Health, Fitness and Training

If you can only have one – make it a good one! (or how to select “the right” fixed gear ratio) by Gary Meinhardt

Linda Jellison — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:37:00 GMT

The number one question I get asked when riding my fixed gear bike is “Is that a fixed gear?” The number two question I get asked is “What gear are you riding?” With todays modern bicycles carrying 20+ gearing options that are selectable at any point in the ride without getting off the bike or, in the hands of a proficient cyclist, even slowing in speed, this is a great question. It’s also the first question I ask myself while setting up my fixed gear bike for a ride. And if I pick the correct gearing, that number one question gets asked later in the ride with a surprised expression because I’ve so smoothly integrated into the pack that it was only after a particularly fast stretch of road where anyone with the option to shift to a higher gear (lower cadence) would have – only I didn’t! Just like it took me some time to become proficient riding a fixed gear bike, it has also taken me some time to get better at selecting “the perfect” gear for my fixed gear rides. I’ve written this article hoping to shorten your learning curve in finding that “perfect gear.”

But first, let’s agree on the language we’ll use. I’ll be talking “gear inches” – a language older than the bicycles of today. “Gear Inches” originally was simply the diameter of a Boneshaker’s or Penny Farthing’s front wheel - relevant because these bicycles were driven by pedals directly connected to the front wheel – just like the “Big Wheel” of childhood days. Racing penny farthings were made to order and “the best bike” was one with the largest diameter wheel that would “fit” one’s inseam – short people were at a decided disadvantage! So ride a penny farthing with a 54” diameter front wheel, and you were riding 54 gear inches. Then beginning in 1885 on the road, and in the 1920’s on the track, the Penny Farthing was replaced with the “Safety Bicycle” (today’s design) with its roller chain connected front and rear gears and pneumatic tires. And ever since then, most people have been confused by the term “gear inches” – but not you, not now! Because now you understand that “gear inches” relates today’s bike to a penny farthing by taking into account the benefit of using gearing on smaller wheels. By selecting different front and rear gears on a chain drive bike, one impacts the number of rotations the rear wheel makes with each revolution of the pedals. For example: using a 27” wheel with a 42 tooth front chainring and a 21 tooth rear cog results in having each revolution of the front chain ring turn the rear cog (and its attached wheel) twice resulting in 2 X 27” = a 54” effective wheel diameter (gear inches). Same as riding a 54” wheeled penny farthing – only safer!

So to recap: For a safety bicycle, Gear Inches (GI) = (Wheel Diameter) X (Chainring / Cog). And now we get into the final level of confusion about Gear Inches… Different Wheel Diameters are used in calculating GI! Traditionally and in most scientific data published on track training programs a 27” wheel diameter is used. This is the language I’ll use when discussing gear selection. A Gear Chart provided by our friends at Bike Central illustrates typical fixie road gearing choices (To download a copy click here):

To ensure improved accuracy in your cadence training calculations (and very conveniently available in the excellent iPhone “Bike Gears” app) we will also translate the traditional GI (Std GI) into the modern language which uses one’s actual wheel diameter to calculate GI (My GI). Why bother to calculate a second GI you ask? Because selecting the “perfect gear” is a function of matching your ride’s speed to your targeted cadence window and /or capabilities. Just like when we were kids tearing it up on our Big Wheels, once we select our GI, we’ve established the size of our “Big Wheel” and our speed becomes a direct function of how fast we turn the pedals - our cadence. And the true size of your wheel is a function of the wheel size, tire size, inflation pressure, your weight, and weight distribution (bike position) – all very individual properties unique to you and your machine.

Now the math part. Since speed is (distance / time) and the distance covered by each revolution of the wheel = wheel diameter X Pi, we can quickly calculate our cadence knowing the GI (the theoretical wheel diameter for a cadence of 1 rpm). Remembering that there are 12 inches in a foot, 5,280 feet in a mile, and 60 minutes in an hour we get: Cadence,rpm = (Speed, mph X 5,280 X 12) / (GI X 60). Thankfully we have spreadsheets today and access to iPhone and internet applications that take care of this math drudgery allowing us to focus on our objective - selecting the best GI for our specific training purposes. A snapshot of the Excel spreadsheet I use has been provided here to serve as an example. (To download a copy click here.)

This example shows a bike with an 82.75 inch roll out, 46 tooth chainring, cogs available with 17 – 20 teeth, and my current cadence zones. Note: the spreadsheet allows one to personalize the inputs shown in bold blue font. The five cadence zones listed guide the selection of that “perfect gear”:

P, Minimum – is the lowest target cadence when under power. P, Minimum is an important consideration to ensure knee health. This becomes a factor when climbing hills and spending extended times riding into a headwind. Some can handle a cadence of 50 rpm while I, with patella chondromalacia, can get by with 60 rpm for short periods, but must maintain 75 rpm for expended periods, to maintain healthy knees. Your low target cadence is usually the go – no go test as to if you’ll ride a fixie that day. If my cadence + speed (power) objectives puts me in a GI who’s P, minimum speed exceeds my capabilities for hills on the route and/or extended pulls into the headwinds of the day, I either change my speed objectives, or ride the geared bike. To reiterate, I’m using the fixed gear bike to improve my cycling by increasing my cadence and biomechanical efficiencies – not to put my knees at risk nor to spend extended times at low cadences – I’ve been doing that on a geared bike for years! So in this example, I decide if I’ll be able to aerobically maintain 13.5 – 15.9 mph for extended periods and 10.8 – 12.7 mph for shorter stretches (that may be at the lactic threshold) before deciding to ride the fixie and, if so, selecting the GI.
P, Cruising – is the target cadence window while under power. This zone is important because it represents a totally anaerobic zone wherein we are working on our form and increasing our average cadence – the “cadence sweet spot” we talked about in December’s article. The speeds in this zone shouldn’t represent any max effort, as the idea is to have the average speed of your total ride fall into the lower part of this zone while the flat road, no wind scenario has you seeing the mid to high end of this zone. Your average target cadence is typically your improvement objective or a known comfort zone which you want to match with your targeted speed (average power output) to meet your ride's objective, be it recovery, fat burning, or endurance. You will establish the base range of this zone on with your first fixie rides by keeping track of your average ride speeds and taking note of your speeds while in your “comfort zone”. With time, this cadence window will increase. For this example, the “cadence sweet spot” falls in the ranges are 95 rpm - 105 rpm which represents speeds of 17.1 – 22.3 mph. Hmmm, sort of covers the majority of the Portland Velo Saturday ride group speed splits doesn’t it? Another reason I love this club!
P, 5 minute – is the max cadence maintainable for 5 minutes without going anaerobic. This zone is important in two areas. A) On individual rides, intervals into this zone will help increase your lactic threshold as well as to increase your cadence window. B) On group rides, this is an important consideration as your geared “friends” will, on spirited occasions, exceed the “stated” speed “limit” of the ride for anywhere from 3 – 10 minutes, and if you’re not prepared to match that pace for at least 5 minutes, you’ll find yourself totally blown and soon alone! (Of course if it’s the Signature Saturday Portland Velo Ride, one can always drop back to the following group - if pride allows.) This cadence is also very improvable for a given speed. For example, when I first started riding a fixie, I couldn’t spin the pedals with any level of power above a cadence of 100 rpm. So I’ve vastly improved, but still have far to go. The entry standards for the German National Track Team require one to be capable of 240 rpm while riding rollers. Sort of humbling. So for this example, P, 5 minutes represents speeds of 21.6 – 25.4. This factor is of primary importance when making group riding GI decisions. As you can now see, to a fixed gear rider there's a big difference between groups that hold 19 mph on an extended flat vs. one that averages 19 mph but ranges between 16 and 23 mph over the same route!
P, 15 – 30 seconds – is the peak cadence obtainable while applying max power for a short distance. This zone is important for short burst interval training for those working on their sprinting capabilities. This cadence at a given speed (power) is also dramatically improvable. Improvement in this zone will also increase your lower cadence windows. In this example, GI selections will result in speeds of 25.2 – 33.9 mph. Initially this work is done from within your P, Cruising window but can be adapted to begin from a standing start later in the season when working on standing starts. Another humbling factoid: reportedly, Australian track athletes racing at the elite level can apply maximum power at cadences of 180 – 200 rpm.
Max – is the maximum cadence one can handle and still maintain control of their body and bicycle. This zone is quickly reached while descending hills. Much faster than this and you have the feeling that at any second your screaming thighs will be torn from your hips and with your feet still clipped to the ever accelerating pedals will commence to beat you viciously about the head in retaliation for the pain you’ve inflicted upon them! Yep – scary times indeed. In this example these speeds represent 32.4 – 38.2 mph. With this as a limiter, the delight of a 40 + mph descent will have to wait for another day when riding with coasting capabilities. The knowledge of this limit is used to ensure I don’t get myself into a situation where additional “runaway” speed will push me above this limit – something most easily tempered sooner in the descent than later! My max – 193 rpm. Didn’t make me feel like an elite Australian Track star at all – but it did about put me “down-under”!

General rules of thumb for selecting ones “perfect” GI are:

Fixed on the road is typically split between a standalone training gear of 60 - 65 Gear Inches and a "hang with the pack" gearing of 69 - 74 inches. Give or take an inch.
Fixed on the track is typically split between a warm-up gear of 69 - 72 inches to a race gear of 86 - 105 inches depending on power capabilities and the event itself.

In this article we are focused on GI selection for road fixed gear cadence training. The key to selecting the perfect gear for the day is in establishing your target cadence ranges. “Target ranges - what targets?" you ask? So do I every time I head out on a fixed gear ride. And sometimes I get it right, and sometimes I get it wrong. But that's part of the fixed gear experience / fun / love! Like lasting love, selecting a gear inch requires obtaining balance in order to make for an enjoyable ride. Unlike the complexity of love, with its many variables, a fixed gear inch balance is simply one of cadence and speed (power). Key elements to consider are one’s capabilities for that day, the ride’s terrain, the impact of the wind conditions, your cadence training objective, and the riding style of the group (if it’ll be a group ride). So let’s put it all together and pick a GI using the above example / information.

