cycling has certain comforts and discomforts and time participating in the activity of cycling can cause a great deal of repetitive movement. Consider that for the average age group rider a steady pedal cadence might be between 80-90 rotations per minute for 60 minutes. That is 4800-5400 revolutions of the crank arms in 1 hour time, for one leg alone and twice those numbers if you consider both legs. If you are performing this activity in a poorly positioned situation, there is obvious cause for potential injury or discomfort.

Secondly, bicycle positioning is largely individual outside the basic biomechanical guidelines of safety. Therefore it is important for injury prevention, comfort, and optimal performance. In the bicycle industry we look for fitting systems to better establish locations of current and new positions, to better aid riders to improving their existing positions or modifying them toward any physical changes: improved flexibility might result in more aggressive positions with less wind resistance. Less flexibility might result in lower seat heights, and less aggressive positioning to optimize limited ranges of motion. All together the goal of any system is to better establish the location of a rider, apply the appropriate course of action for adjustment, and to communicate that optimization more clearly to the customer. Assuming the process is correct, this usually results in maximized performance of pedal efficiency, muscle recruitment, and ultimately power. Remember, as a rider your position will and should change as you do, whether for the worse or better.

That is why we at J&A are very excited ReTul is here. We can incorporate Retul fits to our already successful fitting procedures. Simply put, Retul is a tool designed to aid a bike fitter to more effectively see and measure positioning in a 3 dimensional form.

Click here to read more about proper fit and ReTul.

"What should I put in my saddle bag?" is a question the mechanics here at J&A get all the time. We recommend the basics to fix/repair a flat which include tire levers, a correct size tube, patch kit, and something to inflate the tube with whether it be a CO2 cartridge or a hand pump. A lot of manufacturers like Genuine Innovations & Crank Brothers make a CO2 inflater that can also be used as a hand pump (stop by the shop to see the options we carry).

The reason we suggest both a new tube and a patch kit is so that if you get more than one flat on a ride you can still repair it and get home. If your wheels have deeper sectioned rims then make sure the valve stem on the tube is long enough to air it up. Most wheels will use either a 32mm to 48mm valve, slightly deeper aluminum rims will use a 60mm valve, and many carbon rims will use an 80mm valve.

Other items that you may want to keep in your bag may include a multi-tool (i.e allen wrenches, chain tools, and spoke wrenches). You may also want to include a dollar bill. Interestingly, it is the best patch for a tire that is badly cut. If you do not have any bills, then a gel pack or energy bar wrapper will also work. Learn how to patch with these items HERE.