By Coach John Hughes My friend and RBR reader Janet wrote, “One way I monitor my level of cycling fitness is by how hard (or easy) a routine ride is. I was off my bike for only 26 days and I could not believe how hard one of my routine routes was, the climbing in particular. I am so glad I did that ride yesterday. It's basically looking in the mirror. I will now work on … [Read more...] about Anti-Aging: In Your 60s How Fast Do You Lose Fitness?
Cycling in Your 60s: Activities in the Fall
By Coach John Hughes Note that I titled this “Activities” not “Working Out” or “Training.” The latter two sound more purposeful and may imply something you must do. For 60-year-olds fall is the time to kick back and enjoy other activities in addition to training for cycling. Here in Colorado changing from daylight savings to standard time means it’s time to put the snow … [Read more...] about Cycling in Your 60s: Activities in the Fall
Anti-Aging: Going the Distance in Your 50s
By Coach John Hughes In last week’s column Anti-Aging Training in Your 50s, 60s and Beyond I described the training principles that apply to all of us older riders (I’m 69). This week I’ll discuss how to ride an endurance ride in your 50s. What’s an endurance ride? Lon Haldeman holds multiple trans-continental records. His first endurance ride was 10 miles as a kid to the … [Read more...] about Anti-Aging: Going the Distance in Your 50s
Anti-Aging: Training in Your 50s, 60s and Beyond
By Coach John Hughes Last week I described the physical changes with aging in your 50s — both true aging and pathological aging. By training effectively you can slow (and even reverse in some cases) true aging. Exercise along with life style changes can significantly reduce the risk of pathological aging. I specialize in coaching riders in their 50s, 60s and beyond. The … [Read more...] about Anti-Aging: Training in Your 50s, 60s and Beyond
Anti-Aging: Growing Older in Your 50s
By Coach John Hughes Turning 50 can be hard for a roadie — you start to slow down just a little and you don’t recover quite as quickly. I remember when I turned 50 in 1999, almost 20 years ago. I rode some big events before then: 40 y.o. 1989 Won the first Furnace Creek 508 through Death Valley 508 miles & 30,000’ of climbing in 30H 54M. 43 y.o. 1992 Course … [Read more...] about Anti-Aging: Growing Older in Your 50s
Ask the Coach: Lessons from a Did Not Finish
By Coach John Hughes I started coaching my client Pete last March for the Hoodoo 500 in August 2018 in Utah. Hoodoo is a qualifier for the Race Across AMerica (RAAM). Pete had to finish in 48:45 hours including both riding time and time off the bike. He DNF’d in Panguitch at mile 380 after 38 hours of racing. How long is an ultra event? Longer than you’re used to riding. … [Read more...] about Ask the Coach: Lessons from a Did Not Finish
Ask the Coach: Best Recovery Food and Drink
By Coach John Hughes My client, Ben, is 69 and rides about 3,000 miles a year. He’s training to do a 12-hour race in June 2019. He also rides his age on his birthday. Later this month his goal is to ride 70 miles (113 km) in less than 4:30 hours (15.6 mph / 9 km/h). Ben’s Training I divided his training into three phases: Base Training phase to build his endurance to … [Read more...] about Ask the Coach: Best Recovery Food and Drink
Ask the Coach: Peaking for Two Cycling Events
By Coach John Hughes RBR reader Dan Austad asked on September 12, “I am planning to do the National Senior Game's 5K time trial on June 15 and the 10K time trial on June 16, 2018. (If I get an invitation maybe the road races on June 18 and 19) and then do Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), which starts on August 17, 2018. I also plan to compete in tennis at the Senior Games from … [Read more...] about Ask the Coach: Peaking for Two Cycling Events
Ask the Coach: Should I Be Riding More Miles? Part 2
By Coach John Hughes The Case of Walt Last week I described the case of my client Walt. Walt is an experienced ultra athlete and is training for a 500-mile race in October, longer than he’s ever ridden. Although you probably aren’t a long-distance rider you can learn from Walt’s experience. August 18-19 Walt raced the Mid-Atlantic 24-Hour. When the race was stopped at … [Read more...] about Ask the Coach: Should I Be Riding More Miles? Part 2
Ask the Coach: Should I Ride More Miles? Part 1
By Coach John Hughes My client Walt is training for a 500-mile race. He had an excellent race at the Mid-Atlantic 24 Hour on August 18-19. The race was stopped at 16 hours 37 minutes. Our plan was for him to cover about 286 miles by then. He actually rode 307.05 miles and averaged 18.5 mph. He was on pace for ~ 434 miles - 20 miles more than planned, which would have been a … [Read more...] about Ask the Coach: Should I Ride More Miles? Part 1
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 … [Read more...] about Anti-Aging: Working With Your Doctor
Ask the Coach: Eating for Endurance
By Coach John Hughes Two of my clients recently had nutrition problems during long rides. Although most roadies won’t necessarily ride this far, the lessons apply to any endurance rider. Brian’s Century After DNF’ing he wrote, “I rode well at first, but around 50 miles my gut stopped working and it felt like I was bonking despite eating regularly during the ride to that … [Read more...] about Ask the Coach: Eating for Endurance
Ask the Coach: Unusual Pain During Cycling Intensity Workouts
By Coach John Hughes RBR Reader Will writes, “I am 70 and ride for recreation and health. I normally only ride 10 miles or so five days a week. I have found that if I include some intensity work I can take tours with 40 to 50 mile rides without suffering. Recently when I put out high effort I sometimes get a strong pain in my lower abdomen. This goes away in a couple of … [Read more...] about Ask the Coach: Unusual Pain During Cycling Intensity Workouts
Learning from the Pros: Pacing to “Ration Your Matches”
By Coach John Hughes Rationing Your Matches Last week I described how the pros ration matches, a technique that can benefit all roadies from commuters to racers and everybody in between. It may not be noticeable on TV, but each racer carefully monitors the amount of effort he or she is putting out. At the start of a race, a smart pro imagines that he or she has a book of … [Read more...] about Learning from the Pros: Pacing to “Ration Your Matches”
Learning from the Pros: Don’t Break Bones
By Coach John Hughes Seems simple – don’t fall! In Anti-Aging 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process Fred Matheny writes, “Avoid injury so that you can keep working out. That’s hard to do as you age but not impossible. Staying uninjured also means not taking chances on the bike. Keep something in reserve on technical descents, watch out for dangerous riders in packs, use … [Read more...] about Learning from the Pros: Don’t Break Bones