For individual rides this time of year I love the 62. The two main factors impacting this selection is that I’m spending significant time in the gym working on leg strength which tends to tire and slow them down, and we frequently get 10 – 15 mph winds which on my winter routes translates into 50% of the ride being into headwinds. The 62 allows me to work in a comfortable speed (power) zone (17.1 – 18.9 mph) which enhances leg recovery while reestablishing a reasonable P, Cruising cadence window. Additionally, I’m able to take advantage of the tailwind to work on higher cadence drills with reduced stress to my legs. All this without losing the benefits of the fixed gear ride as I’m able to maintain the 12 – 15 mph into the headwind on hills without going lactic or dropping my average cadence excessively. This is also the gear I started riding fixed, so even though I’ve “graduated” to higher GI’s, I’m still using it heavily. Looking back, I would have done well to start with a 59 as doing so would have increased my capability to ride fixed on those windy days of winter with my, then, lower cadence capabilities - thus accelerating my cadence improvement journey.
For group rides this time of year I usually move up to the 65. I tend to ride fixed with the 19’s and theoretically I could stick to the 62. And theoretically the 19’s should hold 19 on a flat road with no wind. But the reality of the fantastic weekends we’ve been enjoying this year, the generally improved physical condition of the 19’s participants, and the 19’s general “friskiness” has resulted in 65 being a better selection. With the 65 I can manage an 18 – 19 mph ride average and hang on when they occasionally ramp it up to 23 mph for extended periods as the 65 gives me a P, 5 min of 22.8 mph.
Come summer, the gym workouts drop to maintenance levels so I begin using the fixie for adaptive power work. For individual rides I’ll use the 65 in early summer, switching to the 69 for flatter group rides and individual workouts later in the summer for peaking during the track racing season.
I save the 73 for evening fast group rides during mid to late summer days when I’m feeling “the rage for speed”. You know, those evenings where you’ve had a bad day, you’re wound so tight you’re a danger to anyone slow or stupid (and they’re everywhere!), and you know the best way to feel better soon is to rip the legs off your cycling buddies!!!! What? You don’t know? Um, neither do I – Oh, yes – I just heard about some sick-o feeling that way. Uh, I never use the 73 on the road… and defiantly not with my friends! J

In conclusion, your final gear inch selection is determined by your current capabilities, the route you're taking, the weather's impact, the group (if any) you're riding with, and your training objective. After that, it's time to dance with what you brung and have a blast doing it! And that's part of the joy of fixed gear riding. The pure simplicity of it all...

I hope this helps you find that one, perfect gear. I’ve enjoyed bringing this set of fixed gear articles to you. If you have any questions related to fixed gear riding and/or additional ideas for future articles you’d like to see, please let me know at the next Portland Velo ride or drop me a note. Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you down the road…

- Gary Meinhardt

Time Trial Turn-Arounds Made Easy, by Russell Cree, DPT, CSCS

Linda Jellison — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:02:06 GMT

Time trials are a common entry point into competitive cycling. They are often the bridge between recreational and competitive cycling. Rather than competing against other riders in a mass-start event, a time trial is you vs the course. No pack riding, much simpler tactics. But one point of contention for many riders is the turn around, a common technical barrier on a time trial course. The lone orange cone has caused havoc to many a cyclist. It’s a point in the race where you can come out of your rhythm, lose precious seconds if not done smoothly, and at worst, a place where you can crash and ruin your race. Knowing how to handle the turn-around is important because in the US, they are part of many time trials and you will encounter them.

Scout the course. You need to know where the turn-around is located. Ride the course or drive the course before the race. Is the turn-around on top of an uphill? At the bottom of a downhill (we hope not), has the turn-around been swept? Is it full of gravel? Is there a tailwind or headwind at the turnaround? How wide is the road? Is it raining and are there slippery road markings? These are questions you need to have answered prior to the starts of the race. Prior preparation prevents poor performance. Know the course.
The approach. As you approach the turn, anticipate when you need to brake. There is no defined distance to begin braking; it depends on the environment and how fast you’re traveling and the braking surface and your skill set. Practice is the solution. Brake while going straight and upright. This is when you have the most traction. Then coast through the apex of the turn and pedal out.
Shifting. Begin your downshift before you break, still in aerobars. Anticipate the corner and what gear you need to be in coming out. You have studied the course and you will know where you need to be. Shift and keep pedaling until the gears are engaged. Don’t shift while coasting or your bike will shift under strain when coming out of the turn.
The turn. Make the turn wide. Study the turn during reconnaissance and know how wide you can safely go. Swing wide and cut to the apex of the turn. Essentially minimizing the acuteness of the turn. Again, brake when straight. Then coast through the apex with your outside pedal down and weighted.
The exit. Once through the turn, straighten your bike and take 10 strokes out of the saddle to get up to speed. Power out and get your cadence back up. Then sit and return to aerobars and shift accordingly. Head back to the finish line!

-Russell

A New Year for Catching Waves (why I am a fixed gear addict), by Gary Meinhardt

Linda Jellison — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:16:50 GMT

No, this isn’t a surfing article. Although at the very heart of it there are a lot more similarities between the driving forces of the emotions enjoyed while surfing and cycling than one would expect if limited to the simple visual differences between a surf board/ocean and a bicycle/country road. This is an attempt to explain why I find fixed gear riding significantly more likely to provide those “oh so special” “Zen-like” moments of being in the Zone. I obtain this special state of mind most often while cycling on a fixed gear. What’s happening here? It is so much more than the testimonials found on the internet espousing “You only need a fixed gear”, “You’ll really like it”, and “You’re so much more connected to the road”. It is SO much more. And the techie in me wanted to validate this phenomenon as I value science highly. So here goes my attempt to make sense of it all.

Something this good has to be simple – basic. I believe that the purest things in life are. And the more I sought to understand the intensity and the abundance of these feelings, the more I gravitated to three basic attributes of riding a fixed gear that may help explain this phenomenon. I believe it’s the simplicity and direct connection inherent with fixed gear riding combined with the waves inherent in nature that provides these heightened Zen like moments.

Take care of the concerns associated with riding fixed geared, and fixed gear riding becomes one of the most simple and efficient forms of ground transportation on this planet. Simple because one makes the gearing decision once – when they set up the bike. After that, it’s simply a decision as to walking or cycling – there’s no coasting, so we know if you’re moving, you’re pedaling! So it becomes a simple matter of answering “how fast do (can) I spin my legs?” – not what gear should I be in, when should I shift, can I coast now, should I start pedaling again?, etc… It’s like striping all the distractions away. Like leaving the house to view your natural surroundings, like putting the top down on a convertible to better feel the surroundings, like riding a motorcycle to eliminate all the walls associated with a car, like riding a bike to eliminate the artificial noise and vibration associated with an engine, like riding a fixed gear to eliminate all the decisions and noises associated with a derailleur… Riding fixed minimizes distractions while maximizing ones’ exposure to natural surroundings.

And while riding fixed you’re directly connected. To the bike. To the ground. To the terrain. The bike’s movement demands your movement. You truly become one with the bike. You’ll notice every variance in ground adhesion because you’re directly connected to the ground through the whole pedal stroke. If the ground isn’t providing as much traction as normal, you’ll feel it as your wheel slips just that little bit and your body picks up the instant feedback because the connection is that solid – that true. Like skinny dipping where one’s instantly aware of the water temperature, when riding a fixed gear you’ll know if you’re going uphill, downhill, or are on a true flat. If you’re leisurely cruising along a river, your legs are leisurely cruising. If you’re hurtling down a hill, your legs are hurtling around like… - you’ll never be able to duplicate off a fixed gear. A familiar route for the first time on a fixed gear is a new route due to the increased awareness of rises and falls previously unnoticed. And it’s the rise and falls of the road impacting your effort that begins to synchronize you with your surroundings.

I view waves as nature’s communication pathway. Light is a waveform. Its various wavelengths carry the fabulous seasonal colors associated with our wonderfully diverse surroundings. The sun’s rays also carry a component we don’t see but feel – the very warmth of the day. Sound is waveform. Its various wavelengths bring us nature’s music be it the rustling of windblown grain, the innocent bleating of a new born sheep, or the call of a circling hawk. The wings of a flying bird trace a waveform when mapped through the skies they use as their playground. The beating of an animal’s heart is a waveform when graphed over a pressure / timeframe axis. And so a fixed geared rider’s heart rate rises and falls in symphony with the terrain – directly impacted by nature’s surroundings. And you, devoid of distractions and directly connected to your surroundings, unconsciously slip into a synchronized dance with all the waveforms intersecting at that moment in time and space. You’re in the Zone. Where time and effort don’t exist and a calm warmth floats your body and mind as one through heightened peaceful surroundings.

You’re in the Zone…

And you’re in a New Year. In conclusion, if you’ve been toying with the idea to ride a fixed gear “for the science of it” I believe you should “go for it” as the technical benefits of fixed gear riding are well documented. Just don’t be surprised if you discover so much more along the way… Thanks for reading, time for me to fly, and I look forward to seeing you down the road.

7 Tips to Make Any Cyclist into a Climbing Goat, by Russell Cree

Linda Jellison — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:32:34 GMT

Climbing is the nemesis of many a cyclist. As much as we love watching riders float up the switchbacks of L’Alpe D’Huez in July, many cyclists loathe hills during their own training and events. While it could be argued that Watts per Kilograms is the essential key to climbing prowess, there are other details that help the weaker climbers keep up and the good climbers even better. Don’t avoid climbs because you struggle. Practice them and become efficient to maximize your abilities. The following are some tips to incorporate into your training to help you climb like a champion this season.

1. Gearing and cadence. Make sure you have the correct gearing on your bike for the hills. A standard road bike comes with a 39-tooth small and 53-tooth large chainrings in the front, and 1 12-25 cassette in the rear. Don’t be afraid to swap out the cassette for something larger. Maybe a 12-27 or something in that range. Also, compact gearing is becoming increasingly popular - and for good reason! This gearing uses a 34-50 front gearing set-up. This allows for a much lower gear for climbing. It also will allow for use of a smaller cassette, either a 12-15 or 12-23 and maintain a similar top gear for descents. A great choice for climbing. And why is it we want proper gearing? To maintain a high cadence. To maintain a certain power, you must either pedal harder or pedal faster. Pedaling harder requires more force production, which recruits “fast twitch” muscle fibers. These fibers are biased toward glycogen fuel. As you may know, this is a limited fuel source in the body. Pedaling faster uses less force, which means “slow twitch” fibers will be biased. These fibers use fat as an energy source and can be maintained for a much longer duration.

2. Pace yourself and know the course. A hard hill climb is like a time trial, you need to pace yourself to finish strong. The absolute worst thing you can do is to begin too hard. When in doubt, start easier then you anticipate. You should go harder and harder as the climb progresses. If you dig too deep too early, there might not be a chance to recover before the top. You want to finish strong, so be patient and pace yourself. Also, do your homework and research the course. It’s fairly easy to find elevation profiles online for nearly every ride these days. Take the time and prepare accordingly.

3. Specificity of training. Yes, climbing may not be your favorite terrain. But if this is in your future for events, you had best train for it. Be specific with your training. Find climbs near your house that match the climbs in your event. Your body only adapts to the specific training you do. Riding on flats will only get you so far. Don’t run from it. Embrace the challenge and add climbing to your routine training.

