February 13, 2020
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How to Do Endurance Training Correctly
By Coach John Hughes
Effective training results from riding in the proper zones (plural). One of the biggest mistakes my new clients made before working with me was always riding at about the same level of effort. (The other was riding too many miles!) Read more.
Dummy Hubs: Handy Helpers
By Jim Langley
“Dummy” hubs are used as a place to park the chain when the rear wheel has been removed. Sometimes they’re called “sleeping hubs” or “chain holders.”
They’re usually comprised of a short axle that’s bolted in place in the right rear dropout of the frame with a built in pulley that sits inboard of the dropout to rest the chain on. With the chain on the pulley it can’t get tangled and it’s more likely to remain on the chainring, too. Read more.
Sponsor: Performance Alpaca Cycling Socks by Fo//ow Ho//ow
Follow Hollow socks outperform competitors largely due to their 80% baby alpaca proprietary blend thread. Check out the RoadBikeRider.com review by Sheri here. After a very successful Kickstarter launch, these socks are in stock and available to order right now directly from the company. Why not add some to your sock drawer? Find out more.
Cycling Nutrition: What to Eat Before an Event
By Arnie Baker, M.D.
It’s pretty obvious that hydration and nutrition is important during cycling, but it’s also helpful to pay attention to it leading up to an important event.
If you take time to prepare the night before, you’ll be much more likely to ride strong. Here are my recommendations on preparing nutritionally for your next big ride or race. Read more.
Hiplok Z Lok Review
By Brandon Bilyeu
The Z LOK design was inspired by a product that most people are familiar with, the humble zip tie. Zip ties are a serrated strap (typically nylon) with a ratchet head on one end. When the strap is inserted into the head, forming a loop, the ratchet allows the zip tie to be tightened around objects. The ratchet only works in one direction, so the zip tie does not loosen and must be cut to be removed. Read more.
Bryton Rider 420 GPS Bike Computer Review
By Rick Schultz
Recently, Bryton sent me one of their new Rider 420 GPS bike computers for review. I’ve been using Bryton bike computers for a while now, so I was curious to see what the new 420 model had to offer. Here’s what it was like to set up and how it worked for me. Not familiar with the Bryton brand? You might be missing out. Read more.
Do Padded Cycling Shorts Make a Difference?
QUESTION: I’m new to road cycling and have only ridden mountain bikes up until now, with baggies. I’m not so sure about riding around in those spandex shorts. Do padded cycling shorts really make a difference? – Dan C.
RBR REPLIES: Almost all of us have faced this same issue as we first took up the sport of road cycling. Cycling shorts are really tight. They make a strong fashion statement — and not necessarily in a good way. Read more.
Quick Tip: Try These 30 Second Interval Sets to Get Faster
If you’ve read much about fitness and training, you’re probably already familiar with the concept of HIT (high‐intensity aerobic training), also sometimes called HIIT (high-intensity interval training). The idea is basically that short bursts of highly-intense, all-out efforts can improve your cardiovascular fitness quickly and effectively. Read more.
Anti-Aging 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process
Anti-Aging 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process, by Coach John Hughes, includes sections on how aging affects your cardio-respiratory fitness, how you can do endurance exercise to slow down or in some cases reverse the loss of fitness, how to gauge your levels of effort, how to get the most benefit from endurance rides and how to recover so you’re ready for the next ride.
Anti-Aging includes a plan to build up to longer endurance rides and a plan to increase your annual miles. It also explains how best to combine endurance riding, intensity training and strength training for optimal results.
Question of the Week
Do you use a bike lock?
Other Cool Stuff to Read
Sports Illustrated: The Fittest 50 athletes of 2020
Endurance Sportswire: Rad Power utility ebike brand gets $25 million in new funding
Endurance Sportswire: Triple Bypass and Mount Evans Hill Climb join Gran Fondo National Series
Outside: The gear used to ride a unicycle 21,000 miles
End Notes
After Jim’s review of the Silca SuperPista Digital bike pump, I ended up buying one for myself from the Silca site. Mine arrived about a week ago, and it’s pretty awesome. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand using a lousy pump. If it leaks air, wobbles, tears up your presta valve or pinches your hand when you’re connecting it, then it belongs in the garbage as far as I’m concerned. It’s still too early to know for sure if I’ve avoided all the potential quirks, but so far I’m really liking it.
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