Health, Fitness and Training

NEVER RIDE HARD ON TIRED LEGS. NEVER. EVER.

Linda Jellison — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:20:00 GMT

Rewind.
Stop.
Play.

NEVER RIDE HARD ON TIRED LEGS. NEVER. EVER.

This absolute core principle of intelligent training is repeated mantra-like by most of us. And all too often ignored. But do so at your peril, be you race teamer or serious fitness rider.

Who says? Well, everyone. Including Scott Saifer, the Head Coach at Wenzel Coaching, a nationwide apparatus of pro cycling and assorted other endurance sport coaches for riders of all abilities. It matters not your personal position in the Portland Velo food chain 'cuz the maxim is absolute: NEVER RIDE HARD ON TIRED LEGS.

"Riding hard when your body is not ready for it is a bad habit for several reasons," says Saifer. "Riding OTHER THAN RECOVERY (my caps) when you are already tired makes you more tired WITHOUT MAKING YOU FASTER, and delays the time when you will be able to do quality riding again."

Get it?

You DON'T become a stronger, faster rider by bludgeoning the crap out of your legs ride after ride after ride. Riding hard 2, 3, 4, whatever days in a row isn't just extremely unpleasant, it's flat-out stupid. Putting the hammer down on rides you go into with legs already aching makes you very, very good at going hard——without going fast. Who in hell would want to do that? Oh, yeah. An "Animal".

I bring this up to offset the possibly seriously damaging effects of a story The Oregonian ran last Sunday on some guy called the "Big Dog" who believes that every ride has to be some sort of gasping, grunting, squinty-eyed, snot-flying-out-your-nose, gray-viscous-drool-burbling-out-your-lips penance or, you know, it just don't count. You gotta SUFFER, man. On the ride you're currently doing. And the one after that, and the one after that, and so on, in perpetuity. A recovery ride? Ha! Day off? Anathema!

And when your body eventually breaks down into a tortured stew of ripped muscles and fractured bones and you're running a 102 fever? Well, hell, get out and ride as hard as you can, of course! Hurt? Exhausted? Sick? So what? Ride harder! I mean, you got no cojones, or what?

Freakin' wimp.

Okay, so how, exactly, are we defining "tired"? Simple, says Saifer. Not really subjective at all. "My (most successful) clients have learned to go easy on any day they feel ANYTHING BUT TOTALLY EXCELLENT (my caps)." These riders (let's call them The Few, The Smart, The Speedy) "progress faster than other riders who go hard for various reasons OTHER THAN BEING READY AND KNOWING THEY AREN'T. Bad reasons, Saifer says, include wanting to set a new PR on a training loop; slavishly sticking to a laid-out-weeks-in-advance training plan; wanting desperately to "keep up" on a group training ride regardless of how you feel; letting your glands and your ego override wisdom, judgment, and patience.

Moreover, counsels Saifer, it's the recovery days that allow you to take lively legs into your hard rides and really amp it up. And THIS is where you get faster and stronger, how you develop, in Saifer's words, "the ability to ride fast without riding hard, and then the ability to ride tremendously fast when riding hard."

All of this holds true for all of us, from the 17s up through H/N'ers and the race team. Every ride need not be a blood-letting.

RIDE HARD, STAY YOUNG LONGER?

Linda Jellison — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:01:00 GMT

Recent research suggests that the answer could be “Yes”. At worst, maaaaay-be.

So, let’s see what we have here.

Well, for starters, the pessimistic stuff: All kinds of scientific studies have long established that for endurance sports, of which cycling is one, once middle age is reached, the Great Decline begins.

Need proof? Here you go.

A shiny new University of Texas study (2007) concluded that “Peak endurance performance is maintained until approximately 35 years of age, followed by modest decreases until 50 to 60 years of age, with progressively steeper declines thereafter.” Back-up factoid: No one——not Eddy, not Lance, not The Badger or Big Mig, no one——over the age of 35 has won the Tour de France.

Oh sure, there are exceptions such as Lance lieutenant Viatcheslav Ekimov who punched it at the head of the Postal/Discovery paceline at 40 (both years of age and mph), and CSC’s Jens Voight at 37 still able to kick ass on the young ‘uns. But these are exceptions. Genetic freaks.

How come? Well, mainly declines in VO2 Max and increases in body fat. Kinda makes all you mid-30s Velo-ites want to permanently unskewer your carbon aero wheels, doesn’t it?

BUT WAIT!!!!

We got us some new research here that challenges the veracity of the oft-cited “Apres 35, les deluge” maxim. New research that, dare we say, even offers hope for the aging cyclist? Well, yes, if we define “aging” as, say, 45.

An new Italian study concluded that what really caused on-the-bike performance declines up to age 45 were NOT the long-stressed physiological deterioration, but rather because the older athletes TRAINED LESS THAN YOUNGER ONES. So, not lung leakage, but laziness is the cause of 4th decade performance fall-off. Maintain your training levels, maintain your fitness well past where conventional wisdom says you can.

Fine, you say, but I’m in my 50s now (there ARE a few of you out there on Saturdays, right? I mean, besides me?). What about me? you bleat. Am I destined for the cycling slag heap?

Maybe not.

A recently-published study out of Wisconsin found that a test group of 10 athletes with an average starting age of 52 were able to maintain their VO2 max just fine, thank you, with steady, regular bits of high-intensity training, head-butting the accepted belief that all should have lost 10% . . . or more.