4. Diet. Need I say more? Yes, watts per kilogram is important. Physics don’t lie and Newton’s Laws have no mercy. Train right and eat smart. Every little bit makes a difference. But really, shouldn’t you be eating right for many other reasons? Now you have another one.

5. The “sprinters drift”. If you are riding in a group and you know the course, go ahead of the field prior to the climb. This is a common technique for racers. Essentially, giving yourself a head start (but you have to earn it). This allows you to ride your own pace and hopefully hitting the summit at the same time as the group.

6. Posture and technique on the bike. When climbing, you need to utilize a stable yet relaxed upper body. The more effort you put forth toward rocking the bike and standing up, the more oxygen is used by your upper body. This is oxygen that could be used by your lower body to send you up the mountain. Stay relaxed and fluid on the bike, control your breathing and keep this steady. This will allow your legs to function optimally. Also, practice your shifting. Learn to shift prior to needing to shift. If you wait until you are bogged down with a slow cadence, your drivetrain will stumble. Shift in advance. This is especially important with compact gearing, as the shift between the two chainrings is more dramatic. Practice transitioning from sitting to standing. Staying smooth and keeping power to the pedals. Don’t allow your bike to shoot backwards as you stand. Keep pedaling and keep forward motion.

7. Lighter Bike! Again, lighter weight means less to carry to the top. If you are riding an older bike that has some excess weight, consider a new, lighter model. New bikes can easily be ten pounds lighter then the bikes of years past. Ten pounds! That’s a big difference when hitting the slopes. I’m not one to promote the gluttonous buying of equipment, but if the hills are your priority this will help.

Incorporate these tips into your preparation for next season. Spend time addressing climbing, preparing correctly and you will see an improvement in your climbing. While climbing is a challenge, it is well worth it. It is amongst the most exhilarating experiences in all of cycling.

About the author: Russell Cree, DPT, CSCS is a cycling specialist at Upper Echelon Fitness in Portland, Oregon. He and the team at Upper Echelon offer coaching, bike fitting, VO2 and Lactate Testing, and Physical Therapy for cyclists and triathletes of all levels. For more information, visit www.upperechelonfitness.com

TIME FOR D-DAY 2009 - Fit Bit o'the Month by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

Linda Jellison — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:00:22 GMT

First of all, just because Doug has years of experience as a competitive athlete and tons of knowledge about training & nutrition doesn't necessarily mean that he's the ONLY one in the club with valuable and practical knowledge to share to the masses. At some point, we may even even exhaust his seemingly endless plethora of wisdom on these topics, who knows? In any case, we would be happy to share your unique training or nutrition successes, so please feel free to email Linda with your "guru" article.

Here's Doug's guru wisdom for November:

Okay, let's lay it on the table right up front: Because you live in Portland (and environs), you are Not. Getting. Enough.

Same thing for anyone who lives above 37 degrees latitude, which is everything north of San Francisco. Not. Getting. Enough.

We're talking vitamin D, heretofore an off-the-radar supplement, the forgotten *** stepsibling of its more glamorous screw-top supplements B and C.

And it is practically impossible to get enough of this essential stuff without popping a D-cap every day.

Because the only 2 reliable sources of vitamin D are the sun, of which we see damn little up here for like 9 months a year, and supplements. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way for your body to generate vitamin D which is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. In fact, this is such an efficient system that most of us make approx. 20,000 units of vitamin D after only 20 minutes of summer sun. That's 20 minutes WITHOUT sunscreen. That's 100 times more than the RDA! There must be a good evolutionary reason why we make so much in so little time.

So sun does the job. But you need those 20 minutes of unblocked rays EVERY DAY. In Portland???? Ha! Hell, even in July and August we often ride under overcast.

Moreover, you do not generate vitamin D when sitting behind a glass window, whether in your car or at home because UV rays cannot penetrate glass to generate vitamin D in your skin Also sunscreens, even wimpy spf 50s like Traci uses, almost completely block your body's ability to generate vitamin D.

What about getting it through the grub I eat every day? you ask.

Sorry. Not gonna happen.

See, only about 10% of your vitamin D comes from food, so it is well nigh impossible to use chowtime to score adequate amounts of vitamin D.

That, and the sources of vitamin D are depressingly meager: Fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil. Fatty wild fish like mackerel, salmon, halibut, tuna, sardines and herring. Fortified milk, orange juice and cereal. Maybe egg yolks. But that's it.

Worse, to get your necessary daily fix, you would have to eat at least 5 servings of salmon a day. Every day. Or drink 20 cups of fortified milk a day. Every day.

Why do I say "NECESSARY daily fix"? Because it is. Vital, even. For a number of reasons. All of them directly tied in to athletic performance and/or overall health and longevity.

YeahYeahYeah,you're thinking. Heard all this doomsday stuff before. So, then, let's focus on the one thing here that you really care about: ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE. Stated simply, can getting your Daily D help you move up from, say, the 17s to the 19s? Or allow you to rip up a 150-yard roller faster and in a bigger gear?

Well . . . maybe. Let's see what we have here.

1. Researchers recently found that many of a group of distance runners also had poor Vitamin D status. Forty percent of the runners, who trained outdoors in sunny Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had insufficient Vitamin D. “It was something of a surprise,” says D. Enette Larson-Meyer, an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Wyoming and one of the authors of the study. If these topless skinnies, who are often out for 2 hour runs and IN THE SUN even if it's early morning or late afternoon, can't get enough, what's that say about you covered head to toe like a freaking astronaut for a 40-mile ride in the Eternal Gray that is our lot up here?

2. Poor, unloved Vitamin D is a too often overlooked element in athletic achievement, a “sleeper nutrient,” says John Anderson, a professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of North Carolina and one of the authors of a review article published online in May about Vitamin D and athletic performance. Vitamin D once was thought to be primarily involved in bone development. But a growing body of research suggests that it’s vital in multiple different bodily functions, including allowing body cells to utilize calcium (which is essential for cell metabolism), muscle fibers to develop and grow normally, and the immune system to function properly. “Almost every cell in the body has receptors” for Vitamin D, Anderson says. “It can up-regulate and down-regulate hundreds, maybe even thousands of genes,” Larson-Meyer says. “We’re only at the start of understanding how important it is.”

3. More recently, when researchers tested the vertical jumping ability of a small group of adolescent athletes, Larson-Meyer says, “they found that those who had the lowest levels of Vitamin D tended not to jump as high,” intimating that too little of the nutrient may impair muscle power. Low levels might also contribute to sports injuries, in part because Vitamin D is so important for bone and muscle health. In a Creighton University study of female naval recruits, stress fractures were reduced significantly after the women started taking supplements of Vitamin D and calcium.

4. A number of recent studies also have shown that, among athletes who train outside year-round, maximal oxygen intake (the famous "VO2 Max" that all of us are constantly trying to elevate as it is THE key to endurance athletic performance) tends to be highest in late summer. The athletes, in other words, are fittest in August, when ultraviolet radiation from the sun is near its zenith. They often then experience an abrupt drop in maximal oxygen intake beginning as early as September, even thought they continue to train just as hard. This decline coincides with the autumnal lengthening of the angle of sunlight. Less ultraviolet radiation reaches the earth and, apparently, sports performance suffers.

5. Finally, there is this. Say what you will about the former East German and Soviet bloc athletic programs and, yes, they often bordered on the monstrous. But those Ruskies were always about 3 years ahead of everyone else when in came to research on athletic performance. So it comes as no surprise that a series of strange but evocative studies undertaken decades ago in Russia and Germany hint that the Eastern Bloc nations may have depended in part on sunlamps and Vitamin D to produce their preternaturally well-muscled and world-beating athletes. In one of the studies, four Russian sprinters were doused with artificial, ultraviolet light. Another group wasn’t. Both trained identically for the 100-meter dash. The control group lowered their sprint times by 1.7 percent. The radiated runners, in comparison, improved by an impressive 7.4 percent.

That's, like, 400% better for the sunlamp sprinters. And a helluva tan to boot.

Okay, there are your Do D Daily performance booster arguments. Now here are some facts you need to know.

1. What is vitamin D?

Although it's called a vitamin, vitamin D is really a hormone not a vitamin (sounds sorta like the set-up for that classic dirty joke, wot?). Vitamins cannot be produced by your body, we get them from dietary sources, whereas hormones like vitamin D are made in your body. It's your body's only source of calcitrol (activated vitamin D), the most potent steroid hormone in the body.

2. What does vitamin D do?

Like all steroid hormones, vitamin D is involved in making hundreds of enzymes and proteins, which are crucial for preserving health and preventing disease. It has the ability to interact and affect more than 2,000 genes in the body. It enhances muscle strength and builds bone. It has anti-inflammatory effects and bolsters the immune system. It helps the action of insulin and has anti-cancer activity. This is why vitamin D deficiency has been linked with so many of the diseases of modern society. Because of its vast array of benefits, maintaining optimal levels of D is essential for your health.

3. How much vitamin D should I supplement with?

Most important, says Dr. Frank Lippman, Director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Institute in New York, is that you take vitamin D3, (cholecalciferol) the active form of vitamin D. Do not take vitamin D2 as it is not as biologically active nor as effective, and nor as safe as vitamin D3. And taking the right amount is crucial, most doctors tend to under dose. The current recommendations from the Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. Institute of Medicine: from 200 to 600 IU/day depending on one's age, are way too low, Dr. L says, and just about everything else I've read on this over the past year says the same thing. The daily caps I take are 2,000 IU. Linda says I've been a lot "perkier" since I started downing my D.

4. What about vitamin D toxicity?

It is impossible, Dr. Lippman says, to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs. Although very rare, it is possible to overdose and become toxic with supplementation as vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and therefore stored in the body for longer periods of time. Therefore, he advises, if you are taking 5,000 IU or more daily, you should have your blood levels monitored approximately every 3 months.

The good thing is that this stuff is really cheap. You can get a couple of months worth at CostCo or Target or, like me, from www.vitacost.com for under 10 bucks.

Postscript on FRS. If you recall from last month's column, I was nearing the end of my stash of FRS/quercetin, the "miracle endurance supplement" and had experienced nothing new and improved in my on-bike performance. I tried bigger doses until my supplies ran out, a period of 9 or 10 days. Same Old Same Old. Perhaps a decent enough antioxidant, but hardly the high-octane rocket fuel that some claim.

QUERCETIN: LEGAL EPO . . . or EPMaybeNotSoMuch, by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

Linda Jellison — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:36:00 GMT

"Tired of being tired?" is the ubiquitous teaser on nearly all of the cycling Web sites. The product: FRS. The guy pimping the stuff: Lance Armstrong.

