Issue No. 487: Readers' Favorite Mapping Software

Editor’s Note: We’re pleased to introduce our first installment today of Young Gun. It will provide insight from Cuylar Conly into what it’s like to pursue the dream of becoming a pro bike racer. The column will be entertaining, sure, but insights from the near-pro ranks can also hold useful tips for us recreational roadies. Today’s Young Gun focuses on taking an unusual mental approach to time trialing.

I’m taking a different approach to my column today, as well. Your response to last week’s column added a number of great “cycling archetypes” to my starter list. We’ll run those, just for fun. Also, as promised, we’ll provide a rundown today of your responses to our question about your favorite mapping software. That will run in News & Reviews.

Thanks for the great reader feedback! Sharing your comments with RBR readers is a hallmark of our cycling community. Keep ’em coming!

Last week’s Lessons in Reverse provided a starter list of cycling archetypes that can provide lessons in what not to do by noting the bad riding habits of some roadies.

RBR readers sent in a number of great additions to our Comments page of other “characters” they’ve experienced on the road.

So, today we’ll add to the original list (the Boxer, who bobs and weaves on every hill; the Cracker, who can’t control his pace and invariably cracks on every ride; the Outlier, who insists on riding as far left in the lane as possible; and the Squirrel, who is all over the road, unpredictable and dangerous).

The Wheelsucker -- This rider is commonly found on fast club rides. He never takes a pull at the front, but in the last mile of the ride, while others are in the cool-down mode, he bursts past everyone to finish the ride in "first place." -- submitted by roadbiker123

The Artful Dodger -- This is a rider who zips all over the place, zooming up and down the left and right side of the line so that you never know where he is.  He'll also jump up a space or two in the line if he's feeling good, and when he's not, sit up and quit pedaling unexpectedly. Same when he wants to take a drink or do something else. "Unpredictable" can be dangerous, whether it be a squirrel running out in front of you, or the Artful Dodger riding in the midst of the group. -- submitted by Yuppiepuppie

Crazy Ivan -- You’re riding along in a pack and there do not seem to be any squirrels amongst you since everyone is holding a nice smooth line. Then, all of a sudden, "Crazy Ivan" -- some rider makes a moron move. From the movie The Hunt for Red October...  Russian submarine captains sometimes turn suddenly to see if anyone's behind them. In the movie, they called it a "Crazy Ivan." -- submitted by KittySlayer

The Yo-Yo -- A subset of the Squirrel. This is the rider who is either too nervous to hold a wheel at a constant distance or is simply unaware how difficult it is to follow their wheel as they drift back and then close the gap. Pay attention to your line AND spacing, please! -- submitted by acanfield

Nervous Nelly -- Also similar to the Squirrel, they may dart left or right without warning at the slightest bump in the road, dog sighted ahead, or car within a half mile. It's okay to be nervous, just use the rules of the road and signal before moving smoothly off your line. -- also submitted by acanfield

The Orator -- I've got a neighbor who I ride with who’s fairly quiet, until we get on the bike. From the minute we push off, until we clip out at the end of the ride, he talks non-stop -- his marriage, his kids, his job, his ailments, the GOP favorites, price of oil, a pitcher's ERA. You name it, he discusses it. . . . While I'm trying to enjoy the scenery, focus on my pedal stroke or forget the stresses of the day, he's providing a dissertation on why PowerPoints really aren't necessary any longer. -- submitted by milesofriding

The Loner -- Comes out to group rides. Wants to be gregarious, but can't ride "with" the group. Doesn't get the concept of a pace line, or just can't bring himself to exercise the discipline required to ride in one.  Constantly shooting off the front and destroying the "social fabric" of a ride. -- submitted by goodnightnurse

The Announcer -- This is the guy who calls out EVERYTHING. Sand, Gravel, Hole, ok I get it. But Slowing Left, Slowing Right, Car Up, Car Back (when in traffic), and so many others I just block them out.  Every few seconds something is a danger.  A good rider knows that his safety is not dependent on someone else.  Look up, scan the road ahead.  Be responsible for your own safety. -- submitted by taqysyfyj

To this fine list provided by RBR readers, I’ll add one more:

The Bike Whisperer -- This guy speaks so softly on a ride that there’s no possible way to hear a word he says. Your “conversation” with him consists of a lot of head nodding and verbal affirmations on your part (“uh huh,” “yeah,” “really!”) to mask the fact that everything he says sounds like a faint, unintelligible whisper in the wind. You hope never to have to ride alone with this guy, for fear of straining your neck trying to get your ear closer to him.

