Why would I get a coach? I hear that question a lot, and it seems perfectly reasonable. After all, plenty of people are able to train and get fast without the aid of someone else. It doesn’t take a PhD is sports science (or PhD in philosophy who probably should have gotten a PhD in sports science) to know that by riding your bike more frequently than you currently do will make you both leaner and faster. And, generally speaking, the harder you ride, the faster these training adaptations occur and with greater vigor. Plus, coaching can be expensive. $89/month for the performance package might seem like a lot. You’re not a pro athlete. Cycling or triathlons are your hobby.
I can sympathize, and to a point, I agree. A coach is not for everyone. Just as when we all managed to drive from point A to point B before GPS on our 4G phones, your pedals will continue to turn over even if you don’t hire a coach. But, as with your navigating, they will do so slower, with more effort, and with lesser efficiency. Here are a few reasons why to get coaches and a few rejoinders to some possible objections. (Sounds like an academic paper, I know; see, now I use that philosophy degree: blogging from home, alone, in the dark ... )
First, there is the cost. That’s what I hear the most, that the cost is prohibitive. I don’t want to judge anyone here, and certainly I have my moments of highly confused priorities with regards to my spending money (why I balk at spending the extra $2 for a pound the fair trade, shade-grown, organic coffee at the grocery store once a month, but then pay $2 for a single cup at Dunkin’ is a psychological mystery). But let’s put the cost in perspective. A coaching package is the same price as a $3 latte. It’s what we pay for cable TV. It’s the difference between taking the subway to work versus commuting by subway. It’s way less than driving.
OK—so there are numerous things to compare it to, of greater and lesser importance. Obviously getting to work somehow takes precedence over monthly workouts. Maybe the routine trip to the corner store to get your coffee each day is comforting in its routine. Maybe you really can’t wait until tomorrow to watch your favorite cable shows online. It’s all about prioritizing. But before dismissing coaching out of hand due to the cost, think about how you feel when you achieve your goals. After all, that’s the coach’s primary objective, whether your goals are to win races and turn pro, or simply finish a long ride or a sprint triathlon. Would you trade a latte a day or your cable subscription for that feeling of improvement and accomplishment? I suppose that’s up to you to decide.
Secondly, there’s the question of how much a coach can really offer. This is the response usually heard from people who are already generally very fit. They’ve come so far already completely on their own. How much further can a coach really take them?
I would say the sky’s the limit, if by sky I meant your genetic makeup. That really is the limiting factor. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,” the bard wrote. I would say those number quite few. Nevertheless, the only way to know if one has reached their maximum potential is to do whatever it is their doing with maximum effort and efficiency. Even a generally fit person can probably go much, much faster with the proper training plan. I liken cycling to tennis. I was my high school team’s #1 player for 3 years, and qualified for the state tournament. There, I was competitive, but was truly outclassed by the 3rd round. The guy that crushed me was crushed in his next round. That guy made it to the quarters before getting shellacked by the eventual 5th-place guy. The guy that won played on the challenger circuit, where you have to win whole tournaments against guys at similar levels to get into a lottery where you may or may not get picked for a low seating at a tournament that you might see on T.V. Unlike in March Madness, the bottom seeds at Wimbledon don’t advance to the finals to play the best in the world.
My point is that no matter how good we think we are—no matter how fit we get—there are so many levels of fitness above us. Wouldn’t it be nice to see whether, with the proper training (given all limiting factors, viz., job, work, family, time to train, and of course, genetics) we see just what level we get to? I bet the guy who lost to the guy who lost to the guy would love to someday be the guy who beats the guy who lost to the guy who lost to the guy. That guy might be you, but it’ll take a coach to find out.
Now, as for specific benefits of having a coach, I can think of a few. First off, the consultation is invaluable. Discussing a training plan with someone whose job it is to create a training plans leads to a highly structured, focused, and intelligent season outline. And as the exigencies of life crop up, you need a coach who is amenable to accommodating those changes. Breakaway coaches certainly are flexible. And once you start doing the specific workouts designed just for you, you’ll come up with questions you’d never have come up with on your own. And the answers will be just a conversation away. Coaches are also there to tell you when to take a rest. The principles of training have always come down to inducing stress, then recovering. A surprisingly large number of people focus way too much on the stress and not the recovery. (We call that “triathlete syndrome.”) It’s a tough thing to figure out, and most likely something for which one needs a coach’s trained help.
Helping you to set appropriate goals is another benefit of coaching that comes to mind. True story: the same well-meaning kid has come into the shop once a summer wanting a free bike because he is, he says, going to turn pro. He has never raced, but, he says, he does a local 40-mile ride with some older guys and everyone on it says he’s really fast and should go pro. Ridiculous as this sounds, it’s really an extreme case of a characteristic of most of us: we don’t know what level we’ve reached, nor do we know what level we can reach, without someone giving us a clue.
Furthermore, having a coach provides some accountability. How often have you planned to go on a ride, only to see that it was a bit too cold, or there was a chance of rain, or the game went into extra innings and you’re too tired, or they had 2-for-1 you-call-its at the pub and you’re too “dehydrated” the next day? It’s easy to cheat yourself out of a workout. Just yesterday I started an interval session, got interrupted by a policeman telling me to get off the road, and bagged it, civil rights feeling violated. Justified in quitting? I felt like it at the time. But when I told a fellow coach the story, he asked me why I didn’t just find a new road and continue. I had no answer. No one is there to call you on it but yourself. It’s harder to cheat your coach, someone who will monitor to see whether you did your workout, and call you on it if you’re not doing what you’re supposed to.
I could go on, but I’ve probably maxed out your attention span. If you care to hear more about the benefits of coaching and features of the various coaching packages that we offer, I invite you to continue the conversation in the comments section or email me directly at Charlie@Breakawaybikes.com.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Group Ride Etiquette - By Charlie Zamastil
At last, spring! Er, sort of... It’s finally (going to be) pleasant enough and light enough to ride one’s bike outside without coming out looking like this:
One of the best parts about Philadelphia is that once it warms up, there is no shortage of people to ride with. Slogging away all winter on the trainer can make you strong and fast, but it doesn’t necessarily prepare you for riding outdoors, and especially for riding outdoors with other people. In order to help you prepare for such occasions, I wanted to note a few general guidelines for riding in groups.
I few things ought to go without saying, but I’ll list them just in case.
• Wear a helmet!
• Bring what you need to handle a flat tire
• Bring enough food or cash for a food stop so you don’t become a mooch
• Obey the rules of the road.
These things are relevant for all rides, not just group rides, though.
• Here are some general rules:
• Point out obstacles in the road.
• Announce “[rider, car, dog] up” calmly if there is a potential hazard forthcoming.
• Have your head up so you are aware of what’s going on around you.
• Signal when you are stopping. Avoid yelling “stopping,” unless it is absolutely necessary. (If everyone is riding in a group correctly, this shouldn’t be necessary.)
• When overtaking people, let them know you are going to pass them on the left by saying “on your left.”
Group rides can be great training, as long as everyone is on board with what is happening. However, the harder the group ride is, the smaller the field can be. If you plan on doing intervals or hitting hills, then unless everyone else on the ride is on board, of equal ability, or willing to regroup occasionally, go train alone. Also, before joining the group, make sure you understand the format of the ride. You need to follow the house rules just like a casino, or like the casino, the group will kick you to the curb. (hopefully metaphorically, in both circumstances!)
One primary rule for riding in a group is to be predictable. You can’t control other people, and they can’t control you. Therefore when riding together, there is an implicit bond of trust between the riders. You need to trust that following them is a safe thing to do, and they need to do likewise. (This is why if you ever jump on my wheel when I’m out riding, and I don’t know or trust you, I try to drop you. I’m sorry, but please, at least say something, like a simple “mind if I draft?”) As a great friend and teammate proved, riding can be dangerous anywhere, any time. It’s bad enough out there for us riders in a world of cars. Let’s not make it worse for each other!
Being predictable means no erratic movements. Any change in pace or in one’s line needs to be gradual. Don’t suddenly move to the left or right without checking to see that it is safe to do so. If you’re riding behind somebody, follow the line that they are taking around corners. Don’t suddenly slam your brakes unless absolutely necessary; generally, it’s better to “scrub” speed by coasting or moving slightly out of the draft of someone in front so you allow the wind to slow you down. Also, if you’re on the front, you should be pedaling unless it is a very fast downhill. Remember the people behind you are in your draft, so if you are both coasting, they will be going substantially faster (upwards of 30%). If you are hitting the wind while coasting, you will force those behind you to have to hit their brakes. This can send a ripple effect through the pack and cause accidents.
Most group rides should stick to no more than two across.
Title 75, Secion 3505:
(e) Limitation on riding abreast.—Persons riding pedacycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than 2 abreast, except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of pedacycles.
So, when you are riding in a group, you’ll typically follow one of three forms: a double paceline, a single paceline, or a rotating or “circular” paceline (echelons are just rotating pacelines in crosswinds, usually not suitable for riding on open roads).
By far the most common is a double paceline. This is popular because it permits conversation with the person on one’s side. Riders go side by side, two-by-two, taking turns pulling in front. Each pairing should try to stay maintain an even distance between the two people in front of them. That means everyone’s handlebars should be even with someone’s next to them, and ideally, everyone keeps their handlebars as close together width-wise as is safely possible. If you find yourself pulling ahead or falling behind the person next to you, then those behind you are forced into the same unsafe circumstance. It’s especially important when riding on the front to keep an even speed. If you are for whatever reason (usually macho overcompetitive zeal) constantly pulling ahead of the person next to you when you are on the front, you are committing a serious faux pas known as “half-wheeling.” Chronic half-wheelers often don’t even realize they’re doing this. Politely point out what they’re doing and ask that they chill. One can go ride hard on his or her own.
When in the double paceline, it is polite to share pulls. Some rides expect everyone to pull roughly equally, while other groups are ok with someone or someones doing the lion’s share of the work. As always, defer to the group with this regard. When taking a pull, keep the pace steady. Your effort will naturally increase once you hit the wind, without you needing to surge ahead. When you pull off, flick your elbow and gradually move to your outside (to the right if on the right, to the left if on the left). Stay safe, as you will temporarily be 4 abreast while the rest of the line rotates through. If necessary, the people on the front should pull off one at a time. The people who are now in the wind should pull through riding the same tempo.
A single paceline works the same way, except that the riders are single file. This is the fastest way for small groups (~6-8 or fewer) to travel, and it can be done by experienced riders in a training format, similar to doing a team time trial. A small group can do their own “hammerfest” in this format. The person in front should flick his or her elbow when ready to pull off. Generally, flicking the elbow on one side indicates that one is pulling off to the opposite side, and the person behind should pull through on the side that the leader flicked. Wherever possible, pull off into any cross wind, so you temporarily shield the faster-moving rider from those winds as you drop back.
The last sort of format is the rotating paceline. I have little more to add to what you learn when you watch this video:
When doing a rotating paceline on open roads, you should try to make the inside lane the fast lane, so that you are not at the back pulling left toward traffic that you cannot see coming behind you.
Last, but certainly not least, don’t be a jerk! We cyclists have too much to lose for people to come in and be disrespectful and put us all at risk. If you see something questionable, let them know calmly, and you should respond in kind if the same happens to you. And when in doubt, just ask someone!
One of the best parts about Philadelphia is that once it warms up, there is no shortage of people to ride with. Slogging away all winter on the trainer can make you strong and fast, but it doesn’t necessarily prepare you for riding outdoors, and especially for riding outdoors with other people. In order to help you prepare for such occasions, I wanted to note a few general guidelines for riding in groups.
I few things ought to go without saying, but I’ll list them just in case.
• Wear a helmet!
• Bring what you need to handle a flat tire
• Bring enough food or cash for a food stop so you don’t become a mooch
• Obey the rules of the road.
These things are relevant for all rides, not just group rides, though.
• Here are some general rules:
• Point out obstacles in the road.
• Announce “[rider, car, dog] up” calmly if there is a potential hazard forthcoming.
• Have your head up so you are aware of what’s going on around you.
• Signal when you are stopping. Avoid yelling “stopping,” unless it is absolutely necessary. (If everyone is riding in a group correctly, this shouldn’t be necessary.)
• When overtaking people, let them know you are going to pass them on the left by saying “on your left.”
Group rides can be great training, as long as everyone is on board with what is happening. However, the harder the group ride is, the smaller the field can be. If you plan on doing intervals or hitting hills, then unless everyone else on the ride is on board, of equal ability, or willing to regroup occasionally, go train alone. Also, before joining the group, make sure you understand the format of the ride. You need to follow the house rules just like a casino, or like the casino, the group will kick you to the curb. (hopefully metaphorically, in both circumstances!)
One primary rule for riding in a group is to be predictable. You can’t control other people, and they can’t control you. Therefore when riding together, there is an implicit bond of trust between the riders. You need to trust that following them is a safe thing to do, and they need to do likewise. (This is why if you ever jump on my wheel when I’m out riding, and I don’t know or trust you, I try to drop you. I’m sorry, but please, at least say something, like a simple “mind if I draft?”) As a great friend and teammate proved, riding can be dangerous anywhere, any time. It’s bad enough out there for us riders in a world of cars. Let’s not make it worse for each other!
