Newsletter Issue No. 1102
January 4, 2024
How Fit Are You? Part 1
By Coach John Hughes
Happy New Year.
I made two resolutions:
- To have a longer lifespan than Keith Richards who turned 80 on December 18, 2023. I’ll turn 75 in April and need to live at least 5+ more years.
- To be as fit as possible for the rest of my life. As I age my health and fitness will decline; however, I have a great degree of control about how slowly or rapidly this will happen. The geriatric curve is a graph of how fitness declines over the years. I want to flatten my geriatric curve, i.e., slow the rate of decline as much as possible. Read more.
Do You Need A Bicycle Wheel Truing Stand?
Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
A few Tech Talks ago, we wrote about how to use bicycle repair stands, one of the foundation tools of home bike shops. If you missed that column, here it is: How to Safely Put Bicycles in Clamping Repair Stands.
In response to that article, we received a request to do a piece on bicycle wheel truing stands, which are the other foundation tools of home bike shops – at least for mechanics that enjoy wheel repairs and wheel building. Read more.
Important Health Progression From a Single Dietary Lesson
By Kevin Kolodziejski
My sixth grade teachers assumed I was being just another class clown when I voted for Gus Hall, the Communist Party nominee for president of the United States in 1972. But I saw my role in their mock election differently.
As a restaurant waiter doling out the final course that comes along with the entrée they had selected. A nice-sized serving of their just desserts. Read more.
Velocio Signature Softshell Jacket – Quick Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
The first rule of winter riding in Chicago is to keep your core warm so blood flows to your extremities ― keeping feet and hands toasty. A good jacket is essential. It must be windproof, water-resistant at a minimum, and breathable. Velocio’s Signature Softshell jacket lets you truly enjoy a winter ride, hike, or cross-country ski. Read more.
How can I motivate myself to ride further?
QUESTION: How can I motivate myself to ride further? I’ve lost some fitness, and I find myself struggling on group rides and get dropped a lot because I’m not riding as many miles. When I find myself out on a ride, I end up talking myself out of continuing and going home early, which is not helping my fitness any.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: Loss of motivation to ride can spring from all sorts of disturbances that may or may not have anything to do with cycling itself. Read more.
Cycling Past 50, 60 and Beyond Bundle
Cycling Past 50, 60 and Beyond, by Coach John Hughes, 3-article bundle includes:
- Peak Fitness 39 pages Contains four specific programs to improve your fitness in one or more of the following ways:
- Improved endurance
- More power
- Faster speed
- Higher aerobic capacity (VO2 max)
- Training with Intensity 27 pages Doing the right kind(s) of hard riding slows the aging process and delivers an array of benefits at any age:
- More efficient training.
- Stronger heart.
- Greater lung capacity
- More powerful muscles.
- Fit for Life 34 pages Exercise options to strengthen your body’s functions that keep you fit for life and activities of daily living, including your aerobic, skeletal, muscular, neural, core and balance systems.
Question of the Week
Do you eat and drink as much in cold weather?
Other Cool Things to Read
Pedalsmartblog: Smart Bikes, Zwift and Bike Computers are all WRONG
Cycling Weekly: I completed this 12-week strength training program for cyclists and here’s how it improved my peak power
GCN: Indoor training apps all cyclists should know about
Momentum Mag: Stories of stolen bicycle recovery from Iceland’s Bike Whisperer to London’s BackPedal
Most Clicked Last Week
Don’t Make These 15 Common Bicycling Mistakes
End Notes
