Newsletter Issue No. 847

January 31, 2019

PDF version for Premium Members is here.

 

10 Ways to Cross Train for Cyclists

By Coach John Hughes

Eight inches of snow and it’s still coming down! Am I depressed because I can’t ride? No — I get to play! And I don’t mean building a snowman. In season I train, each week I ride a planed mix of endurance, tempo, intensity and recovery rides. My riding has structure and I pay attention to my heart rate. In the winter I ignore the structure and numbers and just do activities I enjoy. The goal is to maintain my aerobic endurance. As long as I can talk I’m not going too hard. I also enjoy outdoor activities with family members who don’t cycle. Read more.

A Huge Personal Goal Achieved

By Jim Langley

You may have noticed that at the bottom of every Tech Talk there’s a little note that reads, “Ride total: X,XXX,” where the Xs are replaced with a number. Today’s number is 9,164. If you divide today’s number by 365, you will see that 9,164 daily consecutive rides equals a little over 25 years. Read more.

Rapha Cycling Apparel for the Cold and Wet

By Brandon Bilyeu

This was my first experience with Rapha and I came away impressed. Rapha makes some real quality kit. This review covers the Pro Team Winter Tights With Pad II, the Pro Team Race Cape, Pro Team Lightweight Rain Vest and Pro Team Base Layer. Here’s what I thought about each item, and how they worked in the cold and wet. Read more.

Learn More About Keeping Fitness and Gaining a Mental Edge in the Off-Season

by Coach John Hughes

Productive Off-Season Training for Health and Recreational Riders describes how to build general fitness. Hughes says, “What you should do during the off-season depends on your cycling objectives, whether you ride primarily for your health or for recreation. This eArticle is both for people who ride primarily for health and also those who ride for recreation. It describes different off-season activities and then combines these. Read more.

Carbohydrate Loading Does Not Work

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

“Carbohydrate loading” the night before a big race can impair your performance and damage your health. More than 45 years ago, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, I reported the case of a marathon runner who had a heart attack after carbohydrate loading.

The “carbohydrate loading” regimen was supposed to increase the amount of sugar stored in your muscles before a race or endurance competition. First proposed in 1939, the process took several days: a four-day depletion phase and a three-day loading phase. Read more.

Stay Upright on a Bicycle When Your Wheels Touch Another Rider’s

By Fred Matheny

It’s the most common cause of paceline crashes. You overlap your front wheel with the rear wheel of another rider. Then she swerves slightly to avoid a chink in the road, the wheels touch and — boom! — you’re in a heap. Nothing causes panic faster than that nasty whirring sound of two tire sidewalls rubbing. But what Tour de France voice Phil Liggett calls “a touch of wheels” doesn’t mean an automatic trip to the pavement. You can learn to avoid getting too cozy with another rider’s rear rubber and stay upright if you do. Read more.

Question of the Week

Do you cross train?

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One Comment

  1. Extraordinary articles of great utility, easy to understand and apply. Here in Colombia we have many false beliefs especially regarding feeding day or days before a race. that of loading full carbohydrates is the most common. Apply the article read in my next challenge 38 kms of pure ascent to the Alto del Verjon near Bogota in Colombia. Best regards.

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