Being predictable means no erratic movements. Any change in pace or in one’s line needs to be gradual. Don’t suddenly move to the left or right without checking to see that it is safe to do so. If you’re riding behind somebody, follow the line that they are taking around corners. Don’t suddenly slam your brakes unless absolutely necessary; generally, it’s better to “scrub” speed by coasting or moving slightly out of the draft of someone in front so you allow the wind to slow you down. Also, if you’re on the front, you should be pedaling unless it is a very fast downhill. Remember the people behind you are in your draft, so if you are both coasting, they will be going substantially faster (upwards of 30%). If you are hitting the wind while coasting, you will force those behind you to have to hit their brakes. This can send a ripple effect through the pack and cause accidents.
Most group rides should stick to no more than two across.
Title 75, Secion 3505:
(e) Limitation on riding abreast.—Persons riding pedacycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than 2 abreast, except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of pedacycles.
So, when you are riding in a group, you’ll typically follow one of three forms: a double paceline, a single paceline, or a rotating or “circular” paceline (echelons are just rotating pacelines in crosswinds, usually not suitable for riding on open roads).
By far the most common is a double paceline. This is popular because it permits conversation with the person on one’s side. Riders go side by side, two-by-two, taking turns pulling in front. Each pairing should try to stay maintain an even distance between the two people in front of them. That means everyone’s handlebars should be even with someone’s next to them, and ideally, everyone keeps their handlebars as close together width-wise as is safely possible. If you find yourself pulling ahead or falling behind the person next to you, then those behind you are forced into the same unsafe circumstance. It’s especially important when riding on the front to keep an even speed. If you are for whatever reason (usually macho overcompetitive zeal) constantly pulling ahead of the person next to you when you are on the front, you are committing a serious faux pas known as “half-wheeling.” Chronic half-wheelers often don’t even realize they’re doing this. Politely point out what they’re doing and ask that they chill. One can go ride hard on his or her own.
When in the double paceline, it is polite to share pulls. Some rides expect everyone to pull roughly equally, while other groups are ok with someone or someones doing the lion’s share of the work. As always, defer to the group with this regard. When taking a pull, keep the pace steady. Your effort will naturally increase once you hit the wind, without you needing to surge ahead. When you pull off, flick your elbow and gradually move to your outside (to the right if on the right, to the left if on the left). Stay safe, as you will temporarily be 4 abreast while the rest of the line rotates through. If necessary, the people on the front should pull off one at a time. The people who are now in the wind should pull through riding the same tempo.
A single paceline works the same way, except that the riders are single file. This is the fastest way for small groups (~6-8 or fewer) to travel, and it can be done by experienced riders in a training format, similar to doing a team time trial. A small group can do their own “hammerfest” in this format. The person in front should flick his or her elbow when ready to pull off. Generally, flicking the elbow on one side indicates that one is pulling off to the opposite side, and the person behind should pull through on the side that the leader flicked. Wherever possible, pull off into any cross wind, so you temporarily shield the faster-moving rider from those winds as you drop back.
The last sort of format is the rotating paceline. I have little more to add to what you learn when you watch this video:
When doing a rotating paceline on open roads, you should try to make the inside lane the fast lane, so that you are not at the back pulling left toward traffic that you cannot see coming behind you.
Last, but certainly not least, don’t be a jerk! We cyclists have too much to lose for people to come in and be disrespectful and put us all at risk. If you see something questionable, let them know calmly, and you should respond in kind if the same happens to you. And when in doubt, just ask someone!
Monday, March 07, 2011
The Bike as a Fitness Tool - By Sarah
Throughout my life, I've always used a bicycle as a way to get around. When I was eight years old, it saved me a few minutes walking to get to my friend's house down the street. When I was sixteen, it saved me a half hour's walk to get to my boyfriend's house across town. And now, at 21, my bicycle takes me to work, to parties, to get groceries, or to any park bench in the city.
It never really occurred to me until about a year ago that my bike rides were also a great form of exercise. Cycling is probably why I avoided the freshman fifteen, or any extra fifteen pounds for that matter. But I didn't really make this connection until I saw the super-fit athletes that work and shop at Breakaway Bikes.
In other words, I didn't get into cycling because I thought it would help me lose weight. It was a fun and easy form of transportation -- it still is. However, I realize that cycling is also a sport, an extreme sport in some cases. Many customers come into the shop looking for a way to get into shape. Still others come in looking for a way to conquer an Ironman competition. In short, a lot of people see a bike as a fitness tool.
Why had I missed the bicycle-fitness connection? I started to think that maybe cycling fit a certain niche for people -- one that didn't necessarily concern body image or weight loss.
When people use the word athletic, for example, a certain body type comes to mind -- one that's slender, lean, muscular, etc. Could it be that the cycling world is an exception? As Katie Lambden points out in her own blog post, even professional cyclists seem to show a wider range of body types than most other professional sports -- especially female professional cyclists. It might just be that bike riders encompass a peculiar population that go unaffected by the nation's body obsession.
So what came first? Does cycling simply attract those who are more open-minded when it comes to body image and health, or do cycling and its culture actively encourage these ideals?
I want to argue the latter. Riding a bike, while it can be intense, does not have to be a work out all the time. That's why we have beach cruisers and the granny gear. You can take it easy on your bike but still be riding your bike. You don't have to be in shape to enjoy cycling. It's inherently rewarding and thus encourages people to do more. But when you want to work at it, you can. You can really push yourself on a bike, even if it's a hybrid.
Furthermore, I think cycling culture, as diverse as it may be, can foster healthy notions about body image. When you see other people on bikes, of all different shapes and sizes, it takes the emphasis away from the body and places it appropriately on the activity -- riding!
Perhaps, though, that feeling of invincibility is only present on the bike. We can be different people when we're not riding. Once again, we have to confront our bodies: what food we're going to eat, when we're going to eat, what we're going to wear, how much we're going to drink, etc. I'm not completely convinced that our positive body image translates to the non-cycling parts of our lives.
While the approaching warm weather means riding outdoors in the fresh air, it also means a swarm of mixed signals about swimsuit bodies and summer tans. So I’ll leave you with this message: healthy does not always mean skinny, beautiful, strong, etc. Health encompasses both the mental and the physical. Health matters both on and off the bike.
It never really occurred to me until about a year ago that my bike rides were also a great form of exercise. Cycling is probably why I avoided the freshman fifteen, or any extra fifteen pounds for that matter. But I didn't really make this connection until I saw the super-fit athletes that work and shop at Breakaway Bikes.
In other words, I didn't get into cycling because I thought it would help me lose weight. It was a fun and easy form of transportation -- it still is. However, I realize that cycling is also a sport, an extreme sport in some cases. Many customers come into the shop looking for a way to get into shape. Still others come in looking for a way to conquer an Ironman competition. In short, a lot of people see a bike as a fitness tool.
Why had I missed the bicycle-fitness connection? I started to think that maybe cycling fit a certain niche for people -- one that didn't necessarily concern body image or weight loss.
When people use the word athletic, for example, a certain body type comes to mind -- one that's slender, lean, muscular, etc. Could it be that the cycling world is an exception? As Katie Lambden points out in her own blog post, even professional cyclists seem to show a wider range of body types than most other professional sports -- especially female professional cyclists. It might just be that bike riders encompass a peculiar population that go unaffected by the nation's body obsession.
So what came first? Does cycling simply attract those who are more open-minded when it comes to body image and health, or do cycling and its culture actively encourage these ideals?
I want to argue the latter. Riding a bike, while it can be intense, does not have to be a work out all the time. That's why we have beach cruisers and the granny gear. You can take it easy on your bike but still be riding your bike. You don't have to be in shape to enjoy cycling. It's inherently rewarding and thus encourages people to do more. But when you want to work at it, you can. You can really push yourself on a bike, even if it's a hybrid.
Furthermore, I think cycling culture, as diverse as it may be, can foster healthy notions about body image. When you see other people on bikes, of all different shapes and sizes, it takes the emphasis away from the body and places it appropriately on the activity -- riding!
Perhaps, though, that feeling of invincibility is only present on the bike. We can be different people when we're not riding. Once again, we have to confront our bodies: what food we're going to eat, when we're going to eat, what we're going to wear, how much we're going to drink, etc. I'm not completely convinced that our positive body image translates to the non-cycling parts of our lives.
While the approaching warm weather means riding outdoors in the fresh air, it also means a swarm of mixed signals about swimsuit bodies and summer tans. So I’ll leave you with this message: healthy does not always mean skinny, beautiful, strong, etc. Health encompasses both the mental and the physical. Health matters both on and off the bike.
So You Want To Race Your Bike? - By Charlie
So at the behest of a friend, or by the flight of fancy, or out of a desire to see your sense of financial- and self-preservation dissipate as you approach a white line after an excruciatingly painful hour of riding an expensive piece of plastic and metal around in a circle, lungs searing, legs aflame—and for what? $50? Bragging rights? For Hecuba!?—that is to say, for whatever reason, you have decided to race your bicycle on the road.
To you, I say: Welcome to the club. We’re gonna have a lot of fun. And Tim Krabbe’s book, The Rider’s opening lines are going to be so much more pellucid:
“June 26, 1977. Hot and overcast. I take my gear out of the car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of their lives shocks me.”
Here’s the thing though—the racers affiliated with this bicycle shoppe are something of an exception to the rule, put forward by the venerable bikesnob NYC, that road bike racers are “fastidious, snotty, and aloof.” He has a point, though, when he says, “Because road cycling is steeped in tradition (and occasionally garnished with attitude), every single aspect of road cycling – from clothing choice to equipment choice to hand signals to which way to pull off the front of a paceline – is governed by rules.” Additionally, there is a distinct lexicon, familiar only to the initiated. Here, I’d like to let you in on at least a few of the “rules” the regular roadies follow, or at least expect others to follow even as they may only selectively apply to themselves. When reading these, note that neither I nor my employer endorse any of these as imperatives. Consider them encouraging reminders of how to fit in. We simply want you to be aware that the cycling scene is like high school, and roadies are the plastics. Blend in with your surroundings, or be eaten alive.
1. A road racer has shaved legs.
Nothing says “this guy is a noob” like hairy legs. There is much hemming and hawing about whether there are “legitimate” reasons, that is, empirical proof that it is demonstratively deleterious to your performance to not shave them. But really it comes down to tradition.
2. Do not arrive to the race in kit, unless you rode your bike to it.
Obviously there are hygienic considerations here. If you drive up in kit, you have nothing to change into after the race. That means a drive home in a sweaty chamois. If that happens, I promise your partner won’t be doing you any favors that evening, even if you were the day’s big winner. Unless there’s a podium to stand on, chamois time is over 10 minutes after the race. Guys, strip off the jersey immediately upon dismounting and fold your bib straps (not shorts, bibs!) down so everyone can see your tan lines. Change into appropriate casual clothing between two car doors, and don’t forget to bring a towel!
3. Pin your number on properly.
Upside down numbers are a dead giveaway that you don’t know what you’re doing. If you want to be über pro, use 3M spray to adhere your number to your jersey—or, better, skinsuit—in the most aerodynamic way possible
4. Learn who everyone is. But don’t act like you know anyone until the race is over.
Again another characteristic typical of the “noob,” smiling or saying hi before the race indicates that you are not as serious as they. The competition will sense that you perhaps have a social life outside of cycling wherein you learned this peculiar characteristic some call “being personable.” Be prepared to be driven into the barriers in the sprint.
5. Keep your drivetrain away from yourself.
First off, your drive train, along with your bike, should be clean upon arrival to every race. Wash it the night before. Almost all bike chains are grey, not black. They do not squeak. They shift when shifted, in a 1:1 ratio. More importantly, though, is that grease does not adorn any inch of your hands, bibs, jersey, and above all else, your calves! This is what’s known as a “cat-5 tattoo.”
This mark earned its name in virtue of the fact that many category 5 racers (the category in which all USA Cycling riders must start their first 10 races) annoit themselves with their greasy drive trains while straddling their top tube.
6. Lastly, sprint in your drops.
It is more comfortable to ride with your hands on the hoods, but it is more powerful to ride in the drops. In the drops: you have more leverage on the pedals down there, especially while standing (compare rider on the left vs. rider on the right); you are lower and therefore more aerodynamic; and you have more control of the bike in case you get bumped. Plus, you don’t look as ridiculous as the guy in the orange helmet (me in my first usac race). I’ve considered adding to this list the advice “don’t get an orange helmet,” but it sort of depends on what matches your kit.
Now hopefully you are at least comfortable showing up to the race. Next time I’ll try to write a primer on talking the talk and looking something of the part of a road racer. Once that’s in your purview, you may want to consider graduating to looking PRO. Doing so requires adhering to several more rules, to be discussed in future posts. Once you achieve PRO status, you can further enhance your status by becoming “Euro.” This is sort of like Dr. E. R. Bloomquist’s rank of “cool,” or the Kierkegaardian religious—except in roadie world probably the aesthetic comes on top. Lost? Apologies—go watch Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas to catch the allusion. Anyway… To be Euro, you must stridently adhere to the rules set forth in the Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist. As the authors note, being euro is not just a posture or a lifestyle—it is a state of being. Embrace it. Now that you’re a racer, you’re so far from the mainstream, so deeply embedded into our zany subculture, there’s no turning back. You might as well go all-in!
To you, I say: Welcome to the club. We’re gonna have a lot of fun. And Tim Krabbe’s book, The Rider’s opening lines are going to be so much more pellucid:
“June 26, 1977. Hot and overcast. I take my gear out of the car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of their lives shocks me.”
