Training Indoors

The weather sure has gotten cold. Cold enough for many that it is time to move inside and onto the trainer. Lots of cyclists dread the trainer, but you don’t have to, in fact you can come to love it! A couple of my friends used to come in and tell me about the hours they spent the night before on their trainers.  There are many ways to make trainer riding fun. There are videos that have workouts, you can listen to your MP3 player, or perform a structured workout.

If a trainer is not for you, the money you would have invested in a trainer could be invested on some winter clothing which would allow you to ride in the harshest of conditions.

Trainers are great tools to get a very structured and solid workout. One advantage of a trainer is that it removes a lot of the outside variables such as wind and weather and varying terrain.  This fact makes them perfect to use when you need to run a test to see how your performance has changed no matter the time of year.  Most coaches and books have different forms of these tests to help you establish your fitness level prior to starting a new workout program.

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What’s the right choice for you, a child seat or a child trailer?

What’s the right choice for you, a child seat or a child trailer?

 

It is great that you are thinking about getting your child or children out with you to enjoy cycling. A child seat or child trailers both allow you to bring your kids along for the ride.

 

This Guide is designed to help you choose which product is the best choice for your family.

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Dressing for the Colder Weather

Fall has settled in it doesn’t mean that your cycling has to be cut back. Dressing for the cold is easy to do, it is all about layering. With a few of the right pieces riding in the cooler weather can be very refreshing.

 The best way to dress for the cold is layering. What is layering? Layering simply means wearing a combination of clothes (in layers) to help regulate your temperature and keep you warm and dry.  Clothing creates air space that absorbs/traps heat.  The layers of clothing act as insulation to help keep your body warm. The numbers of layers you wear for a given activity are matched to the weather, your activity level and your personal preference. There are three types of layers, the base layer, mid layer and the outer layer.  

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Mountain Bikes and Washington

Looks like mountain biking in Washington is growing in popularity. Not only does President Bush enjoy riding on the single track, so does first year Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn.

Below are some comments from Jim Zorn’s radio interview about riding mountain bikes.

Jim Zorn on his Radio interview.

“[George W. Bush has] kind of got the ultimate courses. You know, I’m not the only one there, it’s not a duo. There’s a group that he has ridden with over the years, and it’s quite a group of experienced riders, and I’m a very small part of it. And he’s there to work out and I’m there to work out, and it’s been good. But I got to ride several times over the week, and you can get a lot done over a short period of time when you’re on a bike on a single-track trail.

“You know what, in this area there are some tremendous trails. There not that difficult to find, but you want to have the right equipment when you go out, and it’s a real thrill to be out in the state of Virginia. Even on the Maryland side there’s some tremendous opportunity to, you know, to get on the dirt.”

Jim is right there are lots of great places to ride in Maryland and Virginia.

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Thought for the Day

I came across this in one of the E Newsletters I get.

CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION

Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

Lately I think there has been a theme developing around me about health. I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what I can do to improve my life and my health. Sadly I haven’t been doing one of the most important things. Getting out on my bike or on my trainer.

Are you doing everything you can to improve your health?

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