Sticky post
Thursday, April 6, 2006 9:36:04 PM
alpine, alpine touring, backcountry, bike
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“All I want from life is to be in love, ride my bike and drink good coffee” - Anon
I spend a lot of time riding bikes (and drinking coffee) so naturally I enjoy writing about them too. Whether it's racing the mountain bike or cyclocross bike, riding to the grocery store for my daily food rations or embarking on a week-long adventure cycling tour with my trusty B.O.B. trailer, I will do my best to report on the world from two wheels.
Want to improve your cycling fitness? Tired of having your friends beat you up that last hill? Training for century ride? As a professional bike racer I highly encourage everyone to buy Graeme Street's Cyclo-Core DVDs, a series of cycling-specific workouts that WILL improve your riding.
For nutrition and cycling, buy the FUEL and ON THE GO DVD. Transitioning into the off season? Buy On The Go Secrets Transitioning System
And please don't forget to check out my adventure photography website for some inspiring nature and travel photography as I bike, hike, sea kayak and backcountry ski my way around the northwest and beyond. I've recently posted some new photographs from my Discovery Coast Cycling Tour in the stunningly beautiful British Columbia mountains.
Friday, February 22, 2008 6:29:13 PM
race training, mountain bike review, racing, mountain bike race
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The mountain bike season is right around the corner...well sort of. Here in Whitefish, MT, we've actually been enjoying some relatively warm (mid-40s) and sunny weather. I've finally been able to get on my bike for a couple hours the past week, offering some respite from the snow sports while I bask in the rhythm of pedaling. I'll be sure to post a full review of the Giant Anthem as soon as I can.
It's only a frame right now, but I'm pretty psyched to begin building up my new Giant Anthem mountain bike. Coupled with last years full XTR group, including their new scandium wheels, this thing should rock. Oh, up front will be a Fox RLC 100 fork. Fun fun. Should be the perfect ride for the upcoming
BC Bike Race
Thursday, February 21, 2008 6:15:58 PM
bike race california, tour of california, tour de california, live tour de california
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The
Tour de California is now available live on the internet for those who don't have a TV but want to keep track of the road race (like myself.)
A couple years ago a couple buddies and I were fortunate to join the inaugural Tour de California, enjoying a week of spectacular road riding and watching the pros do their thing. We had sun, unlike todays stage down the
Big Sur Coast, which appears to be wet wet wet. This stage of the Tour of California is an amazingly scenic ride along the California coast. A must for any road rider...
So, watch the Tour de California live here -
http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/docroot/tourtracker2008/AdobeTourTracker.html
Thursday, February 7, 2008 12:54:43 AM
nutrition, bike racing, mountain bike racing, racing
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I haven't listened to it yet, but I have a feeling this cycling and nutrition teleseminar by Graeme and the crew at
cyclo-core is probably worth sitting down and listening to
http://cyclo-core.com/FUEL-OTG-SPECIAL/wt-loss-special1.html It's only up for a couple days, so listen now!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008 9:52:23 PM
bike training, mountain bike race training, cycling training programs, road bike training
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It's going to be an epic...now if only I could start getting in those base miles. 5 guys from BRI, including myself, have signed up for the 2008 version of the
BC Bike Race; 7 days of famous British Columbia mountain bike riding and racing. I've done numerous long bike adventures (including a month cycling in southern Chile and Patagonia and a 5-day 500-mile jaunt through the upper BC coast) but this will be my first mountain bike stage race. I can't wait...
I've also picked up a new
cycling training program by Graeme that has been designed for the advanced and elite mountain bikers. Integrating his
Cyclo-Core, Zen and Speed workouts, I'm sure this is going to be a great training
mountain bike race training plan to follow. I don't necessarily think I'll use it for the BC Bike Race, but instead to hone fitness and skills for some shorter races earlier in the season.
Stay tuned for more...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 11:33:45 PM
nutrition, bike racing, mountain bike racing, racing
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I just came across this article on
velonews.com about diet trends for 2008.
http://www.velonews.com/train/articles/13983.0.html. If you want to skip all the reading, just scroll down to the relatively handy little graph, outlining vitamin sources from different foods.
