By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher
Next Newsletter January 7
Both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on the next two Thursdays, our long-time publishing day.
I’m sure the same is true for you, but those days for me are days to spend with family and friends, and days on which I like to take a break for the world (from computers, and smart phones, and email, et al). And so I – and all of the RBR Crew – will be doing just that.
There will be no RBR Newsletter on the 24th or 31st. Enjoy your own family time, and the company of good friends. I’ll be doing the same in Germany, visiting my son, in-laws and friends.
We’ll be back on January 7th with a new issue of RBR Newsletter and already have a great 2-part series from Coach John Hughes lined up for you on the importance of planning, and how to create your own personal riding plan for 2016.
From all of us at RBR, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Send Us Your 2015 Goal Results & Lessons
Traditionally at this time of year, I would be asking readers to share their cycling goals for next year. But I want to do something a bit different this time around.
I’d like you instead to send us a rundown of how you did re: accomplishing the goals you set for yourself this year.
- What were the main goals that you accomplished this year?
- What were the key factors that helped you accomplish your goals?
- Did you have any sort of special motivation driving you to achieve your goals this year?
- If you did not accomplish some goals, what were the factors that kept you from achieving those goals?
I’m especially interested to know what it was that helped RBR readers reach your goals. The idea is to share with your fellow readers the “secrets” that made the year successful for you, or what might have been lacking, or missing, that held you back this year.
The lessons, I’m hopeful, could be the secret sauce that helps others reach their own cycling aims in 2016.
So share with us using the Contact Us form, https://roadbikerider.com/contact-us. I’ll pull together your contributions as part of our planning series in January.
Your Hands Get (Slightly) Colder Than Your Feet
Last week, we asked: When you ride outdoors in the winter, which part of you gets the coldest?
By a very slight margin (46 percent to 43 percent) you voted “Hands (or just fingers)” over “Feet (or just toes).” (I’m a member of the feet group.)
Those in the Hands group, then, will surely appreciate today’s Review of the Assos S7 Fugu Winter Gloves.
Dental Surgery is Nearly as Desirable as Riding the Trainer
I also got a kick out of your responses to the poll question from two weeks ago: Do you ride a trainer? If so, what is your typical workout?
The leading vote-getter, with 29.5 percent of the vote, was “Yes. I ride the trainer fairly regularly during the winter. I follow a structured plan for up to 1 hour.”
And coming in a close second, with just under 21 percent of the vote, was “No. I’d rather have a root canal than ride a trainer.” (I’m in the dental surgery group.)
And the Vast Majority of You Take No Off-Season Break
Finally, the question we posed before the trainer question was: How long a break do you take from riding in the “off-season”?
I can’t really say the responses to this one surprised me. We roadies are a dedicated lot who really love being on the bike. Just this past Saturday, on a ride with some buddies, one of them remarked: “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing right now than this.” Couldn’t have said it better myself!
What most of us do, though, in the off-season, is mix in some other exercise to supplement riding. The leading vote-getter, with 46 percent, was “I don’t take any break. But I do ride less and do other types of off-season training.”
Another 30 percent of you said “I don’t take any break. I ride year-round exclusively as my exercise.”
Like I said, we’re a hearty, dedicated group, to be sure!
Outspoken Cyclist Podcasts – Best of 2015
Our friend in cycling Diane Lees, who is both the host of The Outspoken Cyclist podcast and creator of the HubBub Helmet Mirror (click for Jim Langley’s review), chose her two favorite shows from this year to share with us:
Guests: Taylor Phinney; Maria Parker (Cruz Bike)
Guests: Lennard Zinn; Anna Brones (The Culinary Cyclist)
Just click the link to listen to the archived show.
We’ll feature more from The Outspoken Cyclist in 2016.
John Marsh is the former editor and publisher of RBR Newsletter and RoadBikeRider.com. A rider of "less than podium" talent, he brought our readers consistently useful, informative, entertaining info that helps make them better road cyclists. That's what we're all about here—always have been, always will be. Click to read John's full bio.
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