Now, when The Man says he uses this stuff for fuel, well, it tends to get you focused fast. Especially when, just last month, a lengthy feature "Best Energy Supplement Ever?" in Men's Journal basically says, Yep, FRS works, it's the real deal. Studies cited, the piece says, show that the stuff is SO good that "it is bound to be banned."

Wow. The magic performance bullet we all habitually lust after.

Always willing to sacrifice both my funds and my body in the interests of my fellow Velo-ites, I went and ordered me up some, right from the FRS Web site: 2 sacks of the chews, 2 bottles of the low sugar concentrate that you mix 1:3 with cold water.

So, how'd it all work out for me? Well . . .

. . . Hey . . . first off, we need to get you all informed and up to speed on just what we're talking about here.

WHAT IS FRS? Mainly a goodly dose (250 mg) of a heretofore obscure flavonoid (plant-based) antioxidant called quercetin supplemented with a modest hit of caffeine (for better absorption, they say), and 100% RDA of vitamins C, E, B6 and B12. What FRS is definitely NOT is a conventional death bomb energy drink such as Red Bull, Rockstar or Monster, which are nothing more than megadoses of caffeine and sugar which pass rapidly through the stomach wall and deliver ugly side effects, like yo-yoing energy levels and belly fat.

THE COMPANY'S CLAIMS. FRS contends that quercetin offers sustained energy as well as the usual antioxidant benefits. There are other quercetin products out there they admit, but none that contain the levels that FRS has. A single 500-milligram dose delivers the quercetin of 60 apples via a fairly new concentrate called QU99.5, a nearly pure form of quercetin extracted from South American bushes. Though exactly HOW the their QU99.5 actually delivers energy (since a dose contains almost no calories) is still "undetermined".

HOW MUCH DO YOU TAKE AND HOW DO YOU TAKE IT? Recommended dosage is 500-650 mg taken in 2 doses, one 30-40 minutes before you ride (or run), another mid-to-late afternoon. The easiest and most portable are the individually-wrapped chews that come in 2 flavors: blueberry-pomegranate and peach mango. I started out with the blueberry-pomegranate and found them sugary-more-than fruity and on the slightly too-sweet side. That, and they leave your tongue and saliva stained a bright arterial red for like a half hour, giving your mouth the appearance of that of a vampire who just exited the All You Can Drink Hemoglobin Buffet. The peach-mango are much tastier, fruity, much like a Starburst. I bought both bottles of the concentrate in peach-mango and have to say that it's quite tasty, reminding me of a watery peach nectar.

IS AN ANTIOXIDANT REALLY AN 'ENERGY BOOSTER'? Well, that's not the conventional take. Antioxidants, as you all know, are substances that protect against cell damage through microscopic seek-and-destroy sorties against free radicals. Hence, the acronym FRS stands for Free Radical Scavenger — a reminder that the product was originally developed in 2004 as an antioxidant, not an energy drink. It was only later that FRS became a cult product among elite cyclists for the perceived energy boost it gives. According to the company, Lance signed on as an FRS spokesman after calling to score some sample product. So, color me Doubtful.

ANECDOTAL AFFIRMATION. The author of the Men's Journal story writes this: "On my first trial, I was worn out from a bout with the seasonal flu and had a ski trip coming up in a week. I figured the daily dose of vitamin C and antioxidants couldn’t hurt. With nobody to guide me on how much to take, I drank a big glass every morning for eight days. . . For six hours after each glass, I was sharp and productive at my desk. A week later I skied pretty well considering I’d been knocked on my ass for two-plus weeks. FRS, in my opinion, helped mitigate the energy-depleting flu — but I needed to do some more research to find out if my results were too good to be true, and to make sure these sustained jolts of energy were being driven by a healthy supplement."

In other words, his FRS hits SEEMED to provide an energy upgrade. But, he says, he still won't say Yeah, It Works until he checks out some actual, you know, RESEARCH. Okay. Fair enough.

ONE TEST, ONE HYPOTHESIS. A recent study at the University of South Carolina conducted by Mark Davis (now an FRS adviser, though he was not when he did this study) has shown that quercetin increases mitochondrial density in laboratory mice. “Mighty chondria,” as you may recall from freshman biology, are the power producers of the cells. As such, they convert glycogen — stored cellular energy — into actual energy. We’re all born with mitochondria (we inherit them from our mothers), but it’s what you do with them that matters. Although every two-bit trainer and coach knows that to improve performance you must build greater densities of bigger and better mitochondria, there isn’t much in the exercise physiology literature about these little suckers. “It is generally assumed that a greater density of mitochondria is associated with improved endurance performance,” says Joe Friel, author of The Cyclist’s Training Bible and one of the most respected endurance coaches in the business. “But there is little research on human subjects that confirms that. One thing research has shown is that high-intensity training produces a greater quality of mitochondria.” Since high doses of quercetin appear to mimic that dynamic, supplementing with FRS could be a shortcut to fitness and more-efficient energy production. Oh, if ONLY this were true!!

SORRY TO BE A SKEPTIC, BUT I JUST CAN'T BOARD THIS TRAIN. The Men's Journal reporter writes this later in the story: ". . . Deadlines and family life conspired to keep me off my bike early in the season. But (thanks to daily 650 mg hits of FRS) I felt remarkably energized when I did get out. I don’t know if I was faster, but I felt surprisingly good given my lack of conditioning. Normally I get dropped a few hours into early-season bike rides when I’m still 10 pounds heavy from the winter, but on FRS I was able to hang comfortably with the pack. My endurance was better than it should have been." Hmmmmm.

But wait. It gets even better.

"My experiences," he adds, "are more than confirmed by a recent study Davis performed with 12 human subjects. After seven days of treatment with 1,000 milligrams of quercetin a day, endurance on a bike increased by 13.2 percent and VO2 — an individual’s capacity to store and use oxygen — increased by 3.9 percent compared with the same group on a placebo. Those are staggering numbers, and I’m certain I didn’t experience anything like them."

Good god. A THIRTEEN PERCENT INCREASE IN ENDURANCE from an . . . an antioxidant????? Impossible. Hell, it takes a lot of hard and intelligent training to boost endurance by even a few tenths. So 13% from some supplement? No. Freaking. Way. But I was still waiting for UPS to deliver my own FRS stash. So . . . could it be true? Most likely not. My thinking was pretty much in line with Joe Friel's: “That’s an amazing increase in such a short period of time,” says Friel. “No athlete could ever hope to see that sort of fitness change from training only. That makes it more effective than any doping substance I’ve ever read about. So I’m skeptical.”

Moi, too.

OKAY, HERE WE GO. THE RENNIE TRIAL. Got my FRS about 3 weeks ago. Started taking 1 chew half an hour before my rides (making sure to wipe the blood-red spittle from the corners of my mouth prior to rolling up to the group), and a concentrate-based drink mid-afternoon. Every day so far. Have I gotten stronger and faster on the bike? I . . . don't think so. Over the first week, I THINK I felt stronger LONGER INTO THE RIDE, especially on my Wednesday ride which is generally the longest and hardest of the week. But I could have just been on a good legs week for whatever reasons. I HAVE ridden stronger more consistently of late it (again) SEEMS. But this, too, is subjective and any frs effects impossible to isolate from a dozen other variables. I've even taken 3, and occasionally 4, doses for a few days to see if simple quantity made any difference. So far, no. One thing: I have gone without my usual afternoon nap a LOT more often than usual, feeling more awake/alert in the afternoons (don't laugh, young 'uns. You, too, will be there one day). In the final analysis, I've experienced maybe some minor on bike performance gains, but sure as hell nothing remotely close to a 13% boost. And another thing: this stuff isn't cheap: My order was $40 plus shipping, half off the usual cost. If you want to try FRS yourself, add whatever you want to your online shopping cart, but don't place the order. Instead, wait about a week, It took about this long to get an email from Customer Service, something to this effect: "We noticed that you initiated an order of our product, but have not as yet placed your order. We'd like to offer you a 50% discount on your items . . . etc." and they provided a checkout code.

Now, I still have a few weeks to go, so we'll see what happens from here in. But I'm not expecting much. You know the old maxim: If it sounds too good to be true . . .

But just in case, I'm taking 500 mg before tomorrow's (Wed.) ride, and gulping down 3 or 4 daily doses the rest of the way, nonstop, until my supply runs out. This should take about 2 weeks.

So, will I morph into some geriatric Alejandro Valverde. Or remain the same tired old semi POS?

I'll update you all next month.

TIRE PRESSURE WARS: Part Deux; ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH? and APRES RIDE HIGH HEELS

Linda Jellison — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:45:00 GMT

Fit Bit o'the Month, by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

So, when we're talking tire pressure, just how low CAN you go without any performance drop-off?

Well, pretty damn low.

Read on for a purely anecdotal, non-scientific take for what turned out to be a normal ride on what turned out to be a Mr. Softy rear tire.

Sat Sig Ride. August 29. Buffalo Ranch Route. Flat tire, me. Rear, of course. Maybe 4 miles into the ride. So I sent my 19 group off with Dave Kelley and KRhea, stayed behind to fix it on my own. Made the switch, but ran out of biceps with my cigar-sized (but cool-looking) Bianchi mini-pump. Knew the tire was NOWHERE NEAR full inflation. But hard enough to ride on. So off I went in pursuit of my flock, an ad hoc TT of 6+ miles until I caught up thanks to DK taking a wrong turn and having to double back. Anyway. I rode most of the catchup in the 22-23 mph range, a pretty hard tempo for me in non-wheel-sucking mode.

Now here's where it gets weird.

My perceived effort, i.e. how I "felt", during my Solo Six felt pretty much the same as it usually does at that speed. In other words, it didn't seem any harder to crank out 22+ mph miles on my semi-squishy rear Vittoria Rubino Pro than it does when I'm running 95-100 psi. This, even though I EXPECTED it to be much harder to ride that fast and was therefore anticipating some early leg meltdown, especially because it was the rear tire. Just didn't happen.

I intended to borrow a more manly pump at the Maggie's stop, but decided What the Hell: I'd gone this far, so let's see how this all plays out over the full 48. The answer: About like any other ride with the 19s. Felt my usual self during, and after.

When I got back to Longbottom, I took a pressure reading: 63 psi. Yes: SIXTY-THREE freaking pounds!
Now am I pimping for running 60 pounds in your rear tire? Nope. I ran my usual 95-100 psi for the Sunday ride and will continue to do so. Because there HAS to be some advantage to the harder tires, right? I mean, sure there does.

Of course.

Gotta be.

Oh God, I am SO CONFUSED!

Okay, enough of these maddening road rubber ruminations. What's next?