Here’s the thing though—the racers affiliated with this bicycle shoppe are something of an exception to the rule, put forward by the venerable bikesnob NYC, that road bike racers are “fastidious, snotty, and aloof.” He has a point, though, when he says, “Because road cycling is steeped in tradition (and occasionally garnished with attitude), every single aspect of road cycling – from clothing choice to equipment choice to hand signals to which way to pull off the front of a paceline – is governed by rules.” Additionally, there is a distinct lexicon, familiar only to the initiated. Here, I’d like to let you in on at least a few of the “rules” the regular roadies follow, or at least expect others to follow even as they may only selectively apply to themselves. When reading these, note that neither I nor my employer endorse any of these as imperatives. Consider them encouraging reminders of how to fit in. We simply want you to be aware that the cycling scene is like high school, and roadies are the plastics. Blend in with your surroundings, or be eaten alive.
1. A road racer has shaved legs.
Nothing says “this guy is a noob” like hairy legs. There is much hemming and hawing about whether there are “legitimate” reasons, that is, empirical proof that it is demonstratively deleterious to your performance to not shave them. But really it comes down to tradition.
2. Do not arrive to the race in kit, unless you rode your bike to it.
Obviously there are hygienic considerations here. If you drive up in kit, you have nothing to change into after the race. That means a drive home in a sweaty chamois. If that happens, I promise your partner won’t be doing you any favors that evening, even if you were the day’s big winner. Unless there’s a podium to stand on, chamois time is over 10 minutes after the race. Guys, strip off the jersey immediately upon dismounting and fold your bib straps (not shorts, bibs!) down so everyone can see your tan lines. Change into appropriate casual clothing between two car doors, and don’t forget to bring a towel!
3. Pin your number on properly.
Upside down numbers are a dead giveaway that you don’t know what you’re doing. If you want to be über pro, use 3M spray to adhere your number to your jersey—or, better, skinsuit—in the most aerodynamic way possible
4. Learn who everyone is. But don’t act like you know anyone until the race is over.
Again another characteristic typical of the “noob,” smiling or saying hi before the race indicates that you are not as serious as they. The competition will sense that you perhaps have a social life outside of cycling wherein you learned this peculiar characteristic some call “being personable.” Be prepared to be driven into the barriers in the sprint.
5. Keep your drivetrain away from yourself.
First off, your drive train, along with your bike, should be clean upon arrival to every race. Wash it the night before. Almost all bike chains are grey, not black. They do not squeak. They shift when shifted, in a 1:1 ratio. More importantly, though, is that grease does not adorn any inch of your hands, bibs, jersey, and above all else, your calves! This is what’s known as a “cat-5 tattoo.”
This mark earned its name in virtue of the fact that many category 5 racers (the category in which all USA Cycling riders must start their first 10 races) annoit themselves with their greasy drive trains while straddling their top tube.
6. Lastly, sprint in your drops.
It is more comfortable to ride with your hands on the hoods, but it is more powerful to ride in the drops. In the drops: you have more leverage on the pedals down there, especially while standing (compare rider on the left vs. rider on the right); you are lower and therefore more aerodynamic; and you have more control of the bike in case you get bumped. Plus, you don’t look as ridiculous as the guy in the orange helmet (me in my first usac race). I’ve considered adding to this list the advice “don’t get an orange helmet,” but it sort of depends on what matches your kit.
Now hopefully you are at least comfortable showing up to the race. Next time I’ll try to write a primer on talking the talk and looking something of the part of a road racer. Once that’s in your purview, you may want to consider graduating to looking PRO. Doing so requires adhering to several more rules, to be discussed in future posts. Once you achieve PRO status, you can further enhance your status by becoming “Euro.” This is sort of like Dr. E. R. Bloomquist’s rank of “cool,” or the Kierkegaardian religious—except in roadie world probably the aesthetic comes on top. Lost? Apologies—go watch Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas to catch the allusion. Anyway… To be Euro, you must stridently adhere to the rules set forth in the Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist. As the authors note, being euro is not just a posture or a lifestyle—it is a state of being. Embrace it. Now that you’re a racer, you’re so far from the mainstream, so deeply embedded into our zany subculture, there’s no turning back. You might as well go all-in!
Spring is a Comin' - By Javier
If you haven’t noticed, the spring is almost upon us. All the tell-tale signs are starting to show themselves: the Mercury is slowly starting to creep in an upward direction, the precipitation is starting to fall more as rain than snow, and most importantly, we’re getting more sunlight. YES!!!! I mean, it’s almost 5:30pm and there’s still enough light for me to enjoy being outside. Many of us relish the return of warmer temperatures as the jump-start we need to get out of our winter hibernation. For those of us in the cycling industry, the spring marks a return to what we enjoy seeing most, people riding their bikes. Regardless of whether you race, are a daily commuter, or a recreational cyclist who loves to cruise around Kelly Drive, warm weather makes it all so much more enjoyable. But, if you’re like many Philadelphians, hell, many Northeasterners, your bike has probably been hibernating since November. Before you get all gung-ho, and decide to take your bike on that ride you’ve been thinking about for months, take a few minutes to get yourself prepared for the season.
Let’s start with a visual inspection. Before you even throw your leg over the top-tube of the bike, take a few minutes to look over your bike. Is the tread of your tires worn? Do your wheels spin true? Is your chain rusty or dirty? If your bike has been sitting for the past few months, it might be a good idea to bring it in for a tune-up before you hit the open road. Now that you’ve looked the bike over, jump on the saddle and give it a quick spin around the block. Pay attention to how the bike feels and sounds. If your bike isn’t shifting, or braking, properly, or you hear a strange noise every time you pedal, remember that it won’t get better with time. We have the best mechanics in the city and they are ready to keep you rolling with our tune up services. One piece of advice, bring your bike in sooner rather than later. A Soup or Salad tune-up that might keep you off your bike for a day in early March can easily become two-weeks in mid-June due to the high volume of tune – ups we must perform as the weather warms. When it’s a beautiful out, and you decide that you want to ride your bike, remember that there are others in the city who feel the same way.
Ok, so one of our wrenches has shown your bike some love and you’re ready to roll, right? Not so fast. Your bike may be in tip top shape but what about your other gear? We all know the meteorological saying, “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb”, if you don’t, see here. March is known for its unpredictable weather and being prepared for it all is paramount. Some might argue with me about this but I think proper eyewear is the most important piece of outerwear any cyclist own. Good eyewear protects you from rain, dust, debris, and wind. Unless you have The Force, I don’t recommend riding with your eyes closed. Luckily, we have a wide selection of stylish and functional eyewear by Tifosi. I don’t want you thinking that as long as you have a good pair of glasses, you’ll be ready to attack the elements. Come in and check-out our full line of Louis Garneau clothing.
Your bike is ready, you’ve got the clothing, now it’s time to think about ‘you.’ Yeah, that’s right, I want you to think about yourself going into this spring. I want you to ask yourself what type of riding you’ll be doing this season. Are you going to do your first triathlon or will this be the year you plan on completing that Century? We’ve recently revamped our coaching packages and there’s something for everyone. The coaches at Breakaway are the best in the city. We’re experienced, dedicated, and are there to make sure you get the most out of your season. Let the spring be the time where you lay the groundwork for your goals.
I hope this little conversation has been the kick in the pants you’ve needed tog et a jump start on the season. . Be sure to stop by the shop. It’s been a few months and we miss you and your bike.
Let’s start with a visual inspection. Before you even throw your leg over the top-tube of the bike, take a few minutes to look over your bike. Is the tread of your tires worn? Do your wheels spin true? Is your chain rusty or dirty? If your bike has been sitting for the past few months, it might be a good idea to bring it in for a tune-up before you hit the open road. Now that you’ve looked the bike over, jump on the saddle and give it a quick spin around the block. Pay attention to how the bike feels and sounds. If your bike isn’t shifting, or braking, properly, or you hear a strange noise every time you pedal, remember that it won’t get better with time. We have the best mechanics in the city and they are ready to keep you rolling with our tune up services. One piece of advice, bring your bike in sooner rather than later. A Soup or Salad tune-up that might keep you off your bike for a day in early March can easily become two-weeks in mid-June due to the high volume of tune – ups we must perform as the weather warms. When it’s a beautiful out, and you decide that you want to ride your bike, remember that there are others in the city who feel the same way.
Ok, so one of our wrenches has shown your bike some love and you’re ready to roll, right? Not so fast. Your bike may be in tip top shape but what about your other gear? We all know the meteorological saying, “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb”, if you don’t, see here. March is known for its unpredictable weather and being prepared for it all is paramount. Some might argue with me about this but I think proper eyewear is the most important piece of outerwear any cyclist own. Good eyewear protects you from rain, dust, debris, and wind. Unless you have The Force, I don’t recommend riding with your eyes closed. Luckily, we have a wide selection of stylish and functional eyewear by Tifosi. I don’t want you thinking that as long as you have a good pair of glasses, you’ll be ready to attack the elements. Come in and check-out our full line of Louis Garneau clothing.
Your bike is ready, you’ve got the clothing, now it’s time to think about ‘you.’ Yeah, that’s right, I want you to think about yourself going into this spring. I want you to ask yourself what type of riding you’ll be doing this season. Are you going to do your first triathlon or will this be the year you plan on completing that Century? We’ve recently revamped our coaching packages and there’s something for everyone. The coaches at Breakaway are the best in the city. We’re experienced, dedicated, and are there to make sure you get the most out of your season. Let the spring be the time where you lay the groundwork for your goals.
I hope this little conversation has been the kick in the pants you’ve needed tog et a jump start on the season. . Be sure to stop by the shop. It’s been a few months and we miss you and your bike.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Clipless Technology Not as Complicated as the Science of Shopping - By Sarah
After cycling for a few years, the pressure to go clipless can be intense. Sure it’s easy for the salesperson at the shop to say that clipless pedals are affordable and efficient, or that cycling shoes are comfortable and sometimes even practical. You’re already aware of the potential energy conservation and exercising benefits.
But it’s like losing your training wheels all over again, right? For some of us, we put quite an effort just getting suited up to ride to work -- and now we should buy new shoes and new pedals?
Plus, we have to get used to our feet being physically locked to the bike. The first few times I rode clipless pedals on my Fuji Touring, I was pretty sure I would fall. I imagined myself rolling up to the stop sign at the first intersection on my route, and subsequently crashing down like a tree hit by lightning.
The funny thing is that I haven’t fallen yet. Not to say that you won’t fall on your first ride, but a successful maiden voyage is totally possible. Even for the new girl who just learned about gears, clipless cycling is doable.
What might not seem so doable is buying the parts and accessories you need for clipless cycling. With so many brands selling so many models for different uses, a lady can get overwhelmed. This month, I’d like to lend some advice to any curious cyclists looking to fulfill the ultimate New Year’s resolution: bike more.
First, you should get to know your bike. Does she ride mainly on the roads? If so, you might want to look into some light, comfortable road shoes that will make your ride to Valley Forge in the dead of winter a little more fun. Does your bike like to wander off the beaten path and into the mud and snow? Then I bet she will appreciate some durable pedals. Maybe your bike is a stationary one in a spinning class. She can go clipless, too. Even if your bike is a bit indecisive about where or when she likes to ride, there is a clipless option out there.
The standard road pedals are one-sided – meaning that you can only engage the pedal with your shoe on one side – and they provide a wide base for shoes to rest on. Look created the first pedal of this kind in 1984. Shimano, as well as other manufacturers, have followed suit to produce similar models.
Pros to this type of pedal include light-weight material and quick engagement. However, you can’t really walk on them so if you plan going off-road at all, road pedals are not optimal. Furthermore, both road pedals and shoes tend to cost more than other types.
The second major clipless option offered at most shops is the mountain bike pedal. These models have a smaller platform for the shoe to rest and are two-sided, meaning they can be engaged on either side. This makes for a more versatile pedal because it accommodates riding on rougher terrain. Also, the sole of mountain shoes resemble soccer cleats, so trudging through mud isn’t so bad. These pedals tend to be easier to use for the beginner. You probably see these models in your spinning class.
Road and mountain pedals are the two main types I’ll discuss here, although there are some varieties in between that fit certain niches. For example, Shimano manufactures a clipless pedal that has a flat platform on one side, so the rider can run out the door in her boots rather than take the time to swap shoes for a short errand.
As mentioned, there are cycling shoes specific to road and mountain pedal systems. Additionally, there are cleats – bolted onto the bottom of your cycling shoe – that are specific to each pedal. Consequently, you can’t use a mountain cleat on a road shoe, or a road cleat on a mountain shoe.
To complicate the issue even more, for road riders anyway, there are different cleat options for road shoes. Maybe you’ve noticed certain cleats advertising “float” on their packaging. Float basically indicates the amount of foot movement the rider has while clipped in. So no float means no movement, which can be bad for your knees. Thus, a little float can be nice while riding to give yourself some room to move. Most road pedals provide some degree of float, unless otherwise noted.
Similar to bike models, shoes also fall on a hierarchy when it comes to price and use. For example, a rider can buy a pair of shoes and pedals for less than $150 if she doesn’t want to invest too much in a feature she might not like. However, she could also splurge on shoes and pedals for well over $400.
Usually, when you pay more for pedals and shoes, you’re investing in light-weight technology and efficiency. For example, Sidi manufactures a triathlon shoe with a carbon sole and only two velcro straps. This way, the shoe won’t weigh the rider down, and it takes less than two seconds to put on or pull off.