Feel free to add to the list or archetypes on our Comments page. I’ll gather them and do this again sometime.

Enjoy your ride!

John Marsh

Editor & Publisher

Comment

Sneak Peek: New eArticle Next Week -- Eating & Drinking Like the Pros

Watching the Tour de France, do you ever wonder what the pros eat when they grab a musette in the feed zone, and drink when they pick up bottles from the team car?

Depending on his size, a racer burns 3,500 to 4,000 calories on an average day, and 5,000 to 5,500 on a big day. To be sure, Tour riders drink typical sports drink and eat bars and gels, like many of us do.

However, since they are racing nearly three straight weeks, they also eat real food during races to provide variety and additional calories. A couple of examples include boiled potatoes and panini. And they drink concoctions other than regular sports drink, as well.

I’ve spoken to pros and/or interviewed team chefs from a number of pro teams, including RadioShack, Garmin Cervélo and Sky to learn what they eat and drink, and why. I’ve used these nutrition secrets of the pros to learn how to make our own sports nutrition -- both food and drink. We’ve been testing recipes for several weeks and are putting the finishing touches on an eArticle that will share these secrets and recipes with you.

Providing a lot of variety is the key for the pros in helping them get through 21 days of racing without bonking (or retching!). Adding variety to your own ride nutrition can help you, too. You can save money by making your own sports food and drink, and enjoy the product, knowing exactly what ingredients are in the mix, and how it’s meeting your nutritional needs. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to whip up some of the recipes.

For example, the panini are simple to make and quite tasty:

1/2 croissant or soft roll, e.g., a Hawaiian roll (basically something soft, so it’s easy to chew, and small, so you can eat it in a couple of bites)

1 oz (28 gm) of ham, Canadian bacon or turkey

1 tablespoon (0.5 oz / 14 gm) of cream cheese or other spreadable cheese

1 tablespoon (0.7 oz / 20 gm) of jam

This provides about 300 calories and 400 to 500 mg of sodium, depending on the choice of meat. Since the panini contains meat and cheese, it should not remain unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it’s 90F, about 32 degrees Celsius, or higher).

Look for Eating & Drinking Like the Pros next week in the RBR eBookstore.

-- Coach John Hughes

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RBR Readers’ Favorite Mapping Software

Last week, reader David Dick wrote to ask for suggestions for ride-mapping software. You responded in a big way on the Comments page. Again, thanks for that, and please keep the Comments coming! Here’s a rundown, grouped by product.

Note: In cases where several readers mentioned the same product, we’ve only included those Comments that provide additional information about the product. Finally, as for a tally, Ride with GPS garnered the most mentions.

GPSies.com

-- I also use Map my Ride, but for printing the route out, www.gpsies.com is the one to use. -- submitted by Paul Harding

Ride with GPS

-- I have been using Ride with GPS (http://ridewithgps.com/) as my preferred mapping software.  I particularly like its ability to export to my Garmin Edge. I have also used Map my Ride and Gmap-Pedometer (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/) -- submitted by pusigynaj

-- Last year I looked at about a dozen programs for my club. Most were web apps.  Ride with GPS was our favorite for cue sheet, route construction, files that do turn by turn on Garmin 705 and 800, elevation profile, and overall user interface.

