Via Ciclante

Save A Life

2011-03-22T10:58:00.002-04:00

Hello: YOUR HELP IS NEEDED ON APRIL 2ND TO SAVE A LIFE!

I am sending along the attached information with the hope that you will consider helping with the promotion of the upcoming ONE MATCH stem cell and bone marrow event being held on April 2nd at Streetsville Chiropractic Clinic from 10 - 2.

Our community is coming together in an all out bliz to educate and register Mississauga resident as bone marrow donors. It just takes one match to save a life. We are hoping to find a match for Glen or for one of over 800 Canadians now waiting for an unrelated donor match. Don't leave it up to someone else because you could be the ONE MATCH needed. Register and get swabbed on April 2nd. It will only take 7 - 10 minutes of your time.

Glenn Van Zepumeren is a Streetsville resident, a father of three lovely children and a dedicated husband. He is calling on our community to "step up to the plate" with the hope that you might save a life.

Please help, by attending the event on April 2nd as well as forwarding the attached information to your family and friends. Please add this to your facebook account as well. The more people we tell the greater chance of finding a match for the children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends hoping for a match.

The attachments will give you further information on the event. Also check out the CBS website at www.blood.ca, and Glenn's site at www.racetoregister.ca

Come on Streetsville and Mississauga residents......step up to the plate. Let's team together and hit one out of the park for Glenn.

Please forward this e-mail to all of your contacts & add the event on facebook; "Get Swabbed for Glenn"

Regards

JP Tesolin
Manager at Via Ciclante

Sunday Indoor Training

2011-01-16T22:32:00.003-05:00

Sunday can be a perfect day for a longer workout. I choose this day over Saturday, becasue you will find me at the store all day Saturday; that's guarnteed. I decided that steady state intervals are the next step to fitness and there's no better than Spineverals #22 for that. The workout consisted of a build in power output.

Warm-up
5 minutes small ring x15
3 minutes small ring x15 standing up for 10 seconds in 30 second
Getting into the workout
20 minutes 95 rpm big ring X? chose the gear than will allow you to trun the gear sustain for 15 minutes. This is a long workout pace yourself.
5 minute light spin-be sure to drink
15 minutes 90 rpm big ring x ? - a little hard gear.
5 minute light spin-use the break it's not over
10 minutes 85 rpm big x ? - stay focus this is the hardest set (at least for me)
5 minute light spin
5 minute 80 rpm big ring x ?- this is going to hurt, but there's a great feeling of satisfaction in this kind of burn, enjoy the burn.
10 minute light spin.

Now the CD is over but that's not the end to our workout. We need another 30 minutes of small ring x 15 spin the pedals at 90 rpm. This part of the workout is important. It keeps heart rate under threshold but you're still incredibly active. Burn some calories and continue to hard the muscles and mind.

End this workout with a light spin and really try to cool your engine. This is a tough workout. We will repeat this workout next Sunday. Let me know how this workout felt for you. I'm looking forward to your comments.

The secret to going fast is not slowing down.

We Want to Hear Your Stories

2011-01-13T19:26:00.002-05:00

Inspire your community with an image, video or text. We are leaving the rules open for your creativity. Upon submission we will enter you to win a $100 gift certificate for Via Ciclante. Buy something for your sport on us. Contest ends February 15 and we will contact the winner immediately.

Please send your Favourite Cycling Moment to service@viaciclante.com

Cannondale Liquigas Never Settle

2011-01-11T11:29:00.001-05:00

Non e mai abbstanza

Il bocca del lupo(in the mouth of a wolf) per tutto il Liquigas team and management An Italian expression for good luck.

Indoor Training

2011-01-09T22:26:00.003-05:00

I fell out of commitment to the bike last week, so I need to add some spinning time. Today was the day. I decided that we are building aerobic systems right now so a 2 hour trainer session was in order. I pick a soccer game to watch, Napoli vs Juventus was on TLN at 2:30 and rode the entire match and commercials. 2 hours of spinning 90 rpm 39x15. I have to say that after the first hour I forgot how it was supposed to feel. My sugars were dropping so I decided to refill my bottle and grab a banana. That definitely hit the spot. I spun the last 30 minutes absolutley committed. It's not the biggest puddle of sweat under my trainer but it's better than any other training session so far.
Training aerobically was great but it hit me later. My mother invited me to dinner and she cooked an italian meal that just never ended. I ate everything and asked for more. But 30minutes after dinner was over I hit the couch and passed out. I can't believe it and I slept on the sofa that no one is allowed to sit on. My mom laughed and ridiculed me and I absolutely deserved it. She's the best. Thanks mom for a great dinner I needed that.

Team Leopard Trek Madone

2011-01-07T16:30:00.001-05:00

Cool little video of an OCLV Trek Madone from start to finish.

Trail bike of 2011

2011-01-07T11:02:00.003-05:00

I know i may be a little premature on this but I am calling this bike out as Trail Bike of the year for 2011. This is based solely on personal opinion here. The 2011 Cannondale RZ One Twenty 2 is an amazing bike with 120mm of suspension travel via the new lightweight forged lefty and a Fox RP2 in the rear. At $2500 this bike is kitted out above and beyond it's competition; XT shifters and rear derailleur, Hayes Carbon Stroker dual piston brakes and a smoking hot paint job.

I am seriously thinking about adding this bike to my quiver to use for longer enduro races and for riding aggressive terrain that leaves my 29er feeling like a school bus. The balanced geometry and extra travel that this bike offers will be sooo beneficial for races over 4 hours on rougher terrain. Come by the shop to see the bike in person, it really is amazing.