But that doesn’t mean that you’re not getting quality equipment when you go for the $150 deal. Your shoes will still be comfortable, and your pedals – if installed correctly by a mechanic – will function.
As a cyclist, I fall into the commuter/touring category. So I invested in some low-end-but-durable mountain shoes. My touring bike is equipped with the SPD system. This past August, I completed a 550-mile tour across the northeast with this set up, and it didn’t fail me once. I went from toe cages to clipless in a matter of five minutes spent going up and down my block. And I am by no means a big shot biker. So, truthfully, if I can do it, so can you.
But it’s like losing your training wheels all over again, right? For some of us, we put quite an effort just getting suited up to ride to work -- and now we should buy new shoes and new pedals?
Plus, we have to get used to our feet being physically locked to the bike. The first few times I rode clipless pedals on my Fuji Touring, I was pretty sure I would fall. I imagined myself rolling up to the stop sign at the first intersection on my route, and subsequently crashing down like a tree hit by lightning.
The funny thing is that I haven’t fallen yet. Not to say that you won’t fall on your first ride, but a successful maiden voyage is totally possible. Even for the new girl who just learned about gears, clipless cycling is doable.
What might not seem so doable is buying the parts and accessories you need for clipless cycling. With so many brands selling so many models for different uses, a lady can get overwhelmed. This month, I’d like to lend some advice to any curious cyclists looking to fulfill the ultimate New Year’s resolution: bike more.
First, you should get to know your bike. Does she ride mainly on the roads? If so, you might want to look into some light, comfortable road shoes that will make your ride to Valley Forge in the dead of winter a little more fun. Does your bike like to wander off the beaten path and into the mud and snow? Then I bet she will appreciate some durable pedals. Maybe your bike is a stationary one in a spinning class. She can go clipless, too. Even if your bike is a bit indecisive about where or when she likes to ride, there is a clipless option out there.
The standard road pedals are one-sided – meaning that you can only engage the pedal with your shoe on one side – and they provide a wide base for shoes to rest on. Look created the first pedal of this kind in 1984. Shimano, as well as other manufacturers, have followed suit to produce similar models.
Pros to this type of pedal include light-weight material and quick engagement. However, you can’t really walk on them so if you plan going off-road at all, road pedals are not optimal. Furthermore, both road pedals and shoes tend to cost more than other types.
The second major clipless option offered at most shops is the mountain bike pedal. These models have a smaller platform for the shoe to rest and are two-sided, meaning they can be engaged on either side. This makes for a more versatile pedal because it accommodates riding on rougher terrain. Also, the sole of mountain shoes resemble soccer cleats, so trudging through mud isn’t so bad. These pedals tend to be easier to use for the beginner. You probably see these models in your spinning class.
Road and mountain pedals are the two main types I’ll discuss here, although there are some varieties in between that fit certain niches. For example, Shimano manufactures a clipless pedal that has a flat platform on one side, so the rider can run out the door in her boots rather than take the time to swap shoes for a short errand.
As mentioned, there are cycling shoes specific to road and mountain pedal systems. Additionally, there are cleats – bolted onto the bottom of your cycling shoe – that are specific to each pedal. Consequently, you can’t use a mountain cleat on a road shoe, or a road cleat on a mountain shoe.
To complicate the issue even more, for road riders anyway, there are different cleat options for road shoes. Maybe you’ve noticed certain cleats advertising “float” on their packaging. Float basically indicates the amount of foot movement the rider has while clipped in. So no float means no movement, which can be bad for your knees. Thus, a little float can be nice while riding to give yourself some room to move. Most road pedals provide some degree of float, unless otherwise noted.
Similar to bike models, shoes also fall on a hierarchy when it comes to price and use. For example, a rider can buy a pair of shoes and pedals for less than $150 if she doesn’t want to invest too much in a feature she might not like. However, she could also splurge on shoes and pedals for well over $400.
Usually, when you pay more for pedals and shoes, you’re investing in light-weight technology and efficiency. For example, Sidi manufactures a triathlon shoe with a carbon sole and only two velcro straps. This way, the shoe won’t weigh the rider down, and it takes less than two seconds to put on or pull off.
But that doesn’t mean that you’re not getting quality equipment when you go for the $150 deal. Your shoes will still be comfortable, and your pedals – if installed correctly by a mechanic – will function.
As a cyclist, I fall into the commuter/touring category. So I invested in some low-end-but-durable mountain shoes. My touring bike is equipped with the SPD system. This past August, I completed a 550-mile tour across the northeast with this set up, and it didn’t fail me once. I went from toe cages to clipless in a matter of five minutes spent going up and down my block. And I am by no means a big shot biker. So, truthfully, if I can do it, so can you.
You’re Fit and You Know It - by Charlie
This is not a blog post about the eponymous song by the Streets—apologies straightaway if you clicked through under that assumption. Rather, this is about being fit properly to your bicycle, and the importance thereof. It is something I cannot impress upon this reading audience—generally very fit people—enough, for I’ve seen very fit people with very poor fits on bicycles.
Many of us assume that because we’ve been riding bikes since we were kids, and because most everyone has seen an innumerably large number of people on bicycles, especially in cities these days, that we know how a bike should feel and how we should look on the bike. But ask yourself—when was the last time you saw yourself in a mirror...on a bicycle? Like trying to read over your own blog post to check for excessive snark, there are some things that you ought to let others do, and sizing you up on a bicycle is one of them. This is reason enough to go to a bicycle store, rather than, say, IKEA (they took down the pictures of the bikes built with the fork installed backwards, but read the comments), since any good bike store will have experienced riders who will size you properly. At bare minimum, they will endeavor to get you a bike that is the right size for you. Even the most casual commuter ought to heed this advice.
For those who ride a good deal more than the average Joe, a proper fit by a trained “fit technician” [or “guy/gal who does fits] is a necessity. Consider this: a cyclist who rides 9 months out of the year, and about 8 hours a week, turns the pedals over about 1.5 million times. Let me write that longhand for extra emphasis: 1,500,000 pedal revolutions. An active person takes 10,000 steps every day, so about 3 million per year—would you spend 6 straight months walking in shoes that are a size too small?
Fortunately for you, Breakaway offers a free fit to anyone who purchases a bike valued at over $1,000 from our store. It takes about 30-45 minutes, and involves a few tests and measurements, but it can save you from a world of hurt. An improperly fitting bicycle usually manifests itself first with knee issues. Other signs are tingling hands, a sore neck and back, tight calves and Achilles, aching hips, and a numb....euphemism. If you’ve experienced any of these, it might be time to consider a proper fit. Also, your body changes, so a once-a-year fit is highly recommended. Do it, and your knees will thank you.
For those of us who demand a bit more from their body—the 2, 3, even 4 million pedal strokes a year-types, a professional fit is in order. For one thing, you are probably a competitive athlete, and therefore want to be as efficient as possible. A professional fit will ensure this. Triathletes an time trialists ride bikes specifically designed to be aerodynamic. But remember that the body position accounts for three quarters of your aerodynamic drag. Refining (like so) the body position can improve aerodynamics by over 20%. A better position is also a more powerful position, something which our years of power training allows us to measure and track.
At Breakaway, we offer two versions of the professional fit, one combining the industry standard model, taking over a dozen measurements with levers, goniometers, tape measures, plum lines, and even a couple fancy spring-action sticks, and one where we stick a bunch of sensors on you and let a computer take even more precise measurements; we combine both with our years of experience and trained eyes, as all the machines and algorithms in the world are no smarter than the person using and applying them. The second, computerized fit, is known as the professional fit using Retul. This fit incorporates 3D motion captured computer imaging to give you the most precise fit possible. Joe will be conducting a demo later this month to demonstrate the professional fit using Retul. Those who schedule a fit there will be offered an exclusive discount. If you want to stay informed as to when this will happen, check back here, and also sign up for our mailing list to stay current with all the Breakaway Bikes & Fitness news.
Many of us assume that because we’ve been riding bikes since we were kids, and because most everyone has seen an innumerably large number of people on bicycles, especially in cities these days, that we know how a bike should feel and how we should look on the bike. But ask yourself—when was the last time you saw yourself in a mirror...on a bicycle? Like trying to read over your own blog post to check for excessive snark, there are some things that you ought to let others do, and sizing you up on a bicycle is one of them. This is reason enough to go to a bicycle store, rather than, say, IKEA (they took down the pictures of the bikes built with the fork installed backwards, but read the comments), since any good bike store will have experienced riders who will size you properly. At bare minimum, they will endeavor to get you a bike that is the right size for you. Even the most casual commuter ought to heed this advice.For those who ride a good deal more than the average Joe, a proper fit by a trained “fit technician” [or “guy/gal who does fits] is a necessity. Consider this: a cyclist who rides 9 months out of the year, and about 8 hours a week, turns the pedals over about 1.5 million times. Let me write that longhand for extra emphasis: 1,500,000 pedal revolutions. An active person takes 10,000 steps every day, so about 3 million per year—would you spend 6 straight months walking in shoes that are a size too small?
Fortunately for you, Breakaway offers a free fit to anyone who purchases a bike valued at over $1,000 from our store. It takes about 30-45 minutes, and involves a few tests and measurements, but it can save you from a world of hurt. An improperly fitting bicycle usually manifests itself first with knee issues. Other signs are tingling hands, a sore neck and back, tight calves and Achilles, aching hips, and a numb....euphemism. If you’ve experienced any of these, it might be time to consider a proper fit. Also, your body changes, so a once-a-year fit is highly recommended. Do it, and your knees will thank you.
For those of us who demand a bit more from their body—the 2, 3, even 4 million pedal strokes a year-types, a professional fit is in order. For one thing, you are probably a competitive athlete, and therefore want to be as efficient as possible. A professional fit will ensure this. Triathletes an time trialists ride bikes specifically designed to be aerodynamic. But remember that the body position accounts for three quarters of your aerodynamic drag. Refining (like so) the body position can improve aerodynamics by over 20%. A better position is also a more powerful position, something which our years of power training allows us to measure and track.
At Breakaway, we offer two versions of the professional fit, one combining the industry standard model, taking over a dozen measurements with levers, goniometers, tape measures, plum lines, and even a couple fancy spring-action sticks, and one where we stick a bunch of sensors on you and let a computer take even more precise measurements; we combine both with our years of experience and trained eyes, as all the machines and algorithms in the world are no smarter than the person using and applying them. The second, computerized fit, is known as the professional fit using Retul. This fit incorporates 3D motion captured computer imaging to give you the most precise fit possible. Joe will be conducting a demo later this month to demonstrate the professional fit using Retul. Those who schedule a fit there will be offered an exclusive discount. If you want to stay informed as to when this will happen, check back here, and also sign up for our mailing list to stay current with all the Breakaway Bikes & Fitness news.
Monday, December 20, 2010
For the 10,000th Time, Control Your Urges - By Charlie
I suspect I might be about the 10,000 person writing about how to stay fit over the winter holidays (perhaps there’s some sort of Pullitzer-type prize related to that?). Nevertheless, these sorts of articles appear year after year for good reason: these days, our attention spans have shortened while our mental retentive capabilities are a fraction of what they once were. Don’t believe me? Two words: Michael. Vick.
So here it is, the 10,000th article out there full of advice and tips on how to stay fit & healthy during these the most unhealthy weeks of the year.
Was it Georges Santayana, or Dick Van Patten, who said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it? (The interesting point of this quotation is that he was really making a statement about knowledge acquisition—we need to learn things via repetition—not an exhortation the importance of history; but I digress.) The easiest way to stay fit, is, of course, to not repeat the mistakes of the past, while repeatedly reminding ourselves not to make the mistakes of the past. Therefore, the first step to a healthier holiday is to analyze where you went wrong. Then, have a dedicated plan to stick to in order to avoid those same failings. Here’s a hint: The problem was probably either (or both) that you ate too much, particularly junk food, and that you exercised too little.
But ay, the rub is that the snacks are just too tempting, and the exercising too hard to find time and motivation to do. What is a reveler to do? For starters, if at all possible, have a hand in the holiday grocery shopping. It’s hard to eat crappy food if there’s none around, and it’s a lot easier to show restraint in the grocery aisle (on a full stomach, always!) than in front of this:
Bad food purchases also tend to be ones made on impulse. So when you go to the grocery store, bring cash only. When it comes to the difference between bringing home the toilet paper or the white-chocolate-covered peppermint Oreo’s, the craving for pepperminty goodness packs less of a punch.
Also, when it comes to eating, few things slow you down like carefully tracking just how many calories you consume. A simple mental tally works well, though the peril of snacking just is that you lose track rather easily while snacking. I recommend this (free!) app for android and this one for iPhones (which Lance probably uses in between tweets!). Know that your daily caloric expenditure is probably lower than you think (and wish). During the holidays, when you’re traveling in cars, sitting around the family room or dinner table reminiscing, and watching TV specials, your metabolism is slowing down. Follow these guidelines to estimate what you burn in one day around the holidays, assuming little to no exercise.
1.25 x
Men: 66+1.3x(6.25 x Weight in pounds) + (2 x Height in inches) – (6.76 x Age in years)
Women: 655+ (4.35 x W) + (0.73 x H) – (4.68 x A)
Whatever the product, eat that number of calories in a day, and then call it quits to avoid weight gain. Try to have accurate estimates of the calories in each of the snacks—and remember you can eat a lot more pieces of broccoli than you can slices of cheese.
