Newsletter Issue No. 1101
These are the most popular newsletter articles of 2023.
Don’t Make These 15 Common Bicycling Mistakes
By Coach John Hughes
Recently I was in Boulder, Colo. for several days and rode each day. The Boulder area is home to literally thousands of riders ranging from pro road, mountain and triathlon racers to pleasure riders out for 15 or 25 miles. Except for the pros, many of the riders exhibited one or more mistakes. Read more.
What is the 75 rule in cycling?
QUESTION: What is the 75 rule in cycling? I heard someone telling his buddy to remember that rule on a group ride as the pace started to pick up. What did he mean? —Pete L.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: The 75 rule is a training guideline for riders who are seeking to improve their performance and endurance. The “75” is a percentage and the so-called rule is that when training, about 75% of your time should be at or below 75% of your maximum heart rate (MHR), which is the highest heart rate you can achieve. Conversely, only about 25% of your time should be spent working intensely above 75% of your MHR. Read more.
Does Direction Matter on Directional Road Bike Tires?
By Jim Langley
The question in the title was asked by RBR regular contributor “Fixie Guy.” If you comment on articles and read them you’ve surely benefited from his tips and insights. The question he asked this time interested me but I didn’t have a very good answer for him. So he went to a higher authority.
Read on to follow the entire thread, which includes his questions and comments, my replies and one from the tire company Vittoria, too. Then please comment with your take on directional tires. Read more.
Going to Lower Gearing on My Gravel Bike
By Jim Langley
In case you read about my new Trek Checkpoint SL 5 Gravel Bike in this space back in February, I want to share that I’ve changed my mind on the bike’s stock gearing. Read more.
Your Questions Answered: Pumps that Blowback; Gearing for Epic Climbs; Cabling Tips
By Jim Langley
Several good technical questions were dropped in the comments to Techs Talks of the past few weeks. Here they are with my answers. Read more.
How much exercise does an electric bike give you?
QUESTION: How much exercise does an electric bike give you? Is it enough to benefit my health? —George V.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: My friend Murray is a long time cyclist who, as he neared 80, switched from his regular bike to an ebike. He’d always kept track of his bike miles, and, because he gained weight easily, he used a standard formula to calculate how many calories he burned when riding those miles. But now that his pedaling is assisted by a motor, he decided that he should discount his caloric burn by 50%. This was his own decision, as he could not find any established formula to measure how many calories are typically burned per mile while riding an ebike. Read more.
Mike’s Wheel Collapse
By Jim Langley
This week I’m sharing photos of what I think is a fascinating wheel collapse or as chefs say, “deconstruction” might be a more appropriate word for what happened. Read more.
Ask the Coach: Losing Fitness in Your 60s
By Coach John Hughes
Last week my former client June wrote me, “Hi Coach Hughes! I enjoyed so much working with you to train to ride my first century when I turned 60 in 2018. Time flies, doesn’t it? Each winter I lose more fitness. As I age, my low point seems lower!
I live in Seattle and it’s dark and rainy when I get off work. Although I have a trainer, indoor cycling is so boring that the trainer is dusty. I’ve tried spin classes but they’re too hard. Read more.
Heat Tolerance and Aging
By Coach John Hughes
I was 46 when I bought my home in Boulder, CO in 1995 and the heating and cooling systems were like a cabin. When it was cold I chopped wood and built fires in the wood stoves. When it was hot I opened both low and high windows to increase the airflow. About 10 years ago my wife and I decided that getting up when it was only 50F in the house and building fires wasn’t tolerable any more so we put in heat in each room. This year we’ve decided that 85F in the house is too hot and we’re putting in air conditioning next week. As we age we feel less tolerant of the heat. But is loss of heat tolerance inevitable with aging? Read more.
Question of the Week
Do you plan to use a smart trainer this winter?
End Notes