How about this: Are you getting enough?

During my peak years as a marathon runner, I attended a high-octane training seminar in Palo Alto. One of the speakers was Olympic marathon champ Frank Shorter. An early question was: "Frank, what do you think is THE single most important element in your training?" In an answer so fast (I mean ZERO pause) it sounded like an extension of the question, Shorter shot back "Sleep!"

Shorter then elaborated on how he retired at about the same time each night (which, as I recall, was pretty early), and that he (almost) never cheated on himself. Lotsa sleep. Every night. And afternoon naps, too, he said. Similarly salubrious.

Though rarely considered a "training" element, sleep is right up there with full-time hydration, diet, recovery time, etc. And if Shorter is to be believed, perhaps even more vital than the others.

The good news is that as athletes, all of you are well-positioned to score significant snooze time. Research at Stanford University showed that subjects who exercised regularly, even at moderate intensity levels, were able to sleep about 45 minutes longer each night and fall asleep 15 minutes earlier than their couch-crushing counterparts. Just don’t exercise too late in the day or you could upset your body’s circadian rhythms. Most research suggests you need at least a ﬁve-hour gap between exercise and bedtime.

Finally, here are a trifecta of recovery tips. If they work for a geriatric decrepit like me, and they do, they ought to work for most, if not all, of you.

When you get home from your ride, lie down on the floor in some quiet place and rest your heels high up on a wall. Then relax for 15-20 minutes. That's it. All you need to do is just lie there. When we were on a David Russell bike trip in Provence in 2004, I suggested High Heeling to our group, this on day where we stayed in a great hotel in Moustier that had a huge pool. So you had 20 or more people under an awning in the shade with their heels up on a fence, others in reverse position on chaise lounges with their feet where their heads would normally be and vice versa. The most common comment during the ride the next day was "Hey, I think that works! My legs feel good."

If you want to go one additional, active step, put a light coat of baby oil on your quads and, using the heel of your hand, push down hard from the top of your quad down to the knee a few dozen times, mixing this up with some vigorous kneading of these same muscles. Promotes even faster and more complete recovery. For more info on quadricep massage, check out this site.

Ritual #3 is to mix up a 24-ounce bottle (that's the larger bike bottle, the ones most of you use) of your favorite recovery drink (for me it's CytoMax or Accelerade), add half of one of the drink scoops worth of whey protein powder, fill it with 2/3 water, 1/3 ice, shake it up and then drink it SLOWLY, as in sips, over the space of about 30-40 minutes. You can actually start this when you put your heels on the wall: Just lie there relaxing and sipping, downing only about half the bottle during your 15-20 High Heels minutes.

Even better is to bring a bottle with you to the ride with all the powdered ingredients already in there. Then all you need add is water and you can start drinking. That 30-45 minute window that BEGINS at the END of your ride is the most efficient time to quaff your recovery potion as the body is in full-crave, maximum absorption mode during that time.

Try to do at least one of these 3 recovery rituals after every ride. Two is better.

That's it for this month, brothers and sisters. Next month we'll take a close look at Quercetin: The Legal EPO?

B-A-A-A-A-A--D TO THE BONE by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

Linda Jellison — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:16:00 GMT

It's not just that great chattery line from the George Thorogood song anymore. It's also a Big Time Caveat for cyclists, especially those of the road variety. And, EVEN MORE ESPECIALLY, FOR YOU RACE TEAMERS. Finally, a fit bit aimed mainly, though not exclusively, at YOU. Yep, you guys may have even worse bones than the club's civilian cyclists.

Whatever. What follows applies to all of us.

You've all heard it before, how you're old-and-gettin'-older bones CRAVE impact exercise such as running, trail hiking, "Wheeeeeee-OOOOOOO!" aerobics classes; how they GOTTA HAVE this gentle jarring to stay solid and strong. And how, as a bone-builder, cycling is an el floppo major.

Research appearing just last month in the New York Times provides the latest take on just how cycling (that is ROAD cycling) if left unchecked is going to turn your skeletal structure into a pliant pretzel.

Got your attention now? Read on.

if the only exercise you do is road cycling, you might well be putting yourself at risk of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue over time, leading to fragility and an increased risk of fractures of the hip, spine and wrist.

Cyclists are also at serious risk of osteopenia, or sub-normal bone density. A one percent decrease in density increases fracture risk by up to five percent. Read that one more time.

A study published in the journal Metabolism in 2007 compared road cyclists and runners between the ages of 20 and 59. It found that a whopping 63 percent of the cyclists had osteopenia of the spine or hip, compared with a measley 19 percent of the runners.

The latest study, which appeared this year in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, compared the lower spine bone densities of a group of competitive male cyclists against a control group of moderately active men who did other sports. The cyclists had considerably lower spinal bone densities, DESPITE HAVING A GREATER CALCIUM INTAKE (my caps).

Yikes!!!!!

Apparently, it’s the lack of impact in our sport that can lead to low bone density, especially in the lower back, which remains immobile and shock-free when riding on smooth roads (which, I suppose, could be offset by a once a month Sat ride of 2 hours of repeats back and forth on Meek Rd.). Ironically, cycling’s lack of impact is precisely what makes the sport so practicable for older riders. Moi, for example.

And the bone thing is even WORSE riders into hard training and racing (Attencione', DS Lambert), since they might not be eating enough and are burning up essential bone-building nutrients such as vitamin D and calcium with their hardcore training.

In 2006, Aaron Smathers, then 29, was a graduate student in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at the University of Oklahoma, gathering data for a study of brittle bones in cyclists. One of his subjects was himself, since he’s been a bike racer for years. A recent scan had revealed that his bones were less dense than usual for a man his age. Not long after those results came in, he crashed during a race, snapping his collarbone. Six weeks later, in his first post-injury race, he was engulfed by a multi-rider pile-up, crashed again, and re-broke his col larbone. Worse, he fractured his hip so badly that the ball of the ball-and-socket joint broke off. “Later I thought, well, this reinforces my study,” he says.

The study Smathers was involved in was exclusively of bike racers, most in their late 20s and early 30s, was compared to that of age-matched controls, men who were active but not competitive athletes. Bone scans showed that almost all of the boy racers had significantly less bone density in the spine than the control group. Some of the racers, young men in their 20s, had osteopenia in their spines, a medical condition only one step below full-blown osteoporosis. “To find guys in their twenties with osteopenia was surprising and pretty disturbing,” Smathers says.

Another recent study, this one published last year, had similar results. It followed competitive cyclists over the course of a race season in Colorado. The riders, aged 27 to 44, began with slightly below-average bone density. By the conclusion of the race season, they had lost a significant portion of their total, already-low bone mass in their hips, though not in their spines. At a three-month follow-up exam, however, they showed a small amount of bone recovery in the hips.

Sweat can also play a role. A rider can lose hundreds of milligrams of calcium an hour through sweat. Although the riders in both Smathers’ and the Colorado study were ingesting more than the recommended daily allowance of calcium for their age, they may still have had a deficit of the mineral, which is essential to bone-building. Some researchers theorize that calcium must be taken during exercise to be most effective. A 2004 laboratory study of cyclists who were given either tap water or calcium-enriched water during a 50-minute, stationary-bicycle ride found that the riders drinking the tap water had much higher levels of blood chemicals related to bone loss than did the riders swigging the calcium. Researchers suspect that drinking calcium-enriched waters or sports drinks during long, hot bike rides may help to stave off some bone loss.

But there is some encouraging news for the 15s, 17s, and most of the 19s.

Most recreational cyclists probably don’t need to worry too much about their bones. “The studies to date have looked primarily at racers,” Smathers says. “That’s a very specialized demographic. These guys train for hours at a very high intensity. They sweat a lot. They never go for runs. They don’t usually do much weight-lifting,” to avoid adding bulk. “They’re strange.” He knows. “For competitive riders, I’d recommend spending some time weight-training.” If you do race or train hard and often on a bike, consider a bone scan, he says. “It’s good to know your status.” For himself, his racing career ended with hip surgery and four metal pins in the joint after his second severe crash. “I do miss racing,” he says. On the plus side, his latest bone scan, completed just weeks ago, shows that his bone density, while still low, is increasing.

Anything else you can do?

Well, one answer lies in a previous study published in a 2002 issue of Bone magazine (no, Ty. It's not porn), which found that mountain bikers had considerably higher bone density than the sample road cyclists. And it has nothing to do with their body piercings or tatts. Rather, it seems that bumpy trails will give your skeleton all the impact it needs to stimulate bone growth.

But you're not gonna buy a GT or Gary Fisher full-suspension and head up to Leif Erickson. We know that.

It seems that cross-training (and, yes, brothers and sisters, cyclocross counts here) is the key to a healthy bone mass, with running and ball sports being ideal.

“When it comes to bone health,” says Dr Claire Bowring of the National Osteoporosis Society, “cyclists need to add some weight-bearing exercise to their training.”

Such as?

“Running, dancing or any exercise where you’re supporting the weight of your body helps build strong bones.”

Dancing? DANCING?

What about something else, doc? ANYTHING. Like, say . . . diet?

Maybe some Bone Meals?

Consume less:

   * Salt
   * Sugar: including refined or processed foods, which increase calcium excretion from the body and stimulate the adrenal glands
   * Red meat: too much protein won’t help build bone density
   * Carbonated soft drinks: phosphoric acid upsets the body’s calcium/phosphorous ratio, which stimulates release of the parathyroid hormone and reduces calcium uptake
   * Alcohol
   * Caffeine: it reduces mineral absorption and stimulates adrenal glands

Eat more:

* Dark green vegetables, berries and cherries, soy foods, sesame seeds, flaxseed, beans and pulses, canned oily fish and nuts – all of which are rich in nutrients that will support healthy bone growth.
* For those particularly at risk or already suffering, nutritional supplements are a good idea and there are plenty of combined bone health formulas available. But make sure they contain a full spectrum of the following nutrients: calcium, magnesium, zinc, boron, silicon, vitamin D, vitamin K, B6, folic acid, B12 and vitamin C.

Now, get out there and dance.

How Yoga Can Benefit Cyclists, by Jennifer L. Hanson

Linda Jellison — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:20:43 GMT

Take a look through any cycling store, supply catalogue or Website and one thing is abundantly clear: There’s a heck of a lot of gear on the market to help you gain speed and efficiency. But for me, the biggest change in my performance as a cyclist didn’t come from something I could buy, but from something I could do.

When I shifted the “hop on my bike and go” mentality I had as a kid, to one that considered stretching as an integral part of my pre- and post-ride, my overall experience became even more enjoyable. I found my solution in yoga. I’ve practiced yoga for about 10 years—but once I began to consider my cycling in relation to my yoga practice, my two worlds came together and I discovered how beautifully they support each other. Now I’m a yoga teacher, helping other cyclists discover the benefit of this practice.