One final tip regarding food consumption—if you go out, volunteer to DD. Designated drivers are wonderful on so many levels, but for purposes apropos this article, it prevents you from consuming one of the most common sources of excess calories around the holidays, alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized just like fat, and the “lightest” form of alcohol, pure grain alcohol, still contains 7 calories per oz. A 1-oz shot of most spirits contains 60-70 calories, and a beer or glass of wine typically have around 150 calories. 4 of those quite literally is a meal’s worth of calories. (More on calories in booze.)
In spite of all of this, we’re probably going to eat more than we should this holiday. Hell is paved with good intentions. Exercise can be a form of self-flagellation, a form of very painful penance. But it’s a lot easier to keep the pounds off preemptively than to try to eliminate them post-facto. It’s sort of like, rather than spilling oil all over the gulf then offering a really heartfelt apology, how about just not crapping all over the livelihoods of thousands to begin with? So try to keep your exercise routine.
One way to do this is to find a partner—someone to meet you at the gym, pool, or coffee shop to begin your bike ride extra early each morning, before you travel, or before the family shows up. When the alarm goes off and you feel like sleeping in, you’ll tell yourself, “no, my friend is waiting for me. I’ll let them down if I bail.” Also, tell others what workout you’re going to do—even brag about it publicly to your friends and family. Then have them ask you whether you did it equally publicly. At that point, if you don’t exercise, you’ll either have to lie to those you love the most, or catch tons of flak from those to whom you were so boastful before.
Now, I’ve waited ‘til the end to mention these, because I don’t recommend being too reliant on certain “tricks” I like to use to monitor my weight. But there are a couple workouts that are especially well-suited toward keeping off excess fat this season. The first is to exercise before breakfast. Cyclists have known about this trick for years, and recently the NYT did a write-up about how exercising before breakfast burns a high ratio of fat. The danger of this exercising before breakfast is likely to leave you feeling extraordinarily hungry the rest of the day, causing you to overeat. I like to counter this urge by drinking & eating things that tend to swell and distend the belly. Consuming a LOT of water helps quash hunger. In fact, one sign of dehydration is an inability to feel sated despite eating a lot of food. Carbonated water like Perrier (unsweetened) will make you feel especially full, as the carbonation sits in your stomach. Likewise with diet sodas. Finally, coffee or tea—caffeinated beverages—speed up your metabolism and suppress appetite. I’ve found a cup of coffee and a whole grain bagel with some peanut butter—a combination of complex carbs, protein, and good unsaturated fats, to carry me from lunch all the way until a late dinner without resorting to snacks.
Overall, the most important thing is to be mindful about what you do. Have a plan: I will exercise for X minutes; I will only eat Y number of calories. And if you stumble one day, pick yourself up, brush the cookie crumbs from your stomach, and carry forth determined to do better.
So here it is, the 10,000th article out there full of advice and tips on how to stay fit & healthy during these the most unhealthy weeks of the year.
Was it Georges Santayana, or Dick Van Patten, who said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it? (The interesting point of this quotation is that he was really making a statement about knowledge acquisition—we need to learn things via repetition—not an exhortation the importance of history; but I digress.) The easiest way to stay fit, is, of course, to not repeat the mistakes of the past, while repeatedly reminding ourselves not to make the mistakes of the past. Therefore, the first step to a healthier holiday is to analyze where you went wrong. Then, have a dedicated plan to stick to in order to avoid those same failings. Here’s a hint: The problem was probably either (or both) that you ate too much, particularly junk food, and that you exercised too little.
But ay, the rub is that the snacks are just too tempting, and the exercising too hard to find time and motivation to do. What is a reveler to do? For starters, if at all possible, have a hand in the holiday grocery shopping. It’s hard to eat crappy food if there’s none around, and it’s a lot easier to show restraint in the grocery aisle (on a full stomach, always!) than in front of this:
Also, when it comes to eating, few things slow you down like carefully tracking just how many calories you consume. A simple mental tally works well, though the peril of snacking just is that you lose track rather easily while snacking. I recommend this (free!) app for android and this one for iPhones (which Lance probably uses in between tweets!). Know that your daily caloric expenditure is probably lower than you think (and wish). During the holidays, when you’re traveling in cars, sitting around the family room or dinner table reminiscing, and watching TV specials, your metabolism is slowing down. Follow these guidelines to estimate what you burn in one day around the holidays, assuming little to no exercise.
1.25 x
Men: 66+1.3x(6.25 x Weight in pounds) + (2 x Height in inches) – (6.76 x Age in years)
Women: 655+ (4.35 x W) + (0.73 x H) – (4.68 x A)
Whatever the product, eat that number of calories in a day, and then call it quits to avoid weight gain. Try to have accurate estimates of the calories in each of the snacks—and remember you can eat a lot more pieces of broccoli than you can slices of cheese.
One final tip regarding food consumption—if you go out, volunteer to DD. Designated drivers are wonderful on so many levels, but for purposes apropos this article, it prevents you from consuming one of the most common sources of excess calories around the holidays, alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized just like fat, and the “lightest” form of alcohol, pure grain alcohol, still contains 7 calories per oz. A 1-oz shot of most spirits contains 60-70 calories, and a beer or glass of wine typically have around 150 calories. 4 of those quite literally is a meal’s worth of calories. (More on calories in booze.)
In spite of all of this, we’re probably going to eat more than we should this holiday. Hell is paved with good intentions. Exercise can be a form of self-flagellation, a form of very painful penance. But it’s a lot easier to keep the pounds off preemptively than to try to eliminate them post-facto. It’s sort of like, rather than spilling oil all over the gulf then offering a really heartfelt apology, how about just not crapping all over the livelihoods of thousands to begin with? So try to keep your exercise routine.
One way to do this is to find a partner—someone to meet you at the gym, pool, or coffee shop to begin your bike ride extra early each morning, before you travel, or before the family shows up. When the alarm goes off and you feel like sleeping in, you’ll tell yourself, “no, my friend is waiting for me. I’ll let them down if I bail.” Also, tell others what workout you’re going to do—even brag about it publicly to your friends and family. Then have them ask you whether you did it equally publicly. At that point, if you don’t exercise, you’ll either have to lie to those you love the most, or catch tons of flak from those to whom you were so boastful before.
Now, I’ve waited ‘til the end to mention these, because I don’t recommend being too reliant on certain “tricks” I like to use to monitor my weight. But there are a couple workouts that are especially well-suited toward keeping off excess fat this season. The first is to exercise before breakfast. Cyclists have known about this trick for years, and recently the NYT did a write-up about how exercising before breakfast burns a high ratio of fat. The danger of this exercising before breakfast is likely to leave you feeling extraordinarily hungry the rest of the day, causing you to overeat. I like to counter this urge by drinking & eating things that tend to swell and distend the belly. Consuming a LOT of water helps quash hunger. In fact, one sign of dehydration is an inability to feel sated despite eating a lot of food. Carbonated water like Perrier (unsweetened) will make you feel especially full, as the carbonation sits in your stomach. Likewise with diet sodas. Finally, coffee or tea—caffeinated beverages—speed up your metabolism and suppress appetite. I’ve found a cup of coffee and a whole grain bagel with some peanut butter—a combination of complex carbs, protein, and good unsaturated fats, to carry me from lunch all the way until a late dinner without resorting to snacks.
Overall, the most important thing is to be mindful about what you do. Have a plan: I will exercise for X minutes; I will only eat Y number of calories. And if you stumble one day, pick yourself up, brush the cookie crumbs from your stomach, and carry forth determined to do better.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Cross Training - By: Coach Todd
Winter is now truly upon us. Not in terms of large snow falls that our own California born head mechanic (Shawn Hurley) for some reason adores, but in terms of some genuinely cold temperatures. Riding outside this time of year is not for the faint of heart. The wind and cold can exact a great physical toll that may outweigh the cardiovascular gains. So, many athletes explore cross training options as both a way to both prevent getting sick and work on improving their training in other ways.
It is important to keep our daily training fun. Let's be honest, most of us will never make our livings riding or racing bicycles, running, or competing in triathlons. Most of us pursue these endeavors because we enjoy both the activity and challenging ourselves. So how can we mainatin our potentially waning motivation this time of year? Cross Training.
Variety is the spice of life and there are many ways to both maintain cardiovascular and neuromuscular fitness beyond solely partaking in our main sport. One way to maintain as well as develop neuromuscular as well as increase explosive power is through weight training. Beginning a structured weight training program will allow you to focus on the specific muscle groups you want to target. It can assist in enhancing your strengths as well as improving on your weaknesses. Additionally, it is an opportunity to push yourself in a way you normally may not. Focusing on making perfect lifts each time is far more important than poor form with higher weight. Push yourself, but do so safely.
Running is another way to maintain and increase your cardiovascular fitness. I ran for 28 years and 6 marathons as well as 6 stress fractures led me to bicycle racing. That being said, running is a fantastic way to gain fitness and provides excellent bang for your training buck. You don't have to go for 3 hour runs to derive the benefits. Besides, it's simple to do, you don't have to wear nearly as much winter gear to get out and run comfortably and the endurance gains are undeniable.
Yoga is another activity that can be crucial to maintaining health and increasing flexibility for your chosen sport. Many members of the QCW/Breakaway race team got an introduction to "Yoga for Cyclists" earlier in the fall instructed by Keri Smotrich. Everyone I spoke with regarding practicing yoga said how much they enjoyed it and found it beneficial. If you haven't given it a try yet, give it some serious consideration.
Once the snow hits, both cross country skiing and snow shoeing are great ways to make massive cardiovascular endurance gains. World Class cross country skiers regularly record the highest VO2 max values in the world. It is a great way to see and explore local parks in a way you may never have. Getting a great workout and enjoying some of the local beauty that is a part of our city; not a bad way to spend your time.
Finally for you "roadies" out there (me included), feel free to as Head Coach Joe Wentzell says frequently, mix it up. Meaning of course, both mountain biking and road riding...with a dash of cyclocross riding for good measure (If your looking for MTB rides in the area contact Joe so he can add you to his ride list or help find rides that are right for you). Exploring disciplines of cycling beyond your mainstay once again break up the monotony, as well as help to aid in skill acquisition which will help all riders in any discipline.
The goal for all of us should be to have fun with our training. When you are starting a new activity, or one you haven't done in a significant amount of time, then be prudent and cautious and DO NOT OVERDO IT! Consult a coach (we have several here) or another trusted expert and begin gradually. Make a plan that you are certain to enjoy, be consistent, and don't forget to have fun!
It is important to keep our daily training fun. Let's be honest, most of us will never make our livings riding or racing bicycles, running, or competing in triathlons. Most of us pursue these endeavors because we enjoy both the activity and challenging ourselves. So how can we mainatin our potentially waning motivation this time of year? Cross Training.
Variety is the spice of life and there are many ways to both maintain cardiovascular and neuromuscular fitness beyond solely partaking in our main sport. One way to maintain as well as develop neuromuscular as well as increase explosive power is through weight training. Beginning a structured weight training program will allow you to focus on the specific muscle groups you want to target. It can assist in enhancing your strengths as well as improving on your weaknesses. Additionally, it is an opportunity to push yourself in a way you normally may not. Focusing on making perfect lifts each time is far more important than poor form with higher weight. Push yourself, but do so safely.
Running is another way to maintain and increase your cardiovascular fitness. I ran for 28 years and 6 marathons as well as 6 stress fractures led me to bicycle racing. That being said, running is a fantastic way to gain fitness and provides excellent bang for your training buck. You don't have to go for 3 hour runs to derive the benefits. Besides, it's simple to do, you don't have to wear nearly as much winter gear to get out and run comfortably and the endurance gains are undeniable.
Yoga is another activity that can be crucial to maintaining health and increasing flexibility for your chosen sport. Many members of the QCW/Breakaway race team got an introduction to "Yoga for Cyclists" earlier in the fall instructed by Keri Smotrich. Everyone I spoke with regarding practicing yoga said how much they enjoyed it and found it beneficial. If you haven't given it a try yet, give it some serious consideration.
Once the snow hits, both cross country skiing and snow shoeing are great ways to make massive cardiovascular endurance gains. World Class cross country skiers regularly record the highest VO2 max values in the world. It is a great way to see and explore local parks in a way you may never have. Getting a great workout and enjoying some of the local beauty that is a part of our city; not a bad way to spend your time.
Finally for you "roadies" out there (me included), feel free to as Head Coach Joe Wentzell says frequently, mix it up. Meaning of course, both mountain biking and road riding...with a dash of cyclocross riding for good measure (If your looking for MTB rides in the area contact Joe so he can add you to his ride list or help find rides that are right for you). Exploring disciplines of cycling beyond your mainstay once again break up the monotony, as well as help to aid in skill acquisition which will help all riders in any discipline.
The goal for all of us should be to have fun with our training. When you are starting a new activity, or one you haven't done in a significant amount of time, then be prudent and cautious and DO NOT OVERDO IT! Consult a coach (we have several here) or another trusted expert and begin gradually. Make a plan that you are certain to enjoy, be consistent, and don't forget to have fun!
Monday, December 06, 2010
Why RPM? - By: Charlie
In the winter, this question is relatively easy to answer:
You can try riding in the snow, ice, and freezing temperatures—and surely we have—but from experience let me tell you that falling over every thirteen feet does not a workout make.