It will not, however, meet the map requirements of the original poster. I rarely have this need since my Garmin Edge 705 is reasonably well-behaved. When I do print a map, I capture as many windows at a readable resolution as necessary, then print them out.  Usually 4-5 pages gives me a usable route map for a full day. Ride with GPS just released a new version of its mapping capability. -- submitted by xiwylatap

-- Much preferred Ride with GPS until I got an iPad. Without Adobe Flash on the iPad, it doesn't work. Sure do miss it. Oh well. -- submitted by Yakjack

Delorme Topo

-- I've been using Delorme Topo (http://www.delorme.com/) software for years - even before they came out with a GPS to use with it. You can customize the maps about any way you wish, have profiles, stats, and instructions as well. You can also put in map notes on the maps as desired. -- submitted by hekixaled

-- In creating maps to hand out for our yearly charity event, I use Delorme for the maps as it is the only one that I have found that allows one to add notes and edit the map itself. I make the cue sheets with an Excel spreadsheet as, again, it allows me to completely control the finished product. It is a lot of work, but worth it for that once-a-year big event.

I have a link from our website to all the routes on Map My Ride. This allows riders to download the maps to a GPS, view elevation information and print maps and cuesheets. The one thing I can say for Map My Ride is that it allows someone who is not so computer savvy (like me ) to share information through the web.

Now that smart phones have become available for more reasonable prices through non-contract cell phone providers, I will soon join the 21st century and start using GPS apps. I'm curious to hear from  Android users who are using their phones on their bikes. -- submitted by PBJ

Google Maps

Now that Google Maps has most bike paths, bike lanes and bike friendly streets shown and can route on them, it is the router of choice for me. This seems true for most cities in the U.S.  The problem was getting them into my Garmin Edge 605. The way I found is to export to KML in Google Maps and use a freeware program called TCX Converter. Actually it converts almost any format to almost any other format. For this situation it converts KML to TCX. Perfect. -- submitted by gcoonley

BikeHike

I use BikeHike (http://www.bikehike.com/) - this page plots the route and a profile on the same page.  Upload and download gpx files from a data logger. -- submitted by pat.n.bob

Dualsportmaps.com

This one isn't available yet. My friend (now living in Atlanta) is writing an Android app for an off-road motorcycle site. It will work for bikes as well, since my friend is an avid cyclist.  Demo at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7kd_hfpVBc. Website is www.dualsportmaps.com.

One of the most important aspects, to me, is side-loading maps. The important part of that is that in North Carolina or north Georgia woods, I often don't have a data connection. This will use the phone GPS to track my ride, upload to any routing website, overlay the map on my phone, and provide me with maps when I miss a turn. Last visit to NC, I got to a corner in a valley and didn't know which way I was supposed to go. With no data connection, my wonderful Google Maps were useless.

My apologies to Apple fans out there: It can't ever work on Apple products because they prohibit side-loading data like this. -- submitted by cwwees

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The Tour de France, by the Numbers

-- 10 flat stages

-- 6 high mountain stages

-- 4 summit finishes

-- 3 medium mountain stages

-- 1 TTT (23 km – 14.3 miles)

-- 1 TT (42.5 km -26.4 miles)

-- Total distance: 3,430.5 km – 2,131.6 miles

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Impressions from the Tour

It’s apparent from your answers to last week’s Question of the Week that the vast majority of RBR readers closely follow the Tour. So instead of recapping the events of each stage, we’ll provide some observations and impressions, from humor to strategy, each week during the biggest race in our sport.

--- The glamour of a Tour superdomestique: Jens Voigt of Leopard Trek, picking up drinks for his mates from the team car, took seven full bottles on board, including two down the  back of his jersey.

--- Heck, even team leaders occasionally do domestique duty. David Arroyo of Movistar (a team beset by tragedy so far this year, with one teammate dead from a freak accident, and another just brought out of an induced coma after a horrible crash) stuffed all three jersey pockets full of bottles and small cans of what looked like Coke -- then also stuck two full drink bottles down the back of his jersey.

I terms of volume, though, Voigt won the liquid sprint jersey. Paul Sherwen estimated his haul at 14 pounds.

--- Phil Liggett and Sherwen used the term “natural break” numerous times as the helicopter camera focused on riders relieving themselves roadside. “When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go,” Phil intoned at one point. Commentating is glamorous, too!