Now.

This does NOT mean that, to stay young in the saddle, you go out and hammer every ride, knuckleheads. It DOES mean that using high-intensity training JUDICIOUSLY, as in a few chunks of rides a couple of times a week, will keep the pistons pumping like in the old days.

So, ride hard, yes. Just not all the time. Or even close to it. Pick your moments. When you’re feeling strong, when IT’S THERE, run it up to the red line and hold it a while. But not so long that you blow an O-ring. But never, ever, NEVER, EVER do this on tired legs. Never. Ever.

Ride hard, even really hard, now and then and carry superior fitness levels well into middle age, and beyond.

Or ride hard all the time and turn yourself into a bowler.

RACE TEAM: DON’T BOTHER EVEN PERUSING. THIS ONE IS FOR THE CIVILIANS.

Linda Jellison — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:32:00 GMT

by our mystery "Fit Bit" author - to be revealed in next month's VeloCITY. Or not. Wait and see.

Before I became a cyclist, I was a competitive long distance runner for 11 years, and posted some respectable times. I trained hard, but I also trained smart. Which meant NOT training hard every day. And when it came to coming up with the best workouts, I was a shameless thief, a protocol pirate forever asking “What do you do?” questions to every el/la rapido I raced against. I tried them all, everyone’s favorite workout, turning my body into a clearing house for every imaginable training scheme. Eventually, I tossed out what didn’t work so well, maintained and fine-tuned what did, and boiled everything down to a few core principles that seemed, for me, to work best and, over my final 2 years as a road racer, I recorded personal bests at every distance from 8-K through the marathon.

So, when I bought my first road bike 8 years ago (the first bike I had since I was in the 8th grade), I figured that what worked to make me a stronger, faster runner, I could carry over into my cycling. I did. And it worked. As a result, I’ve gotten stronger and faster each year I’ve ridden. So far. But at my age this perpetually ascending curve is eventually going to flatten out.

Here’s the bottom line: Running and cycling are (obviously; but it still needs to be affirmed) NOT the same activity; running isn’t going to make you a stronger, faster cyclist, and vice versa. But. Many of the same physiological principles and training techniques effectively cross over from one to the other. And here they are.

1. Ride some of your weekly miles (say 10-15+% of your total, certainly not much more than that) harder-to-way harder than your usual, normal moderate pace, your lock-in/auto pilot tempo, the brisk (to you) but mainly comfortable effort you ride almost all the time. Second, ride, say, 20% of your miles slower than this normal pace, even if it means willfully dropping down to a slower group where you HAVE to ride slower, even if it now and then means tripping-over-your-feet slow. This is really when true recovery and rebuilding (of both body and brain) takes place, and when strength gains are actually built——and not during the hard riding when you are actually tearing muscles down. The rest of the time ride your normal pace. Too many riders ride almost the same pace/tempo/effort almost all the time—_this includes almost every Velo-ite——spending anywhere from 90% to 100% in this “Grey Zone” that is neither hard nor easy. The result is stasis because you train your body to do only one thing, and that is ride at THAT pace. Mile after mile after mile.

Instead, try this:

2. Ride long (whatever that is for you) once a week, probably Saturday or Sunday since this is more enjoyably done with a group. From such rides you build/increase ENDURANCE——the ability to ride and ride and ride over longer and longer distances, though at a moderate pace.

3. Ride a good, hard sustained pace (say 6 to 8 minutes) several times during your ride once a week, something that has you breathing hard and your legs getting toasty, but still out of the Red Zone, that is short of anything close to what you’d call squinty-eyed all-out. Think “pleasantly uncomfortable” for these efforts. This kind of interval training produces STAMINA, an increased ability to ride “fairly long, fairly hard.”

4. Finally, once a week (maybe twice, if, as you get stronger, it’s done in conjunction with #3), do some short, but extremely hard efforts that end up being about as red-line as you can ride for 20 seconds to 1 minute. Maybe punch it flat out up a moderate 200-to-300-meter incline. Or come out of the saddle in the big ring and drive as hard as you can for 10 seconds, then sit down and maintain a max effort for another 15 or 20 seconds, or whatever you can manage. Hammer it in the drops for 2 or 3 telephone polls. Get creative. Just make sure that you ARE squinty-eyed and gasping over the final bit. Do this 3 or 4 times during an otherwise normal ride whenever you feel like it, or the terrain serves up an opportunity. It doesn’t take that many reps. What you improve here is muscle STRENGTH, and with it the ability to reach top speed faster and hold it longer, to stand and accelerate on a hill, to sprint.

ENDURANCE. STAMINA. STRENGTH. Improve in these 3 areas, and you cover all the bases. There really isn’t anything else. Do #2-4 above for 6 weeks, and you come out the other end of the pipeline a stronger, faster rider. There is a difference between riding (heading out and turning the cranks however you feel every day) and training (adding some reasonable structure to a few rides each week that is aimed at improving some specific capacity while still keeping your riding fun)

That’s really all there is to it, all you need to do. Oh sure, you can buy training books and CDs and get anal about monitoring heartrate, blahblahblah. And if this makes sense to you, and gives you confidence that you’re doing the right thing, or if you’re one of those people with a compulsive need to quantify everything, then by all means keep doing it. But understand this: riding/training to become a stronger rider isn’t particle physics. If you’re a Tour rider, and hundredths-of-a-second can put you on, or keep you off, the podium, then, yeah, maybe you do want all the lab stuff and computer analysis/feedback and have blood drawn at the summit of every training climb. But for the rest of us, it’s really a pretty simple formula: Ride some of your miles faster to a lot faster than your norm, ride others slower to a lot slower, and just ride however you feel/want to the rest of the time.

