FRS Healthy Energy has recently launched a new ad campaign. As you can see, they’re offering a coupon code FRS10POFF, which gets you 10% off your order from the FRS store.

But that’s for the general public. If you are a reader of CoachLevi.com, you get 15% off! Since I’m such a big fan of the drink they decided to create a custom coupon code for me that I can share!

Just use coupon code COACHLEVI in your shopping cart and you will get 15% off your order.

Don’t wait too long though – the code is only valid till March 31, 2009.

Go here to start shopping: www.FRS.com

(Read my review of the FRS.com online store for more details on their store.)

I like myths and wives tales…

A long time ago a friend and I used to compete at everything. On one occasion we decided to see who had the strongest thumb by holding our thumbs on a track pump to see who could hold the highest pressure. My sister (who was training to be a nurse at the time) had a go at us and told us that it was dangerous and we could force an air bubble into out blood stream! It this true? Could holding the end of a pump force an air bubble into you bloodstream?

Thank you, Nate Dawg

Hi Nate,

Getting an air bubble in your bloodstream is a serious issue due to the potentially fatal nature of it (in worst case scenarios,) but it would take more than holding the end of a track pump.

If you’re talking about a regular pump for bicycle tires, I can’t imagine that creating enough force to harm you. It seems like it would actually be more dangerous to hold your finger over an open tire valve, since that would give you a shot of air at 120psi or so. With the hand pump, it would just provide incrementally more pressure with each stroke.

The danger comes when you’re working with compressed air that’s powerful enough to run nail guns and other pneumatic equipment. With that amount of air pressure in one shot, it’s possible the air could pierce your skin and rip open an artery, and add a few air bubbles in there for good measure.

You’d have to think of it like spraying yourself with a sand blaster, but with air particles instead.

Most of the info I found about this topic in a Google search was simple hearsay and urban legend. Here’s the only reputable site I found that isn’t using the “OMG don’t use an air pump or you’ll probably die” tone:

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/compressed_air.html

So… Possible? Yes. Likely? No.

Do you like hiking, cycling, or snowboarding? Do you like to get good deals?

Then say hello to the new Woots on the block: Steep and Cheap, Chain Love, Whiskey Militia, Tram Dock, and BonkTown.

All these sites have the limited-time closeout deals ala Woot.com, but they fulfill your road cycling, mountain biking, freeriding, hiking, snowboarding, and camping needs.

They seem to apply the same “Product narratives are for entertainment purposes” editorial strategy as Woot, too, so you might get a good laugh. (Although if you are looking for nothing more than comedic writing, stick with Woot.)

But if you want outdoor gear on the cheap, here are the sites:

Steep and Cheap

SteapAndCheap.com brings you hiking and outdoor gear.

Typical items include backpacks, jackets, sleeping bags, sunglasses, sandals, etc.

Chain Love

ChainLove.com brings you road cycling and mountain biking parts and accessories.

There is quite a bit of freeride stuff like gloves, full-face helmets, pants, and jerseys. A lot of woman’s shorts and jerseys are there, too. Sometimes there are parts like Shimano cranksets, stems, handlebars, and even a frame or wheelset on occasion.

Whiskey Militia

WhiskeyMilitia.com has cool gear for skaters, snowboarders, and BMX riders.

Typical items include hoodies, longboards, snowboard pants, etc.

Tram Dock

Last but not least, TramDock.com brings you ski gear.

Typical items include ski pants, winter coats, ski socks, ski boots, helmets, etc.

Bonk Town

New for roadies! BonkTown.com (launched about 1/19/09) is for road bike accessories.

Note: These sites are brought to you by online retailer BackCountry.com. It’s a good way for them to sell off overstocked gear, and it’s a good place for us to get good deals!

To stay abreast of all the new deals, each site offers RSS feeds and deals widgets that automatically update with the latest items. (I recommend the Firefox plugin.)

August is here and that means back to school for all collegiate racers. Still need the perfect poster for your dorm room?

I have found it! While most dorm room walls are plastered with posters of sexy women, fast cars, and the occasional professional cyclist, there aren’t many posters with nude cyclists…

But art.com comes to the rescue with this poster for the 2nd Annual New York City Charity Nude Bicycle Race from 1997.

While there is nudity, it’s kind of classy, making it a tasteful poster suitable for most audiences. The 11″ x 17″ size is a little small, but it would be a poster for a dorm room or home bike shop.

You can check out the full-size version and the details at Art.com.

The real question is, why do they only have a poster for the 1997 race? Will there be a poster for the 2008 race, which would (theoretically) be today?

I take great pride in providing quality, useful information here on CoachLevi.com, so I was very pleased to find that I am now featured on AllTop.com, a news website covering “all the top stories.”

AllTop.com is organized by topic, and under each topic you will find a list of the top news stories from around the web. For July, they added a Cycling page, which is where you will find headlines syndicated from CoachLevi.com.

With July being the month of the Tour de France, it’s perfect timing on AllTop’s part. If you want to check it all out, head to cycling.alltop.com, browse the headlines, and maybe even set it as your home page. Then you can check the latest cycling headlines easily.

(By the way, AllTop.com was founded by business legend Guy Kawasaki, so it really is an honor to be included in one of his projects.)