Jan 1 Indoor Training

2011-01-01T22:31:00.003-05:00

I started of this year without a hangover. It's either my tolerance is up or the bottle of Prosecco has low alcohol content. Never the less I decided to continue my training. The weather is incredibly mild this morning, so while I was in bed I convinced myself that riding outdoors was the best move, then I realized that we had more rain than anticipated. So I straped on my running shoes and ran for 6km before breakfast. The running was easy run since it's my first run in over 4 weeks.
I planned to ride today as well so in the evening I got dressed, put on CBC radio 2 and pedaled for a hour. Steady heartrate again and it's the first time in a while that I got off my bike and feel energized. As posted on our Via Ciclante Facebook page, I rode 39x15 at 60% of max heartrate. I need more of these workouts with longer duration. One pedal stroke at a time, patience is of the tallest order for 2011.

Indoor Training

2010-12-27T21:55:00.003-05:00

Today was a movie marathon with my kids. It was the twins birthdays today so we decided to watch movies and hang on the couch together. After dinner the girls wanted to see the new Narnia movie in 3D, I watched 3 magical adventure movies today. Now I really need the magic of the trainer. My legs are burning from yesterdays workouts. Today workout is focused on technique.

5 minutes warm-up and then do 10 one leg pedaling intervals – 1 minute each leg. Then 10 minutes easy, and then do 5 x 1 minute fast pedaling keeping cadence over 100 with 1 minutes recovery between each. Finish with 5 minutes 53X17 at cadence in the 85-95 range. Cool-down

Boxing Day workout

2010-12-26T21:50:00.002-05:00

I had enough Christmas food and drink so I decided to get back to fitness training. It's absolutlely necessary to stay on it.
You will see a new strengthening routine called 5 x 50s. This is made up of 5 different exercises off the bike to strengthen and create some mental toughness.

30 minutes on the trainer 39x15 90 rpm

50 - squats (no weights)
50 - side crunches - 25 per side (for now)
50 - mountain climbers
50- push-ups
50 - crunches

I'm done now, how are you feeling?

Indoor training #2

2010-12-23T23:45:00.007-05:00

I rocked out to watching Beyonce, on Much More Music; she's sexy in concert and nothing but a good time. So I spun on the trainer, BTW the trainer that I am using is the Kinetic Pro fluid trainer and I'm riding my Trek TT in aero 80% of the time. I find that the aero position flattens and strengthens my back. Plus forces me to stabilize my hips through the pedal stroke.
I drank a total of a liter of water before during and after the workout.
The idea is to continue to strength and stretch. Also to get the fast twitch muscles firing. High cadence is important right now. Higher the cadence the better. Plus boggieing with Beyonce needs at least 95 RPM.

Workout: 30 minutes 39x15 95 cadence: 500ml of water: 2 sets 30 pushups: 2 sets 50 forward crunches on a ball: 2 sets of 15 left and right side crunches.
Feeling warm now time to cool down

Off the bike stuff is really important is the intersity on the bike ramps up over the next month.

I know that Christmas is a few days aay and everyone is busy but making time for your health, important for your heart. lungs and mind. Don't worry if you miss a few workouts over the next couple of days determination and perservance are the keys to this success.

Have a great evening

Indoor Training

2010-12-22T23:03:00.003-05:00

I have set my 2011 fitness goals and it's to ride 2 GranFondos, The Healing Cycle in June and Collingwood in Sept (unless the date changes) and to participate in 1 time trial with a watt output of 330watts. To be fit and strong and weigh 5% under ideal weight
Follow my training, join in and share your thoughts. Maybe even try some or all yourself. The idea is that indoor training is difficult for everyone, through social media: this blog and facebook we will get through the winter. Be ready to hard hard in the spring.
Please share your workouts and comments and let's get stronger together motivate one another and have fun. Maybe even some some laughs along the way.
Of course the purpose for right now is to enjoy the holidays, break bread with your family and enjoy your loved ones. Hey gain some weight along the way. I will keep us on course over the next two weeks. I intend to get us ready for the tougher workouts in January and February. Go ahead don't worry about it, indulge and don't feel guilty.

We are going to lose weight in January, I will promise that. We have to walk before we can fly.

Tonight's workout:
Dec 22, 2010
1/2 hour on the training, 39x15 at 95-100 cadence. Light sweat and drank 600ml of water.

more to come. easy and enjoy

Doping In Cycling?

2010-10-29T11:33:00.002-04:00

Why bother?
Recent doping scandals continue to plague road cycling at the highest levels. Given the apparent reality, why would anyone pursue a dream in cycling? Are cyclists who hope to reach the professional ranks without drugs naive? It seems too great a risk to invest so much based on potentially false pretences.