How Yoga Helps Cyclists

When I ask new students in the classes I teach at Yoga Shala in Portland what they think yoga is, they say, “stretching and breathing.” While that’s true, yoga also helps strengthen muscles to increase their power and efficiency. By working key muscle groups related to cycling during a yoga practice, you can help support the areas of the body you need to draw power from during the ride—like the quadriceps.

But those beginning students are right—one of the benefits of yoga is that it helps you stretch and lengthen the areas of the body that get tight during the ride—like the hamstrings. Because, if you only do exercises that strengthen the quadriceps, for example, and never stretch the hamstrings, when you bend forward you won’t be able to touch your toes. Sound familiar?

Some Yoga Stretches for Cyclists

In my own experience with yoga and cycling, and during the yoga workshops I’ve held for cyclists, I’ve found the following category of yoga poses to be most beneficial for getting on the bike. I’ll be sure to highlight them during the weekend Cycle Oregon ride this year, where I’ll be the yoga instructor helping cyclists stretch out on Saturday night.

• Backbends: All that bending forward over the handlebars requires some relief! Try Baby Cobra, Locust Pose and Upright Pigeon Pose.

• Inversions: Inversions take the legs up, and help bring the toxins and lactic acid that accumulate from a hard race or long-day’s ride down, so it can move out of the system. Try Viparita Karani or Shoulderstand.

• Twists: Provides a release for the back—all the way up from the lower lumbar to the neck! Try Ardha Matsyendrasana (shown below), Marichyasana and any reclined twist.

One of the things that yoga teaches is to let go of attachment to always doing things the same way. Well, I still enjoy all the great gear that’s out there—but as I bring the teachings of my yoga practice into my world as a cyclist, I’ve learned to let go of some of my attachment to these external factors. Instead I focus more on enhancing my internal experience through stretching and breathing.

--Jennifer L. Hanson is a yoga instructor at Yoga Shala in Portland who loves helping cyclists find their inner yogi. She’ll be holding another Yoga for Cyclists workshop in September. You can reach her at jenlhanson@yahoo.com with any questions.

Editor’s note: Keep your eyes out for an announcement of the “Yoga for Cyclists” workshop to be held again in September. We’ll have special rates available for Portland Velo members!!

How Meditation Can Benefit Cyclists

By Joseph Boquiren

Meditation is useful in calming the mind, achieving clarity of thought and increasing one’s powers of focus, mindfulness and concentration. I practice Zen meditation (or zazen) daily. The basic practice is to find a quiet distraction-free space and sit in a stable position as shown below. I try to sit for at least 25 minutes. Beginners should try sitting for 5 minutes to start. There are texts on meditation to help guide you and I advise sitting with a group to understand the practice.

If sitting for a while is difficult at first, you may want to try breathwork as a way to slow down the mind and lead you gently into meditation. Breathwork is useful in allowing one more mindful control of one’s breath and allows for more conscious, fuller and deeper breathing. Some breathing exercises like alternate nostril breathing allow one to better expel impurities in the lungs accumulated during long or cold-weather rides.

Examples - Alternate nostril breathing, Ujjayi, Khumbaka

--Joseph Boquiren is a member of the Portland Velo cycling team. He is also the cartoonist for Samadhi Pants, an online weekly yoga comic. You can see his work at http://josephboquiren.wordpress.com/samadhi-pants/

Joseph can also been spotted most often racing at PIR, Alpenrose Velodrome, and during the winter months at Oaks Park Skating Rink.

IS HARDER REALLY BETTER? by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

Linda Jellison — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:30:00 GMT

IS HARDER REALLY BETTER?

Well, with regard to certain activities, yes, definitely. Or so I've heard tell.

But. When it comes to your bike tires . . . uh, not so much.

I run my tires at 100 psi. Dohnne, at Team Sales Cycling, tells me (often) that 95-100 psi is the Euro (clinchers) norm, even for some really fast guys he used to ride with Over There. Bigger guys might go as high as 110, but that's it.

So I decided to conduct my own personal experiment last month, pumped my tires up to 120 psi (the number I most often hear bandied about) for the Saturday ride. The results (keeping in mind here that this is wholly subjective, based entirely on one rider's perception): I felt no faster at all, not on the flats, not on the climbs. Same effort to produce the same speeds. The BIG difference I noticed was how damn harsh the ride was vis a viz my usual 100 pounds pump-up. Bouncing, shaking, jarring, vibrating for the entire ride. And on the heavy chip seal sections such as Wren Rd., it felt like I was riding a freaking jackhammer.

Recently, I came across some hard scientific evidence that confirms what I experienced, to wit: Filling your tires with enough air to lift the Graf Zeppelin does NOT produce higher performance. All it does is beat you up and tire you out.

A study at the University of Texas plants the Kiss of Death on rock-hard rubber. The Longhorn researchers had 7 riders go at top speed on a 4% incline 4 times, each at different tire pressures (all within the recommended manufacturers max/min specs). All riders used identical bikes and conditions were tightly controlled to isolate tire pressure as the sole variable.

"The difference in rolling resistance caused by varying tire pressure is too small to be detected physiologically," says study honcho Timothy Ryschon, Ph. D.

So there.

Moreover, the study concludes, sky-high tire pressure guarantees a rough, uncomfortable ride because, dude adds, "You'll effectively have no suspension to cushion the blows." The net result is that every bump you bounce over is more likely to lift you off the ground, slow you down, probably make you more tense and hence more tired more quickly just from absorbing more road shock and having to constantly "fight" your bike.

And. For. What?

GETTIN' OLDER. GETTIN' FASTER?

Apologies to the Stones, but when it comes to riding your bike fast, Tiiiiiiiiiii-ime generally ain't on your side.

True. But not necessarily sad.

Because to find exceptions, we need look no further than supersonic sexagenarian Velo-ites such as David and Jude Russell, Art and Lynne Steele, Russ Spierm, Michigan Gary.

Why them? Elite DNA, of course. But even those of us with working class genetic stuff can Rage, Rage Against The Dying Speed.

According to Harvard researcher Peter Weyand, Ph.D., riders, ALL of us, need regular short-but-fast bits help maintain the function of our spinal cord's "motor nerve" cells, the ones that control the contractions that produce fast riding. Without consistent high-quality speedwork, "These cells deteriorate as you get older, slowing you down," Dr. Pete says.

Now you're going to get older, brothers and sisters, no way to prevent that. But you do NOT have to get slower and slower as you age. And the really good news is that, to paraphrase those Brylcreem ads of the 1950s, "A Little Dab'll Do Yuh." Translation for you literalists out there: You can maintain, even improve, your speed on your steed with the shortest of accelerations done once weekly. That's all.

Researchers at the Institute for Olympic Sports in Finland recently found that for average cyclists, "There is much to be gained from sprint intervals of 50 meters to 200 meters once a week."

How best to do this? Well, there's no actual "best" way, but here's one that works pretty well. And you only have to do it maybe 4 times during your ride, making sure you are reasonably fresh when you crank it up. That's 4 times (6 at the absolute most) over the course of, say, a 2-2.5 hour ride. A quad-busting 1 minute, 20 seconds. 2 minutes if you do 6 reps. And that's TOTAL. For the whole shebang.

Here's what you do: Big ring, Big gear (probably not a 53 x 11, but something . . . big: 53 x 15 or 17, 50 x 13 or 15, something like that. You'll have to play around a little to find the gear that, for you, is really, really hard but still do-able. Come out of the saddle (on the flat or a section of GENTLE rollers) and drive as hard as you can for 10 seconds, then IMMEDIATELY (no rest, no break) put your butt back in the saddle and blast it hard as you can for another 10 seconds; 20 seconds, total. That's it. So, how do you feel now?

I mean, was that fun, or what?????

If you're on a group ride, a good time to do these might be just before an announced regroup, or when you know there's going to be a stop sign not far down the road. Or if you're strong enough to get back on, any time you want to. Drop off the back of the group by 50 to 100 yards. When you have that distance, come out of the saddle in an explosion of raging, righteous fury and uncork a 10-10. You can easily do this on the Saturday club ride.

Just don't be a dick.

CLIMBING: CAN YOU FIND SOME WAYS TO MAKE IT MORE ENJOYABLE? by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

Linda Jellison — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:41:00 GMT

Uh, no. Not fun. Never going to be. But you're a bike rider, so now and then you gotta go Up.

OKAY, THEN: ARE THERE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO GET TO THE TOP FASTER . . . MAYBE EVEN WITH SOME MODICUM OF PAIN REDUCTION? Well now, here we have a Maybe.

Now here's the deal. I'm old. I mean really old. Don't ask. And I have not one, but two heart "issues". Plus only 2/3 of a left leg courtesy of nerve damage from my (runner) racing days (hence my nickname, courtesy of the ever-sensitive Ty: "Polio Boy"). Add to this still-in-place blood and cellular damage from 9 weeks of intense radiation last summer. No, no, no, brothers and sisters. This ain't no poor-me-please-pity-me whine. I bring this up only because, even with all this baggage, I still manage to be probably a somewhat-better-than-average climber.

How's that possible?

Because as "just" a recreational rider, like most of you in the club (race team, you can stop reading here) I've tried a bunch of different things on climbs that are within the capabilities of Everyman/woman riders (a.k.a. the club's Base), keeping what works and dumping what doesn't. That, and being both prudent and patient when the grade goes up. The following are some things that work for me, all of which seem to be the antithesis of what I witness over and over on the climbs during Saturday club rides from Pumpkin Ridge to Blooming Fern Road.

So here you go. Try one, a few, or all. See if any of them work for you. No real secrets here (well, maybe one), maybe more a reminder to focus, to pay attention to what you are doing or not doing.

1. BE PATIENT. Start the climbs as comfortably as you can, GRADUALLY bringing your heartrate up to whatever level you can maintain for multiple minutes, somewhere just south of the dreaded Red Zone, and keep it there. Let me say that again: GRADUALLY bring your heartrate up, work your way slowly and methodically up to your maximal climbing rhythm. Check your Ego at the bottom on the climb. My god, the way you see Velo-ites leaping out of the saddle throwing their bikes all over the place, or cramped-shoulder-hunched over the bars pounding the pedals the INSTANT the climb begins, you'd think they were handing out nude photos of Angelina Jolie to the first 3 riders to pass the 100 meter mark. I see this every week: many, many riders who shoot off the front (you know who you are) at the bottom hammering and jamming only to slow dramatically within 400m, and ultimately all squinty-eyed and on the cusp of blowing chunks barely able to turn the pedals long before the climb crests. So PLEASE: start gradually, work your way into the climb at a nice, even rhythm, lift your HR gradually, and odds are you'll summit faster with less pain and more satisfaction. I mean, really, WHO CARES who "wins" the first 30 seconds? Think long term. Think WHOLE climb. Because when you start off too fast, you're going to blow. And when you do, you're done. You're not getting it back on that climb.