Of course, you could train at home on your rollers or trainer, but most of us don’t have the amenities of the Breakaway Training Center: a fun, competitive atmosphere with a dozen other riders to push you, industrial fans and A/C units to cool you (and you’re not paying the utilities), and computrainers to simulate real course conditions like drafting and hills both up and down, track your speed, distance, heartrate, and, importantly, your power, and even more importantly, a coach on hand to guide your workout and answer your training questions.
In other months though, the choice might be less obvious: why ride indoors when the thermometer starts creeping up out of the nether regions? The answer is that an RPM class is all about efficiency. RPM is for people who value their time, because they don’t have a lot of it to spare. Few of us are professionals (though you are apt to meet a few from time to time if you train at breakaway), but most of us have lives—jobs to work, errands to run, families to support, people to meet other than those wearing spandex. Yet, just like other aspects of our lives, we want to be good at what we do, and that means approaching our training in a serious manner. That is where RPM comes in.
Weekday RPM classes are 1 hour long, and those on weekends last 2 hours. When you sign up for RPM, you’re getting 2 hours worth of class per week. As an instructor, I do not allow that any of that hour is wasted .Classes start on time, and you are working hard right away. (You’re welcome to come 15 minutes early to get in a warm-up.) I have written in the past about what sort of riding “counts” as training, where power zones 2 or above are breaking your muscles down in order for them to rebuild—thus making you stronger after recovering from those rides, while zone 1 is for recovery or “garbage miles.” There are no garbage miles in RPM. Contrast this to a typical workout outside, one even done solo:
This is from a ride I did while preparing for my peak race last year, about three weeks out. This chart shows the amount of time I spent in zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5-5b on a typical endurance ride—one where I was continuously conscious of my power effort. It was a 3.5 hour ride. If you consider what I said about zone 1 not being training, then you can see I spent nearly half the ride wasting time; I did in 3.5 hours what I could have accomplished in 2 hours inside. This is not atypical for a ride outside, and group rides are usually much worse.
This is from an actual weekend RPM class:
See how little time is wasted in zone 1? That’s because you can’t coast on a trainer. You don’t wait at stoplights. You don’t have to regroup. You don’t have to stop to refill bottles. You don’t have to slow down to see your cue sheet. You get on your bike, and start training.
Of course, you can do indoor training workouts on your own. But do you have the will to constantly push yourself? Remember, riding in z2 is essentially going just hard enough to be pretty uncomfortable, and then staying there. The coaches and the competition in the training center will keep you there. Plus without a power meter, you don’t know for certain what zone you’re in; our computrainers tell you your power.
Simply put, there is no better way to get a good workout in with as much time to spare as possible. And RPM classes are structured so that you can do your interval workouts during the week, then maybe go outside for your long ride. Or do your interval workouts at home, and come in on the weekend for your endurance ride, particularly if the weather is lousy. Or maybe—why not just sign up for both?
Of course, you could train at home on your rollers or trainer, but most of us don’t have the amenities of the Breakaway Training Center: a fun, competitive atmosphere with a dozen other riders to push you, industrial fans and A/C units to cool you (and you’re not paying the utilities), and computrainers to simulate real course conditions like drafting and hills both up and down, track your speed, distance, heartrate, and, importantly, your power, and even more importantly, a coach on hand to guide your workout and answer your training questions.
In other months though, the choice might be less obvious: why ride indoors when the thermometer starts creeping up out of the nether regions? The answer is that an RPM class is all about efficiency. RPM is for people who value their time, because they don’t have a lot of it to spare. Few of us are professionals (though you are apt to meet a few from time to time if you train at breakaway), but most of us have lives—jobs to work, errands to run, families to support, people to meet other than those wearing spandex. Yet, just like other aspects of our lives, we want to be good at what we do, and that means approaching our training in a serious manner. That is where RPM comes in.
Weekday RPM classes are 1 hour long, and those on weekends last 2 hours. When you sign up for RPM, you’re getting 2 hours worth of class per week. As an instructor, I do not allow that any of that hour is wasted .Classes start on time, and you are working hard right away. (You’re welcome to come 15 minutes early to get in a warm-up.) I have written in the past about what sort of riding “counts” as training, where power zones 2 or above are breaking your muscles down in order for them to rebuild—thus making you stronger after recovering from those rides, while zone 1 is for recovery or “garbage miles.” There are no garbage miles in RPM. Contrast this to a typical workout outside, one even done solo:
This is from a ride I did while preparing for my peak race last year, about three weeks out. This chart shows the amount of time I spent in zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5-5b on a typical endurance ride—one where I was continuously conscious of my power effort. It was a 3.5 hour ride. If you consider what I said about zone 1 not being training, then you can see I spent nearly half the ride wasting time; I did in 3.5 hours what I could have accomplished in 2 hours inside. This is not atypical for a ride outside, and group rides are usually much worse.
This is from an actual weekend RPM class:
See how little time is wasted in zone 1? That’s because you can’t coast on a trainer. You don’t wait at stoplights. You don’t have to regroup. You don’t have to stop to refill bottles. You don’t have to slow down to see your cue sheet. You get on your bike, and start training.
Of course, you can do indoor training workouts on your own. But do you have the will to constantly push yourself? Remember, riding in z2 is essentially going just hard enough to be pretty uncomfortable, and then staying there. The coaches and the competition in the training center will keep you there. Plus without a power meter, you don’t know for certain what zone you’re in; our computrainers tell you your power.
Simply put, there is no better way to get a good workout in with as much time to spare as possible. And RPM classes are structured so that you can do your interval workouts during the week, then maybe go outside for your long ride. Or do your interval workouts at home, and come in on the weekend for your endurance ride, particularly if the weather is lousy. Or maybe—why not just sign up for both?
All I Want for Christmas is a Comfortable Crotch - By Sarah
Sometimes, it feels like days since I’ve seen my legs. With the frost coming on fast, there are fewer situations where taking my pants off is a good idea. It’s only December and already I ride every day wearing a layer of spandex under my jeans.
Then again, it’s like this every year: come Thanksgiving there’s a temperature drop, and soon enough we’ll have regular snow and ice.
So layering up is a good idea. It’s hard to keep your legs going when they’re a blistery red, and it’s not easy to shift with stiff fingers. Most of you are probably familiar with the routine of pulling on one article of clothing after another just to go on a Sunday ride through Fairmount Park.
For some of you, though, this might be your first winter of cycling. Maybe you have some concerns about enjoying your bike despite inclement conditions. And rightly so. Even if you’re a seasoned cyclist who has had her fair share of nose-sicles, there still might be some questions you’ve always wanted to ask but never did.
Especially about the infamous down there. After all, more layers and less breathability often implies added discomfort between the legs. I’m sure this is something that many, if not all, women on a bike have experienced; but it’s not something we often discuss openly.
Not only is it difficult for a woman to muster the courage to walk into a shop and ask which saddle won’t feel like a vice grip, but it’s also a touchy subject for many guys who work at the shops, many of whom aren’t sure how to answer your questions.
I’d like to use this blog post then as a resource for Breakaway customers and employees, both male and female, who might be hesitant to say anything out loud. Perhaps if we open up the issue, it will become less intimidating.
First, I think it’s important that we establish a word for down there. Personally, I like the word crotch because it describes the entire area. That way, we don’t really have to know all that much about anatomy, just location. For certain issues, it might serve to be more specific. But for the purposes of this blog post, I’m going to stick with crotch.
Tip #1: Skip the panties
In case no one told you, padded cycling shorts/pants are made to function without underwear. The seam in your underwear can cause chafing in the creases between your legs, while a good padded chamois eliminates these seams. If you haven’t already, invest in a pair of padded cycling shorts. It’ll make your bottom feel great. Otherwise, breathable underwear and loose-fitting clothing work best to prevent crotch discomfort.
Tip #2: Cut out crotch cram
Women-specific saddles are more than just flower and butterfly decorations, they also support female anatomy in a way that other saddles cannot. For example, many women-specific saddles are broader towards the back to accommodate wider hips. Women’s sit bones, those that should carry your weight when you’re cycling, are usually set farther apart. Consequently, a stock saddle might feel less comfortable because it puts our weight on softer tissue. In addition, women-specific saddles will often have a cut out in the middle to relieve any pressure on this soft tissue. Finally, if you’re still not satisfied, ask a shop employee to help you out with saddle positioning, which can have a significant impact on your riding comfort.
Tip #3 Women are like yogurt
We produce natural bacteria that help to keep our crotches healthy. This also involves a delicate balance, however, that can be disrupted. In order to prevent bacterial infections, it’s important to practice good hygiene. For example, wash your panty-free padded shorts after each ride and never ride in dirty shorts. Ultimately, if you have a concern about a possible infection, please forego the bike shop and visit a doctor.
Of course, I couldn’t cover everything about crotches because they are so very complicated. But I do implore customers and employees alike to start asking more questions about issues like these because they often have significant health implications. Plus, our mission is to make your bike ride enjoyable. And if your crotch doesn’t enjoy it, chances are you won’t either.
Then again, it’s like this every year: come Thanksgiving there’s a temperature drop, and soon enough we’ll have regular snow and ice.
So layering up is a good idea. It’s hard to keep your legs going when they’re a blistery red, and it’s not easy to shift with stiff fingers. Most of you are probably familiar with the routine of pulling on one article of clothing after another just to go on a Sunday ride through Fairmount Park.
For some of you, though, this might be your first winter of cycling. Maybe you have some concerns about enjoying your bike despite inclement conditions. And rightly so. Even if you’re a seasoned cyclist who has had her fair share of nose-sicles, there still might be some questions you’ve always wanted to ask but never did.
Especially about the infamous down there. After all, more layers and less breathability often implies added discomfort between the legs. I’m sure this is something that many, if not all, women on a bike have experienced; but it’s not something we often discuss openly.
Not only is it difficult for a woman to muster the courage to walk into a shop and ask which saddle won’t feel like a vice grip, but it’s also a touchy subject for many guys who work at the shops, many of whom aren’t sure how to answer your questions.
I’d like to use this blog post then as a resource for Breakaway customers and employees, both male and female, who might be hesitant to say anything out loud. Perhaps if we open up the issue, it will become less intimidating.
First, I think it’s important that we establish a word for down there. Personally, I like the word crotch because it describes the entire area. That way, we don’t really have to know all that much about anatomy, just location. For certain issues, it might serve to be more specific. But for the purposes of this blog post, I’m going to stick with crotch.
Tip #1: Skip the panties
In case no one told you, padded cycling shorts/pants are made to function without underwear. The seam in your underwear can cause chafing in the creases between your legs, while a good padded chamois eliminates these seams. If you haven’t already, invest in a pair of padded cycling shorts. It’ll make your bottom feel great. Otherwise, breathable underwear and loose-fitting clothing work best to prevent crotch discomfort.
Tip #2: Cut out crotch cram
Women-specific saddles are more than just flower and butterfly decorations, they also support female anatomy in a way that other saddles cannot. For example, many women-specific saddles are broader towards the back to accommodate wider hips. Women’s sit bones, those that should carry your weight when you’re cycling, are usually set farther apart. Consequently, a stock saddle might feel less comfortable because it puts our weight on softer tissue. In addition, women-specific saddles will often have a cut out in the middle to relieve any pressure on this soft tissue. Finally, if you’re still not satisfied, ask a shop employee to help you out with saddle positioning, which can have a significant impact on your riding comfort.
Tip #3 Women are like yogurt
We produce natural bacteria that help to keep our crotches healthy. This also involves a delicate balance, however, that can be disrupted. In order to prevent bacterial infections, it’s important to practice good hygiene. For example, wash your panty-free padded shorts after each ride and never ride in dirty shorts. Ultimately, if you have a concern about a possible infection, please forego the bike shop and visit a doctor.
Of course, I couldn’t cover everything about crotches because they are so very complicated. But I do implore customers and employees alike to start asking more questions about issues like these because they often have significant health implications. Plus, our mission is to make your bike ride enjoyable. And if your crotch doesn’t enjoy it, chances are you won’t either.
Monday, November 01, 2010
How Training with Power Can Benefit Your Riding - By Charlie
During our October 2010 Product Party with Cycleops, I gave a brief talk on how training with power can benefit your riding. For those that were unable to make it, I’ll try to touch on the highlights of the talk and Q&A in this post.
I began by explaining what power is. If you want a really scientific explanation, look up the Wikipedia article on power—but make sure you use the German version. Seriously—the German version is a much more reputable source than the English version of the popular online, user-edited encyclopedia (probably the result of stricter encyclopedic guidelines). But here’s my definition provided by my memories of 9th grade honors physical science: Power=the ratio of work done over time. And you get work by multiplying force (on an object) and displacement (how far the object moves). And force is mass times acceleration. Basically what this boils down to is this: The harder you press into the pedals (accelerating those pedals faster or pushing with more muscle mass into tem) or the faster you spin those pedals (more displacement in a given amount of time, plus faster acceleration), the more power you produce. Power is measured in watts, or if you’re my boss Joe or his comparably-sized teammate Brett (see at 5:06), horsepower (735.5 watts—or so says de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pferdestärke).
What all that sciencey amounts to is that power is an absolute measurement of how hard or strong you’re going. 300 watts is always 300 watts, whether your speed is 10 or 60kph, whether your heart rate is 120 or 180, whether your perceived exertion is a 2 or a 10, and so on. Every other training tool you can use—speed, cadence, heart rate, exertion—is a mere physiological response to one thing: the work being done—symptoms, not the source.
