Monday, October 29, 2007

Bartlett Cyclocross - Sunset Park

Yesterday, I attended the inaugural Sunset Park Cyclocross Race in Bartlett, IL. This was the first 'Cross race I have ever attended. I was impressed!! The race organizers did a great job. You can find pictures of the Cat 4a and 4b races at:

http://cycling.smugmug.com

The weather was great and the course was varied. The one thing I noticed was that the barriers were on uphill sections and the riders that ran up the hill after the barriers before remounting generally did better than the riders that tried to remount immediately after clearing the last barrier. These riders almost came to a complete stop. This is merely an observation as I am a 'cross novice who has never actually raced 'cross.

Also, I noticed that the riders that were able to take the tight right turn before the short steep climb, were able to make up positions/distance on other riders.

Also, you can find the results to the race at:

http://chicrosscup.com/results07/ABD_Oct_29_2007.htm

Good luck to all riders in the next 'cross race in St. Charles.

Monday, October 22, 2007

The Iban Mayo case and how it helps Landis

Does anyone find it interesting that in Iban Mayo's case, the Spanish Cycling Federation had the common sense to test the B sample somewhere else other than the Chatenay-Malabry lab which is the same lab that had inconsistencies with the Landis' tests? Hmmmm... one can only wonder what would have happened if USADA had actually listened and agreed to the request to test the B samples from the other stages at a lab other than Chatenay-Malabry. Hopefully, WADA will shut down that lab or at a minimum, make it a regular practice of testing the B samples at 2 different labs.

Landis' legal team has to just LOVE this story. While Iban Mayo was caught for something different, Landis' legal team will infer that Mayo would have been wrongfully convicted if it were not for the testing at labs other than Chatenay-Malabry.

The Iban Mayo story may just be enough to swing the pedulum in Floyd's favor. Get ready for round 2 everyone.

For complete coverage:

http://trustbut.blogspot.com/

For additional commentary:

http://rant-your-head-off.com/

***UPDATE***

Anne Gripper of the UCI said this today:

She said it would be another "five or six weeks" before the second round of tests is completed. Even if the follow-up tests are negative, the UCI said it might consider an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

So, let me see if I get this right... if your A sample tests positive and the B sample tests negative, the UCI will try to get you suspended on the basis of the A sample by appealing to CAS. How much more screwed up can WADA and the UCI get about doping?? How about following your own rules for starters? Talk about a witch hunt.

All I can think of is that Monte Python sketch where they go around yelling "witch!!" I can't believe Landis hasn't spoken up about this, although maybe he is just waiting for it to play out. So far, everything the lab and UCI is doing should help Landis with his appeal to CAS.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Cold Weather Riding: How is it different?

Over the last week or so, the USA Cycling Coaching yahoo group has been discussing cold weather riding. It all started when one of the coaches presented a question about a junior rider who said that he didn't feel as powerful riding in the cold. There were many good possibilities as to why the rider was feeling this way as well as solutions to each of these issues. I will summarize a number of issues that come up with cold weather riding.

- Clothing / Staying Warm. This is the most obvious thing that is different when riding in the cold. Most people can figure this out. You must dress in layers and feel slightly cold when first starting on a ride. Also, keeping hands and feet warm are the biggest challenge. See my previous post on my new winter gloves. Here are the things I hadn't thought of:

- Wear bib tights. This prevents bunching of tucked in layers around the waist. With reduced bunching, sweat doesn't gather thus not causing a rider to get chilled. The dryer a rider is, the less chance of getting chilled.

- Go out on a ride and get cold. You know how in the spring a lot of people start wearing shorts when it barely turns 60. This is because our bodies have been conditioned for the cold over the long winter. Cold weather riding is the same thing. The more you go out and ride in the cold, the more your body will get used to it.

- Line your helmet with something to keep the wind out. Along with a good skull cap or balaclava, lining your helmet with plastic or covering it with tape, will help to keep the air out. Those vents are used to help you stay cool so if you cover them up, it will help you stay warmer.

