Newsletter Issue No. 898
January 23, 2020
PDF version for Premium Members is here.
How Much Should You Train to Improve Cycling Performance, part 2
By Coach John Hughes
Last week’s column was How Much Should You Train to Get Faster? After I posted it to Facebook, readers made a number of good responses. Read more.
Winterize Your Bicycle
By Jim Langley
Even though the winter weather is fairly tame here in Santa Cruz, California, I know that in a good many other locales nothing – not snow, or freezing rain, or iced-over pavement, or hurricane gusts that leave normally clogged roads car-free – will stop some roadies from getting their rides in during the winter. Read more.
Sponsor: Susie’s Smart Breakfast Cookie
If you aren’t eating two servings of fish every week, you might not be getting enough Omega 3 in your diet. According to WebMD, “Not only does your body need these fatty acids to function, but also they deliver some big health benefits.” Each Susie’s Smart Breakfast Cookie provides 2 grams of Omega 3s from sources including walnuts, flaxseed and canola in the form of a delicious cookie that comes in flavors including Orange, Cranberry Nut, Gingered Apple, Banana Coconut and Cocoa. Use one to fuel up on a ride, or as a breakfast replacement. Learn more about the Breakfast Cookies here.
Read what RBR Premium Member Randy Birch had to say about them here.
Use coupon code RBR2020 for 10% off entire order
Keep Cool on Trainer Rides
Keep cool on your next indoor trainer ride.
Remember how important it is to stay cool on sweltering July rides? If you don’t keep your core temperature down, you risk dehydration and exhaustion. Serious heat stroke is next. Read more.
Event Gear Max Single Base Hitch Rack Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
Event Gear shipped me their MAX platform bike rack a few months ago promising it was light weight, solid and easy to store. As with most bike racks there’s some assembly required. The MAX is the fourth brand of rack I’ve put together, and to my surprise it had few parts and fairly straight forward to assemble. Read more.
Wind-Blox Product Review
By Rick Schultz
Riding in a paceline, you need to be attentive — listening and watching everything. The last thing you need is a pair of earmuffs preventing you from safely hearing what’s going on. These are ideal. I can clearly hear those in front of me calling out road debris, etc. Actually, with the reduced wind noise, it’s even easier to hear those warnings. Read more.
Exercise-Induced Asthma (EIA)
Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is wheezing and shortness of breath that occur during exercise. It can occur in people who never wheeze at any other time, those who wheeze only when they have an infection or allergy, and those who have asthma at other times. People with EIA can start to wheeze or become short of breath several minutes after they start to exercise and symptoms can become more severe five to 10 minutes after stopping. The shortness of breath and coughing usually improve 30 minutes after stopping exercise, but milder symptoms can continue for four to twelve hours. Read more.
Why You Should Attend the North American Handmade Bicycle Show
By Madelyn Tomasi
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show is the world’s largest and most innovative show for handmade bicycles and was built on the foundation of bringing consumers, creators, and media together on an annual basis. Read more.
Quick Tip: Finish the Hill
“Finish the hill” is a term coaches use to remind riders that a climb doesn’t end till gravity starts pulling you down the other side.
Many riders, however, start easing up when the top comes into view. It’s understandable. You’ve been working hard. Your legs are burning, your lungs are heaving — but now you risk losing lots of time. Read more.
Cycling Past 50, 60 and Beyond Bundle
In this 3-article series, Cycling Past 50, 60 and Beyond, Coach John Hughes shares his personal insight and the current research into how different physiological systems worsen with age.
- Fit for Life: Different ways you can improve while having fun.
- Peak Fitness: Four specific programs to improve your fitness in one or more of the following ways: Improved Endurance, More Power, Faster Speed, Higher Aerobic Capacity (VO2 max).
- Training with Intensity: Doing some hard riding slows the aging process and delivers an array of benefits at any age.
Question of the Week
Have you ever dealt with exercise induced asthma?
More Cycling Stuff to Read
The Guardian: How Strava became a religion.
Bike Radar: Weight weenies rejoice. A rideable, 8.6 pound road bike!
Etsy: Don’t add this leather banana holster to the bike above, please.
Bicycle Retailer: USA Cycling starts to get interested in gravel. Check out all the comments on this article! Sounds like gravel riders aren’t interested.
VeloNews Podcast: The evolution of helmet technology.
End Notes
After reading last week about Jim’s upgraded vintage Lejeune bike, I started thinking about my old 1991 Cannondale SR800 road bike with Shimano 600 components on it that I still have hanging in the garage. I recently took a look at it and saw that it still has Continental 19 mm tires on it. Those were the days when you’d run tires as narrow as you could get and pump them up to the maximum pressure because that was “obviously” the fastest option. My old Cannondale is unfortunately not quite old enough to be Eroica ready, because those have to be pre-1987 bikes. Maybe one day I’ll put on new grip tape and tires and take it for a spin.