I normally commute to work via bike 2-4 days a week, which I use as part of my overall fitness maintenance. Next week I will be out of the office for a work-related course and thus, will not be able to commute. If you are active, you realize what this means. After a week-long break in a routine, my (and your) fitness level will decrease slightly. Yep, it goes that fast. When you are very young, you don’t notice, but once you reach your late 20’s and on, you definitely notice. In one short week you can start to loose a little bit of cardiovascular and muscle fitness.
So, what are my plans to minimize loss?
Now, I could just take the week off, to give my body a chance to rest and accept that once I return from the break, I will have a few days of feeling not quite my usual fit self. We all need that once in a while. But I know that I have other travel coming up in the next few months that will take me off the bike, so I realize that I have to be wise about my compromises. Now is not the time for me to take a week off.
The key to maintaining momentum when you have limited time is be creative and focus on quality not quantity.
Here in Philly we have enjoyed a mild winter thus far with very little snow (unlike the past two winters with record snow accumulations). However, we had about an inch of snow this past weekend and the streets department went crazy with the “salt”. The streets look like they are covered with white powder and little crystals. They even salted the bike path along Kelly Drive which I have never seen before. I appreciate the efforts to ensure cyclists can continue our commutes and activities, but am well aware of the damage this “salting” can have on a bike. So make sure you clean your bike well and pay extra attention to anything steel which will corrode very quickly if exposed to these chemical for a period of time.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Give your second love (bike) a gift like new tires, handlebar tape, safety light, obnoxiously loud horn to signal other riders and pedestrians… or better yet, go for a ride!
This past weekend two big cycling news events dropped. The Fed dropped its case against Lance Armstrong (there is controversy brewing over this) and Alberto Contador received a two year ban for clenbuterol. There are tons of articles on both cases defending innocence or proclaiming guilt. I have been involved in the sport so long that these stories seem to fit into the “everything old is new again” category. None of this is new news, yet somehow they’ve become front pagers. Is it true that any publicity is good publicity? Based on what has been happening to the sport of cycling these past few years, I don’t believe this to be the case.
Let’s face it cycling has been marred by doping scandals for decades but in reality cycling is a representative sample of society in general. We have people from all walks of life who lie and/or cheat to get some sort of an advantage over others, with little regard for the trickle-down effect their behavior has on others. Some get away with it and some don’t. Cycling is a great sport and as a rider and coach I believe you should enjoy life and the sport clean. If you can’t have fun or be competitive as a cyclist without resorting to supplements and/or doping agents, then please, get out of the sport. You are ruining it for the rest of us.
As a cycling fan my issue with every doping case, other than the cheater, is that the people enforcing the rules don’t seem to do so equally or consistently and therefore, the system is abused and circumvented at every opportunity. How do you feel? Do you think if cycling fans boycott events, don’t purchase sponsored products, don’t watch televised events and become more vocal about our dislike of cheaters we could eventually turn cycling around?
During the winter we can make up all kinds of excuses why you can’t keep on track. If you have slipped, make today the day you dust your self off and start over fresh.
Governor Corbett has signed a bill that creates new regulations addressing how vehicles and bicycles share Pennsylvania roadways.
Today is a very important day for cyclists. Why? You might ask. Well, it’s February 2nd and a little weatherman named Punxsutawney Phil will tell us if spring will come early or if we have six more weeks of riding the spin bike.
Welcome to Keystone Cycling, a different approach to coaching. My mission statement is “Coaching, training and bike mechanics for all riders”.
After obtaining my USA Cycling coaching license, I decided to research the industry’s approach to offering coaching. Boy was I surprised, and frankly, disappointed. I noticed that traditional cycling coaching is offered through pre-designed/formulated package programs wherein a rider takes a baseline fitness test and the coaching center/store uses pre-set formulas (usually something that has been copyrighted, patented or trademarked) to generate a 3-4 month program based on some pre-defined goals and routine milestones. There may be adjustments over time, but they keep you on a plan, because again, this is a marketed plan. Why would they deviate too much from a plan they are promising you will work? They don’t. They can’t validate and continue to sell their “tried and true” program if they don’t hold everyone to it. Interestingly, some of the formulas have been posted on the internet (to the chagrin of many of the package programs coaches) and thus, if all you want is to follow a generic recipe for training to be a racer (which, by the way, is the type of rider all of these programs target), then you really don’t need to pay for packaged coaching. Literally, the internet can be your coach in this instance. If you want coaching but have no desire to be a racer, you either have to tolerate coaching for racing in the hopes of getting something out of it, or…well, actually, there is no or…coaching for non-racers is a rare animal indeed.
What all of this means is that you are not treated or managed as a unique individual with your own ideas of what you want to get out of coaching. The package model, in a nutshell, tells you what you want to get out of your coaching experience. I don’t agree with this approach. I believe that everyone who wants to enjoy the activity or the sport of cycling should get what they want and need out of a coaching experience for which they are paying and committing their time. I recognize the sacrifices you will make for coaching and I want you to get the most out of your efforts.
You bring me your hopes, dreams and goals, and I will use my knowledge, expertise and experience to create a coaching plan just for you.
Coaching, training and bike mechanics for all riders
