Newsletter Issue No. 1087

September 21, 2023

10 Common Cycling Nutrition Mistakes

By Coach John Hughes

My recent column My 1979 1200 km Paris-Brest-Paris described 7 of my mistakes including nutrition mistakes.  Here’s a follow up on other nutrition mistakes, many from my own experience. Read more.


Are You the Group’s Flat Fixer?

Jim’s Tech Talk

By Jim Langley

If you go on friendly group rides, this has probably either happened to you – or you were the one making it happen. Let me set the scene:

You’re all humming along down the road enjoying the day and company and getting nicely warmed up when someone hollers “FLAT!” Read more.


Explore the Latest Collection of Cycling Books from Bloomsbury Publishing

By Sheri Rosenbaum

Bloomsbury Publishing has recently added two more books to their cycling collection: 1923: The Mystery of Lot 212 and a Tour de France Obsession by Ned Boulting and Bike Fit 2nd Edition: Optimise Your Bike Position for High Performance and Injury Avoidance by Phil Burt. Read more.


How do I choose the derailleurs for my next bike?

QUESTION: I’m buying my first road bike and there are so many different choices and price points, and a lot of that seems to depend on the derailleurs. The local bike shop carries bikes with SRAM and Shimano derailleurs and a bunch of different things like Tiagra and SRAM Apex, as well as more expensive bikes with electronic shifting. How do I know which one to buy? And how do I keep from being sold more than I need? —Arnie L.

RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: SRAM and Shimano are the two major makers of derailleurs and other bike drivetrain components (including cog sets, chains, cranksets and chainrings, and shift levers). Read more.


Should I Ride Hard All the Time?

Question:  I am a new rider primarily interested in fitness. I got my bike in June and began to ride seriously in July, four days a week, about 30 minutes per ride. I average around 90% of max heart rate. I’m totally spent when I get back home. Should I continue to ride this hard to get the most from my training time? — Bill P.

Read more.


Cycling Past 50 Bundle

In this 4-article series, Cycling Past 50, Coach John Hughes shares what you need to do as you age into your 50s and beyond – using cycling and other exercises – to increase your longevity and improve your enjoyment of life! These articles apply whether you are just taking up cycling and exercise or you’ve been a cyclist for years and intend never to stop.

  • Healthy Nutrition Past 50 – what to eat and drink to support both a healthy lifestyle and continuing performance.
  • Healthy Cycling Past 50 – what happens as we age and how to incorporate cycling and other exercise activities into our daily lives to stay healthy and active for many years.
  • Performance Cycling Past 50 – how to train to achieve more specific cycling goals given the physiological changes of aging.
  • Off-Season Conditioning Past 50 – how to best work on your off-season conditioning given the physiological changes of aging.

Learn more.

Question of the Week

Do you have any old bikes sitting around that you (or family members) never ride?

Cool Stuff to Read

X Eurosport: Jonas Vingegaard is a rider of many talents, but riding with no hands is not one….
Global Cycling Network: Cyclists ‘stalked’ by self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas
CPR News: Durango’s Sepp Kuss is the first American in a decade to win one of cycling’s biggest races

Most Clicked Last Week

Shift Cable Breaks – Are Wires the Solution?

End Notes

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