Summer Cycling Workouts - Pain & Gain

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As summer weather finally starts rolling in, the time for making eliminating excuses as to why you cannot get out on your bike has arrived. Even if cycling isn't your primary means of exercise or if your schedule is such that time is limited, there are some exercise routines that you can do that will get your heart pumping and legs burning.

To Strava or Not To Strava

Lately, I've started to see more controversy about the value of Strava, which I thought was interesting. For example, today alone I received two emails discussing the good and bad about Strava.

The good? Well, Strava is like a cyclist's social network. We connect with our cycling buddies, whether across town or across the pond. It gives us the opportunity to show what we are up to and, perhaps, brag about a new PR or KOM. It provides cycling visitors the opportunity to look for cycling routes in areas where they are visiting

To Go Our or Not to Go Out. That is the question!

It is February. We are gearing up for the race season, focusing on an upcoming century ride or tour, then BAM! I you live in the northeast, you wake up to a foot or more of snow. For those of us on the west coast, it is our rainy season and cold (ok, it is warm if you live in the northeast). Regardless, cold, inclement weather forces us to think about whether to venture outdoors or spend some time on the trainer.

One of my wife's favorite stories about me when I was on the National Team is when I tried to go out on my "beater" bike in a snow storm. I got about a mile down the road and, after falling multiple times, turned around. She said I was too stubborn to train indoors. Maybe so, but truth be told I really didn't like riding indoors.

Thinking of 2013 - What Are Your Goals?

As we get ready to put 2012 into the rear-view mirror, it's time to take a few minutes to review the goals you set at the beginning of the year. Did you achieve them? If not, do you know why and, more importantly, did you learn anything that will help you in 2013?

As you start making your 2013 goals, one of the keys to your success will be to establish short and long-term goals and write them down. If need be, chunk them down into weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly goals.

Winter Training and a Holiday Gift

Once again we are heading into the off-season with reduced daylight hours, weather changes, holidays, etc. On top of that, many of us work a 9-5 day making it difficult to get outdoors, regardless of whether you are in sunny Southern California or snowy New England. The challenge, now even as it was in the late 80's when I was on the National Team, was to to maintain fitness and prevent typical winter weight gain throughout the off-season when daylight hours are at a premium.

The Winter Months and Off-Season Training

It's that time of the year when colder weather (cold being relative to where you live!) and the time change makes it far less desirable to ride outdoors. And, with the holidays around the corner, our attentions begin to turn towards time with family and less about time with the bike.

However, weather, time and the holidays do not need to be inhibitors to staying on the bike. When I lived in the Northeast, the thought of riding indoors was painful. I hated it. What could be more boring than spending 45 minutes to an hour sweating and going nowhere?

Interbike - So Much to See

I returned last night from two tiring but fun days at Interbike Expo. This was my first time going but my initial impression was "Wow, this is huge." To give you an idea, there are over 1200 exhibitors at Interbike, representation from over 4000 retail stores and over 20,000 attendees. Absolutely massive.

3 Ways to Improve Your Cycling While Away From the Bike

Obviously, the best way to get better on the bike is to ride your bike under a training plan. However, the reality is that many of us spend more time in an airplane seat than on the bike seat. So, when you are on the road, what sort of exercise can you do that will also benefit you when you actually get on the road?

Here are three ways, even on a limited time schedule, to improve your cycling while traveling. A good workout session of 30 to 40 minutes, either in the weight room or your hotel room is a good start.

• Strength training - It is important during the season that you pay attention to overall muscle maintenance. Two sets of 10 to 15 reps will make a difference for you.
• Lower body lunges (and if you want to ratchet it up a little make these what I knew in high school were called mountain climbers).
• Push ups
• Chairs - I cannot think of what this exercise is called. What you do is place your back flat against a wall and then begin bending your knees until your knees are bent 90 degrees (like a chair). Keep you back flat against the wall and do this until fatigue. Take a three to five minute break and repeat. I would recommend doing no more than three or four of these since your quads will feel it in the morning!
• One or two core exercises - Your core muscles provide the key link between your upper and lower body. Your core muscles also provide a solid base of support to ensure an efficient delivery of power to the pedals. Two exercises that I recommend are planks and crunches. Focus on control and form.
• Flexibility - The muscles that cyclists typically need to stretch out are hamstrings, the lower back, calves, achilles, quadriceps, glutes, hip flexors, shoulders and neck.