--- An extreme close-up shot by a motorcycle camera of a Garmin-Cervelo rider’s backside as he made his way from the team car to the peloton proved definitively that white kits can be nearly pornographic if viewed from the wrong camera angle. Please, Versus, don’t feature that angle again!

--- Strategy -- and the tactics to achieve it -- is absolutely vital to success in the Tour. Alberto Contador found himself in a heap of trouble near the end of the first stage as he got trapped behind a crash that completely blocked the road well back of all the other GC contenders. He should never have been that far back that late in a stage. It’s a mistake you would think Contador (and the team of a defending Tour champion) would not still be making at this point in his career. Yet, he made it, and ended up 1:20 behind the winner, and 1:14 behind rival Andy Schleck.

--- Because Contador’s Saxo Bank teammates had to escort him to the finish after the blunder, Saxo ended up last in the team standings on the day. That meant they were forced to go first in Stage Two’s TTT, the worst starting position. Saxo finished the time trial 28 seconds behind winner Garmin-Cervelo, and Contador saw his deficit rise to 1:42 behind his GC rivals.

--- It was Garmin’s first Tour stage win, and team manager Jonathan Vaughters was lifted on the shoulders of two riders on the podium to celebrate. The victory also earned Garmin’s Thor Hushovd the yellow jersey.

--- Can there be anything more disheartening as a Tour rider than leading the race in a breakaway for more than 100 miles, only to be – almost inevitably – reeled in close to the finish? The three breakaway riders in Stage One graciously offered each other a handshake, by tradition, after being caught.

--- Maybe the only thing more disheartening is crashing on the first turn of a TTT. That’s exactly what happened to Bernard Eisel of HTC-Highroad, only 500 meters into the 23 km (14.3-mile) race. Eisel was then forced to get back on the bike and try his best to finish no more than 30 percent slower than his team in order to avoid being bounced from the Tour. With speeds averaging around 60 km/h (37 mph) at the first time check, his task was daunting. But he did it. (See his quote below, in Overheard.)

--- The rollicking 2 km finishing climb of the Mur-de-Bretagne, the "Alpe d'Huez of Brittany" to cap off Stage 4 was an exciting precursor to the Tour’s mountain stages to come. Watching the suffering on the faces of the GC contenders as they dug deep to fend off attacks was entertaining. Alberto Contador was one of the attackers, but on a short climb like this, his move was easily met, and he lost at the line to Cadel Evans, who earned his first Tour stage win. Contador said he was testing his rivals, in the process proving that there should be plenty of fireworks when the Tour reaches the mountains.

--- The ride of the day on Stage 4 belonged to Hushovd, who was not expected to be able stay with the climbers. He used the mythical power of the yellow jersey to defend his GC lead, finishing just behind Contador and Evans. He effectively won the right to wear the maillot jaune for several more flat stages, barring any mishap.

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Overheard:

--- “Probably the worst day in my career. The boys did a great ride! They didn´t expect too much from me today. I just had to stay upright and help them a little, but I crashed in the first real corner and nearly took out 3 teammates. The team lost because of me today, and I didn´t hear any bad word from them. Thanks boys, but I know that I fu.... it up! No excuses, it was my fault!” -- Bernard Eisel of HTC-Highroad, who crashed only 500 meters into the 23 km (14.3-mile) TTT in Stage 2. HTC finished 2nd on the day, a mere 5 seconds back.

--- “It was probably the hardest 2K climb I’ve ever done.” -- Radio Shack’s Chris Horner after the punishing final tilt of Stage 4’s Mur-de-Bretagne climb. Horner, who was expected to contend for the stage win, flatted at an inopportune time and then, after working hard for 20 km to get back to the front at the base of the climb, had nothing left in the tank to make a move.

--- "It was an explosive final and we put Andy and Fränk as close to the front as we could so they would not be caught out. It looked like Andy got boxed in, but he didn't have the explosive punch. But the time he lost doesn't make me doubt him. I'm very confident in his shape. Today did underline that Evans is in very good form. He's an excellent stage racer and he's here for the Tour win. Not doing the Giro has really helped him." Leopard Trek team manager Brian Nygaard, after Andy Schleck lost 8 seconds to his GC rivals on the Mur-de-Bretagne climb, while brother Frank finished with the front group and lost no time.

