Question: I am considering going on a 10 day bike tour in Italy. Everything about the trip looks great except for the fact the average speed of the riding is significantly below what I am accustomed to. Is there a device one can attach to a road bike that can consume 50 to 75 watts? -- Luc G The RBR Coaches Respond … [Read more...] about How to Ride at a Slower Pace Than You’re Accustomed To
1Training & Health
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
by Gabe Mirkin, M.D. To make muscles stronger, you need to exercise intensely enough to damage the muscles. You can tell that you are damaging muscles when you exercise vigorously enough to feel burning during exercise and soreness in those muscles eight to 24 hours later, which is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. Muscles are made of thousands of muscles … [Read more...] about Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
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
Interview: A Beginner’s Guide to Ketogenic Diets for Cyclists
By Lars Hundley Recently, I ran into a blog about following a ketogenic diet as a cyclist, http://www.ketoadaptedcyclist.com, written by the attorney, certified Bulletproof nutritional coach, and road cyclist, Valerie Peterson. As someone who tries to avoid white sugar and wheat, I learned from personal experience that it takes a while to adapt to riding well when you’re … [Read more...] about Interview: A Beginner’s Guide to Ketogenic Diets for Cyclists
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
Junk Food Raises Cancer Risk
By Gabe Mirkin, MD Results from the huge EPIC study (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) confirm that eating a lot of junk food increases risk for many cancers. Researchers in Paris followed 471,495 adults in 10 European countries for an average of 15.3 years, and the participants developed 49,794 cancers. The participants' diets were scored using … [Read more...] about Junk Food Raises Cancer Risk
Bikes and Beers on the Blue Ridge Parkway
By John Marsh When my buddy Scott and I started talking last November about doing another “big ride” in 2018, he suggested coming from Southern California to Atlanta (my home) and spending a week or so doing something in this part of the country. We’ve gotten into a groove over the past few years of doing a tour of some sort every other summer. Two summers ago we rode the … [Read more...] about Bikes and Beers on the Blue Ridge Parkway
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
GU Energy Gels and Stroopwafels Round Up Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum New Flavors, New Cause. About a month ago the GU Energy rep sent me some samples of their new gel flavors – French Toast, Birthday Cake and CHAi LATTe. Prior to that they had also sent a few samples of their Stroopwafels. Personally, my stomach can’t handle real sweet nutrition or hydration products, so my go to GU has always been Vanilla Bean. When I … [Read more...] about GU Energy Gels and Stroopwafels Round Up Review
How to “Cheat” On Your Next FTP Test
By Rick Schultz, MBA, DBA How to Gain Up to 20% on Your Next Functional Threshold Power Test Or, Let's see what your real potential is. Disclaimer Here's a testing protocol to show you your absolute 100% potential for a 20 minute Functional Threshold Power (FTP) effort. This FTP test shouldn’t count towards an actual number to base actual training on, but just to show … [Read more...] about How to “Cheat” On Your Next FTP Test
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
Exercisers Should Follow a Heart-Healthy Diet
By Gabe Mirkin, MD A study of 798 asymptomatic and apparently healthy master athletes (runners, cyclists, triathletes, rowers and hockey players), 35+ years old, who exercised fairly vigorously 3-7 days a week, found that 10 percent had greater than 70 percent blockage of the arteries leading to their hearts (BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 2018;4 (1):e000370). This … [Read more...] about Exercisers Should Follow a Heart-Healthy Diet
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
Is Your Coach Under Suspension? If So, Your Racing License Is At Risk
By Rick Schultz, MBA, DBA This afternoon, I visited with a friend that worked as a bike fitter at a local shop that just closed. We were discussing what he might want to do next. He brought up his recent fast group ride and I brought up the question of him coaching. He said he knows a guy that coaches a female racer and then said something that made me respond with a name. … [Read more...] about Is Your Coach Under Suspension? If So, Your Racing License Is At Risk