From an academic approach, surprisingly many papers suggest that results of various tests demonstrate that doping does not provide significant gains to athletes who are already at a high level. The effectiveness for that matter is minimal. With emphasis on the Pro Tour, academic research suggests that dopers reached the highest level primarily from dedicated training. The drugs likely only accounted for marginal gains. That said, a marginal gain at the highest level of cycling is the difference between winning and being pack fill. Scholarly articles also mention that drugs have a greater effect on some than others. In essence these findings would imply that “doped “ champions in cycling gain “marginal” advantages that reflect better physiology than the competition. Perhaps that indicates champions are not the only dopers. There are also too many variables to be considered in road racing to assess whether “marginal” physiological gains are really all that is needed to win. Such variables relate to team politics and how a given race unfolds tactically. Perhaps in races where variables are less substantial, like a time trial or pursuit on the track, the effectiveness of marginal physiological gains is greater. However, those very gains can be supplemented with improved equipment too. There is not enough “hard” evidence to suggest that doping really makes a considerable difference in all cases. It no doubt improves one’s ability, but how much is questionable from an academic approach.
From a moral approach, based on integrity – the gains of doping are undeniable. As veteran racer Steve Tilford says, dopers are robbing clean riders of wins, memories and above all else, earnings that are well deserved. It is from this perspective that one can really gage the impact of cheating. Based on this principle, if all the clean riders quit – then the dopers and cheaters win. That is not right either.
From my own experiences as a cyclist aspiring to race professionally, reflecting on some brutal races I have competed in, it supports my academic findings and the moral approach as well. Below is one such experience that re-assures my decision to pursue cycling despite the doping.
I was racing in Belgian “UCI 1.2 Top-Competition” race, which has some of Belgium’s top amateur squads competing. The speed was relentlessly fast when I flatted in the middle of an onslaught of hard cold rain. Initially, I felt there was no chance that I would make it back. When I flatted, the peleton was going 65km/h while I suffered at the limit of my physical ability. Once I got the new wheel, the rain began to come down harder. With a firm 50 meter push from our selfless team mechanic, click click click, I subconsciously slammed my chain into the biggest gear and drilled it. The team car came around me, I latched onto the draft of the bumper. Before long, I was pedaling at 70-75km/h less than an inch from the back end of the car. I could barely see anything, yet I was loving every second of the thrill. My body was at its absolute limit, there was nothing left. Suddenly the back of the peleton was in sight and my mindset completely changed. I used the draft of my team car to sling shot up the left side moving up five caravan cars. We hit a sharp right hand corner. The horns of team cars behind me were blaring to let everyone know that I was moving through the caravan. As we ripped through this tiny town square in Belgium the noise of the huge crowds watching was loud providing an extra burst of motivation. I leaned my bike hard through the final round about, hopping onto the sidewalk to avoid hitting a post. Next thing I know I was at the back of the bunch, completely cross-eyed, with a heart-rate near its maximum knowing I just about hit a post head on a 50km/h. Regardless, I had managed to go beyond what I thought I could physically do – I believed in myself and made it back to the peleton during the hardest time of the race. This indicated to me, the human brain is the most powerful tool any cyclist could have.
The reality of doping in sport is what it is. Perhaps the rest of the sporting world and media should be a little less naive and realize that all professional sport has athletes who use drugs. Sport is undeniably a reflection of society. Lets not forget that the “financial crisis” was rooted in the greed of politicians and major financial players. Furthermore, the exploitation of the “Third World” is inherently interrelated to corruption and leaders trying to cheat others. Sport effectively is no different, despite the ideologies that “clean” sport is what the world wants to see. In the end, if the speed limit of a highway is 100km/h, we all know that many people will still choose to go 120km/h.
Becoming a professional cyclist without drugs is possible and very much worth the effort. The sense of accomplishment, experiences and reaching the limits of your physical abilities to an extreme you never thought possible is exhilarating and irreplaceable. In the end, one can only make the most of their circumstances. Even if one’s circumstances render it impossible to become a clean professional cyclist. Regardless, everyone has one shot at life and therefore there is only one chance to per sue cycling. To conclude, cyclists who aim for the highest levels clean are not naive athletes with a compulsion. They are rather ensuring the preservation of ethics in sport for future generations. Finally, they are not allowing the cheats to win.
Above all else, there are still clean riders in the pro peleton and I for one hope to be one of them in the future.
Charles R. Bryer
www.tempo88.com

Crank The Shield 2010... The aftermath.

2010-09-21T17:58:00.004-04:00

Well, the weekend has come and gone and I'm almost walking normal again. The 2010 edition of Crank The Shield dished out every bit of hurt that I expected and then some. They said there would be mud and fu** me they were not lying. The race took it's toll on almost everyone's equipment and bodies. As for my "equipment" the Moots is in need of a face lift (bent/cracked deraileurs, worn chain/cassette, 4 sets of pads, 2 rotors, one Industry 9 wheel, bb and a blown fork) after all of this I'm starting to see the appeal of a rigid single speed. Now that I've had a few days back to my normal routine and had some time to reflect I have to say that I would do this race again no questions asked (in 2012*). Even though my body feels like it just fell out of a speeding car and my bike is toast nothing tops the feeling of accomplishment that I had when I limped my bike over the finish line with my wobbly front wheel and numb body. My 2010 Crank The Shield experience was truly epic, I had to dig deeper than I ever have before and it was an experience that I will never forget.

If you are looking for an epic challenge come by the shop and ask me about the race or check out the website for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

*the race will be run bi-anually starting 2012 so you will have plenty of time to train

Crank the Shield 2010... here goes nothing

2010-09-16T16:11:00.006-04:00

Well after an epic weekend in Montreal I'm packing my bags yet again. This time it's for three days of suffering in Haliburton forest. With record rainfall up North this summer I'm looking forward to a wet slog through all the mud that the Shield has to throw at me. Over the course of three days I will be plugging away through 235km of rugged Canadian Shield wilderness and eating ridiculous amounts of food. As with any big cycling trip I'm in the middle my favourite pre race ritual of laying out my gear on the floor and taking inventory to make sure I have everything and think about last minute additions. I'm still missing a few key pieces (ie: 3rd pair of shoes and some advil) but I feel I'm pretty much there. This process always helps to calm the jitters before a big event and eliminate the thoughts of things you may have forgot on the drive out.

I'm heading up tonight and we start tomorrow morning somewhat early. Check out the site Crank the Shield they normally have stats updated though-out the race for those that like to follow the field, just don't expect anything great from this cat. I'll post up a short recap on Monday.

my gear pile so far

Most Innovative MTB for 2011

2010-09-03T13:11:00.003-04:00

I was invited in July to see the 2011 Cannondale bicycles in Utah. I left thinking that Cannondale has amazing bikes and they are committed to their brand value of "innovation". The most impressive bike, in my opinion, was the new created Cannondale Jekyll. What an amazing bike, they created a bike that re-defines the All-mountain category. How about a bike that hits an ascent at 3" of travel and elongates to 6" of travel for gnarly descents. I found this tech report from Bike Rumor that has plenty of photos for you to inspect. Great images of the bike. You should have some tissues to catch your dripping saliva.

2011 Cannondale Jekyll re-defines the All-MTN category.
Say Good Bye to All Mtn and Make way for Over-MTN

We are so proud to represent 2011 Cannondale bikes. Jekyll bikes will be rolling in here early March. Save your lunch money for your next EPIC ride.