- Focus on nutrition. In the winter, our bodies don't receive the same amount of Vitamin D due to less sun exposure which can lead to a deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency can cause overall achiness, muscle soreness and the feeling of decreased power. Also, Vitamin D is related to Calcium absorption so Vitamin D deficiency can lead to other problems. The best way to alleviate this is to take a good multi-vitamin, especially in the winter.

- Focus on hydration. As we head into cooler weather, our thirst mechanism seems to be turned down a bit. I know I have trouble making sure I drink enough in the fall on and off the bike. While the amount you drink while riding can be reduced a bit due to lower sweat rates, the amount you drink off the bike should probably be increased a bit due to the low humidity environments in the winter.

- Increased chance of getting sick. Riding outside in the cold has its own set of problems. In the Fall, riders with asthma and/or allergies tend to have more problems. Also, as the temperature drops, some riders tend to have noses that run all the time. These problems can lead to Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI). If you have any of these problems, make sure you take care of your sinuses. One solution that has worked is a neti pot. Decongestants can help also once you feel a URTI coming on.

- Looser fitting tights. Some people develop knee problems because tights or leg warmers do not allow the knee to move the same while cycling. This is caused by increased pressure of the tights on the knee cap. If you have this problem, try looser fitting tights or make sure your tights are not pushing the knee cap up or down.

- Appetite. You may notice that you are hungrier while riding or after riding. This is due to 2 things. Generally, winter rides are not the hammer fests that you may be used to in the summer. Also, in the summer, your body doesn't want to waste time digesting food because it is too busy keeping you cool and keeping your muscles working. In the winter, your body isn't worried so much about keeping you cool and thus your appetite is increased.

I am sure I have left out some issues, but hopefully this will help you to keep riding through the winter. Feel free to add thoughts in the comments.

Friday, October 12, 2007

TGIF - Level 2 Coach & Landis

Level 2 Cycling Coach

I went to the USA Cycling Level 2 coaching clinic last weekend. I completed the test this week and passed, so I am now a USA Cycling Level 2 Coach!! Honestly, I didn't think I was going to learn that much from the class as I have read a lot of material on training and nutrition, but I did learn A LOT. Thanks to Sam Callan from USA Cycling; Al Gandolfi, part owner of ABD; and Stephen McGregor, professor of exercise physiology at Eastern Michigan. They were all fantastic teachers and they made the class FUN. Thank you Sam, Al and "El Ranchero" :-).

So, what did I learn, stay tuned... I will be touching on topics that I learned about in future posts to this blog.

Landis Appeals to CAS

Just as the ceremony was planned to give Oscar Pereiro the yellow jersey, Landis announced he has appealed to CAS. I think this is the right move considering the appeal should be considerably less expensive than the initial hearing and CAS has been known to side with the athlete when warranted. Also, most of the analysis is already complete. I only wish that Landis had announced it earlier. I do feel for Pereiro. Here is a guy that doesn't know whether he finished first or second in the biggest bike race in 2006 in the world and he won't find out if he won it until the start of the 2008 season. Also, does anyone know if any of the riders have been paid for the 2006 Tour de France? According to Landis at one of his book signings, he didn't think anyone will get paid until a final verdict in his doping case.

So, what's my point? There are plenty of other riders that are affected by this case other than Landis. Think about how much easier this would have been if WADA's certified lab, LNDD, had their act together. They either would have never found a positive test or the positive test would have been without reproach. Anyway, hopefully CAS gets the verdict right and WADA cleans up their act as a result of this case. Anyway you look at it, Landis and other riders are the losers in the case no matter what the verdict.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Specialized Sub-Zero Gloves

Today, I received an email from CTS reminding me that cold weather is right around the corner. Here in the upper midwest, we have enjoyed very warm weather for the beginning of October (heck, for any time of the year), but we are in for a rude awakening. It will be time to get out our cold weather gear very soon or head inside until next spring.

A couple of weeks ago, I knew it was going to be cold (less than 40 degrees F) for one of our Saturday morning rides. I had not been happy with my cold weather gloves and I knew I wanted to be able to ride into the 20's (F) this winter. My LBS suggested the Sub Zero gloves from Specialized. I bought them and I love these gloves.

