By Coach John Hughes In my recent column I’m 70! Yikes!!! Lessons from my Journey Through Life one of the key lessons I’ve learned is to ride less and recover more. The results are that the riding I do 1) is more enjoyable because I’m not tired at the start of the ride and 2) produces more improvement because I can do a more challenging ride that’s longer and / or … [Read more...] about Importance of Recovery in your 50s, 60s and Beyond: 9 Tips on Cycling Recovery
10 Tips to Improve Your Mental Toughness
By Coach John Hughes My client David finished the arduous Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) covering 1219km (758 miles) in 89 hours 20 minutes. (90 hours was the cut-off for an official finish.) This is the total time including all the time off the bike including short sleep breaks! Riders had to check in at controls (check points that also had food and places to sleep on the floor) … [Read more...] about 10 Tips to Improve Your Mental Toughness
How to Improve as a Cyclist
By Coach John Hughes On August 1, 2019, Patricia Anne Baker set the Masters Women’s 80-84 Hour World Record of 27.447km (17.96 mi). Wow! Although this column describes how an older rider can improve, the principles apply to all roadies. … [Read more...] about How to Improve as a Cyclist
Cycling in the Heat 101
By Coach John Hughes 101 – that’s how hot it’s been (or 38 degrees Celsius), depending on where you live. Maybe even hotter for you! How can you ride in the heat and still have fun? How can you train effectively? You’re the Reason Why You Get Hot. The human engine is very inefficient. Only about 20 – 40% of the calories you burn move you down the … [Read more...] about Cycling in the Heat 101
6 Muscle Strengthening Exercises to Prevent Cramps
By Coach John Hughes Photos of Coach Dan Kehlenbach Yikes! All of a sudden a muscle locks up. We’ve all suffered cramps. Muscle fatigue is one cause of cramps. Strength training helps to prevent cramps. Why do specific muscles cramp? Depending on which of your muscles are prone to cramps, which exercises should you do to strengthen the muscles? … [Read more...] about 6 Muscle Strengthening Exercises to Prevent Cramps
I’m 70! Yikes!!! Lessons from my Journey Through Life
By Coach John Hughes Chronological aging is unavoidable; however, you can chose how you live the journey. I was born in 1949. Starting when I was 30 each decade I chose a significant cycling event. Age 30 - In 1979 I rode my first of five Paris-Brest-Paris 1200Ks (750 miles) with about 10,000 meters (32,000 ft.) of climbing. I had to finish PBP in under 90 hours … [Read more...] about I’m 70! Yikes!!! Lessons from my Journey Through Life
Eat, Race, Win Lessons from the Tour de France
By Coach John Hughes Simon Yates just won his second stage of the 2019 Tour de France, stage 15, on the Prat d’Albis (12 km at 6.9%). Three days earlier he had won stage 12. Yates races on the Mitchelton–Scott team, an Australian team that was previously the Orica-Scott team. … [Read more...] about Eat, Race, Win Lessons from the Tour de France
20 Tips for Your First Century
By Coach John Hughes For many cyclists riding a 100K or 100 miles is the classic achievement, something you focus on, train for and worry about for months. Although you’ve trained hard and think you're ready, you may also feel like a pro racer about to start his first Tour de France—nervous and not entirely sure you can finish. Here are 8 tips on your final preparations and … [Read more...] about 20 Tips for Your First Century
14 Nutrition Tips for Endurance Riders
By Coach John Hughes “I has been a great week for me. I feel much more comfortable on the bike and I think that is due, in part, to your advice to eat more on the bike. I really worked on that this week and especially on the 80-mile ride I did. It seems to have worked.” — from one of my client’s weekly reports. Summer is here and you’re probably planning a long ride. You … [Read more...] about 14 Nutrition Tips for Endurance Riders
15 Tips for Riding Your Best Century
By Coach John Hughes For many of us the big event of the season is a specific century or a gran fondo in which we want to do our best. You may want to finish your first century. Or have more fun and finish your local century without feeling trashed. Or set a PR in your club’s classic century. Or conquer a particularly hard 100. Or compete against others in a gran fondo. Or … [Read more...] about 15 Tips for Riding Your Best Century
14 Ways for Big Riders to Improve
By Coach John Hughes Despite being a big rider in the peloton, "Miguelón" or "Big Mig," won the Tour de France from 1991 through 1995, the fourth, and last, to win five times, and the only five-time winner to achieve those victories consecutively. He won the Giro d’Italia twice, one of seven racers to achieve the Giro-Tour double in the same season. Miguel Induráin was … [Read more...] about 14 Ways for Big Riders to Improve
What Is the Best Electrolyte Supplement?
By Coach John Hughes Even in very hot conditions, most of the heat is generated by your body, which is only about 25% efficient. For every four calories you burn, only one calorie provides energy to move you forward—and the other three calories produce heat. That heat must be dissipated from your body through primarily by sweat. Your body is like a car’s radiator. Blood … [Read more...] about What Is the Best Electrolyte Supplement?
Enjoy Your Riding More: Training by Perceived Exertion
By Coach John Hughes I’m enjoying spring riding in Boulder, Colorado where I live. The fields are just starting to get green and beyond them the Rockies are still snow covered. And I have time to enjoy the scenery because I’m not staring at numbers on a heart rate monitor or power meter. I listen to my body and ride by Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). Perceived exertion … [Read more...] about Enjoy Your Riding More: Training by Perceived Exertion
13 Ways to Improve Your Climbing
By Coach John Hughes My client Ted is going to the Alps later this month with a buddy to climb some of the classic climbs of the Tour de France including Alpe d’Huez, the Col de la Madeleine, and the Glandon. Their rides will take from 3:00 – 4:30 hours and the daily rides range from 149 feet / mile to 189 feet / mile. Ted is training for the long course of the … [Read more...] about 13 Ways to Improve Your Climbing
Showstoppers III: 10 Tips to Prevent Saddle Discomfort
By Coach John Hughes In a survey of RBR readers, saddle discomfort and saddle sores were the most frequent physical problem while riding. In another study of amateur endurance cyclists more than 60% reported butt pain and of these cyclists about 50% had to alter the riders riding style or temporarily stop riding. Saddle problems are of two different types: … [Read more...] about Showstoppers III: 10 Tips to Prevent Saddle Discomfort