July 11, 2019
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14 Nutrition Tips for Endurance Riders
By Coach John Hughes
Summer is here and you’re probably planning a long ride. You may be looking forward to the club’s 50-miler or riding a 100K with a friend. Or finishing your first century. Or competing against others in a grand fondo. Or having more fun and finishing your local century without feeling trashed. In addition to your training your success depends on your nutrition! Here are 14 tips to help you ride your best. Read more.
Helping John Lower his Gearing
By Jim Langley
At Road Bike Rider, we have a special service called Ask The Coach. It allows roadies to ask any of our experts almost anything and receive a personal reply from an RBR editor if they are a premium member. Even if you’re not a premium member, we do our best to answer, or might cover it in a column. Read more.
Ask the Coach: Cycling Options if One Leg is Shorter
Question: Arnie Baker’s article on saddle sores mentioned that a rider may experience discomfort on one side if a that leg is shorter. A possible fix is to shimmy the shoe of the shorter leg. Since this may apply to me I am curious if the shim should run the length of the shoe or just needs to be more in the area of the ball of the foot, where the foot contacts the pedal? Or does it not matter? Thanks. Bill S. Read more.
Castelli Women’s Summer Cycling Jersey Line Up
By Sheri Rosenbaum
Castelli’s 2019 Spring/Summer women’s line offers the typical blocks of rich color they’re known for, with the addition of texture to keep it fresh and interesting. The company sent me four jerseys from their collection including the Promessa 2 FZ short sleeve, Promessa sleeveless, Animia 2 short sleeve and Protagonista 2 sleeveless. All four jerseys are under $90, making them an affordable addition to your cycling wardrobe. Read more.
Castelli Summer Kit Review: Espresso Jersey, Free Aero Race 4 Bibshort
by Brandon Bilyeu
The Espresso jersey is not designed as a race piece to save you watts, but as an ultimate comfort and function jersey. In place of mesh panels mixed with dimpled fabric, no collar, and laser cut sleeves, the Espresso is made entirely out of one fabric with a generous extended collar and solidly hemmed sleeves. Read more.
Nutrition For 100k And Beyond
Coach John Hughes combines the best of current research with 40 years of riding experience to teach you proper sports nutrition for cycling in Nutrition for 100K And Beyond. Initially written for longer rides the lessons apply to all endurance riders.
If you don’t fuel properly you won’t get very far either in training or in rides. Nutrition for 100K will teach you everything you need to know to avoid hitting the wall with dead legs or bonking with a fuzzy depressed brain.
Should I Eat on Bicycle Rides if I Want to Lose Weight?
Question: I took up cycling this year to lose some weight (okay, a lot of weight). I started with a mountain bike but soon discovered I loved being a roadie, so I switched over. As the pounds peeled off, I started riding farther. My goal is to do a century by the end of the summer. But when I ride as far as 60 miles, I get exhausted. Maybe I should I be snacking to increase overall exercise time, but does it make any sense to eat on the bike when I’m trying to lose weight? — Gus T. Read more.
How to Thrive While Camping in the Rain at Cycling Events
by Stan Purdum
I’m recently back from attending the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA), an annual cycling event that just completed its 31st edition. Each year, the GOBA team maps out a different week-long loop of Ohio towns and layover days, and 1500 riders pedal up to 400 miles. Though there are a few indoor sleeping areas for registrants that book and pay for them in advance, most participants camp on the designated fairgrounds or school campus in each of the visited communities. In fact, a sea of tents is the primary mark of the movable “GOBAville.” Read more.
Should You Buy a Custom Bike?
by Jim Kish
It used to be that only oddly proportioned weirdos, or millionaires − or millionaire weirdos − rode custom bicycles. Over the past 10 years or so, though, the cost of high-end production bicycles has gone up dramatically, while custom frames haven’t quite kept pace. Read more.
Why Intervals Benefit Every Type of Cyclist
by Coach Peter Wimberg
Whether you ride simply for the fun of it and to maintain your health and fitness, or you’re a more “serious” rider who regularly races or does goal events or tours, including intervals in your riding is important. And making the most of those intervals will help you get the most out of whatever type of riding you do. Read more.
Quick Tip: Increasing Your Cycling Endurance by Setting a Goal
by Fred Matheny
Increasing your endurance seems easy — simply ride more miles. It isn’t that easy in practice, however, for several of reasons. First, you need an important goal to stay motivated. You need more time, too. And you need to know how to increase mileage safely and effectively. It’s common to do too much too soon and fall prey to overtraining, overuse injuries, or plain old boredom. Read more.
What’s the Best Treatment for a Broken Collarbone?
Question: After watching so many crashes in this year’s Tour de France, it happened to me on a group ride the other day. I touched wheels with the rider in front of me, and in a split second, I was on the pavement. I reached out my hand to try to stop my fall and ended up breaking my collarbone. I’m wearing a sling, as it was not a “bad break,” I’ve been told. Still, I’m wondering if this is the best treatment, and if I’ll be able to return to my normal riding routine when I’m healed. – Ben S. Read more.
Overtraining: A Guide for Cyclists
by Arnie Baker, M.D.
“What drives you to succeed, drives you to screw up.” —Mari Holden, World Champion, Time Trial, 2000. Overtraining is a physical and a psychological or emotional state. It is an imbalance between training and recovery, exercise and exercise capacity. The “training effect” is the body’s response to workload stress. If stress is too great, the body cannot respond and adapt. Overtraining may result. Read more.
Exercise: It’s Only Natural
by Coach Dan Kehlenbach
Why do we exercise? People often answer this question with responses like “to look better, to feel good, to relieve stress, to lose weight, to gain weight, to play basketball without getting hurt,” etc. The answers are virtually limitless, because exercise plays an important role in the daily lives of many people. Read more.
Question of the Week
Do you set specific cycling goals?
Other Cycling Stuff to Read
Sustrans: Have we become car blind?
Bustle: The feminist history of bicycles.
NY Times: This 103 year old woman ran a 100 yard race. She is awesome.
BBC: Age is just a red herring, says 60 year old age group RAAM winner.
Quartz: Oh no, Ofo! The story of the financial collapse of the bike sharing company.
Consumer Reports: Bike helmets that don’t meet federal safety standards are widely available online.
End Note
Thanks for reading again this week. Did you know that running this site and newsletter is not my day job? It’s my side hustle, and a labor of love. If you enjoy reading the newsletter each week, consider forwarding it to a fellow roadie with a note and suggest that they sign up too. The weekly RBR newsletter is made possible by the support of our awesome premium members and supporting members. This support allows us to turn off the ads on newsletter articles for everyone for the first three days after each newsletter goes out. Premium and supporting members make a big difference!
Hi Lars,
I’m a devoted self-supported cycling tourist doing a one or two week tour each year. Past years have included Portland to Crater Lake, an 800 mile loop in Washington State, and close to home too e.g., Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan. I’m curious how many other readers also head out with loaded panniers or a trailer.