SportVelo

Cyclesoles – The Next Step In Fitting

SportVelo — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:19:37 +0000

After a long and thorough vetting process Sportvelo has added a custom cycling footbed product to it’s fitting services. The new product is Cyclesoles http://www.cyclesoles.com/Default.htm by Scott Peterson from Bend OR.

“I’ve always used a custom footbed in my cycling shoes and am currently using a pair of Cyclesoles that I had Scott make for me. I think they’re fantastic, and improve my connection to the pedals and the bike.” ~ SportVelo Coach Smith Dan

For more information or to set up a fitting appointment contact Coach Dan.

Cyclesoles Benefits

Increase comfort.
Improve efficiency.
Maximize power.

Nemaline Myopathy Awareness Fitness Event March 5th

SportVelo — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:03:44 +0000

Nemaline Myopathy Ride Flyer

SportVelo stalwart Renee Songer is putting together this important event. If you are not going to Merco and can support a great cause please check it out.

Nemaline Myopathy Awareness Fitness Event

Saturday March 5, 2011

Rides led by local elite, pro, Olympian and National Champion riders

30 mi flat ride out Canada Road

50+mi climb to Skyline and the coast (weather permitting)

No drop rides; fast AND average pace groups for each distance

Nixon School • 1711 Stanford Ave • Stanford

Check in begins at 8:45 am – Rides depart at 9:15 am

REGISTER NOW•www.buildingstrength.org•Click GET INVOLVED

Please join us in raising awareness and funds for this rare childhood disease

2011 Roster

SportVelo — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 22:54:09 +0000

Jane

Emily

Holly

Mary

Beck

Halley

Lance in Oslo 1993

SportVelo — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:14:14 +0000

Love him or hate him, American cycling fans cheered as Armstrong powered to the line on a slippery, dangerous course.

Paris Roubaix 1985

SportVelo — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:20:21 +0000

Madiot wins in epic conditions but the excitement is to watch the chasers enter the velodrome and sprint for third!

Training With Family

SportVelo — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 23:01:38 +0000

By Ted Burns

Originally published in Cyclocross Magazine in 2008

I know your story. You used to race or just started… you have a $600,000 mortgage, you spend too much time at work, you just had a baby, and your spouse never signed on for all this cycling stuff when you got married three years ago. Don’t worry though cause I got all the answers right here. These are well worn methods to help you keep it all balanced and try to squeak out a top ten placing in your favorite cross series.

1. Get the Family On Board: Without the support of your spouse, children, and family pets you are not going to get very far. The best thing you can do is make sure your spouse knows how important this sport is. The best description I’ve heard about cycling came from a friend. “It’s not a hobby, its not a job, it’s a vocation.” Start there and work your way down to begging. Half the following tips relate to easing the burden on family life.

2. Consistency is King: The hardest part for juggling family, career and cycling is consistent training. Give up on the dream of getting in those 12 hour training weeks. I know there are super organized A types out there who can manage that but that’s a select few and hard to maintain for a long time so don’t feel that’s the solution. Realistically you likely only have 4 hours during the week and maybe 3 hours on the weekend to train. Be consistent about getting out every day even if it means you take a haircut some days and only get an hour in. Over time you’ll get the routine down and the hours will add up. Most importantly don’t feel bad about only riding a few hours a week – Stuart Smiley put it best “As we say in program: progress, not perfection.”

3. Train with a Power Meter: I originally got a PowerTap purely out of peer pressure. Everybody I knew was using one so I splurged and got me a wireless yeller handlebar unit. I had a vague notion of how it could help me manage my time better but it didn’t pan out quite like I expected. One of the challenges of the family bound cyclist is that no matter what you can’t race as much. The PowerTap helped me track my progress without racing every weekend. It also provided a great way to measure progress year over year once you combine it with the available software like TrainingPeaks.

4. The Long Ride: I spent all this time telling you to do more with less. Here is the flip side. If you can get in one long endurance ride (consistently remember!) during the week or weekend it will help maintain your engine during the short intense work outs, training races, or what ever you might be doing to prepare for your races. I found that on weekends my training rides were allotted to about two hours per day. My work schedule was flexible enough where I could take 8:30 to 12 go on a long hilly group ride every Wednesday. I had to stay later on those days but it helped me maintain sanity both at work and through out the rest of the week if I couldn’t get out for a ride.

5. Minimize Travel: Every couple has a different temperature gauge on what is acceptable so I can only speak from experience on this one. If a race is more than an hour away I don’t go because it puts me too deep in the hole with my spouse. I suggest that if you are racing with family stay as close to home as possible so you can fully enjoy the experience at the race and not feel too rushed.

6. Tight Race Day Time Management: Get your race day routine dialed in. Equipment, nutrition, warm up, parking, and exit should all be set up and ready to execute the night before your race. Hang out with the family before you leave, I suggest a nice breakfast, and make sure you don’t loiter and miss the ETA set by you and your significant other. Spouse management is half the battle and will help if and when you ask for more training time!