Bonus: YOU are the one doing the passing on the way up. Major mental boost.

2. YOUR CLIMB, YOUR TEMPO. Be selfish if you have to. And you do. Even if you're with your riding buddies, and have signed a blood oath to ride together, declare a moratorium for the climbs. Here, it's everyone go at his/her own pace, as per the guidelines laid out in #1 above. It's damn near as hard to slow down to accommodate the weaker climbers in your subgroup by trying to ride tripping-over-your-own feet slow as it is to ride over your head trying to hold the wheels of the stronger ones. Climb at your own tempo, regroup at the top, and THEN reinstate your All For One contract. Until the next climb.

3. CHANGE GEARS OFTEN. One thing I see a lot is riders do, once the gradient stabilizes at 6% or whatever (REALLY evident on Pumpkin Ridge last month), stay in the exact same gear minute after minute after minute. What I started doing some years back was, while climbing seated, shifting UP one gear for 30 seconds or so, then shifting back DOWN for 30 or so seconds, then UP again. Believe it or not, when you shift up just one gear, your cadence slows down a bit, but you maintain the same speed and it actually seems easier. Then when you start puffing a bit, go back down to your "regular" or default gear. Do the same thing when you are riding fast at or near your limit on the flat, in a pace line or wherever. UP or DOWN every 20-30 seconds. Keeping it in the one gear means the same levels of stress on the same muscle groups without surcease (how's that for an Edgar Allan Poe word?). So spread the stress around a little and move back and forth on your cassette. I swear, when I start feeling better. For a while. Then when I go back to my original/default climbing gear it feels more comfortable than it did prior to the upshift. Sounds weird, I know. But just try it.

4. HEELS DOWN. Next time you're on a climb, try this: Push your toes down for 10 pedal strokes, then do the next 10 pushing aggressively down on your heels. If you don't feel a major difference in leg fatigue, your muscles are different than mine. Something about pushing down hard on the heel to the bottom of the pedal stroke seems to involve all the leg muscles and almost forces your to carve circles rather than doing the piston thing. It's just easier. Often, a LOT easier. If you do none of the other suggestions I'm serving up here, try this one for sure.

5. UP AND OUT. Every minute or so, shift up 2 gears and come out of the saddle for 8 or 10 strokes, then plunk your butt back in the saddle and as you are doing so, drop down 2 gears back to where you were. Keeps your lower back from cramping, uses your leg muscles in a slightly different way giving some a (sort of) break.

Bonus: Makes you feel more aggressive as in Kicking the Climb's Ass.

6. HANG LOOSE. Another thing I see a lot of on trips up the hills we ride is a lot of riders grimacing and white-knuckling the bars. When I was running, more than once coach told us this: Open mouth, loose jaw, relaxed hands. If you can focus on staying loose and relaxed, you just become a whole lot more efficient and so tire less quickly. So think actively the next time you're climbing. Repeat the mantra internally: Relax. Stay loose. Rest your hands gently on the tops of the bars or hoods, just enough to maintain control. No grabbing.

7. YOUR NOSE IS THERE. USE IT. At least at some points during the climb, take in 3 or 4 long, hard breaths through your nose, then breathe out aggressively through your mouth. Try to do this a couple of times per minute. This way you get more air into those upper lung chambers. And as we know, performance is all about Moving Oxygen.

8. BIG RING POW-AH. Once a week, on moderate gradients (under 6%), stay seated and stay in your big ring for 20 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, whatever you can handle. Not a huge gear, but one hard enough to reduce your cadence to 55-60 rpm. DO NOT try this if you have knee issues. Even if you don't, start off conservatively, that is a sorta big gear just to see how if feels, if your knees can handle it. If so, move up 1, see how that goes. Don't do this a lot. But it has produced substantial gains for my climbing game in terms of greater leg power. Something I desperately need. And have achieved by Big Ring Reps. You'll be amazed at how much easier in-the-saddle small ring cranking is once you've done regular BRRs for a few months.

That's it. Go back, give all this a second read through, then field test a few. Before all the coaching types go batshit over these tips, let me reinforce one point. These are some things I've tried, and all of them have made me a better climber. Nothing scientific here, all just anecdotal. But maybe some of them will produce the same results for you. This is all I'm saying here. All I mean to say.

CRANK A HIGH CADENCE TO (ULTIMATELY) BURN OFF MORE FAT . . . AND YOUR BIKING BUDS . . . WITHOUT BONKING

Linda Jellison — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:21:46 GMT

by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

There's one question I am continually asked at rides:

"Doug, how'd you ever come by such a set of guns? How can we get arms like yours?"

Well, in some future Fit Bit, I'll share with all of you my Secret Biceps-Building workouts.

But not this time. Sorry, brothers and sisters, but this month it's all about, you know, becoming better on your bike.

I'm sure you've all heard, ad nauseum, that Fast Pedaling Makes You A More Efficient Bike Rider. It's been well-established in a bushel of studies that cyclists are usually more efficient on both hills and flat terrain when they crank it quickly rather than at slower cadences. Now we're not talking here about whirling away like some rabid hamster on crack. No, we're talking 80-85 rpm, something in that range.

Well, here's more proof for you sassy Big Gear Grinders: a pair of recent studies suggests that the greater efficiency may be related to the rapid rate at which glycogen is depleted in fast-twitch muscle fibres during slow, high-force pedaling.

To compare the actual effects of slow and fast pedaling on leg-muscle cells, scientists at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Wyoming asked eight experienced cyclists to cycle at an intensity of 85% V02max for 30 minutes (pretty damn hard, but well below Croak City levels) under two different conditions. In one case the cyclists pedaled their bikes at 50 revolutions per minute (rpm) while using a high gear (Owwwwwww!!!). In the second case, the athletes (this would be the wise ones) spun away in a low gear at 100 rpm.

To really nail this thing down, both groups were traveling at identical speeds, so their leg-muscle contractions were "quite forceful" (gee, yuh think?) at 50 rpm and moderate - but more frequent - at 100 rpm.

Now, here's the shocker: Riders' oxygen consumption rates were nearly identical in the two cases, and heart and breathing rates, total rate of power production, and blood lactate levels were also similar.

But.

The Big Gear 50-rpm-ers broke down the carbohydrate in their muscles at a greater rate, while the 100 rpm cadence flipped one of those physiologoical switches that produced a greater reliance on fat. The greater glycogen depletion at 50 rpm occurred only in fast-twitch (speed/power) muscle cells. Slow-twitch (endurance/stamina) muscle cells lost about the same amounts of their glycogen at both 50 and 100 rpm, BUT fast-twitch cells lost almost 50 per cent of their glycogen at 50 rpm and only 33 per cent at 100 rpm, even though the exercise bouts lasted for 30 minutes in each case.

This rapid loss of carbohydrate in the fast-twitch cells during slow, high-force pedaling probably explains why slow pedaling is less efficient than faster cadences of 80-85 rpm.

How come?

Because as the fast-twitch fibres quickly deplete their glycogen during slow, high-strength pedaling, their contractions (gradually and inevitably; all you have experienced this kind of power drain) become less forceful, so more muscle cells must be activated to maintain a particular speed. This activation of a larger number of muscle cells then leads to higher oxygen consumption rates and reduced economy.

This scenario, in which slow, hard pedaling pulls the glycogen out of fast-twitch muscle cells, may sound paradoxical but it isn't; after all, slow pedaling rates are linked with big gears and high muscle force, while fast cadences are associated with low gears and (relatively) easy muscle contractions. So, since fast-twitch fibres are more powerful than slow-twitch cells, the fast twitchers get the immediate call to arms at slow cadences because high muscular forces are needed to move the bicycle along rapidly.

On the other hand, 'fast' pedaling rates of 80-100 rpm are not too "hot" for the slow-twitch cells to handle. Slow-twitch cells can contract 80-100 times per minute and can easily cope with the forces required to pedal in low gear.

Another possible paradox in the Wisconsin/Wyoming research was that fast pedaling led to greater fat burning even though max fat burning is usually linked with slow-paced efforts. Still, the higher fat burn rate at 100 rpm DID OCCUR because the slow-twitch cells handled the fast-paced, low-muscle force contractions. And, as you know, slow-twitch fibres are much better fat-burners than their fast-twitch partners.

Confused?

Welll, fortunately, there's a bottom line to all this: cyclists should attempt to use fast pedaling rates of 80-85 rpm, both on the flat and on inclines. Compared to slower cadences, the higher pedaling speeds are more economical and burn more fat during exercise. Ultimately, the high pedaling rates also preserve greater amounts of glycogen in fast-twitch muscle fibres, leading to more explosive 'kicks' to the finish line in closing moments of races.

So now you know. To ride faster, longer without muscle meltdown spin, don't struggle. And make a few more withdrawals from your Adipose Tissue Bank as a bonus.

Until next month – pedal fast, not hard.

~Doug

Fit Bit o'the Month by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's own "Health & Fitness Guru"

Linda Jellison — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:20:00 GMT

DE-TORQUE YOUR TORSO

Unless you somehow (through accident or simple carelessness on your part) on some Wednesday end up on Ty's Tempo Ride, bicycling shouldn't hurt. Unless, again, your bike frame isn't properly fitted to your body's frame. If not, you've likely lost mobility in your hips and spine due to pedaling for hours with your trunk bent way forward. If so, a few self-applied therapies can help, including Back Saver #1: Loosen your hamstrings, glutes, middle back and lower back by lying on a foam roll (I think the race team coach guy sells these, or knows someone who does over on MLK) and rolling over each area for 30 seconds. That's it: 30 freaking seconds. Maybe a full minute for the, you know, really stiff or tender parts. The back, though, we're talking about the back here.

Our combo platter also includes Back Saver #2. Significantly amp up your hip and torso mobility by doing 8 to 10 reps of the following move twice a day OR before and after rides. Ready? Okay, here's what you do: Start on all fours. Lower your back like a cat for 3 seconds, then push it up like a camel for 3 seconds. Then, back straight, sit your butt toward your heels (do this gradually and slowly and don't force the issue). Pause 3 seconds, then return to the all fours start and repeat.

You're not going to do this, are you?