Comment

Answer at http://www.roadbikerider.com/question-of-week , where you can also find an archive of previous poll results.

Highlights of your responses to last week’s Question: How much of the Tour de France will you watch this year?

-- 46% said “I plan to watch every day, every stage. Would not miss it!”

-- 28% said “I will watch as much as possible, sneaking a peek at work.”

-- 17% said “I will watch on the weekends and, when convenient, during the week.”

Comment

Question: I'm 52 years old and too fat! I got into cycling and I love it. I want to lose weight, and a friend recommended "bonk training." That is, don't eat breakfast and ride till I bonk. He says my body will suck fat like crazy and get slim. Is this bogus or does it work? -- Walter F.

Coach Fred Matheny Replies: That's a really bad idea, Walter. Sure, you burn fat when glycogen (muscle fuel) stores are low from not eating. There's little else to burn. But you ride very slowly and feel miserable.

Because you're creeping along, you aren't burning very many total calories per hour. This means you're burning fewer fat calories, too, in comparison with having muscles well stocked with glycogen so you can go harder.

When you're well-fueled, the percentage of fat being burned is lower. But because total caloric consumption is higher, you end up burning more total fat calories.

Besides, bonking is something to be avoided at all costs in any situation. It creates an emergency situation for your body. It thinks you're starving. So it shuts down your metabolism because of the famine you've suddenly encountered.

Cycling coach Tom Ehrhard speaks to this extreme stress on a rider's system when he says that any time you bonk, you should make the next two weeks very easy to recover. No riding near or above your lactate threshold, and certainly no racing.

Comment

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When they first became available, early in 2007, I was lucky enough to get sent a pair of the then brand-new and I still believe, revolutionary, Shimano Dura-Ace 7801-SL Wheels and Hutchinson Fusion 2 Tubeless Tires. I wrote a 2-part review of them in this column. Click here to read the review.

I’ll revisit tubeless this week and next to provide an update on the technology, along with tips for the best tubeless experience.

No tubes

The thing that’s revolutionary about tubeless road tires is that, like automobile tire technology, there’s no tube inside the tire. Tubeless tires look just like standard clincher road tires. However, the tubeless tires have reinforced sidewalls and beads that, along with the special, sealed tubeless rims (no spoke nipple holes) on the wheels, let them create an airtight seal so no tube is needed. An important part of the system is a dedicated tubeless valve that is part of the wheel package.

I put the new tubeless wheels and tires on my racing-only bike and have logged many miles on them since. Recently, I tried Hutchinson’s Atom tubeless tires and then switched to their Fusion 3s, the Atom profile being too small for my weight and road conditions.

More companies offering tubeless

Since those first tubeless road wheels and tires became available, other companies have released tubeless wheels, including Campagnolo, Fusion, and Stan’s. And Shimano has brought them to lower price-point levels, along with their top-of-the-line Dura-Ace models. A few tire companies have added tubeless tires, too, including Maxxis, but Hutchinson is still the leader by a mile, with three different models, and they make Specialized’s tubeless model, too.

Still, even with all these developments, tubeless road tires are kind of a secret and anything but mainstream. For example, I regularly run into racers riding on tubeless wheels but on standard tires and tubes. When I ask why, they sometimes say they didn’t realize they were riding on wheels that were made for tubeless tires. Or they tell me they like the brand and model of clincher tires they’re on and don’t see any reason to go tubeless.

Tubeless trouble

So, I wasn’t surprised when I received the following email from RBR reader Bill Rosenfeld, and I thought I’d answer it and provide some tubeless tips now that I’ve been on the system for 4 years.

Bill wrote, “My friend got tubeless tires, partially based on commentary from your RBR e-newsletter. Today she had a flat. It was a mess. It spewed the fluid all over the bike, rider, and road. It wouldn't hold air and putting a tube in was harder than normal. What's the virtue? A review of reader experience and tips would be of interest to many.”