It’s worked for me as both runner and cyclist. It may for you, too.

Give it some thought.

Mitachondria's Magic Bean?

Carlo Delumpa — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:48:00 GMT

It's responsible for the production of 95% off all the human body's energy requirements. Got your attention? Read on.

It's main job is firing up the little one-per-cell energy-producing furnaces called mitochondria that produce energy in muscle cells.

It, like damn near everything else, decreases as we age. Levels begin to drop after——Yikes!——age 20. My god, where does that leave poor Uncle Norris? With flabby quads and a sagging ass, that's where.

It's called Co-enzyme Q10 (or CoQ10, to its close friends)

The Big Question: Can daily doses of this crucial-to-cyclists magic bean improve in-the-saddle performance?

A recent UK study suggests that, yes, it just might.

One group of cyclists were given daily 100mg CoQ10 supplements. A second group (a.k.a. the Lucky Ones) popped 300mg each day. A third group was given a placebo.

The result? "Significant on-bike performance gains", wrote the researchers, for the 300mg-ers vs. No Gains for both the 100mg grupetto as well as the pathetic placebos.

But wait, there's more!

"Subjective fatigue sensations" (i.e. feeling tired, or in Brit-speak, knackered) were "substantially alleviated" in the kick-ass 300s, but NOT in either of the other two test groups.

But wait, there's more! No, seriously!

CoQ10 also provides "significant antioxidant functions" by preserving levels of vitamins C & E even as it is stoking up your working muscles. A real multi-tasker this.

The Layman Lowdown? Researchers suggest trying this: Pop 300mg CoQ10 supps daily for 8 weeks prior to a target race or touch event ride (such as the PV club century). The stuff is cheap, and could well improve your workload capacity and overall performance. One good source is www.vitacost.com.

May Fit Bit: Proper Pedaling

Linda Jellison — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:09:00 GMT

A BIT OF PROPER PEDALING: One Way to Move Up the Food Chain

Look around at the noobs (and, truth be told, a fair number of Velo-kitted vets) on the next SatSig Ride. You'll likely see at least some, and more often than not, too many riders either in a teeny-tiny gear over-spinning (>110rpm) and looking like a crazed hamster on crack, or their polar-opposites grimacing while grinding a too big gear (<60rpm).

Either of these capital offenses and/or just flat out poor pedal technique.

Right now in the transition time from the toilet bowl weather we've too long endured to the glorious sun-splashed days we know lie ahead (note: change "know" to "hope") is a good time to work on improving your pedal action, and temporarily abandon the focus on pure mileage or heartrate-orientated rides. Okay, okay. Keep your damn HR monitors on if you absolutely must, but for God's sake for AT LEAST part of every other ride, abandon the squinty-eyed "gotta be a half wheel ahead" mania and target your technique. Pick at least two (ideally, give them all a shot) from the following menu choices:

1. Take some indoor spin classes, or (I cannot believe I am writing this) invest in a fixed wheel bike ("fixie" to the in-groupers) on an easy, mainly flat route. Turn the pedals at 100rpm+ and, most importantly, focus on relaxation (loose jaw, loose grip on the bars, think "mellow quads", whatever you need to do) as you approach 2 revs-per-second. Aim at carving full circles and not just punching the pedals up and down. All of this leads to the improved neuromuscular/biomechanical efficiency you need to become a smoother, and hence more efficient and ultimately stronger rider.

2. On longer, moderate grade climbs (the long slogs up Helvetia or Clapshaw come to mind), try gearing down to a harder gear and climbing out of the saddle with a lower cadence of, say, 60-70rpm. Relax your upper body and rock with the bike, albeit under control.

3. On your trainer, or on a LifeCycle at the gym, close your eyes when you cycle and concentrate on the FEEL of the pedals rotating. Vary where you press and pull to see how it changes your internal pedal "feel". Turn these sessions into little explorations and find the stroke that fits you best. LifeCycles are good as they give you instant rpm readouts.

4. Once you are warmed up, do 1-minute cadence intervals that follow the classic training Pyramid Pattern: 70rpm, 80, 90, 100, 90, 80, 70, all in the same modest gear. Repeat this cycle 5 to 6 times with 1 minute of casual, unmonitored riding in between. After you're done, you can resume balls-out run-downs of the closest potential road kill. Be sure to pick a flat to VERY slightly rolling terrain so that you can concentrate on the proper cadence without getting into any real fatigue. Yeah, I know. Any ride where your tongue isn't hanging on the top tube is a wasted ride. Whatever. Just Do It.

5. Alternate 1-minute easy gear spinning with one leg only: 1 minute, right leg followed by 1 minute left leg, repeat, repeat, repeat. Repeat. If you want, start with 30-second one-leggers and work up to a full minute. Keep the "dead" leg connected to the pedal if you feel more secure that way, just don't use it.

That's it, brothers and sisters.

Off with you now.