There are several devices for measuring power, called powermeters, amongst them the Computrainer, the Powertap, SRM, Quarq, and the iBike. At RPM workouts in the breakaway training center, we use the Computrainer. We also rent out a Powertap. In 2010 I trained and raced with a Powertap. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, and I leave it to you to sort through what’s out there with regard to those. I will only note that I suspect prices of these powermeters to go down, as the market is quite likely going to be flooded with a number of new powermeters currently in various stages of development and testing, including cleat- and pedal-based systems, along with something called a LaserSpoke.
Once you start training with power, there are two “tests” you need to do to get maximal benefit from owning the power meter: a functional threshold power test & a power profile test. The FTP test will establish your training zones, and it is the first and most crucial step in tracking your fitness and evaluating your training. The power profile test helps you discover what sort of rider you are. By sort, I mean what your relative strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to utilizing different respiratory processes and recruiting different muscle fiber types. Without getting too sciencey again, suffice to say that some people are natural born sprinters, built for speed, at the expense of their stamina, and others end up like me, a rather compact, efficient animal built for endurance. These are the first workouts we have any of our RPM students and coached athletes do.
In the lecture, I went on to show how I track data from ride to ride, month to month, season to season, and so on. By using a powermeter along with TrainingPeaks and WKO+ software, we can get an objective Training Stress Score for every ride. We can track that score to plan peaks and tapers, see when you’re most fit, when you tend to overreach, how much you’re improving season to season, what sorts of training rides best suit you, and all sorts of other useful information. A powermeter can help you pace a time trial or bike-leg in a triathlon perfectly. It will calculate your caloric requirements during and after a ride. I’ve used one to determine optimum cadence. Really, the only limits to what you can do with a powermeter are the creative ones of you and your coach.
I began by explaining what power is. If you want a really scientific explanation, look up the Wikipedia article on power—but make sure you use the German version. Seriously—the German version is a much more reputable source than the English version of the popular online, user-edited encyclopedia (probably the result of stricter encyclopedic guidelines). But here’s my definition provided by my memories of 9th grade honors physical science: Power=the ratio of work done over time. And you get work by multiplying force (on an object) and displacement (how far the object moves). And force is mass times acceleration. Basically what this boils down to is this: The harder you press into the pedals (accelerating those pedals faster or pushing with more muscle mass into tem) or the faster you spin those pedals (more displacement in a given amount of time, plus faster acceleration), the more power you produce. Power is measured in watts, or if you’re my boss Joe or his comparably-sized teammate Brett (see at 5:06), horsepower (735.5 watts—or so says de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pferdestärke).
What all that sciencey amounts to is that power is an absolute measurement of how hard or strong you’re going. 300 watts is always 300 watts, whether your speed is 10 or 60kph, whether your heart rate is 120 or 180, whether your perceived exertion is a 2 or a 10, and so on. Every other training tool you can use—speed, cadence, heart rate, exertion—is a mere physiological response to one thing: the work being done—symptoms, not the source.
There are several devices for measuring power, called powermeters, amongst them the Computrainer, the Powertap, SRM, Quarq, and the iBike. At RPM workouts in the breakaway training center, we use the Computrainer. We also rent out a Powertap. In 2010 I trained and raced with a Powertap. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, and I leave it to you to sort through what’s out there with regard to those. I will only note that I suspect prices of these powermeters to go down, as the market is quite likely going to be flooded with a number of new powermeters currently in various stages of development and testing, including cleat- and pedal-based systems, along with something called a LaserSpoke.
Once you start training with power, there are two “tests” you need to do to get maximal benefit from owning the power meter: a functional threshold power test & a power profile test. The FTP test will establish your training zones, and it is the first and most crucial step in tracking your fitness and evaluating your training. The power profile test helps you discover what sort of rider you are. By sort, I mean what your relative strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to utilizing different respiratory processes and recruiting different muscle fiber types. Without getting too sciencey again, suffice to say that some people are natural born sprinters, built for speed, at the expense of their stamina, and others end up like me, a rather compact, efficient animal built for endurance. These are the first workouts we have any of our RPM students and coached athletes do.
In the lecture, I went on to show how I track data from ride to ride, month to month, season to season, and so on. By using a powermeter along with TrainingPeaks and WKO+ software, we can get an objective Training Stress Score for every ride. We can track that score to plan peaks and tapers, see when you’re most fit, when you tend to overreach, how much you’re improving season to season, what sorts of training rides best suit you, and all sorts of other useful information. A powermeter can help you pace a time trial or bike-leg in a triathlon perfectly. It will calculate your caloric requirements during and after a ride. I’ve used one to determine optimum cadence. Really, the only limits to what you can do with a powermeter are the creative ones of you and your coach.
Talking with Jackie Baker from Giant for Women - By Sarah
As mentioned in October’s post, Breakaway Bikes will be hosting the Giant For Women’s Tour this month. Last week, I had the pleasure of corresponding with Jackie Baker from Giant Bicycles; she seemed very enthusiastic and had a lot of good things to say.
Me: How many women are buying bikes?
Jackie: The general concept is that about 1/3 of bikes sold in the US are women's-specific models. However, any given inline bike can also be ideal for any number of women, so the number of women actually buying bikes would be higher than 1/3 in the US. My question would be, of those girls who bought bikes, how many are still avidly riding them, and how can we make sure that every girl who buys or owns a bike gets excited about riding it as often as possible? The key is building a relationship at the shop to ensure she's on the correct bike size and on the bike that best fits her style and the terrain she'll be riding. With the shop's help, she'll be confident that every time she gets on her bike, she's going to have an enjoyable ride.
Me: What are you planning to show or teach our customers that they might not have known before?
Jackie: That's a tough question. Every group tends to have different levels of knowledge. But what I try to do is cater each clinic to the specific girls I have in attendance, so I make sure everyone gets something from the clinic. Often what I talk about are more simplified ways to take care of problems like a flat tire or skipping chain so that they're easy to do and easy to remember how to do. Also, I encourage everyone to practice everything we discuss on their bikes at home on their own time. That way there's no pressure, if you can do a task at your home by yourself, you'll know you can do it out on the road or trail when you are under a bit more pressure.
Me: What about our employees?
Jackie: With employee training, I try to work a lot on making sure we're getting girls on bikes that not only fit them size-wise, but also fit their riding goals and functionality. We want to get girls excited to get out on their bikes, and there are a few things we can do as bike shops to make sure that happens.
Me: How have you seen the cycling industry change, as far as the women-friendliness factor?
Jackie: Again, tough question. I started riding and racing in ‘97 with an awesome group of people. I started out as a collegiate rider, and there were a lot of guys and girls involved in cycling. It wasn't until I got involved with the gravity side of the sport that I really saw how male-centric the industry is. It's definitely still rough for pro women in all aspects of riding to get the recognition, pay, and respect they deserve. But I do feel like there are a lot of aspects where the industry is doing better – offering more fit and functionality options through women's-specific geometries and equivalent parts groupings for the same price as inline bikes, for instance.
Me: What are some aspects you find still need change?
Jackie: I think that the real catalyst for change comes from the bike shops. If shops are active in their communities and working to get more girls on bikes, and get them on bikes that are right for them, there will be even more demand for increased product selection and equal treatment from the beginning levels through the pro ranks. I think a lot of shops are doing a great job of offering resources to educate their female customers and make them feel like the industry values them. And I think that more and more, the industry is recognizing how valuable women are to its growth.
Whether you’ve already got a bike or don’t know where to start, please join us at Breakaway Bikes on November 10th and 11th. Jackie’s programs are sure to provide a lot of insight into how we can get more ladies on two wheels.
Wednesday, NOV. 10, 2010*
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Women’s Night at Breakaway Bikes
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunchtime Fix-a-Flat and Basic Repair Clinic
Me: How many women are buying bikes?
- Learn: How to pick out the perfect bike for you;
- What makes women’s bikes different;
- How a properly sized-bike should fit.
- Refreshments will be served.
- Spend your lunch break with us!
- Refreshments will be served.
- 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Giant for Women Bike Demo
- Try a Giant for Women mountain, road, or cyclocross bike!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
It Doesn’t Take Balls to Ride a Bike - By Sarah
It seems as though the cycling industry is slowly waking up. It took nearly a century, but I think we are finally beginning to realize the wants and needs of women on bicycles. Admittedly, this sort of realization could not have come to light until certain structural changes in society were achieved. Nonetheless, the purchasing power of mobile females has created an incentive for shops and manufacturers to alter their own entrepreneurial missions.
And yet smaller frames or lavender jerseys aren’t quite making the cut. As always, there is room for improvement. At this point, I’d like to introduce myself as Sarah, the only current female employee at Breakaway. This blog post, as well as those to come, represents just another step toward opening up the world of cycling to women.
Breakaway has a reputation of exceptional customer service. As cycling advocates, we realize that condescending to the customer or ignoring her particular needs is not a great way to run a business. Following this mission, the shop has made strides to accommodate female riders: women-specific frames, saddles, shoes, clothing, etc.
But our shop, like many others, has hit a wall for two reasons:
1) We can only sell the products that the manufacturers produce. Thus, we are limited to certain size ranges, colors, or product designs.
2) Women may account for half of the global population, but they don’t account for half of our customer-base. This is probably due to our limited supply of women-friendly products. However, this supply remains limited because of the lack of demand from female customers.
As a retailer and not a manufacturer, we have little control over innovations from the cycling industry that benefit women riders. But we do have some influence over who comes in our shop. If we assume too much about our female clientele, we can’t adequately address their needs. Hopefully, as a woman’s voice on the inside, I can shed some light on our “issues.”
For many women, the threat of entering a man’s world starts right at the front door. Whether she is a novice or an elite cyclist, she walks in the shop with a thought at the back of her mind: these guys (think they) know better than me. And whether the thought is proven true or not, it is enough to inhibit questions that could potentially lead to furthered knowledge of her bike or herself as a rider.
Even as a worker in the cycling industry, not just a consumer, I encounter this kind of intimidation. I don’t mean to say that I don’t enjoy where I work, or to generalize that all male cyclists are chauvinistic. But all it takes is one bad experience at a shop and you can’t help but be apprehensive.
Ultimately, Breakaway would like to make some changes. We’ve already established a friendly and helpful customer rapport; now we just need to make the shop space a little more women-friendly. For example, in addition to posts about performance and bike maintenance, we’ll be publishing posts concerning women in cycling.
Furthermore, the phrase women in cycling doesn’t just include the ladies training and competing in races, but any woman who rides a bike. Just like the guys, there are women who commute to work, women who ride only on the weekends and women who tear up the trails. The bottom line is, however, that we’re all taking part in an activity that was once considered to be just for boys. And that’s changing.
On November 10th and 11th be sure to stop by for some of the many activities we will have as the Giant For Women's Tour makes a stop at Breakaway.
And yet smaller frames or lavender jerseys aren’t quite making the cut. As always, there is room for improvement. At this point, I’d like to introduce myself as Sarah, the only current female employee at Breakaway. This blog post, as well as those to come, represents just another step toward opening up the world of cycling to women.But our shop, like many others, has hit a wall for two reasons:
1) We can only sell the products that the manufacturers produce. Thus, we are limited to certain size ranges, colors, or product designs.
2) Women may account for half of the global population, but they don’t account for half of our customer-base. This is probably due to our limited supply of women-friendly products. However, this supply remains limited because of the lack of demand from female customers.
As a retailer and not a manufacturer, we have little control over innovations from the cycling industry that benefit women riders. But we do have some influence over who comes in our shop. If we assume too much about our female clientele, we can’t adequately address their needs. Hopefully, as a woman’s voice on the inside, I can shed some light on our “issues.”
For many women, the threat of entering a man’s world starts right at the front door. Whether she is a novice or an elite cyclist, she walks in the shop with a thought at the back of her mind: these guys (think they) know better than me. And whether the thought is proven true or not, it is enough to inhibit questions that could potentially lead to furthered knowledge of her bike or herself as a rider.
Even as a worker in the cycling industry, not just a consumer, I encounter this kind of intimidation. I don’t mean to say that I don’t enjoy where I work, or to generalize that all male cyclists are chauvinistic. But all it takes is one bad experience at a shop and you can’t help but be apprehensive.
Ultimately, Breakaway would like to make some changes. We’ve already established a friendly and helpful customer rapport; now we just need to make the shop space a little more women-friendly. For example, in addition to posts about performance and bike maintenance, we’ll be publishing posts concerning women in cycling.
Furthermore, the phrase women in cycling doesn’t just include the ladies training and competing in races, but any woman who rides a bike. Just like the guys, there are women who commute to work, women who ride only on the weekends and women who tear up the trails. The bottom line is, however, that we’re all taking part in an activity that was once considered to be just for boys. And that’s changing.
On November 10th and 11th be sure to stop by for some of the many activities we will have as the Giant For Women's Tour makes a stop at Breakaway.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Pleasures of the Pre-base Phase - By Tyler
There is nothing easy about training correctly this time of the year. Most racers battle fatigue and the sensations of burn out, while recreational riders begin to face inclement weather. Motivation to ride during the first part of fall can be at best, decrescent. I have always viewed this as Mother Nature's request to stop battering your body, to take a step back, and rediscover why you do that to yourself in the first place. For most of my athletes and even myself, late October and early November can be just that, a time of renewal for the body and spirit. But as the old adage goes, all good things must come to an end. At some point you will need to start to focus your training again, right!? What is the best thing to do when you have so many forces pulling you in so many directions? Do you try cyclcross, mountain biking, running,et cetera?