Thanks, Bill. Watch for reader’s stories of their tubeless experiences in our Comments. My time on them has been mostly exceptional. The primary virtue is improved ride quality. Because there’s no tube inside the tire, there’s one less layer of rubber on the road, which results in more compliance and comfort and, according to some tests, reduced rolling resistance.

Superior ride quality

The best way I can describe it is that it takes that minor buzz you feel at the seat and bars when you’re riding over anything but glass-smooth roads right out of the equation. Most riders I’ve talked to who switched to tubeless say they feel the same velvety-smooth ride I do, so I don’t think it’s in my head.

Two other things contribute to the ride quality. Since there’s no tube and no chance of pinch flats, you can run lower pressure. For example, with my 165-pound body, I run 100 psi in my standard Continental Grand Prix 4000 rubber, yet I can run 90 in my Hutchinson Fusion 3s. That 10 psi makes a significant difference over a tough road race in saving energy and keeping comfortable. Perhaps Bill’s friend overinflated her tubeless tires, not realizing she can go significantly softer than with her old standard tires?

And there’s another trick with the Dura-Ace tubeless wheels: a couple of extra millimeters of width between the rim walls. This changes the tire profile, which complements the supple ride.

Tip: Interestingly, tubeless technology also makes it easier to ride on a flat tire in an emergency. Unlike standard tire setups where the tire squirms on the rim, making it difficult to control the bike, the tubeless tire stays in place. You still have to keep your speed down and take care cornering but it’s easier to limp home if you have to or keep racing to get to the support vehicle/tent.

Next week, I’ll finish this two-part column with more tubeless tips on sealant and fixing flats.

Comment

Jim Langley has been a pro mechanic and cycling writer for 38 years. At RBR he's the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop and moderator of the technical forums on the Premium Site . Check his "cycling aficionado" website at http://www.jimlangley.net , his Q&A blog and updates at Twitter . Jim's streak of consecutive cycling days has reached 6,394.

Cycling makes your hands buzz like a beehive or, worse, it puts your fingers to sleep.

Hand discomfort is usually caused by improper bike fit. But poor riding technique also plays a role. Gripping the bar in one position for long periods is a sure way to make hands and fingers feel like an electrical current is running through them.

Here's Help

Check bike fit. It’s always tempting to make your bike look like your favorite pro’s mount. If your handlebar is low in relation to the saddle, or your reach to the bar is too great for your arm length coupled with your torso length, you’ll need to tilt forward excessively. This puts too much weight on your hands. The result is compressed nerves that cause numb fingers.

There's no accepted formula for top tube/stem length on a road bike. It’s always safer to err on the side of a bar that’s too high and too close. Many road riders have evolved to a slightly more upright position for greater comfort. With a higher bar, more weight is borne by your rear end rather than your arms and hands. You can always change stems to increase the reach.

Move your hands frequently. Rest on the brake lever hoods. Move to the bends (as described next). Switch to the tops as if you are climbing. Go down to the drops. Then repeat the sequence. Move your hands in response to the terrain and road conditions. If the road is flat and straight, cultivate the habit of changing position every couple of minutes.

Use more padding. Consider cycling gloves with thicker padding or gel inserts. Some gloves are ergonomically designed to make a channel where nerves pass through the wrist into the heel of the hand. Check at your local bike shop for padded handlebar tape or wrap padding (foam or cork) under the tape. Even a moderate amount of additional padding can make a big difference in comfort.

Consider aero bars for long solo rides. Aero bars are not welcome in pacelines, but if you often ride by yourself, you might want to install a set. Aero bars eliminate all hand pressure because your weight is borne by your forearms on the armrests. As a bonus, your speed may increase by 1-2 mph on long rides with no additional effort.