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

2010-09-02T13:36:00.000-04:00

Kelso Conservation Area

SUMMIT ENTRANCE
5093-5301 Steeles Ave W
Milton, ON L9T 5E6

Conservation Halton

Saturday October 2nd, 2010
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Kelso Mountain Bike Staff will host young riders, ages 6 to 16, for this international youth mountain biking event. The ride is part of a nationwide celebration known as Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, supported by the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).

Mountain Bike Guides will be leading group rides through the trails at various times throughout the day catering to all ages and abilities. We’ve got a supervised Skills Park, which will have a plethora of features and stunts to ride over and off of.

Instructors from Kelso and the Guelph Off Road Bicycle Association will also be on hand to offer tips and guidance in the Skills Park. As well, attending local bike stores will be offering bike safety checks, bike demos, and general bicycle advice.

Dress for the outdoors; bring your bike and an approved bicycle helmet.

Drop by this event anytime you like between 10:00am and 3:00pm. The Skills Park will be constantly supervised and the Guided Rides, lasting about an hour, will leave (by announcement) as soon as groups have formed. Plan to stay a while – and bring your bike – because your kids are going to have a blast and will not want to leave!

Free BBQ from11:30am to 2:30pm.

Meet at the Summit Entrance of Kelso Conservation Area, Steels Avenue West, near Milton, Ontario

GPS Coordinates: 43.495993,-79.92323

Park entrance fees apply, but event is free.

Event Contact:
t. Roger Howison: 905 878 5011 ext 243
e. rhowison@hrca.on.ca

Kelso Info: http://www.conservationhalton.com/eventsearch.cfm

IMBA Info: http://www.imba.com/tkmbd

Kelso Ontario Cup 2010

2010-08-10T15:19:00.008-04:00

On Sunday August the 8th I competed in the sixth O-cup race of the season and my second of the year. I came into this race in a little better form than my last O-cup at Hardwood although I still feel that I'm way off from the form I'm capable of. Most of this is my own lazy fault because after a winter of laying down solid base miles I bought a shinny new bbq and spent my mornings sleeping in and my nights grilling meat and drinking beer. There has been one consistent variable that prevented me from being a total shit show this year and the was the Kelso weekly series that gave me an outlet to get my heart rate up every Tuesday night. Competing in this series reminded me how much fun it is to race mountain bikes again after a long break due to road and cyclocross. Anyways, back to the O-cup. The afternoon was perfect for riding, I got there pretty early with my riding buddy and watched most of his race go off before starting my warm up. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm of all the sport class riders, even though the course had some horrible climbing in it almost everyone was in good spirits. So 1:30 rolls around and it's time for my race to set off, our group of 25 gets to start at the back of the bus in the last start wave behind the elites and the sea of master ex guys. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a nervous wreck at the start line, after checking my garmin my heart rate was at 110 just standing there waiting to go. After what seems like an eternity we set off, everyone hammers off the start and I'm actually in a half descent position setting up for the climb up the escarpment. Well, that good position went to shit because half the field in front of me got off and ran up the loose steep part of the climb while I opted to ride up it watching the running group pull away from me. Once I got to the top of the climb I felt half decent and spun away at a nice high cadence to recover. In short time I caught and passed a few of the guys that were running up the hill and managed to catch and pass quite a few masters guys as well. I finally finished in 15th place and it really was a perfect race for me, my bike functioned perfect, I didn't crash once and i fuelled perfectly for the race. After viewing my heart rate profile I can honestly say that I gave everything that I had on that course. Kelso is easily one of my favourite places to ride and the Chico Racing and Conservation Halton put on an excellent event. This race was an excellent motivator for me to get my shit together for next year and give the series a proper attempt.

click the link below for course details.

Kelso Ontario Cup 2010 by jaymenard at Garmin Connect - Details

photo:Tyler Macdonald

Racing In Belgium

2010-08-07T16:47:00.000-04:00

Last night I made my debut racing here in Belgium for 2010. I raced in a local warm-up race in Rumbeke. I have been struggling to get a proper night's sleep since arriving. This is a typical symptom of a "trans-atlantic" flight. Regardless, Rumbeke was my first race in almost 3 weeks. It served as a good "shocker" shall we say, but I felt strong. I have prepared well [I hope] as I was able to get into the winning break-away, which contained some professional riders, most notably from the An Post Sean Kelly Team.

Unfortunately, I was unable to shift, as my gears and drive chain were skipping out of control. Who knows, maybe the flight and the dissembling of my bike affected something. I was soon stuck in my 53x11 gear ratio. Not the worst situation, as the race was fast enough, but it was most certainly not the ideal gear ratio in the sharp corners. Slowly, my muscles wore down from pushing such a massive cog. I lost contact with the break-away with 20km remaining. Simultaneously, I bonked, as I was going so hard in the break-away I forgot to eat! I had a gel and managed to hold on until the end.

Last night was a good start - and wow, it sure feels great to be back in Belgium. The atmosphere was electric with tons of fans screaming and cheering everyone in the race. Tomorrow will be first "big race" the Dwars door de Antwerpse Kempen. It is a UCI 1.2, U27 Race. In total the race will be 178km - essentially 102km loop, followed by 8 laps of a 9.5km circuit!

Should be doozy! I hope everyone enjoys the pic. I am planning to update my website in the next couple days. Also! Check out ROAD Mag - I hope everyone who reads enjoys.

All the best - thanks for the support, I would not be here if it weren't for everyone around me.

--
Charles R. Bryer
www.tempo88.com

Ironman

2010-07-22T22:16:00.004-04:00

We are proud to be part of our customers lives that have taken the journey to the Ironman. Ironman Lake Placid is a grueling course and requires hours of endurance training just to finish. From bike set-up, fitting all the aches and pains, dealing with the emotional roller coaster of training, we are proud to have been selected by them as their bike consultants.
We are thinking about you, your pain, your hours of determination, your tenacity for success.
A toast to all, thank you for letting us experience the journey with you. Over the next few weeks I will post their race reports as they describe in detail their journey through the most difficult physical task they have ever experience. (unless they experienced natural child birth)

Charlie's Racing updates

2010-06-03T11:40:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone,

Well - as many of you already know, we 3 week stint on the road began last weekend at the Killington Stage Race. The race went very well - despite battling what I thought were just merely allergies. I ended placing 6th overall - which was not terrible given the hilly parcours.