Fit Bit O' The Week: HGH (Human Growth Hormone) 101

Linda Jellison — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:33:00 GMT

Questions you always wanted to ask but didn't...

1. So Just What is HGH, Anyway? And Why Do the Tour Dopers Scarf It
Down?

HGH——Human Growth Hormone——a protein produced and released into your
bloodstream by the pituitary gland ACCELERATES FAT BURNNG, MUSCLE
BUILDING, and METABOLISM. It's not a drug, rather a naturally occurring
substance in the human body.

2. So If We Make It, How Come We Have to TAKE It?

'Cause by your early 20s, HGH has largely done its job, that is
transforming your kid body into the adult version. So natural
production starts to decline. The sad results? More body fat, less
muscle mass, a sputtering sex drive. Ah, but the OPPOSITE is also true:
Boosting HGH levels leads to increased testosterone production (which
does show up in drug testing) and all the accompanying gains in
strength and repair work on cells, tendons and muscles damaged by
rigorous exercise. Remember how much faster things healed when you
were, like, 19?

3. The Buzz

HGH hit the fan in the late-1990s when a study published in the New
England Journal of Medicine pumped HGH into 12 really lucky dudes aged
61 to 81 for 6 months. What happened? Well, the geezers gained 9% in
muscle mass, lost 14% of their body fat, and WITHOUT EXERCISING.
Moreover, most said they felt horny for the first time in a decade and
walked around sporting full blown rats. The results of a half-year's
worth of HGH squirts, the researchers wrote, were "comparable to
shedding 10 to 20 years." So sign me up!

4. The Problem

Whoa. Settle down. You can't get the stuff (legally) in the United
States unless you're an HGH-deficient kid on the fast track to
dwarfism. Last Uncle Norris heard, that was the only FDA-approved use.
Even if you could legally score some, the natural source of HGH (the
pituitary glands of cadavers. Eeek.) is limited, and recombinant forms
(rHGH) although "abundant and safe" are prohibitively expensive,
according to Pharmacological Review.

5. The Options.

Now there IS a way to amp up your HGH levels. Two ways, actually: Sleep
tight, and work out short and hard. The pituitary pumps out more HGH
during sleep, particularly the first 90 minutes, than at any other
time. Ah, but the BETTER way to hype your HGH at any age is, according
to Dr. Mauro De Pasquale (sounds like maybe Marco Pantani's
"connection"?) in the journal Drugs in Sports is HIGH-INTENSITY
exercise, but no more than a couple of times a week. But the watchword
is SHORT AND HARD. Like sprinting balls out for a few hundred yards to
a stop sign, or putting the hammer all the way down on a 100-meter
roller. That kind of thing. Maybe half a dozen times during your ride 2
or 3 times a week. Such explosive bursts, Dr. de P claims, can increase HGH output by AS MUCH AS 50%.

Yikes!

More next month from your Fit Bit Funster, Norris Couchman. Until then,
look for me on my polka-dot Pegoretti at the Saturday ride.

Make March Transition Time!

Carlo Delumpa — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:03:00 GMT

Most likely you've not been riding much over this dreadful winter. Most likely when you have ridden it's not been very vigorous (you know, the cold and all). Most likely you're still doing a lot of gym pedaling, be it in spinning classes or slogging out 40 minutes on a LifeCycle, or you've closed your eyes, grimaced, and shut down your brain for yet ANOTHER session on your dungeon trainer.

Well, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, the weather it's-a-changin'. Soon enough, brothers and sisters, you'll be out there trying mightily but futilely to fend off the repeated attacks that have become endemic to every Saturday "Sig Ride" north of the 15s. You will pay for your season of sloth.

Time then to make your gym time count, and have some fun ("fun" a highly relative term here) atop a LifeCycle, or at home straddling your trainer. Time to try out Uncle Norris's "Simulated 3-Rider Time Trial" where you do 1 hard "pull" for every 2 "drafts". I understand that the concept of a "pull" is alien to you legions of inveterate wheelsuckers out there. Look it up.

Okay, you can do this either of two ways, so mix 'em up for max variety as well as a bit different kind of applied stress to legs and lungs.

Do 10 minute warmup (5 minutes of gradually increasing resistance, but still in the mild-to-moderate range, 5 minutes of alternating 30 seconds of high-rev/low resistance work with 30 seconds of easy recovery spinning.
Now the red meat. Option A: Find a resistance level that feels moderately hard (say, 6 or so on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being flat out sprint). Stay there for 2 minutes, then kick it up to level 7 or 8 (but nothing higher) for 1 minute. By the end of this minute, your legs should be most warm, and you should be breathing hard, even very hard, but not gasping. Repeat this cycle 3 to 8 times (for a 9 to 24-minute 3-Rider TT), however many sets you can handle. BUT always finish feeling you could do one more set. Just don't do it. Get off the bike tired, not trashed. Unless you really want to. Digging deep once every 10 days or so is fine.
For variety, alternate 40-second drafts with 20-second pulls, using the same warmup and exertion levels as described above. Do this for 12 to 24 minutes.
Cool down with at least 5 minutes of easy spinning.

Try it. You'll like it.