These gloves have 2 layers. The base layer can be worn when it is not so cold (30-50 degrees) and then when it turns below 30, you can add the 2nd layer. I have not had the opportunity to use the 2nd layer as it was 38 at the start of that ride, but my hands never got cold on that Saturday ride. More importantly, the gloves breath so my fingers/hands never got sweaty or clammy. With my old winter gloves, my hands would be cold at the beginning of a cold ride and then get cold again toward the end because the gloves got wet from sweat. Specialized touts these gloves as being breathable. I can tell you that they worked for me. My hands never got sweaty and stayed.

So, for cold weather gear, I can check gloves off my list. Next will be something to cover my head.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Last Race of the Year

For me, at least. This coming weekend, I have a USA Cycling Level 2 Coaching Seminar that I will be attending so that I can become a Level 2 coach and to better serve my athletes. Back to the race...

Mike, Paul and I all lined up for the race in Lombard. This race was very unusual as I was actually on time and Mike and I beat Paul to the race, so it already started out as a little bit of a strange day. I didn't have my normal pre-race jitters. I have had a stressful week, so I guess the stress of this race didn't compare, especially since I didn't have high expectations. Translation... I didn't come in with a positive attitude which usually doesn't help.

We take off after normal instructions. We find out very quickly that the wind is very strong, especially between turns 3 and 4. There are a number of attacks off the front, but a break wasn't going to stick with this wind... or so we thought. Evidently, a rider got off the front and with a lot of riders attacking, most riders didn't realize that there was a rider still off the front until after the race was over. Very impressive performance for this young rider from Turin.

The rest of the pack stayed together. It was a normal race where if you sat in the middle of the pack, you faded back so you move to the outside of the pack and moved up. This work very well until minute 32 into the race when I started to run out of gas. I haven't been riding a lot, so it started to catch up with me. I did my best to catch my breath but by the time I did, it was too late to move up and I finished in the bottom half at 39 out of about 60. The good news was that Paul finished 5th and I am pretty sure he sits 3rd overall in the Cat 4 Fall Fling overall going into the road race.

This was a bit of a disappointing season, but it was to be expected. I took the winter off last year as I let work and a crash become excuses as to why I didn't get on my bike. That won't happen this winter. Now that I am a coach, I have to set an example for my athletes. I will be strictly completing my workouts in my program just as I expect from my athletes. I will talk about my goals for next year in a separate post, but let's just say that I will not be the same rider come next spring.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Cornering and Other Skills Info

I was contemplating what I wanted to talk about in my entry today. Yeah, I know I need to write up my last race report of the year, but I will do that tomorrow. Today I was looking at the Chicago Bike Racing website and the latest entry was a riding tip. BTW, that website is full of great information and tips for beginning and experienced riders. Check it out.

Anyway, I started thinking about the skill that made me a better racer and that was cornering. Once I learned the David Phinney way of cornering, I was able to corner much faster. In short, his technique is basically tucking in your inside knee toward the top tube. That was the piece that was missing for me. Evidently, this tucking of the inside leg turns your hips which helps to counter steer the bike. I was already putting my weight on my outside foot and pushing in with my outside thigh. So, where did I read about this technique? I am not sure where I first read about it, but the easiest way to get a full description about this technique is by signing up for the roadbikerider.com email newsletter.

If you sign up for this newsletter, they give you a pdf file that contains 29 pro secrets. I wouldn't exactly call them secrets, but the document is full of valuable information about training, sprinting, cornering, etc. The document details the cornering technique and gives examples of some drills that will help to reinforce the technique.

So, what is this newsletter? It is a weekly newsletter that provides an update on all things cycling including everything that went on in pro racing over the prior week, a couple of articles on training and equipment, and an comedic article that, to me, is the most entertaining article in the newsletter. I really enjoy it; I read it every week. They also have a premium site that you can subscribe to if you are interested.

Anyway, if you sign up for the email newsletter (did I tell you it was free?), you will receive the document that has the info on the cornering technique. Or you can search the internet under "Davis Phinney Cornering Technique". I know their is at least one more entry that describes the technique.

Here is the link for subscribing to the Road Bike Rider newsletter:

http://www.roadbikerider.com/