Every magazine you pick up or cycling related website you read will give their two cents, which will always makes it sound like there is a linear solution for everyone. Everyone undoubtedly has read at least one of them over their cycling careers. My favorite, Crush your first century next summer by trying cyclocross! What does that even mean? Sure there can be benefits derived from riding off road, but the likelihood of dramatic gains they insinuate will not be as obvious.
Personally, I have never found that going from discipline to discipline in the winter has lead to many gains physically, but I certainly have athletes who are the complete opposite and thrive off the cross training. It has always rekindled my drive to be better on the road, however (if you have seen me flail on and off a cross bike you would agree). The ability to sort of do whatever you feel like doing is what makes this time of year the most enjoyable, in my humble opinion.You can experiment all you want to find something new or unique, without ruining your season or having a pressure to quantitatively improve your FTP.
Those that are strictly roadies such as myself can take solace in knowing that staying on the road is OK. What is more enjoyable than riding a road bike in 20 degree weather, anyone agree (slightly facetious here)? After all, isn't the best way to be able to crush your first century come from riding your bike in general? If you do it properly (tutelage from these men help), you will be able make it through the winter without all of the cycling fads or trends, while rediscovering your passion for a simple bike ride. Having a little structure and knowing your desired ends helps, but taking a step back also goes a long way. You can go ahead start this process by going for a bike ride! Remove all pressures to go fast or to produce xyz wattage for xyz time. This time of year and the lack of pressure accompanying it does not last long enough, so enjoy autumn while it is here.
Every magazine you pick up or cycling related website you read will give their two cents, which will always makes it sound like there is a linear solution for everyone. Everyone undoubtedly has read at least one of them over their cycling careers. My favorite, Crush your first century next summer by trying cyclocross! What does that even mean? Sure there can be benefits derived from riding off road, but the likelihood of dramatic gains they insinuate will not be as obvious.
Personally, I have never found that going from discipline to discipline in the winter has lead to many gains physically, but I certainly have athletes who are the complete opposite and thrive off the cross training. It has always rekindled my drive to be better on the road, however (if you have seen me flail on and off a cross bike you would agree). The ability to sort of do whatever you feel like doing is what makes this time of year the most enjoyable, in my humble opinion.You can experiment all you want to find something new or unique, without ruining your season or having a pressure to quantitatively improve your FTP.
Those that are strictly roadies such as myself can take solace in knowing that staying on the road is OK. What is more enjoyable than riding a road bike in 20 degree weather, anyone agree (slightly facetious here)? After all, isn't the best way to be able to crush your first century come from riding your bike in general? If you do it properly (tutelage from these men help), you will be able make it through the winter without all of the cycling fads or trends, while rediscovering your passion for a simple bike ride. Having a little structure and knowing your desired ends helps, but taking a step back also goes a long way. You can go ahead start this process by going for a bike ride! Remove all pressures to go fast or to produce xyz wattage for xyz time. This time of year and the lack of pressure accompanying it does not last long enough, so enjoy autumn while it is here.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Power - Riding Within Yourself - By Charlie
In every race I’ve done, and just about every spirited group ride I’ve ever attended, there is always some guy, that guy, who makes the more experienced racers chuckle. From the opening gun or from before the ride even hits the open country roads, he (or she) is up at the front, taking Herculean pulls, charging up the hills, launching attack after attack after attack. Twenty minutes in he’s thinking, “man, I am really rocking their ride today. I bet they’re really impressed with how strong I’m riding.” And yeah, from my perspective, 20 riders back, almost totally shielded from the wind by the quartet of 6-footers I’ve surrounded myself-- I am the central Illinois
You see, cycling is an endurance sport. You gotta be stronger for longer, but strength saved now can be cashed out for strength later. You know who wins the race? First one across the line. It’s also a team sport. And teams also team up in the peloton. At a pro race, you’ll see 9 out of ten teams working together, while the 10th team has a lone guy off the front. Guess how many times that lone wolf is successful? To ride away, single-handedly, from an entire peloton, When drafting you save 30% of your energy. When tucked away in a group with people all around you, it can be as much as 50% less energy to go the same speed. Essentially, to ride away from a group, you have to be able to ride 30% stronger than everyone else. That’s how much drafting matters. What’s 30% like? Well, Lance Armstrong at his peak (*ahem*) was doing about 6.5-7 watts per kilogram (the best measure of a cyclist’s strength) at his threshold. So he’s about 30% stronger than me. He has won 7 Tours de France. I once finished 3rd in a 3-day, 56-person cat 4/5 stage race up in Jersey called the Giro del Cielo. In the battle between Lance and a peloton of me and my clones, he wins. That guy is usually not Lance.
And so back to that guy. You know what happens to that guy taking monster pulls and throwing down vicious attack after vicious attack? Well, unless he’s on a different level altogether than the rest of the riders, he starts with a flurry and ends with a whimper. More often than not, he’s gone really fast while things are just warming up, and by the time things really start to happen, he’s blown up catastrophically. I see that and I feel bad for that guy. I hope for his sake that isn’t also how he makes love.
But here’s the thing, folks. You’ve probably been that guy. I know have. Maybe not to the dramatic degree I just sketched, but certainly most inexperienced racers have ridden brilliantly at the start of the race. Maybe in your head as you ride, you imagine Phil and Paul talking about how you really animated the race. In the post race interview you’ve got your orange jersey on, and others are talking about how much of a workhorse you were, really powering the break today. But as the race drags on and the adrenaline stops and the fatigue creeps in. Your legs start to ache, heart rate rises, your breathing becomes more labored. Each pack surge or attack becomes harder to handle. Participating in the upcoming sprint is an impossibility. You just don’t want to suffer anymore. Just get me to the line! There’s always beer at the line (at least for my team there is). What’s happened is you did not ride within yourself.
‘Riding within oneself’ is a pretty vague term. What it means, in a nutshell, is that you rode only as hard as you need to go. A personal example: last year, at a race in Jersey , this guy, Dom Rollin of Cervelo Test Team (part of 2009 Tour Green Jersey winner Thor Hushovd’s and 2008 Tour champ Carlos Sastre’s team) shows up on something of a lark. As luck would have it, I found myself being pulled along in his slipstream (remember the 30% thing? Well, he’s about 29% stronger, so I was just barely able to stay on his wheel as he opened a gap between himself and most of the rest of the peloton). A break of 9 guys formed. For the first 3 laps we were away, everyone was just laying down the hammer, going all out, making everyone’s legs scream. But at a certain point, breaks become established. That’s when things settle down and the chance of being caught decreases dramatically. At that point, about 5 or 6 of us began a rotating paceline, while the teams with 2 guys in the move left one each at the back to sit on. I wasn’t the strongest guy there, obviously, or even close. But, foolishly, I wanted to “prove” myself to the other riders. Wanted to show I belonged with this pro tour guy and a couple of U-23 domestic neopros. Looking back, I think, what the hell was I thinking? In terms of strength, I don’t belong with those guys. But bike racing isn’t about raw strength. Remember? First one across the line. Therefore, I had no business trying to win the race through raw strength. What I should have done was rode as conservatively as possible, so I spent so much less strength during the first 59 minutes of the race than everyone else, that for that final minute, I could have enough strength to be just a bit faster. What’s silly is that even at one point, Dom touches me on the shoulder and says, “you don’t have to work so hard.” He’s right. I really, really didn’t. That break didn’t need me pulling through with all my mini-might. On a flat crit course and a 130 lb cat-3, Fabian Cancellara I am not. But I spent myself working so hard that late in the race, when attacks came and our group of 9 split, I didn’t have enough left to follow the lead group of four, settling for 5th.
So what’s the lesson? You need to know how to ride hard without going too hard to avoid being that guy. When you find yourself in the wind, relax. If it’s your turn to pull, don’t suddenly get excited or antsy accelerate like a newb. Don’t take 3 minutes pulls when everyone else is taking 30 second ones. Don’t start half-wheeling your two-line paceline partner. Just ride steady.
The best way to do this is to always ride with power. Or, if you lack the funds for a power meter, try a heart rate monitor, as it tracks physiological responses to power (unfortunately, HR also responds to several external factors, whereas power is absolute). By keeping track of the power files of every ride, you start to learn just what you can do. The numbers never lie. Ever. If you’ve never topped 300 watts for 20 minutes, then don’t start taking 350 watt pulls in your group of four for more than a handful of seconds, or two hours later you’re going to be spat out the back. By using power, you’ll also learn how many and what sort of “matches” you have in your matchbook. A match is any hard effort. Make a hard effort, burn a match. Some matches burn hot and fast, others longer and cooler. A 500 watt, 15 second effort probably burns a match. So too does a 5 minute, 280 watt effort. By charting your power, you’ll know about how many times you burn various matches, or how much recovery time you need before your matchbook is restocked.
And so, always remember: Bike racing is much more than a test to see who’s the strongest. It is a battle of wits and tactics, designed such that nothing matters but coming across the line first. Learning to understand yourself as a rider, either through power, heart rate, or even perceived effort, is the key to doing so. And even if it doesn’t get you to the line first every time, certainly it will keep you from being that guy.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tour De Breakaway - Stage 2
Tour De Breakaway - Stage 2
Day 2 of the indoor stage race was run on a 60k mostly flat course. We had 16 riders on two banks of 8 Computrainers. The banks were split evenly between the riders based on the previous days TT. The women were given a 10 minute head start on the men. With it Kacey Wander was able to hold off the men, with the help of the other women, until the final Kilometers and was able to come in 3rd place for the stage and snagged a 5 second time bonus as a result. She remains the GC leader after day 2.
Tour De Breakaway
Results Stage 2
1st Brett Kielick 1:40.03:41 (15sec Bonus)
2nd Ross Marklein 1:40.03:58 (10sec Bonus)
3rd Kacy Wander 1:40.04:31 (5sec Bonus)
4th Sean Whiteman 1:40.44:69
5th Charlie Zamastil 1:40.45.20
6th Todd Lippin 1:40.45:34
7th Matt Furlow 1:40.45:77
8th Mike Mclaughlin 1:41.19:16
9th Darren Linkin 1:41.19.58
10th Mel Glenn 1:43.11:33
11th Aliza Karetnick 1:43.11.33
12th Tom Waltz 1:47.05:75
13th John Miller 1:53.02.00
14th Harper Watters 1:53.02.00
15th Ryan Shank 1:56:21.56
16th Kevin Greene 1:59:45.33
General Classification Stage 2:
1st Kacy Wander 1:53:37.82
2nd Brett Kielick 1:54:27.72
3rd Ross Marklein 1:54:58.32
4th Sean Whiteman 1:55:09.00
5th Charlie Zamastil 1:55:38.17
6th Todd Lippin 1:56:01.18
7th Matt Furlow 1:56:24.77
8th Mike McGaughlin 1:57:07.30
9th Darren Linkin 1:57:34.12
10th Mel Glenn 1:58:03.14
11th Aliza Karetnick 1:58:17.05
12th Tom Waltz 2:03:53.45
13th Harper Watters 2:09:46.08
14th John Miller 2:10:16.47
15th Ryan Shank 2:11:53.45
16th Kevin Greene 2:15:05.16
Day 2 of the indoor stage race was run on a 60k mostly flat course. We had 16 riders on two banks of 8 Computrainers. The banks were split evenly between the riders based on the previous days TT. The women were given a 10 minute head start on the men. With it Kacey Wander was able to hold off the men, with the help of the other women, until the final Kilometers and was able to come in 3rd place for the stage and snagged a 5 second time bonus as a result. She remains the GC leader after day 2.
Tour De Breakaway
Results Stage 2
1st Brett Kielick 1:40.03:41 (15sec Bonus)
2nd Ross Marklein 1:40.03:58 (10sec Bonus)
3rd Kacy Wander 1:40.04:31 (5sec Bonus)
4th Sean Whiteman 1:40.44:69
5th Charlie Zamastil 1:40.45.20
6th Todd Lippin 1:40.45:34
7th Matt Furlow 1:40.45:77
8th Mike Mclaughlin 1:41.19:16
9th Darren Linkin 1:41.19.58
10th Mel Glenn 1:43.11:33
11th Aliza Karetnick 1:43.11.33
12th Tom Waltz 1:47.05:75
13th John Miller 1:53.02.00
14th Harper Watters 1:53.02.00
15th Ryan Shank 1:56:21.56
16th Kevin Greene 1:59:45.33
General Classification Stage 2:
1st Kacy Wander 1:53:37.82
2nd Brett Kielick 1:54:27.72
3rd Ross Marklein 1:54:58.32
4th Sean Whiteman 1:55:09.00
5th Charlie Zamastil 1:55:38.17
6th Todd Lippin 1:56:01.18
7th Matt Furlow 1:56:24.77
8th Mike McGaughlin 1:57:07.30
9th Darren Linkin 1:57:34.12
10th Mel Glenn 1:58:03.14
11th Aliza Karetnick 1:58:17.05
12th Tom Waltz 2:03:53.45
13th Harper Watters 2:09:46.08
14th John Miller 2:10:16.47
15th Ryan Shank 2:11:53.45
16th Kevin Greene 2:15:05.16
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