Training on an island in Alaska

Linda Jellison — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:30:00 GMT

OK, so it’s not so much the poorly paved (if at all) roads, or the lack of shoulders, or the fact that the shoulders never are swept clean, or the fact that at any moment you could be plastered across the grill of a truck which outnumber cars four to one. No, the difficulty in training to race at a (“lower 48”) competitive level becomes quickly obvious when out jumps the fact that the island I live and train on gets 180 inches of precipitation a year and a hot Summer day is when the temperature reaches 70 degrees. There are no hills longer than a half mile in length, and none taller than 500 feet in elevation; only 24 miles of paved road and only 36 miles of total drivable roadway.

In 2005, the last day I wore just shorts and a jersey was in September, and I didn’t wear shorts alone again until May of 2006. In the summer of 2006 we had 89 days of rain, and winter arrived in August, as it often does. Most every night dips into the 40’s, and the majority of summer days are barely in the 60’s. Which brings the obvious question of why would anyone choose to try to race (and be competitive) in such a harsh climate? The answer, I believe, is the same in Portland, Bend or Kotzebue, Alaska (which has no roads!) We love the sport and we desire the joy and pleasures it gives back to us.

Ketchikan, where I live, is a special place. Rain, yes. Snow, yes. Cycling club? Yes--me. But that‘s OK, because in two miles I’m on a road where it’s not uncommon to have to pause for a bear to wander across the road, or hear loons on a nearby lake. Wilderness--true wilds where you can die on your own if you’re ill-prepared surround us, and we all take a certain pride (and preparation) in that fact. There is novelty, too, in being only one of a few cyclists on the island—and certainly the only one that speeds around in sublimated lycra! I see people over and over throughout a training ride and there is most always a wave or a smile. With the odd cantankerous driver, it’s often that a friend of a friend knows who it is and more often than not the problem is solved just with a bit of education---like “that HUGE HOLE is why I was out in the lane.”

To ride in the summer on Revillagigedo Island—to ride any time in Southeast-- is akin to riding the mid-Wintered sanded roads of the mountainous NW. Grit and grime cling to chains, chain rings, and rim surfaces with equal abandon. Think Larch Mountain in mid-March, which is when I rode it and thought it was great—pouring rain, sleeting at 1,000 feet AND a decent climb, what could be better?

On the island I live on, there is no bike shop—NONE—And while capable on the bike, I’m no modern mechanic, and even simple problems become large dilemmas. Lose a chaining bolt through the deck onto the beach and gone it is forever—need to order one from Seattle. Need cable housing--same thing. Go down to the Trading Company and ask for a 12-25 cassette, or durace derailleur, and you get a stare like you’re speaking Tlingit in Downtown Albany.

And yet we ride. In any weather—in all weather—because when you live someplace that gets 17 feet of rain, you either get out or you don’t. I raced a semi-full season in 2006. Four stage races, a few road races and a number of criteriums. One of the beauties of racing as a Master (for me) is that I’m doing it for myself. I won’t ever return to racing full-time, and so a shift in the principles of competition change a bit I think. I like road racing as a Master mostly because when I go off the back on an early long arduous climb, I know that after awhile solo the women will catch me and I’ll have the enjoyment of finishing the race off the back of their main field! Most any company in a race is good company when you’re off the back. Never been off the back you say? Well, you haven’t raced enough, then, I’d say.

When I travel throughout the West in winter (or summer) and see nicely paved back roads that seemingly go on forever, I am envious—to a point. Just the thought of being able to ride a 100 mile LOOP is mind boggling, and the array of daily choices for training rides—or pleasure rides—is endless. BUT, there is traffic, and smog, and really fast speed limits, and some mean people. And having only lived in SE Alaska for six years my memories of such run-ins are still fresh, so let me say I TOTALLY admire and respect those who commute and ride and train in a “climate” that is equally challenging. At this point I’m not so sure I could do it again.

So here I sit, dreaming of sun and dry pavement and long seemingly endless climbs, craving suiting up to head out for a bit of a DRY spin to view budding trees, daffodils, crocus, and greening grass…something that I won’t be privy to at home until late April—if lucky. Just make sure you get out there and ride, no matter the rain or wind. And find something good at the end of it all, even if it’s just to say “Dude, (or Dudette) I just rode in the worst rain of my life…!” Believe me—I speak with experience here—you’ll look back on it and be pleased you were there. Good for the soul, perhaps better for the ego, but priceless for the memory.

Mike Schuler is a professional photographer who also works for an Engineering firm in Ketchikan, Alaska. He raced as a pro from 1985 – 1997, and since then has raced Masters in the summer. Mike also enjoys open water swimming (in 38 degree water!), hiking, climbing, speedskating, and Nordic skiing. He visits the Portland area to skate, train and ride when his schedule allows. Samples of Mike's photography can be seen at www.keyephotos.com.

Fit Bit O' The Week - The Caffeinated Cyclist

Carlo Delumpa — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:35:00 GMT

LONGBOTTOM: Not Just for Post-Ride Fueling Anymore!

Want to ride as hard, but suffer less? Then quaff a double/triple espresso an hour before you ride.

According to research recently published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, caffeine makes exercise less painful. Even better news for female Velo-ites is that le jolt-a-caf seems to more effective in women than in men.

THE SET-UP: 11 college-age women were put on cycling ergometers (LifeCycles) 3 times with 1-2 weeks between sessions. Each time they pedaled at a rigorous effort (about 65% of VO2 max) for 30 minutes, and each time 1 hour after ingesting a not-identified-to-them "magic potion"

THE DOSE: The first hit was a "moderate dose of caffeine", defined as 5mg per kilogram of body weight; the second was a "high dose of caffeine" (10mg per kg of body weight), and the third a placebo.