Following Killington I really began to notice some extreme congestion and I began coughing a lot. I felt okay - but I did not sleep for two nights. I met up with the National Team and made the journey to Sagueney, QB for the 4 stage Nations Cup. In an attempt to stay as positive as possible, I kept telling myself my troubles were just allergies. It was yeaterday, that I began to feel sore and stiff. I went to the race doctor who informed me that it was likely I was coping with more than just allergies.

Last night, I did my best to remain positive, however I clearly had a fever, a terrible headache and felt even worse. This morning I went to the doctor once more after not being able to eat breakfast. He said on no uncertain terms...I cannot take the start, otherwise I will risk getting pneumonia. He gave me a prescription for Anti-biotics and now I am just chilling in a hotel room.

To say the least this is a huge bummer - certainly a low point in my season. With that truth in mind I will use this time to recover and bounce back even stronger in a couple weeks time. It is a disappointing reality as my fitness was/is fantastic, but at the same time I could easily ruin my entire season by not being cautious in this circumstance.

Thanks again everyone for the support.

--
Charles R. Bryer
www.tempo88.com
Mobile: 1-905-220-1412

Charlie Bryer racing for Canadian National Cycling Team

2010-05-24T15:57:00.000-04:00

Hello -

I can confidently say that I have not been sending out updates enough. My schedule has been packed - but nonetheless no excuse!

In any event there is a lot to speak of - first and foremost I am most excited to announce that I was selected to to U23 Mens National Team to represent Canada at the upcoming Coupe des Nations (World Cup) in Sequenay, Quebec. Selection to this race was my first major objective for the season - so I am very happy to have been named for the team and I am grateful to once again have the opportunity to race for Canada at a World Cup. It's been a while as my last World Cup was the World Junior Road Championships when I was junior. Albeit I have worked very hard for this chance - this by no means was my own individual endeavor. The network of support behind me is phenomenal and everyone who is chipping in has certainly helped me have such a strong first half of the season. So thank you all.

With that in mind - yesterday was the Niagara Classic, to be honest I was hoping for the win given my recent results in the arguably stronger U.S. Races - but tactically I ended up 3rd. Perhaps a couple mistakes, combine with not feeling 100% factored into play. However, with that truth in mind - here is the report on the race from my perspective!

The Niagara Classic was yesterday – tough day out there, it was very selective. Tactically the race didn’t play out the way I would have hoped, however I did my best to limit the damage. In the final lap up the infamous Effingham climb, two of my teammates had lost contact with the break-away containing Ryan Roth of Spidertech (A pro rider!), Ryan Aitcheson of Jefuel and Andrew Bradbury of the Darkhorse Flyers. The break was about 25 seconds up the road, but I could see that we now had no one from the team in what was surely the winning move! After covering attacks all day, I was not feeling 100% - but I just laid down the hardest 100% effort I could muster up! I blew everything in my legs up the climb came over the top, shifted into the big 53 tooth Chainring, BAM-BAM-BAM – slammed my chain into the 11 tooth cog and drilled it with every bit of desperation I had to catch the 3 man break. I caught my teammate riding between the groups, he helped me a bit, but his engine was blown! It was an epic chase, but I knew I had to get across! I was being stubborn and I refused to give up. About 3km later in a heavy crosswind we were sitting painfully about 10 seconds behind them just slugging and mashing the pedals! Finally, the gap closed – but I burned a lot of matches in doing so. Essentially it was 1 vs 3 while I came across, as all Justin could do was hold on, but he was giving it his all. When we caught the break, he attacked, taking a bit of pressure off of me. My legs were hurting though. Heading into the finally 2km, Ryan Roth attacked and I counter attacked to try and catch him. I just couldn’t close the gap. Ryan Atchison jumped with an extra punch as I had nothing left from 12 km of desperate hard chasing. I came in 3rd. Oh well – I did my best, but there is room to improve tactically for sure – I am learning! It was a good day on the bike overall.

Hope you all enjoyed the report. I have posted my latest column from ROAD Mag in the "News & Events" Tab. Also - my site will be updated mid-week as well with some more pictures and a write-up about the upcoming races.

Thanks for reading all the best.

