Newsletter Issue No. 825

August 30, 2018

PDF version for Premium Members is here.

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Anti-Aging: Working With Your Doctor

By Coach John Hughes
My doctor recently retired and last week I met with a new personal care physician. I told her that my goal is to be as healthy, fit and active as possible into my 90s and then to drop dead, which is called squaring the geriatric curve. I explained to her that I try to follow the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) recommendations. My goal is to exercise at least 10 hours a week including most of the following activities. Read more.

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Bont Helix Cycling Shoes Review

By Jim Langley
In January, I gave Bont’s Vaypor S road shoes a rave review. Here it is in case you missed it: Bont’s Vaypor S Road Shoes Review. At the time of the review, some comments were posted by Bont users who mentioned pros and cons they’d experienced with older Bont shoes. So, I told you I’d follow-up down the road on how the test shoes were performing.

Since then, Bont came out with an ingenious new closure system and incorporated it into a new model, their Helix shoes. I requested a pair and have been riding them now for a couple of months. Read more.

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New to Bike Racing? Before You Hire a Coach, Consider This First

By Rick Schultz
Ready to start racing bikes for the first time? Before you hire a coach, consider going to a bike fitter first. Find a fitter who understands the entire bike sizing, purchasing, bike fitting and coaching process. A good bike fitter might also be a coach, and can often recommend the basics, as well as the right equipment, clothing, shoes, etc. to get started. It’s important to get started with the right bike, and especially the right sized bike. Read more.

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How Can I Save Energy Riding in a Group?

By Fred Matheny
I started riding a year ago and finally got the confidence and fitness to show up for competitive 50-mile group rides on weekends. I can stay with the lead group until the last 10 miles. Then I get dropped, and it isn’t even hilly. My legs feel spent. One of the other riders told me I spend too much time with my “nose in the wind.” What does that mean? Read more.

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An RBR favorite from Coach Hughes:

Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process

 

Anti-Aging explains how to get the most benefit from cycling. It has sample training plans to increase your annual riding miles and to build up to rides of 25-, 50-, 100- and 200-mile rides. The book explains why intensity training is important, the pros and cons of gauging intensity using rate of perceived exertion, heart rate and power. It includes how to do intensity exercise and different intensity workouts. It integrates endurance and intensity training into an annual plan for optimal results.

Learn more.

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Twin Study Shows That Lifestyle Can Override Genes

By Gabe Mirkin, MD
Studies in the new field of Epigenetics are showing that lifestyle factors can change the way your body responds to your genes. In one of these studies, researchers were delighted to find a set of identical twins with vastly different lifestyles. They found that a lifetime of exercise is likely to give you the body characteristics of a healthy athlete, while an inactive lifestyle can give you body characteristics associated with increased risk for many diseases. Read more.

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List of Bike Brands from A to Z

There are a LOT of bike brands out there. We decided to compile them into a list to see how many we could come up with. It turned into a much bigger endeavor than we imagined and was frankly a bit overwhelming. Although it’s still nowhere near complete, I think we’ve made a pretty decent start in creating a list that we’ll continue to improve and add on to over time. Take a look, and leave a comment if you think of any bike brands we’ve left out. Read more.

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Question of the Week

How do you manage your efforts at the front on group rides?