Filed under: Bike Racing
We had our friend Juan Pablo Castro, who has been a professional cyclist for several years, put together some tips for you racers out there. Pablo rode for several years on the (USA) Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery team. When asked for the top 5 things he learned from his career, this is what he said. Check it out.
Whether you are a beginner or an advanced cyclist, you will find these 5 points very helpful to further improve your racing skills. Keep in mind that the more racing you do will ultimately be your greatest teacher.
1. Proper diet and hydration along with proper training to build endurance and power will ultimately make you stronger and faster. What you have in stored energy for Sunday’s race depends on what you ate and drank the day before. Energy drinks and energy bars are great for race day supplements, but complex carbohydrates, proteins and fiber are the building blocks for proper energy reserves and fuel for race day.
2. On raceday always remain calm and focused; don’t waste valuable energy mingling around. Save all your energy for the race. Let your legs do the talking during competition and you can then socialize plenty afterwards.
3. Know your competition so as not to waste time and energy with unnecessary breaks or attacks. Race conservatively, learn how to be patient and stay out of the wind. Drafting efficiently can save valuable energy needed for a final sprint to the finish.
4. Know the terrain you are racing on. Whether racing a criterium, road race, or time trial, every course will have characteristics that determine strategy for final selection to aim for a possible win. These course characteristics will determine when to be on the alert for a possible break or when to reserve and remain sheltered by the moving peloton.
5. Be a professional in all aspects. Your racing equipment should always be clean and properly maintained. Your clothing and appearance should always be sharp. Race smart and be humble yet aggressive when race conditions call for it. Remember: talk by using your legs to ride away from your oponents when the opportunity arises.
Salt Lake’s own Jeff Louder won the Redlands Classic over the weekend. I dug deep for a great win on Stage 1 in Beaumont and his team took control of the race putting two riders on the podium in the Stage 2 crit. Jeff lost 4 seconds in the final stage to the leaders but held on to his 5 second margin to take the overall. He adds his name to an elite list of race winners of the 25 year old American Classic.
Filed under: Uncategorized
This is a great video that explains cyclists’ rights. This is specific to Wisconsin, but much of it applies to Utah as well. Following these laws won’t only keep you safer, but will also protect you legally in the event of a motor vehicle related accident. Stake your claim to your section of road, but yield to stupid drivers. Being alert is key to bicycle safety.
Read this Summary of Utah Bicycle Safety Laws.
This is a great guide to Bicycle Commuting in Utah. It covers many of the basics to consider before jumping on your bike.
Lance Armstrong crashed out of the 1st stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon in Spain yesterday. It could spell disaster for his comeback plans. He will miss at least two weeks of training and racing. Most people take 4-6 weeks to race again after a broken collar bone, though some say that Lance could be back within two weeks to prepare for the Giro and the Tour de France.
Broken Collar Bones are the most common injury in road racing (other than road rash). When you go down in a fast paced race there is little time to react. Someone crosses wheels and you all fall down. If you don’t have time to drop a hand or twist your body to change the path of your fall, you’ll go down on your shoulder and brake the clavicle. You’ll sit on the ground for a while, head in hands, one shoulder a bit lower than the other. Somehow Lance had managed to avoid this common injury until wheels crossed in front of him and it was his turn to sit on the side of the road. In all of Lance’s time racing bicycles his worst accident saw him go down and fracture a vertebrae in his neck. He quickly got back on the bike and won Tour again that year. I predict that his second comeback of the year will be closer to two weeks away than six.
Filed under: Bike trails
Do you have a favorite trail you like to ride in the springtime? Well share the love and let us know!
Mountain bikers, road cyclists and even you BMXers and Fixie folks, tell us about your favorite springtime rides. If we get enough responses, we’ll put together some sort of spring riding guide. Just leave a comment below.
Filed under: Tutorials
I happened upon this little article in the Deseret News that explains how to lubricate your bike chain and thought it might be useful for our dear reader(s).
The tutorials are going great. While I’m not always super excited to be in front of the camera, I think it is a good opportunity for people who are looking to learn a bit about bicycle maintenance. The second set of videos that we did were filmed in one day while I built my mountain bike. I got the 1998 Bontrager Race MTB frame from a friend who bought it on closeout in 1999. I put parts together from the shop and we got a tutorial for every bit of the build process except the headset installation and adjusting the derailleurs.
I left work a bit early yesterday so that I could beat the weather and make it up into the hills for a mountain ride. Its been about a year since I last rode a mountain bike. And it showed. Trails that I used to cruise up talking had me gasping for air. In a month or two I should be back to cruising speed. I’m looking forward to it.
Filed under: News
Did anyone else follow this year’s Tour of California? Living in Utah, I couldn’t help but cheer for some hometown heroes. Levi may not live here now, but he did spend a big part of his early cycling years in Salt Lake. Of course Zabriskie’s second place was awesome to watch, especially with the field that we saw this year in California. Jeff Louder also had an incredible stage, riding in a break for most of the day and staying away until the final kilometers. It was a good race for Salt Lake cycling fans. It was a great race for America to show the world that we can throw a great race that draws the world’s greatest cyclists and put a couple of our own on the podium.
Filed under: Bike Repair
Bicycle Repair Tutorials and guides.
As you have seen from the previous post, we are investing a lot of time and energy into making new video tutorials, and guides. We would love to hear from our readers what you are interested in learning. What should we do first?
No go ahead, leave us a suggestion in the comment box.
Thanks,
Dale @ Bikewagon