A Burning Flame

2010-05-22T17:30:00.000-04:00

At one time I was exactly like every other Canadian kid – I wanted to be an NHL Hockey Player. It was intense, if I wasn’t on the ice kitted up at practice or at a game, I was playing road hockey after school. On countless occasions I imagined scoring the game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals or Olympic Games. Having just witnessed Canada winning a gold medal in hockey during the final event of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, my hockey fever is back, sort of. As I write this, I almost feel envious of Sydney Crosby, after he scored the overtime winner to defeat the U.S.A. Given that “Syd the Kid” is only one year older than me, he is living my childhood dream. His life embodies everything I thought I wanted, which was to be an iconic Canadian hockey player. My whole life revolved around hockey. I quite literally could think of nothing else. Then I out of nowhere opted to trade my skates for bike shoes. As a Canadian what could I be thinking?
These thoughts arose in my mind as I ate dinner the on the final evening of the Olympic Games. I was subconsciously reflecting on what I had done that day. It was then when I remembered, earlier that day I had watched Cervelo Test Team’s lone Canadian rider, Dominique Rollin, place fifth in Belgium’s epic Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. He was one of 26 finishers on the day, against some of the fastest cyclists in the world, most of whom quit the race early due to the horrific conditions. No one in Canada, or really in North America outside the cycling community has any idea about the epic northern European spring classics. Everyone in Canada will be celebrating Sydney Crosby’s goal and Canadian Gold Medal. While those celebrations are taking place, virtually no one will even hear of Rollin’s incredible accomplishment on the same day across the Atlantic. The next question I asked myself was, “why on Earth did I quit hockey?” Interestingly enough, after thinking about it, I didn’t become more envious of Crosby, I became less.
It was as if a switch went off in my mind when I was 15 years old. I was in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada as a spectator watching the 2003 World Road Championships. I was standing on the side of a road late on a Thursday afternoon. I had skipped school on a beautiful sunny day in early October. The city had never been so vibrant with an exquisite international flavor, truly unforgettable. As I watched a sleek aerodynamic profile, clad in the Union Jack rip down the finishing straight of the World Elite Men’s Time Trial course, it was none other than David Millar on his way to winning the World Time Trial Championship. Despite what many see as perhaps a low point in the sport (David Millar was stripped of the title he won that day, after admitting to the use of performance enhancing drugs) – it was the inspiration that switched me from a hockey player to cyclist. The raw power and shear elegance of what seemed like the perfect coalescence between man and machine is something I will never forget.
David Millar’s ride ignited a passion in me that gets stronger every day. This passion has recently become more evident as in 2009, cycling completely and utterly cracked me. I traveled around the World driven to prove myself at a higher level. By the end of August, I didn’t even want to look at my bike I was so exhausted from the sport. Yet after a one-month break in October, I find myself today, February 28th, 2010, still easily able to rip out an astonishing 3hrs on the trainer, with incredibly hard efforts thrown into the mix. I am sitting here satisfied with tender legs that are gently throbbing from a week of training inside, as outside it is too cold and snowy. My passion never falters but rather gains strength. In all likelihood most Canadians may see my ambitions as strange, as cycling is a small sport in Canada. Therefore, I will never be recognized at the same level as a hockey player. But for me cycling is a craze. I don’t strive for money and fame in cycling, I cycle because I love it. I have come to the conclusion that I am not in pursuit of achieving some iconic status. I am search of accomplishment for myself. I also want to make those who are close to me and those who are supporting me proud, as I feel as if I am representing them too when I compete. I am striving to have that one perfect ride, to achieve that very coalescence between man and machine I witnessed while watching David Millar in 2003. Building on those thoughts, I hope to perhaps inspire another young person, like I once was, to pursue the same dream. Lastly, it’s about the stories – to create an overall chronicle that will be unlike any other, one of experience, hardship and at the end of it all, success. Regardless of where I end up in cycling I will most certainly always be able to take something away from it. I think that can be considered a success.
As of today, I will no longer get frustrated and filled with envy when I compare myself as an amateur cyclist and professional cyclists, to other multi-millionaire sporting icons. Alternatively, I will use their successes to create an even greater fuel to strive for cycling greatness. After all – cliché as it might sound, it is not about the money, it’s about doing what you love. There is something unique about the Olympic Games, summer or winter, the passion, drive and successes of the athletes competing creates an energy not just with me and other athletes, but with many other people too. Given Canada was the host Nation, despite being on the other side of the country during the games, there was a certain energy that I have become aware of that reflects the passion of sport. Personally, the games mended my sometimes pessimistic mindset and established a true perspective, a rekindling of sorts. Cycling is no different from any other sport – reaching the highest level is not an easy accomplishment.
For me – riding my bike to the top of some mountain or winning a race is like nothing else I have experienced. I guess the point to take from my reflection is being an aspiring cyclist can create certain challenges, “it ain’t easy” per se! There is no use being envious of other racers, athletes or perhaps more fortunate athletes because ultimately that will drive you away from the sport. You absolutely must not forget the true reason why you race your bike. I can assure you, it isn’t for the money.
With that truth in mind, my bicycle patiently awaits to be ridden on that elusive “perfect ride.” It may never happen, but maybe when it does, I’ll know.
Via Ciclante,
-Charles R. Bryer
www.tempo88.com

Shimano Di2: two months in

2010-05-12T16:59:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been a hair over two months since I've mounted Shimano's newest drive train innovation Di2 on my Cannondale Caad9. Over the past few years I have been following the development of both Shimano and Campy's attempts at perfecting the electronic drive train. Early photos of random disposable domestiques "chosen" to run the various versions of both companies attempts have shown the evolution from bulky prototypes and huge batteries to the refined finish that we have today. The first question that I get whenever I talk to a non-cyclist about electronic shifting is "why", "why the hell would you take something as simple as a bicycle and make it complicated". When you take the sheer cost into effect there really is no real rational argument to present to a non-cyclist, it's all the little details that make up the benefits. The major benefits of the group is the fact that it works flawlessly in all conditions, shifts are instantaneous and never off the mark, trim adjustment is automatic and the front honestly shifts as fast as the rear. My first ride on the new drive train was pretty straight forward, up to Belfountain for a coffee and back (60km). The first 10k I must have ran through over 100 shifts just playing with the shifting and trying to hold back the smiles that come with any new toy. The novelty wore off once I got well into Heritage rd and I put my head down to work through the headwind. Once stretched out with my palms on the hoods i found that I was shifting with my pinkies, the button action really is that light. Once I got to Mississauga rd and started heading north the grade kicked up and I tried my best to jam up the gears under load, after about 5 minutes of climbing like a doped up Spaniard and shifting like a prick I decided that I wasn't going to do any damage and settled into my normal pace. I hit the turnaround spot of the ride, had a coffee and noticed the dark clouds rolling in. I put my head down and started hammering down ninth line to avoid the freezing rain, well apparently I'm still slow because halfway home I was being pelted by freezing rain, again the shifting was flawless. One of the major concerns that i had was battery life and reliability, out of the box the battery had a charge of over 75% and is still showing over 75% more than two months after initial set-up. To have the battery die on you in the middle of a ride would require some of the worst planning imaginable. Another benefit of the system is that adjustments can be done on the fly while on the bike, this is only a real benefit if your the type to change wheels because there is no "break in period" and cable stretch is a non issue. If you need to make adjustments you simply hold the button on the led indicator and use the shift buttons to make micro adjustments on the derailleur, insanely easy. The system also has a fail safe in the event of a crash, that allows you to shift from the button on the led indicator allowing you to limp home with a full range of gears in the event that you crash and damage a shifter, I have used this feature during a race and it works amazing as a last resort, I just wouldn't recommend trying to use the feature at 40km/hr on dirt in a pack. Overall I have to say that I am greatly impressed with the whole system, I haven't baby'd the bike either by breaking out the cross bike when conditions are less than perfect as you can tell by the pictures the bike gets ridden quite regularly and I could probably do a better job with cleaning it. I'm pleased to say that the system really does live up to all the hype that is being hammered into us by the media. I also realize that this isn't for everyone, If you want a drive train that will last forever and function smoothly get Campy Record, but if your a tech geek and want to experience a new level of shifting Di2 just might be for you.