7. The Race Day Swap: It is entirely possible to coordinate with another parent to take your children to an event and do a swap so that you each get a race in. This creates some good will at home and gets the little ones involved but it also requires a lot of planning. Bring snacks, bring toys, and bring a portable DVD player of video iPod. The hardest part of the plan is getting in a good warm up. The crucial factor is to make sure your races are not back to back so that you get in some time on the bike before your race.

8. Bring the Family Circus: Bringing the whole family is doable for 1 or 2 races so use it wisely. I get the family out for the two big ones one of which is in Golden Gate park and we got out after and see some of the sights in San Francisco. The other race I take the family too is a blow out party with a tent, snacks, drinks and all the trimmings. What ever you take them too it should either be a great location (hence Golden Gate Park) or a great party that they will have lots of fun at. Taking your family to a field with no people and a bunch of racers will earn you no respect when they try to picture what you do every weekend.

9. Race in a Block: Just like the pro’s train in blocks you should race in set periods of time. Cross season (October- Early December) is great because it lasts about 10 weeks and most races are part of a series that lasts 3-6 races. This works out great for the family racer since a 5-6 race series is enough racing to keep you motivated and more than enough for your body to handle. I find after six cross races, and the usual stress of juggling training, work and famil I’m ready for a break and I hang up my racing bike until next season. The shorter focused race season provides the intensity I am looking for and makes my significant other feel like my life doesn’t revolve around cycling (even though it does a little bit.)

10. Don’t Judge A Race by Your Result: Discouragement about results is the family racers worst enemy. Too many times I have had to beat the “why do I bother” thought out of my psyche after finishing 22nd instead of 10th. Getting bummed out because you aren’t finishing where you want too is inevitable unless you are winning every weekend. I’ve met only a few nearly pro’s who have been able to juggle family and racing and perform to their potential. Consequently they have often prioritized family and cycling before career and make their lives work well. If that’s not you then look for incremental gains after each event with an eye on the big picture.

Cycling, especially cyclocross is about the war not the battle. It can take years to dial in training, fitness, and technique so being consistent from race to race and year over year will help you get to where you want to be in results. Patience is a key factor if results are important to you but they will come

Bonus Tip: Getting family involved in racing is the family racers dream but let them (kids and spouse) come to you. I pushed my girlfiend, who is now my wife, and is a very strong cyclist to try a race. My wife is very competitive and overcooked a corner her first lap, I figured she’d be happy finishing not competing, and broke her arm. Since then getting her to try a race has been impossible. The moral of the story is… let them come to you after they see how much fun it is.

Training with a family requires creativity and stronger desire to participate than perform. If you have the desire and belief that showing up is half the battle then you can race into your golden years with the support of the folks you love the most. Unless you have some seriously good genes these tips are not going to win you any championships but it should get you close enough to the front of the race that when you come home and tell your family you got a top 15 they don’t spit in your face.

Giro – Gavia 1988

SportVelo — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:24:55 +0000

Maybe the THE most epic climb by an American ever. Gavia sealed Hampstens GC victory, and his legendary status.

Dec ’10 – CX Natz

SportVelo — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:18:54 +0000

SportVelo athlete and Webcor Elite Women’s team rider Haley (Juno-Galdes) Beann raced like a madwoman up in Bend entering anything she could. She topped off a strong set of races with a 3rd place in the Single Speed time trial and 6th place in the Women’s Single Speed division cyclocross race. Great racing by Haley – if you were up in bend send us your results and we will get them in here!

2010 Cyclocross Nationals Race Results

Dec ’10 – BASP CX

SportVelo — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:48:17 +0000

Cyclocross Racing Report

Race reports from Ted Burns, SportVelo athlete since 2006.

Race: Bay Area Super Prestige #3 Coyote Point

Category: 35 As

Place: 23/50ish starters

Teammates: Solo

BB abandoned me since he had some fancy dinner to go to. He has no sense of priorities. The night race is the shit. It’s got crowds, lights, and the course is wicked stupid (ie. fun.) This year they added in some new road sections to make the laps longer. Other than that its dark, lots of 180s, and a great bmx dirt section. I barely got a call up since they used the previous races results. I got a horrible start, totally missed my pedal, but was able to recover, but was about 50th and as we went into first corner which required a curb hop riders started stacking up. I took a risk, went inside, a rider started to go in front of me, so i went further inside, i started pin-balling off some guys and emerged intact, in the top 20, going into the next section where the road started. This is where it started to go bad. I had kept my tire pressure low which really hurt me on the road section. I immediately started losing ground on the 200 meter sections with 180s and could not stay in touch with the leaders. I as able to keep pace on the technical sections but lost it on the road, which i assume was due to too low pressure or poor fitness. Anyway.. that was the pattern, i would ride fine then lose a few places in the straight, and catch a few guys that were fading.

Visit Team Bell Lap website for full report

LeMond – 1989 World Cycling Championships

SportVelo — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:27:53 +0000

Before Lance, it was all Greg. He could turn into the hardest man alive when a victory was close at hand.