SO, JUST HOW MUCH CAFFEINE IS THAT: Well, figure a cup (8 oz) of brewed coffee contains between 60 and 100m of caffeine, a potent espresso in the neighborhood of 150-250mg. Now, we all know that a kilogram is 2.2 pounds. Soooooooooo, a 120-pound woman (there are some in the club somewhere. Right?) would weigh about 54 kg, hence a moderate caffeine dose would be (based on 5 mg per kg of body weight) about 270g, pretty serious stuff. Double that (540g) for a high dose.

YOUR BASIC MATH: The formula then is to divide your weight by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms, then multiply that number by either 5 or 10 to determine what is a moderate/heavy hit for you.

WHAT YOUR JOLT GETS YOU: The woman pedalers's perception of leg discomfort/pain was recorded every 5 minutes during exercise, along with power output and heart rate (to make sure they weren't cheating). "We said 65% of VO2 max, dammit, so PEDAL!". Leg pain was rated on a scale of 1-10 with 0 being no pain at all, and 10 being root-canal-in-the-legs excruciating. The average pain intensity scores for the 3 sessions were:

    1.3 for the 5mg hit
    1.6 for the 10mg dose
    2.9 for the placebo

The difference between the effects of caffeine and placebo on pain perception was "significant and large", according to the researchers, who also added that "despite the different pain scores, there was no statistical difference between the effects of the two doses of caffeine": that is, the higher doses didn't really deliver a bigger bang for the buck in terms of pain relief.

So, probably more prudent to go for the 5mg dosage, whatever that is for you. If you're Big Johnny O, that's like a quart of high-octane espresso.

GENDER BIAS: Previous research has shown that caffeine has similar effects on men. They're just not as good, only about half the benefit women get. How come? "Reasons for this large sex difference is unclear," the researchers say. Okay, whatever. But it's still not fair.

Fit Bit O' The Week - Get Schmeissed!

Carlo Delumpa — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:02:00 GMT

Ciao, Velo-ites.

Uncle Norris's message for you this week is one you aren't going to want to hear: Stop wasting your time futiley chasing fitness and longevity through something as mundane as cycling.

Nah, instead GET SCHMEISSED!

So say a group of men who, according to a report in the London newspaper The Independent, meet thrice weekly at London's Porchester Baths to be "schmeissed": being whipped while standing buck-naked in a steam room, then jumping into ice-cold water. The practice has existed since the 1930s, and true believers are adamant that this is THE path to deep relaxation and long life.

"You see, your body is like a car," offers one blissful Brit, "and a schmeiss is like being serviced."

And this is a country that has nuclear weapons.

Fit Bit O' The Week - Antioxidants and You!

Carlo Delumpa — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:58:00 GMT

So, what d'yall want, brothers and sisters?

Become a stronger rider, but get more colds? Or skate through the winter mucus-free, but same-old/same-old in the saddle? Seems that, like pretty much everything in life, you can't have both.

Because when it comes to goosing up bike performance, less is more when it comes to antioxidants.

A recent University of Indiana study found that the usual winter-time vitamin C supplement of 1000mg (16x the RDA) may actually PREVENT fitness gains——even though, ironically, it may assist in repairing muscle cell damage that results from hard riding.

Backing up the Bloomington whistleblowers is research published in the Journal of Medicine in Science and Exercise, to wit: OD-ing on C seems to "prevent useful and positive adaptation to habitual stressful exercise." The Laymen's Lowdown: pumping in too much C means fewer fitness gains for the time you put in on the saddle.

It gets worse.

A January 2008 study laid out in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition put humans and rats on "indoor cycling ergometers" (you probably know them as LifeCycles) and had them pedal their asses/paws off for (I think) 6 weeks. Something like that. Well, VO2 max DOUBLED in the human non-C overloaders (this would be the group containing the creatures more like us. Most of us.), 22% to 10.8%. And the rodent spinners? Yikes! It took the non-C-supplemented needle-nosers FOUR TIMES as long to pedal to exhaustion as it did the vit-C-pumped group.

Sadly, 2 of the studies simultaneously confirmed that supplemental C DID reduce oxidative damage to muscle cells, and resulted in fewer colds.

So. Daily megahits of C? Or not? Ah, the conundrum!

Sorry I couldn't bring you happier news, but more next week from your Fit Bit columnist, Norris Couchman. Look for me atop my heliotrope Land Shark at the rides.

Cycling Sessions - The Art and Science of Pedaling (Part 2 of 3)

Carlo Delumpa — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:01:00 GMT

In the last Cycling Sessions column, we looked at optimizing your position with regard to seat height and seat position along with proper knee function to reduce bad form and overuse injuries. In part two of our look at improving your efforts on your bike, we will look at the pedal function and developing constant resistance along the whole circumference of the pedal stroke.

Like a gear motor, your crank is a lever that ideally functions when smooth, even force is applied throughout the full rotation. This requires calf, quad, and hamstring muscles working to succeed.

Most novice bicycle riders use their quads only to pedal, aka: Mashers. Without clipless pedals, the downward stroke is about all you can do. Investing in clipless pedals is almost mandatory in order to pedal in a way that eliminates any dead spots as the crank goes completely around from 12 o’clock and back again.

