* The 2011 "American Dirt Prologue" trans-continental cycling trip was a great learning experience and a total butt-kicker. To read my blog go to: http://americandirtprologue.blogspot.com/
* My indoor Cycle training book "Excel In Cycling: Seven Seasons of Indoor Workouts" is out. The book contains 200 pages of workouts and covers 7 years of evolution of the Excel In Cycling indoor training program. Cost is $16 per book/$21 if ordering by mail.
* Excel In Cycling Indoor workouts will continue thru Wed Feb 29. March workouts are possible based on weather: If the weather is poor I will hold Wed and Sat workouts. Just check this Home Page on Tuesdays and Fridays for a confirmation of whether the Wednesday and Saturday workouts are a go.
* Our 2012 Spring Cycling Camp will take place on the weekend of 4/13 thru 4/15. The hotel is completely booked. We only have 2 spots in the cabin left, so please get in touch with me asap. Go to the Spring Cycling Camp page for more information.
* Fixie rides are 1x/week this winter and spring. Fixed gear cycling is the "Gold Medal" standard in the winter for pedal technique training, cardiovascular endurance and leg strength. So get some good cold-weather cycling clothing, get a fixie, get motivated and GET outside this winter - don't limit yourself to months of nothing but monotonous indoor training. The best cyclists ride outdoors as well as indoors in the winter. Best of all - my fixie rides are free!! For more information fire me an email at pjgladd@aol.com
Currently each fixie ride is meeting at the Barlow Rd. Bike & Hike Trail Trailhead in Hudson, (the one just a 1/4 mile east of Truxell Rd) on Sundays at 12:30 PM. If the weather happens to be pretty dismal on any particular Sunday then I'll have a post up here on the Home Page on Sunday morning canceling the ride. We're ON for the Sunday 2/26/12 ride. I though, will NOT be doing this ride due to my participation with the Pedal4Heros event at LifeCenter Plus in Hudson. If you're in the giving mood please consider donating to this cause by riding in the "spinathon" sometime in the 1-5 PM timeslot. For more information call 330.996.3902.
* Insights about indoor bicycle training. I’ve been involved in cycling in one capacity or another for the past 30 years, having participated as a Cat 2 and 3 road-racer, a triathlete, a mountain biker and an ultra-endurance cyclist. So I believe that I have a very rock solid background in these several cycling-related disciplines. And over the past several years I’ve made it a point to keep abreast of the various options that you as the consumer have here in Northeastern Ohio with respect to indoor winter bicycle training. Today those options might include: stationary trainer classes, spinning-only classes, core-Spin classes, Spin-resistance classes, and Computrainer classes. Now with so many choices you might sometimes ask yourself: “Which is the best class?” My honest answer to that question is simple…all of them! Doing something in the winter with respect to your on-the-bike fitness and technique is better than doing nothing.
But if you are looking beyond just getting a great
cardovascualr workout, and desire to become a technically sound cyclist, I do
offer you this very important caveat: There is no magic bullet class and there are no instantaneous results. Becoming proficient as a cyclist takes as much hard work and dedication as becoming a good swimmer. So beware
of the instructor who tries to tell you that his/her class or mode of training
is "THE BEST", because that’s just not true! There is no quick and easy class that can encompass all the
essentials needed to make you a better cyclist. Some will offer more, others will
offer less, but none can offer everything. Period! Any statement to the
contrary is a sure sign that the instructor is merely trying to “pack” the
class rather than “provide” the truth. Worse yet it could be a signal the the instructor actually "doesn't know that s/he doesn't know!"
Here’s the truth…If you want to become a better
cyclist you need to look at your winter bicycle training from several different
perspectives: form and technique, efficiency, power and/or Heart-rate training
zones, safety, and finally how all of this fits into the scheme of a year-long
training cycle – the Macrocycle. All of these components together can NOT – I repeat can not – be taught in
one indoor class over the winter. You as the consumer have to realize this from
the beginning, and you have to acknowledge that you will be doing some of these
training modalities on your own outside of the class format, with or without
the tutelage of an experienced coach.
In my 3-month series of stationary trainer
classes I try to stress form, technique, efficiency and HR training zones. But
obviously I am severely limited in my ability to teach my classes safety, true
climbing techniques and power training. Let’s take each of these three usually
misunderstood components separately:
Safety entails the rider learning to make split second decisions and
movements patterns on the bike that impact not only his/her own safety, but
also the safety of those around them. This cannot be accomplished in an indoor
setting - unless it’s a roller class! I encourage all of my cyclists to learn
to ride rollers, whereupon they gradually acquire a very acute sense of balance
on the bike. A well-balanced bike rider is a safe bike rider!
True climbing techniques involve learning how to “swing” or move your
bike horizontally as you’re climbing, especially when out of the saddle. That
cannot be done when the bike is locked into a fixed position on any kind of
rear-wheel trainer device – CompuTrainer included! You get zero horizontal
movement. With that said, only so much can be gained in an indoor setting with
respect to climbing practice? What’s more, unless your bike’s front wheel is
elevated to where you are simulating a hill’s inclination, well, in essence
your are riding on the flats! This is a point that many instructors are totally
oblivious to. If your inclination is zero…YOU ARE RIDING FLATS!
Power training allows you to measure the workload. And like
heart-rate training it’s another parameter with which to measure your cycling
efforts. Now over the years I’ve been working with more and more cyclists who
have purchased power meters, and though they are not a prerequisite in my
winter classes - just as HR monitors are not a prerequisite – they are highly
recommended if you choose to take your training to a much more exacting level.
Unfortunately the power meter is still on the pricy side, so usually there are
only a handful of athletes in my classes who are utilizing the device and
interpreting the results properly. Now with that said, the information you
garnish from a power meter is only as good as the testing that was done to
establish your zones. It’s the old adage: “Garbage in-Garbage out.” Determining
power zones is equally as exacting as determining heart-rate training zones.
These zones, both power and HR must be correct to exact a beneficial and safe training effect on the athlete. Generic zones
and cookie-cutter zones can not only yield sub-standard training gains, but
they can also be detrimental to an athlete’s health. In short, make sure your
instructors are well qualified in working with power and HR zones.
Remember: Winter is the time where you need to work on the nuts and bolts of cycling - form, technique and cadence - not rep after rep of mind-numbing cardio intervals. You'll have all spring to get your cardio back up to par.
I hope I've provided you a bit more information with which to make your indoor training choice this winter season, and I want to thank you for considering my classes and services...Pete Gladden