2010 Paris Roubaix

2010-04-13T01:19:00.002-04:00

Being a cycling fane, it's just impressive watcing the super stength of Fabian Cancellera attack Tom Boonen. His abilities over the pave at max speed in incredibly impressive.

Sunday Ride

2010-04-04T19:55:00.002-04:00

I have been working with diaphragm breathing over the last few weeks. I posted the example of this 3 posts ago. Well today I put it to the test. I rode solo this morning for 4 hours steady tempo ride, punching it up every hill. Let me report the benefits of focused breathing made a significant difference. I attacked every climb, sometimes seated others standing and the advantage was a consistently expiration of a large volume of air and always ready for the next inhalation. My legs were feeling the effects of hard climbing but my concentration on breathing didn't have me gritting my teeth like usual. You have to understand that I crack under pressure when fighting the laws of gravity. I got over the rises with a fierce determination and I had my heartrate recovery quickly after reaching the top of the climb. The weather is still a little cool for this type of deep breathing. Wait for warmer weather or a few ounces of scotch after the ride will help your throat but not your lungs.
If anyone needs a new challenge I highly reecommend riding north to 15th sideroad and travel east to Weston rd in Vaughan. Turn left on Weston road and then travel north on Weston to Sailor's hill. It's a steady 5 minute climb that will challenge any level of rider; if not ride a bigger gear.

Redlands Criterium

2010-03-28T09:49:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone ...

There is no question, I knew that coming Redlands after a months of pre-season preparation done on the trainer was perhaps not the most ideal situation. On the contrary, what better way to make myself faster and closer to peak condition then at a Pro Race? Regardless, given my circumstances it would be unwise to have come here expecting to get a big result. However - I am still managing to hold my own in this turbo fast field.

After an unlucky day yesterday - today's stage was a 90 minute criterium. A true classic American event. This meant that it was a short 1 mile course in downtown Redlands, with many many spectators out to watch. In this short 1 mile course there were 11 corners. Trying to navigate this at 40-50km/h with a 178 rider field, meant it was going to be a bit sketchy! For me personally, I was a little nervous as I haven't quite found my rhythm riding in the peleton just yet. It takes some time, but nonetheless I took the time to reflect on my time in Europe, which helped me remember my techniques I acquired. Before I knew it was 4:30 in the afternoon and I found myself on the start line of yet another U.S. Pro Crit. The atmosphere was electric and I began to get excited. To my surprise, I felt smooth and relatively relaxed in the bunch. I was not feeling too inclined to take any risks, I just avoided using my breaks in the corners as I steadily moved up. At about the 60 minute mark I was sitting comfortably in the top 50 or so spots. Then - while leaned over hard through a right hand corner, BOOOM - someone's tire exploded and three guys came catapulting right at me. Well, my years playing hockey as a young kid I guess paid dividends. According to my team director, Kurt Stockton who watched the whole event occur, as I was being shoved into the fence, I dropped my right shoulder apparently and like a true hockey player hit back! I managed to stay upright as my rear wheel simultaneously exploded haha! In any event, I rolled over to the Mavic Neutral support and took yet another spare wheel, took my free lap and merged back into the field, except now there were 10 laps to go!

The pace was insane and while the pace increased, so did the number of crashes. It seemed like one after another I was avoiding. I chased...closing gaps every time. Then with two laps to go, my engine blew! I kept it tempo for the remaining laps, as the main field finished about a minute ahead. Overall, a good day. One stage to go! Who knows what will happen next eh! Anyways - I attached a couple photos. One from the opening prologue, the second, just a random picture of me cracked writing this report after the criterium this afternoon.

All the best! Thanks for reading.

--
Charles R. Bryer
www.tempo88.com
Mobile: 1-905-220-1412

10 Life Lessons from Albert Einstein

2010-03-27T23:58:00.000-04:00

1. Follow Your Curiosity. "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."
2. Perseverance is Priceless. "It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer."
3. Focus on the Present. "Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
4. The Imagination is Powerful. "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge."
5. Make Mistakes. "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."
6. Live in the Moment. "I never think of the future - it comes soon enough."
7. Create Value. "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."
8. Don't Expect Different Results. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
9. Knowledge Comes From Experience. "Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience."
10. Learn the Rules and Then Play Better. "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

Charlie Bryer at Redlands

2010-03-27T07:57:00.003-04:00

Charlie, an employee at the store and is actively chasing a pro level cycling gig. He's at Redlands stage race in California and we asked him to keep us informed to the details of the race. Charlie's point of view will let us into bicycle racing; the success, follies and blunders. Good luck Charlie, rip their legs off.

Hello!

I just finished my last essay that was due this week and handed it in online. Oh ya - I also raced 168km today! I almost forgot in my zombie like state. It's a bit late, with two stages still to go, I am going to keep it brief, partially I don't want you guys to have to suffer through a half illiterate bunch of ramblings about the race. My eyes are a tiny bit heavy!

Stage 1 was a prologue, only 5 km, primarily uphill. This isn't an event that I am best suited for, I only had my road bike to work with. I warmed up and prepared as best I could. It was my first race of the year and I finished smack dab in the middle of the field. I only lost 1min21secs to the winner. This time last year in a similar event, I lost over 3mins and I have been riding the trainer all winter. So really not a bad result, but I always want to do better.