For those who have been using clipless pedals, let’s look at developing our applied energy along the rotation broken into three sections. Visualization exercises will help you improve this ability.

Section One: The downward stroke from the 12 o’clock to the 3 o’clock is where most people are strongest so we will not focus on this now.

Section Two: From the 3 to the 9 o’clock point we need to visualize a downward motion to 6 o’clock followed by a pull of the foot as though you were skating or cross country skiing. Another visualization that Greg Lemond uses is trying to scrape mud off your shoes. This engages other muscle groups, namely the muscles surrounding the ankle, calf and hamstrings.

Two things happen when you do this:

1. You create a transfer of forces, eliminating a dead spot.
2. By engaging your hamstrings, you are forced to relax the quadriceps, which aids in recovery, sharing the load, and helping the legs endure longer duration activity.

Section Three: From the 9 o’clock location back up to the top of the pedal stroke. This area is very important as it avoids the tendency to rest the leg that is rising, forcing the other leg to not only drive the rear wheel, but also have to lift the other leg that is resting.

The visualization for this exercise is picturing pulling you knee to the sky, or jogging with your knees coming up toward your chest. You turn the resting leg into a contributor to the pedaling. You also increase output wattage by as much as 30% as this takes away the added weight! This balances power output and makes each leg work less. We use more muscle groups, instead of just the quads.

As you return to Section One you provide a natural transition back down again. You can never really pedal in circles since our joints, etc. are not that machine like, but you are maintaining constant force, which is just as effective.

A good drill to do on a stationary bike or trainer or a parking lot is one legged spinning. Place one leg in the clipless pedal and turn to crank. Try to visualize constant force. You can also just focus on one of the drills for the different places to improve those weak spots. You will notice right away where you may be weak by feeling the force. Is it on, then off? Do you feel weak in an area like the 9 o’clock area? The feedback you get will help you improve as well as strengthen those weak areas.

Be patient as habits are hard to get rid of, good ones or bad ones! In part three, we will look at the finer points of spinning and ankling and how we can improve power and efficiency in our drive train called our legs.

Portland Velo Member Gary Stafford lives - get this - in Rhode Island! He comes to Oregon frequently on business and when he does, Ty lends him a bike and he rides with the club. Gary does a lot of writing - and riding - for his local cycling club, and has been gracious enough to allow us to reprint his articles on the Portland Velo website. Please give Gary a big "thanks" the next time you see him on a ride.

Cycling Sessions - The Art and Science of Pedaling (Part 1 of 3)

Carlo Delumpa — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:49:00 GMT

In the next two Cycling Sessions, we will look at one of the most important driving forces in bicycling, pedaling. Let’s start with the basics, position and alignment.

Most of us have been pedaling from the time we were on Big Wheels wearing pampers. So you would think we would all be experts. But sadly, most people pedal inefficiently, which takes power away, and can lead to overuse injuries.

At the TFCE every year, I see so many different styles of pedaling, and surprisingly see many who may be doing damage. What should you look for?

1. Seat Height. Make sure that your seat provides a long, smooth pedal stroke. There are many ways to get the seat right, and a bike shop can help you with this. If you are riding upright, and your knees are near your ribs on the upstroke, your seat is too low. Here is an illustration from the USCF (United States Cycling Federation) that shows ankle position with the pedal at the lowest position. This illustrates the highest you would want your seat, especially for something like time trialing. Having a 30 degree bend at the knee would be ideal for general conditions. (see picture right). Notice how my knees are never going to hit my ribs yet my back is fairly flat while in the drops.

2. Knee position: Your knees should move near the top tube, pointing in the direction of travel. I can’t tell you how many riders I have seen with their knees sticking out at a 45 degree angle or more when they pedal. This not only takes efficiency away, but can lead to overuse injuries. What you want to work towards is having the knees pointing straight ahead on either side of the top tube. This takes time and training, but helps to recruit the core muscles into the pedaling movement, which brings more of your body into the effort, increasing efficiency greatly. You also provide a more aerodynamic profile with the knees in, which saves drag, making things a little easier, especially into a head wind. If your hips are tight, do some easy stretching, where you sit on the ground with your knees out, feet touching together to open up the hips before you start. Always remember bouncing is not the way to stretch, Easy relaxing opening of the muscles is what you are looking for.

3. Cleat position. Again, a bike store can help you with this as well. Sit on a high chair or table and notice how your legs hang with regard to your feet. This is how you want your cleats set up to provide a natural motion. Be sure not to have your knees out too far, though when you clip into the pedals.

In part two, I will discuss the pedal stroke, and other methods used to improve pedaling efficiency. Try the adjustments here to prepare for pedaling improvements later!

Cycling Sessions - "The Perfect Mile"

Carlo Delumpa — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:25:00 GMT

Many of us get motivation from reading a good book that highlights achievements in endurance sports. One of the best books I have read lately that does just that is “The Perfect Mile” by Neal Bascomb. Before you say, “What does a running book have to do with cycling?” The Perfect Mile translates well to any endurance sport enthusiast or any reader who enjoys drama and high achievement stories.

The Perfect Mile is about the mythical barrier of the 4 minute mile. It was believed by many in the early 20th century to be a barrier that could not be broken based on the limitations of the human body. Back in the forties and fifties many still believed that exercise was dangerous for people as the body had a predetermined amount of times that the heart would pump and that exercise could as a result, shorten your life span.