Try the Kiefel grip. Here’s the hand position advocated by 7-time Tour de France competitor Ron Kiefel, who operates Wheat Ridge Cyclery in Denver. Ron puts his hands on the curve of the bar behind the brake hoods. Each index finger's knuckle is near the hood but not quite touching. The thumb goes inside the bar and rests near the base of the hood. The index and middle fingers are wrapped around the bar under the brake hoods, while the ring finger and pinky are under the bar, too. Finally, the underside of the knuckles contacts the bar just behind the hoods. Notice that in this position, weight is borne by the bony part of the palm behind the knuckles. The wrist is in a straight "handshake" position. The result alleviates most of the nerve compression that causes numb hands. Try this grip to see if it helps.

Try the split-finger grip. When riding with hands on the brake hoods, put the hoods between your index and middle fingers. This is a relaxing position for cruising when braking won’t be necessary. It shifts your hands slightly inward where bar pressure is on the fat part of your palms in line with your ring fingers. Contact is shifted from the palms’ center where nerves lie.

Comment

Adapted from Coach Fred's Solutions to 150 Road Cycling Challenges , a helpful eBook especially for cycling newcomers.

As we head into summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, recent research has uncovered a trick that could improve athletic performance in heat and humidity.

The New York Times says researchers in England found that runners could cover significantly more distance in the heat if they wore an ice-cold strap-on neck collar. The study’s lead author theorized that the collars cooled the blood in the neck’s carotid artery, which flowed to the brain to create a “subsequent lowering of cerebral temperature.” This convinced the brain that the body was cooler than it actually was.

But is this smart? Or would it open the door to heatstroke or worse by fooling the body into ignoring elevated core temperature?

Douglas Casa, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut and an expert on heat illness, told the Times that recreational athletes should worry less about performance in hot weather and focus more on staying healthy and using proven strategies such as acclimating slowly to heat over a week or so.

But, the article added, the collar could improve performance if you are “fit, competitive and ferociously intent on outdoing your training partners,” which describes about 99% of the cyclists I know. You just need to be aware of overexertion and -- yes -- the danger of an ice-cream headache (also known as “brain freeze”).

Can cyclists be trusted to exercise caution? I wonder, based on a teammate’s anecdote from the U.S. Masters National Road Race last summer in Kentucky, where competitors faced suffocating heat and humidity.

An exhausted racer collapsed at the finish. Emergency responders were having no luck reviving him till the rider’s wife came over and suggested they pour ice down his shorts, which they did.

Seconds later his eyes popped open and he screamed.

“Works every time,” his wife said.

Comment

If you enjoy reading Scott Martin, the eBook Spin Again contains 181 of his witty, sometimes wacky, and occasionally heart-felt observations on road cycling.

The Biggest Fallacy of Time Trialing

The time trial. They call it the race of truth. Simple. Pure. Each man races alone, with only his mind, his will and his legs pushing the pace.

Every effort is made to be physically, technically and mentally as fast as possible. Time trialing is an absolute test of the self. Each man is ranked and filed, and the truth comes out. You must demand the most of yourself in a race where time is meaningless.

That’s right. Time is meaningless in a time trial.

I hadn’t always seen it this way. I have always had confidence in my ability to ride the fine line. But I had no idea that the very metrics that said I was strong might also be holding me back. In the last year my sporting director has preached this: “The contre-la-montre has little to do with time. It is like a duel where you battle all comers mano a mano.” And since I have begun absorbing this indoctrination, my time trial results have improved markedly.

The objective of a time trial is simple. Ride faster than the other racers. There is no clock to beat. You’re not racing the clock. Clocks don’t ride bikes. You’re racing everyone who starts the race at minute intervals, not some arbitrary division of the fourth dimension. Watts, HR, cadence, time; these metrics do not win races. If you want to do well in a time trial, then race the man – not the minute hand.

Time isn’t even a good gauge of your effort when you’re done. How much did you win by? How much time behind the winner? 3 seconds? 3 minutes? It doesn’t matter. You placed 1st or 3rd or 30th. That’s what matters.

A solo effort exists outside the convention of time and all other metrics. Every second you count is a compromise, a waste of your focus. Elevated HR and watts measure your effort, but a constant effort is not necessarily a fast effort. It is possible to ride your “numbers” at 50km/hr or at 30km/hr. Strictly speaking, though, you cannot beat your numbers. But you can beat your real opponents – the other racers.