In doing these exercises, you will find yourself riding stronger and reduce training-related injuries. Let me know if you have questions. Comments, thoughts, feedback is always welcome!

Also, I will be at Interbike next week. It is the largest cycling-industry event in North America. If you are going to be there, let me know. I'd love to meet up with you!

- Mark

Positioning

Last Saturday morning, as the group I was riding with was heading uphill, I came up behind a rider on his time trial bike. This isn't unusual in Southern California as there are a number of triathletes and cyclists who ride these aero steeds. I caught a quick glance as I passed him, made a mental note about his poor position and moved on. The note didn't come to mind again until today when I watched Cadel Evans in the final time trial stage of the 2012 Tirreno Adriatico stage race in Italy.
Now, Cadel is an awesome rider but what I saw today was surprising. Here is a seasoned professional who pays close attention to detail with what appeared to be poor positioning on his time trail bike. If you look at the photo, you will see that he is sitting more upright and his front area is wide open and creating a lot of wind resistance. When these aero bars were introduced in 1988 by Scott, they were designed to mirror the position of a downhill skier, arms out front with a narrow frontal area for aerodynamic purpose.
Which brings me back to Saturday's ride. Because many riders have a road bike and an aero bike, they will often set both bikes up with the same position. However, in doing so, your aero position becomes extremely inefficient. It was clear that this rider had tried to set up his position to match his road bike position, something that I was able to see easily when riding from behind.
My message - there is no one size fits all. In business, we cannot expect that a sales strategy that has led to a successful sale is going to work time and again. What worked last year that led to record revenues may not work this year due to economic changes, customer buying cycles, etc.
If you want to be the most efficient, it is important to have the proper situation or setup. Whether it is in business, sport or life, we need to be adaptable yet attentive to making minor changes that will lead to our success.

Word of the day - Crap!!

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This wasn't exactly what I wanted to write about for my first blog post. But, sometimes you have to take what you are given and go with it. I'll have to save the topic of my first post for another day.

Since it was a sunny but cool day (by Southern California standards) I decided to ride up to the Top of the World in Laguna Beach. The climb itself from the Pacific Coast Highway is just over one mile long but oh what a mile! The hill has an average grade in excess of 10% with the last part of the climb jumping to over 20%! This is a ride I've done numerous times so I knew what to expect. What I didn't expect was the unexpected.

As I turned onto Thalia Street to start the climb, I got out of the saddle and stepped on the pedals. Suddenly, I heard a snap and the sound of my chain hitting the spokes of my real wheel. My first thought was "What the h***??" followed by CRAP!

After frantically popping my feet out of my pedals before I fell over, I looked down to see my chain wrapped around the front chainrings. My first thought was a broken chain, something that is not unheard of.

Upon further inspection, what I saw was that the metal arm on rear derailleur had literally snapped in half with the only thing keeping it together being the internal spring. My day was done before it had hardly begun! Who would've thought that a Shimano derailleur would snap off? Not me but it did. I even took pictures to prove it!

What is the lesson you ask? Preventative maintenance checks cannot be overlooked. For the past week, I had noticed a clicking noise that I attributed to a worn chain being used on a new cassette. During each ride I would remind myself to check it out only to leave it for another day.

Could I have predicted this? Probably not but had I taken a closer look, I might have realized that in fact the chain was ok so perhaps there was a derailleur problem. Here is my advice:

• Listen for any unusual noises coming from your bike. If properly maintained, the only noise you should be hearing, other than the wind past your ears, is the occasional light noise from hub when you are free wheeling.
• After each ride, take a couple of minutes to look your bike over. If you did hear some odd noises, try to isolate the area from where you think it is originating.
• When all else fails, take your bike to a qualified mechanic and explain to them what you are hearing. Your safety isn't worth not doing it.

Happy cycling!