I have to admit I've done my fair share of reading up on dieting and how it impacts my cycling and bike racing performance. To be honest though, I find that regardless of what all the books and studies may tell you, it's all about experimenting. Some foods may provide long-lasting energy for one person but a quick run to the bathroom for someone else.
One point that every coach or nutritionist will make is, if you are going to try different foods, do it while training, not racing.
Although I haven't personally tried it yet, based on my positive experience with his
Cyclo Core cycling workouts, I can recommend Graeme's
FUEL DVD, a cycling-specific diet that will teach you the impacts of diet on your cycling performance.
Thursday, January 10, 2008 4:06:18 AM
bikes, bike racing, mountain bike racing, racing
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When I first moved to Seattle, Washington 7-8 years ago, anyone who participated in or wanted to find information on, racing...mountain bike, cyclocross, road or track...could pull up the website www.________. Hmmm...well, I've since forgotten what that website address was. Fortunately a couple hardy NW souls have taken on the task of reviving the bike racing scene and cycling enthusiast with a (relatively) new website:
www.bicyclenorthwest.com that promises to provide all the beta you need for bike racing in the northwest. The website is super clean, well designed and contains uptodate race information as well as any and all relevant info. Check it out by going to
www.bicyclenorthwest.com.
Monday, January 7, 2008 4:07:28 AM
congressman, , bike, cycling
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My father forwarded me this great article from the
Wall Street Journalabout Oregon congressman Earl Blumenauer and his support of bike commuting. If the link above stops working, simply go to the
BI-PARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL BIKE CAUCUS page to get an idea of what it's all about. We need to support bike commuting!
Monday, January 7, 2008 2:34:16 AM
montana, winter cycling, training tips for cycling, whitefish
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Living in Whitefish, Montana, it's quite difficult to get on the bike this time of the year. Temps rarely get above freezing and the snow that fell a month ago is still on the ground. Any amount of recent snow tends to stick on the ground until spring. So needless to say I was quite excited that a break in the wintry weather coupled with temps near 40 the other day offered a VERY brief chance to jump on the bike.
Whether or not this was actually a smart idea didn't really matter to me at the time. Living in Seattle it's very easy to ride and train year round so it's very easy to take mild weather for granted. So as soon as I noticed the roads drying up a bit and looking remotely ridable here in Whitefish, I threw on some winter cycling gear and headed out. The ride was short because as soon as the sun started to drop I knew the roads would freeze up very quickly. But it didn't matter. Just being on the bike with the rhythm of the pedals, the humming of wheels rolling along pavement, the simple sensation of
riding a bike was a joyous moment. I could have gone forever...if my hands and feet didn't freeze first.
Cycling in the winter can be a challenge. It's hard to know how much and what to wear. If I could provide any winter cycling tips, let it be these:
- wear booties!
- wear cycling shoes that are slightly larger than you would typically wear (I don't have a pair of winter cycling shoes per se as I just use my Shimano shoes that fit very well)
- find a decent pair of winter riding gloves
- throw on as many top layers as is comfortable - keep your core warm!
- wear some sort of baklava or thin hat that fits under your helmet
- thin wool cycling socks are great and warm
Unfortunately I think my winter riding experience was a rarity. It's snowing hard again here in town and getting on my bike would probably be suicide. Oh well...at least there are spin classes here. I should also start my indoor cycling workouts again, and utilizing all the superb cycling-specific found in my
Cyclo Core DVDs
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 8:22:38 PM
heart rate monitors, secrets to bike racing, heart rate monitor, fitness
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2008 has officially started, and like most years I'm sure we will soon be bombarded with new fitness fads, diet plans and get-rich quick schemes. The sport of cycling, whether it be mountain bike racing, racing on the road or suffering through a one-hour cyclocross race, definitely receives its share of tips, advice and secrets to beating your friends or finishing your fastest century yet. But one of the most talked about topics in race training is the heart rate monitor and how to use one to boost your fitness. So, is it time you went out and picked up a HRM?
Read more...
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