YOUR CORE———AND MORE

Hey, question for you: Are you sure you can stomach the demands of cycling? Well, read on and let's find out. According to a new study from the University of Pittsburgh, strong core muscles significantly decrease your risk of lower-body cycling injuries. After analyzing a wide range of riders, researchers found that those with the weakest cores (mainly abs, lower back) saw their cycling mechanics fail, often miserably, during endurance rides. "They begin to flap their legs," says study author John Abt, Ph.D. In other words, you wimpy core types pedal in a SIDEWAYS motion instead of proper up-and-down/carving circles fashion. Although riders were sometimes able to retain their power, "this breakdown in technique could lead to a serious knee injury," Abt says.

Okay, now you've been warned a SECOND time.

Drop whatever you're doing, get down, and give me 30 crunches. Now.

LOW RIDERS ARE SLOW RIDERS

According to a new study at the University of Central Arkansas, many cyclists set their saddles too low. Could be you. If so, a tiny tweak in saddle height can boost your performance. Researchers in the UCA Human Performance Lab found that riders who set their saddles so that their knees are bent at a 25-degree angle (from vertical) at the bottom of the pedal stroke felt less fatigued after a ride than did those who set their saddles at other heights, both higher and lower than the 25-degree Sweet Spot. "Pedaling at this angle lets you use the least amount of energy for your work," says study author Will Peveler, Ph.D. Bottom line: You can ride farther and faster before tiring out.

FRENCH CHICK ASKS: CAN YOU LAST FOR 30 SECONDS? by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's health & fitness guru

Linda Jellison — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:01:47 GMT

And then another 30. And another. And ANOTHER. And . . . Mon Dieux!

Well, to paraphrase Dirty Harry: CAN you, punk?

The Good News: To borrow from Barack: Yes You Can!

The Bummer: We're talking about on-the-bike performance here.

So, who is this Mystery Mademoiselle?

She's Veronique Billat, the almost legendary French exercise scientist who pioneered the concept of vVO2 max: that is, the workout velocity that produces the highest-possible rate of oxygen consumption (and subsequent distribution to the working muscles), the training Platinum Standard for endurance athletes, among whom Velo-ites can number themselves. And in her lab at the University of Lille, she has concocted a brand new, groundbreaking vVO2-expanding workout that can produce HUGE improvements in performance.

And all it takes is 30 seconds. At a time.

Okay, so what do I do?

On your trainer, or better on a gym LifeCycle where you can precisely control resistance and change it instantly, you warm up thoroughly. Get the heart pumping. Get the blood flowing.

Then alternate 30 seconds at your vVO2 max with 30 seconds of "float". Since you won't be in a lab wired up and plugged in, we're going to have to ballpark it here.

First off, this is NOT 30 seconds "sorta hard" followed by 30 seconds of easy recovering spinning. It IS 30 seconds for about as hard as you can pedal at a challenging resistance level @90-100 rpm so that the end of the 30 seconds you are really breathing hard, followed by 30 seconds of "float" at a somewhat lower resistance at about 50% of max. The float is not all that easy, not enough to even tickle Full Recovery, but enough to let your HR drop a tad and your legs to clear a little.

Gee, sounds like a hoot. So, like, how many times do I repeat this cycle?

Well, you "sustain this pattern for as long as possible", she says: that is, until you just can't do another 30 seconds at max or near-max effort in the 90 to 100 rpm range. But we're going to be more humane: Shoot for 12 minutes worth and see how you feel, back off a bit if you need to, but not for long. After that, do another 4, 6, 12, whatever you can handle. No one said this was fun. But it WORKS.

I tried this in the gym last week and 12 of these had me sucking in air through every bodily orifice.

If, say, you do the hard 30's at level 9 on the LifeCycle (or a 53-17 or whatever on your trainer), then you would "float" at the same 90-100 rpm but at half the resistance: For me, 5 on the LifeCycle.

Carried out on a weekly basis, the Gallic Guru's test subjects upgraded their vVO2 max and lactate threshold (the point beyond which blood lactate builds up to the point where your legs won't go anymore) by 3% (a HUGE amount) and pedaling economy by 6% in AS SHORT A TIME AS NINE WEEKS.

One more thing: "If you are worrying about the exactness, let me reassure you that hitting 50% of max 'right on the head' {during the float} is not that important," she says."The gains in fitness associated with this workout comes from the vV02 max work, not specifically from the recovery effort." In fact, she warns, it is important that the float be "only reasonably close to 50% of vV02 max so that you can sustain 100% of vV02 max, and not some lower percentage, during the work intervals."

But know this, too: This is a precisely-controlled workout. When you go hard, you GO HARD. When you float, you are still working, just not near as hard. This 30-30 workout "does not permit dawdling at various speeds."

Was Veronique surprised?

Damn right. And she said so. The 30-30 workout gains were about the same as her famed (and dreaded) 5 x 3 minutes/3 minutes Hard-Float workout that only serious hardcores could handle. The common ground in both workouts is that when you do the hard stuff in short bits (be it 30 seconds or 3 minutes) HARD, hard here being defined as about as much as you can handle for the designated time.

But I'm not a racer, so is this something I can handle and that will work for me?

ABSOLUTELY. Here's the REALLY good news: "The 30-30 workout is a powerhouse and, even though the heart rate soars to near maximal NEAR THE END OF EACH SESSION (my caps), it is tolerated well, EVEN BY INEXPERIENCED CYCLISTS (my caps), who tend to struggle with the more-challenging 5 x 3 minutes at vV02 max." But with the 30-30 "powerhouse" you still make the SAME GAINS.

Veronique has carried out new experimental work with modestly fit athletes which shows that a twice-weekly regiment of 30-30 workouts can boost your top end by a whopping 10% in just 8-10 weeks.

Okay, Okay, I am definitely ON BOARD. When should I start?

Right now. No later than tomorrow. Veronique recommends using the 30-30 session "early in the season" (which is NOW) as an excellent, easily-tolerated way to kick-start improvements in stamina, lactate threshold, and pedaling economy.

So, there you go, brothers and sisters. Have a go at it. And no whining.

Fit Bit o' the Month: Warm Winter Wonder Workout, by Doug Rennie, Portland Velo's health & fitness guru

Linda Jellison — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:24:00 GMT

Or: On, Done, and Off in 45 minutes.

During the 12 years I wrote for Runner's World magazine, my Go-To Guy for any training feature was one of this country's premier exercise scientists. PhD. Head of the human performance lab at a major Big 10 university. Big name in the field, tons of street cred. He remains anonymous here because he now dispenses his info on an online subscriber-only basis. But I mined his expertise broad and deep while researching the many How To Get Faster pieces I wrote for the mag. And what he says, works.

One point he made over and over, both in phone conversations and email responses, was this (direct quote): "Intensity is the Most Potent Producer of Fitness". Specifically, short bits of harder-to-WAY-harder effort than even your normal hammer-ish tempo on selected sections of club rides will eventually make you stronger than longer chunks of, say, moderately hard riding. Think: Shorter, harder. WAY harder. Just not for very long. It's like marathon runners doing 400-meter repeats at a tempo a lot faster than their marathon pace.

Judiciously done, of course. Say, one of these suffer-fests every 7 to 10 days max over the winter.

So, what exactly are we talking about here?

Well, based on a bunch of double blind studies his lab did, one of the best, most efficient stamina-building sessions consisted of 2.5 minute repeats at hard to most-unpleasantly-hard to okay-that's-freaking-ENOUGH efforts followed by 1.5 minute easy-spin recoveries. Seems that 2 1/2 minutes is close to optimal: Long enough to let you really amp it up and hover just barely beneath the Red Zone, but not so long that you can't sustain this kind of hyper-high output (about the time you're running out of gas, time is up). And the 1 1/2 minute recovery gives you just enough time (barely; believe me. Barely) to semi-clear your legs and get your HR back into the 120 bpm zone to permit another 2 1/2 minute blast. But not so long that you are able to fully recover.

No, this isn't any kind of Magic Bullet workout. There's no such thing. But, apparently, the 2.5-1.5 combo platter IS one that works better than many others for increasing stamina (the ability to go "fairly long" at speeds faster than you previously could with the same effort).

Yes, yes. I know. Winter is for "base building". Mainly. Mostly. But slogging every gray-skies mile at 70% HR turns legs, brain, and spirit into lead. Makes more sense to add some intensity, even in the Dec-Feb dead zone. Moreover, during this workout, you are almost always changing the effort, so time passes far, far faster. And you do it indoors: On the bike, done, and off (dripping and panting) in maybe 45 minutes. Tired, but immensely satisfied, knowing that you have just done something substantial. Something that is making you stronger.

Do this 3-4 times a month for the next 2-3 months and see if you don't come into spring a notch or two higher up the Velo food chain than you are right now.

So, here you go. I prefer to do this workout on a LifeCycle at the gym as you can specifically and instantly change the resistance. But you can also do it on your indoor trainer or rollers. Your call. Whichever, here's what you do:

1. 10 minute warmup: 5 minutes of steady pedaling starting at level 1, then, over each subsequent minute, increase it to 2, 3, 4, 5. Follow this with 5 minutes where you work in, say, the level 5-7 range (whatever feels right for you) alternating 30 second high-spin bursts with 30 seconds of recovery cruising. Get your heart pumping, the blood flowing into your legs, just starting to break a sweat.

2. Meat of the workout: Pedaling in the 90 to 100 rpm range, do 2.5 minutes of hard effort, progressing to very hard, progressing to DAMN hard (not really all-out. But close) so that your legs are bitching big time and your heart thundering when the 2.5 minutes are, mercifully, up. Start out at a resistance level that feels demanding from the outset, hold this for 1 minute, then kick it up 1 level for another minute (getting really hard now). Finally, add 1 more level of resistance for the last 30 seconds. While you never want to feel that the last 5 or 10 seconds is the absolute most you can do (again, NOT all-out; rather very, very hard. Just on the cusp of going anaerobic), you want to finish the 2.5 minutes feeling pretty pooped.

Example: 1 minute @ level 7, 1 minute @ level 8, 30 seconds @ level 9. Or 6-7-8. Or 8-9-10. This is the part you have to figure out. Use your first workout to experiment. Play around a little. It doesn't take long to come up with your own personal template.

3. After each 2.5 "on", punch in level 2 or 3 and spin easily at 90 rpm for 90 seconds. Then hit it hard again for 2.5 minutes.

4. How many of these little Four Minute Maulings do you do? Shoot for 4 x 2/5/1.5. If you're fried after that, spin easily for 2 or 3 minutes, then do a second set of 2 to 4. Your eventual goal is Eight Straight. If you do this workout right, that's plenty. Your goal is getting stronger, not to be admitted to the ICU.

5. Finish off with 5 to 8 minutes of easy pedaling for a cool-down and leg-flusher.

Remember: Once a week. No more. The rest of the time, just ride your bike or do longer, less intense indoor sessions.