You must maximize your speed at every point on the course. Where and when can you go faster than anyone else? This is your advantage. Identify sections where others will be slower, and that is where you must be faster. Pace yourself with maximums that are limitless and uncompromising minimums. Your effort will not be constant, and you need to be able to recover at high speed. With practice you will feel it, learn to trust yourself – and push for more.

Comment

Cuylar Conly is an Elite Canadian Espoir bicycle racer. After finding the sport as a senior in high school, he has since left home in pursuit of the professional peloton. In 2011 he is racing for the under-23 team Fresh Air Experience/Ottawa Bicycle Club. Follow Cuylar’s wheel on his blog (www.cuylar.blogspot.com) or on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/Cuylar). Young Gun will run each month in RBR Newsletter.

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Another great resource for these hot summer riding months is Hot-Weather Cycling, by Dr. Alan Bragman.

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Preventing and Treating Cramps (eArticle), by Coach John Hughes. Cramps are something nearly all of us have to deal with from time to time. And summer heat can foster some of the underlying factors that contribute to cramping. Coach Hughes provides a detailed look into the causes of cramps, helping us understand and implement prevention techniques, which he covers in-depth. Finally, he provides tips (both on-bike and off-bike, including photos) for breaking and flushing cramps. The article includes helpful nutritional information regarding food sources for minerals your body needs, as well as the mineral content of sports drinks and supplements, which you can use to ensure adequate replenishment of what you lose through sweat. Following Coach Hughes’ recommendations could be the difference between a ride-ending cramp, or another great day on the bike.

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Cycling and Lower Back Pain(eArticle), by Alan Bragman, D.C. Dr. Bragman brings to bear the past 30 years of his experience diagnosing and treating thousands of patients with lower back pain, many of them cyclists. From his vast experience both professionally and personally as a sufferer of lower pain, he has developed a comprehensive understanding of how to diagnose, treat and prevent lower back pain in cyclists.

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Mastering the Long Ride (eArticle), by Coach John Hughes. The final eArticle in Coach Hughes’ trilogy on distance riding, Mastering the Long Ride is a follow-on to Beyond the Century (how to train for distance events) and Nutrition for 100K and Beyond. Together, this trilogy is a great resource for cyclists interested in “going the distance.” The new 16-page Mastering the Long Ride focuses on the planning and skills involved in riding the ride. Section I covers pre-event preparation, including in-depth advice and tips on planning, mental preparation, organizational, equipment and fuel preparation. Section II covers the event itself, including details on navigation, the benefits of group riding, the importance of “riding your own ride,” event pacing, and maintaining your momentum. It concludes with two sample equipment lists for what’s recommended on rides of 100 km to 200 miles, and rides of 400 km and longer.

Equations for Cyclists: How to Calculate Intensity, Wattage and More -- Without a Power Meter (eArticle), by Coach Fred Matheny. For those of us who don’t want to take a 2^nd mortgage to buy a power meter, Coach Fred tells us ways to determine cycling intensity and performance potential that don’t require gadgets. All it takes is applying some simple equations and simpler math.Coach Fred has personally tested all the formulas for accuracy in his own riding, and compared the calculated results with power meter readings. In all cases the formula results, compared to the power meter, were within about 5 percent.

Swift Cycling: A 12-week program for increasing your cruising speed (eArticle). Coach David Ertl lays out a series of interval and time trial training sessions and techniques, along with a week-by-week training plan to follow. This training guide is designed to help you increase your cruising speed for periods of time from 20 minutes up to an hour in duration.

Beyond the Century: How to Train for and Ride 200 km to 1,200 km Brevets (eArticle) by Coach John Hughes, is a perfect eArticle for those of you looking for a longer -- or longer term -- goal for 2011. Coach Hughes covers the 8 basic training principles, levels of training intensity, and the various phases of a successful brevet training program. He caps it off with a detailed training program designed to take you as far as you want to go.

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