Cycling Love

One thing that I learned a few years ago from racing (and have had to 
relearn lately) is that a proper warm-up can make all the difference 
in the world. So, if you've been feeling like you can't quite keep up 
it could be that you need to warm up better. I've read and heard a 
whole bunch of advice on warm-ups and nobody seems to agree on the 
exact science of it, but here is what I have found to work: 

1. Warm-ups are more important the shorter the ride. If you are about 
to enter a 100 mile road race, a warm up isn't nearly as important 
since the race tends to have a warm-up built in to the beginning. 
However, if you are competing in a 30 minute crit, a warm-up is 
practically required. 

2. A warm-up is not riding around the parking lot for a couple of 
minutes beforehand. I know many riders who consider this a warm up, 
and then wonder why they can't start off quickly like the others. 

3. Warm-ups can last anywhere from 15-45 minutes (or more). This 
really depends on the type of ride - is it a crit, road race, a 
'competitive training ride' - and how long it will be. Don't think 
just because the race is short the warm-up should be too. In fact, 
many times effective warm-ups are the same length as the ride itself. 

4. A good warm-up starts off hard. I have found that a couple 
sprints at about 90% effort with solid riding in between at about 80% 
seems to do the trick. Make half of the warm-up difficult like this. I 
think the most common mistake that I and others make is not putting in 
enough effort. Don't be scared that you'll use up your energy. You 
won't. Use the other half to drop down to about 60% and make sure to 
clear any lactic acid you have in your legs but keep your heart rate 
at a moderate level. 

5. Experiment. Find what works the best for you. Depending on the 
day, the weather, and the type of ride your warm-up will vary. The 
only real way to consistently get a good warm-up is to listen to your 
body and see how it reacts. 

6. Finally, warm-ups start well before you hit the bike. Make sure 
you've eaten well and been hydrating. Sleep is another very important 
factor. 

Those are the tips I've found work best for me. Like I said, there's 
not a single method that works for everybody, but use these as 
guidelines and you should find your warm-ups improve. 

What do you think? What are some of your warm-up tips?

photo: Blank2 Industrial - Flickr

I constantly see riders get pinch flats yet I can count the number of TOTAL flats I’ve had on one hand (four years of riding). If you read bike magazines you’ve probably heard that you should fill up your tires all the way to try to avoid pinch flats. This is good advice, however I feel like many people are scared to go too far.

It’s really hard to fill up your tires with too much air. If you run 23mm tires (if you don’t know, it’s on the side) chances are you’ve heard 105-120 psi. Here’s my advice: hit 120. I make sure the needle is just touching 120 on my pump before every ride, and if you do the same I bet you’ll never have a pinch flat again.  Sometimes the tube gets caught during replacement and that’s about the only time you’ll have one.

If you don’t like the idea of 120psi, consider this: I once ran a 20mm tire up front (don’t ask me why) and I filled it to 160.  Never had a problem despite the huge pressure and hot temps (this was when I was in Dallas).  And if you are worried about ride comfort, all I can say is I’d rather have better handling, less rolling resistance, and not have to stop during training to change a pinch flat that could have been prevented.

So if you’ve had problems with pinch flats give this a try and I bet you’ll love the results.

There’s a very simple way to keep people from hating you, and possibly get them to love you.  Know what it is?  Stop the rubber band effect.  Really quickly, (If you don’t know) the rubber band effect occurs when the space between cyclists increases and decreases as riders try to stay in the draft.  It becomes more and more prevalent towards the back of the pack.  Rubber-banding causes an unnecessary use of energy; instead of holding a constant pace it causes you to have to keep accelerating and then waste all that extra energy to brake.

I have always tried my best to mitigate the stopping and starting that drains so much energy and it pays off.  Not only does it save me effort but I have had people tell me how much they enjoy riding behind me as opposed to other riders.  So what’s the best way?

First, if the person in front of you starts to pull away, SLOWLY increase your speed.  No need to hammer.  Stay seated and you’ll be fine.  Second, once you start to gain on the rider, chances are you don’t need to go any faster.  You will catch up, so don’t overdo the acceleration.  Otherwise you end up having to brake, which wastes your energy and everybody else’s energy behind you.  And then you run the risk of braking too hard and having to repeat the process yet again.

Watch the legs and brakes of the rider in front of you from time to time.  If he/she stops pedaling, you probably should too.  If he/she starts again, go for it.  Also, depending on the speed you’re going and the distance between the two of you, sometimes even if the rider in front of you is braking you can simply stop pedaling and you’ll be just fine.

If you are reading this thinking, “that’s obvious” then don’t worry, but given the number of people that see who “rubber band,” I’m hoping this advice helps out. At least in my view, group rides are hugely more enjoyable when I don’t have to deal with somebody in front of me flying ahead and ruining my draft, only to throw on the brakes and make me have to do the same. So go out and practice.  Nobody can stay exactly the same distance behind, but it sure helps when it doesn’t vary wildly.