But many myths were about to be broken. The book takes you into the lives of three candidates to break the barrier; Wes Santee of the USA, Rodger Bannister of the UK, and John Landy of Australia. Each athlete is captured in both their approach to training as well as unique personalities. The frailties and triumphs that go along with the visible spectacle of open racing, with your country praying to be the first, weigh on their shoulders. The fear of failure, and the quest to achieve something never done, captivates the reader.

As with all endurance sports, the similarities to the feelings one gets as they try to go further or faster than before are persuasive throughout the book. It is that same feeling of achievement one has, following the suffering of an especially hard, epic bike ride or race that can be felt in the hearts and minds of these early pioneers of modern training and endurance sports.

Some of the early training described in the book is strange for us to imagine. As each pitted against each other, from different locations, results of a meet would come late due to how slowly the news travelled back then. Not like today’s instant news. Most of us know who broke that barrier, but that does not detract from the book whatsoever. In fact the story continues, as what follows that achievement provides interesting changes and opportunities to pit the men together and change the face of the sport. The drama makes the headlines and changes how endurance athletes train and compete from that point on. It is a real story that is enthralling as it speaks to the human spirit, the will to not give up. It also provides the world the optimism that any admirable human goal can be achieved with hard work and effort.

The Perfect Mile is addictive in that spirit, and reads smoothly and easily. The author puts you in their shoes, literally. You feel like you are running alongside these pioneering young men as they run with leather sewn together for running shoes, pushing themselves by feeling alone to the very edge, ruled by the ticking clock. At the same time you experience what it was like to live in a post world war world that slowly changed from war and suffering to trade, growth, and the rebuilding of prosperity.

It is on the foundation that these great athletes laid down that we enjoy the recreational sports we love so much. Here is a refreshing book that lets you taste the triumph of the human spirit, of celebration of life and pushing one’s God-given body to new heights. It is quite a good read!

Reinventing the Cyclist - Ground Zero (Part 1/8)

Carlo Delumpa — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:37:00 GMT

Part 1 | Part 2->

July 6, 2003. We had just arrived home from a weekend camping trip at the Sacramento Delta with our Bay Area friends, and what a weekend it was. Beer for days, chips and salsa and veritable plethora of cookies. I was thankful to get a breather from Tao Jones' busy gig schedule and I treated myself to whatever I felt like treating myself to. But we were home now and it was time to get into the shower before unwinding.

I looked in the mirror and could barely believe the dude I saw lookig back at me. Did I get bitten by some insect? My face looked really puffy! I took off my shirt and unfortunately, my belly matched my face. I had gotten fat. I noticed it before, when I was Photoshopping the digital pics from our wedding in Hawaii, but I didn't think it had gotten that bad. Well it did, I was disgusted.

I went to the garage and took my bike off the rack. It was in pretty sorry shape, dusty except where I had hung some towels to dry after washing the car. The drivetrain was caked in grease and dirt and the cables were starting to rust. Stupid me, I had spent a lot of money on that bike when I got diorced in order to help me keep my sanity. And now I had abandoned it like another piece of unused furniture.

Back inside I found Monique and asked her "do you think I'm fat?". She turned to me with a look of concern and said "I'm more worried about your health than your appearance". She was right. In the past few months leading to that day I was napping more than usual. I didn't have the same energy I used to have and I blamed it on "getting older". I skipped workouts at the gym and I chose sweets over fruit regularly. Given the history of heart disease and diabetes in my family one would think I should have known better. I did, but it was so easy to have just one more cookie, or seconds of a big greasy meal. Monique told me that her biggest fear was losing me early to heart disease. This was the first time she said anything to me about that and I knew she was serious. I wasn't like I was going to die tommorrow, but all that bad eating was killing me slowly. It could take a few years or fifty, but it was not going to be pretty if I let it go.

I dusted my bike off and cleaned the chain. Then I got into my cycling shorts, which I now spilled over emphatically. I pulled on the biggest jersey I could find, filled up two water bottles and strapped on my shoes. Then I started out for what I thought would be an easy spin to Folsom. 16 miles round trip, no problem. Oh yeah? By the time I got to Folsom I was ready to puke. And I felt very self-conscious the entire way because I know that lycra does not lie - I looked like a big blue blob on a fancy bike. I loathed people like that - buy the fanciest bike they can, even though they can't ride worth a damn. Now I was one of them and that made me feel awful. Partly because of how I looked and felt and partly because of my unjust bias. Nothing like walking in someone else's shoes to humble you. And on top of all that, I physically felt like hell, suffering from cramps and loss of breath on every little rise, every extended flat. The only time I felt good was when I was going down a hill, the only time gravity was on my side.

But that was my punishment, to look pathetic and to ride pathetically as penance for my sins of indulgence. I would get on my bike every day for the next two weeks in self-flagellation, reluctantly embracing the junkyard my body had become and swearing through my physical suffering that I would never let myself go that far again.

Part 1 | Part 2->

Author's Note: I wrote this article in the Fall of 2004 and since then I have received great feedback and a request to make it more available. Since then, I've lapsed into some old (bad) habits but I'm on my way back. A new "Re-Reinventing the Cyclist" is in the works. For now, I hope you can find some nugget of usefulness from this archive. - Carlo