Taylor Phinney has a lot going on these days. Earlier this year, the 17-year-old clinched a spot on the U.S. Olympic track cycling team roster with strong finishes in the World Cup Series, capped off with a champion title in the 4,000-meter individual pursuit in Los Angeles.

Polar Electro, the company known for heart rate monitors, has launched a Web site that will enable sports fans to track performance and position data from various pro teams during each tour stage.

USA Cycling announced today 21 of its 24 nominees to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, including all 16 men’s athletes across the disciplines of road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking and bicycle motocross (BMX).  Additionally, USA Cycling formally announced five automatic women’s nominees across the four Olympic disciplines of cycling.  

As triathlons explode in popularity and the recent Ironman USA in Lake Placid, N.Y., sold out in under an hour, the new Westchester Toughman Half Ironman in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., will satisfy the niche for the ultimate challenge.  The event, scheduled Sept. 21, 2008, is the first half-Ironman in Westchester County and the only half-Ironman open to registration within a four-hour radius.

Tim Blumenthal is the current executive director of Bikes Belong and the former executive director of the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA). He has been a cycling announcer at the Olympics since 1984. We caught up with him before he headed to China for his seventh summer Olympics. 

Dear Fitness Expert,

I love to run but I suffer from shin splints. Is there anything I can do (stretches or strength work?)—and please don't say stop running.

As I write this letter there is a scalding heat wave causing record highs in the Northeast. 

June 21. This is the summer I finally whip my body into optimal shape. My goal is to average running 40 miles per week and then celebrate my summer of discipline by entering either the Adirondack Marathon or the Boulder Backroads Marathon on September 21. I would start running today but I don’t want to miss this afternoon’s Rachel Ray Show. Rach is hatching up a special summer recipe for Sloppy Joes.

Erik Schlimmer tells the story of how he learned to fastpack the Adirondacks, a grueling 110 miles and 19,000 vertical feet of climbing, in five days with only 11 pounds on his back.

A day of paddling is all it takes sometimes to be humbled by the environment we often take for granted. Paddling, a general term used for canoeing, kayaking, or rafting, is often defined by the type of water the sport is done on. You often hear of sea vs. white water kayaking, or flat vs. river canoeing.