Stage 2 - 168km Baumont Circuit Race. Today, well to be honest I had no idea what to expect. The Pro Men's field, which includes 2006 Tour de France winner, Floyd Landis is already well raced and fit, with almost two months of racing already in the books. Given this was my first road race of the year - I was not sure what to expect. Well! My day was going fantastic. I was riding well in a strong position all day near the front. At the 140km mark, I was still in the dwindled main field, feeling strong. The major pro teams of the race were chasing the early break with a hard tempo and the pace was getting fast. Nonetheless, I was surprised with how well I was feeling! On the final ascent of the second to last lap, the pack was strung out. I was sitting in about 30th position - I was feeling the pace, but felt comfortable. Then at the worst possible moment around a left hand turn - BOOOM! My front tire exploded so loud my ear was ringing. If this had happened 5km earlier it would have been fine, but because I flatted on the climb that meant I had no momentum to get started again. After a slow wheel change I laid everything on the line to get back. I was flying up the climb, I could see the main field, but I was also on the limit of my capacities. I could not motor-pace my team car at this point because there was advantage on the climb. Once I reached the top - the group was still within reach - but you could see the pace was fast. It was one long thin line. The combination of wind and well considering I was going 75km/h on the bumper of my team car and still not getting back - sort of sums up my day. I just couldn't close the gap. It was a rough first day back racing, just outright bad luck. I sat up with about 15km to go, save my legs for the later stages. I didn't see any point in drilling myself into the ground for 100th place. Anyways - for a first road race of the year, at this level and given that I am a Canadian student, who is still in school - I did okay. Everyone here are virtually full-time cyclists. I know in my head without the flat, I would have finished well in the main field. Anyways - that is the scoop!

Look for more updates soon! Thanks for reading and all the support!

Breathing

2010-03-04T22:15:00.006-05:00

I found this insightful video instructing riders a better technique to breathe while riding. I wanted to share one the most imprtant technique to improving your cycling. Your screaming body when your stress from climbing or battling windy will thank you that you were paying attention.
I wanted to try Kevin Livingston's suggestions, considering he was an incredibling strnog pro cyclist, and gues what? It works. Inhalation is tricky to synchronize on the first few trys, but it's amazing when instinct kicks in how easy this method is to execute. I tried on the trainer a few nights ago and I felt the benefits, the most important benefit was lowering heartrate. Your test should be: find a gear, moderate cadence and heart rate that is manageable for 10 mins, rest in between 10 mins then repeat and notice heart rate. You will be surprized.
I got an additional benefit, breathing rhythmatically. In pushing the air out I noticed the time for both inhalation and expiration. I recommend to hold off this deeper breathing technique on your first outdoor rides. I was riding home last night and the cold air got to me, I really fely it in my lungs. If you try it outside, I suggest to wear a balaclava or wait until it warms a little.

How to Breathe While Cycling -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

You are Invited

2010-02-28T22:22:00.006-05:00

We are exited to share with you a seminar about cycling training using the tools of Heart rate monitors and wattage meters to help you with achieve your goals. We have the expert personal trainers , Joanne Shields and Mari Spano from Peak Centre for Human Performance based in Burlington coming in to educate us and suggest the benefits offered by measuring our fitness achievements.
The seminar will be at our store Via Ciclante 222 Queen Street S. Mississauga from Saturday March 6 12-3pm
Will be showcasing the products of Garmin, Powertap and the aerodynamics of Zipp wheels

For more information about our instructors check out:
http://www.peakcentre.ca/

Calorie Consumption

2010-02-24T10:58:00.003-05:00

I stumbled across this website a few nights ago and found it interesting. It's a calorie calculator that has the full contents of pretty much everything that you could imagine eating. You can enter in your servings of food at the end of the day and compare your caloric intake to your expended energy. You have to register to use the advanced features but the program is very easy to use and at least gives you an idea as to where those extra few pound came from.

Check it out livestrong.com/myplate

Destinations

2010-01-22T17:28:00.002-05:00

On Monday the 19th I took advantage of our great winter weather and went out for a ride to one of my favorite destinations, The Shed Coffee shop in Belfountain. The route was fairly straightforward, up Heritage, up Mississauga, get some coffee and play around up in Forks of the Credit for a bit. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my afternoon. The temp was -4 and I had a slight headwind on my way north from Streetsville. Riding up Heritage road was nice but the ride really started to get fun once I turned off of King and started the long climb up Mississauga road. I can't stress enough how much I love this climb, it's about 8k long and slowly ramps up until you crest just before Belfountain and enjoy a nice downhill coast into town and the coffee shop. After the climb I rolled up to the Shed and was looking forward to a nice americano and a muffin. Only one problem, they don't take visa. After a little sweet talking and a promise to return I managed to score a free coffee and a place to sit and warm up my feet. After I downed my coffee I was off to hit some of my favorite dirt road climbs that were covered in ice and the usual crap that you would expect in January. The ride back was amazing, as always. A nice long downhill on Mississauga road and a tail wind down Heritage, good times. The ride on Monday was just what I needed to beat the blahs of winter, nice weather, good coffee and a few hours out of the house. This weekend should be above freezing, perfect weather for a ride to the shed.

Click for more info

Relax and Ride

2010-01-17T21:55:00.002-05:00

Via Ciclante has established a ten week yoga program with Sari Yoga in Streetsville, (check our facebook page for details) designed to help cyclists and triathetes get a greater range of forward flexion, more importantly, to stay in an aero position with a flat back for a longer period of time. I attended the class and noticed how tight my lower and mid back is. The class definitely worked that problem area for me. I highly suggest yoga as a cross training exercise.
But that not the reason for my post, I have my Trek time trial bike set up on the trainer and I have been riding it an hour a day, getting ready for spring riding. Of course that's not always the most comfortable position, especially on the trainer. But I have learned that a strong core will allow you to hold that position for a longer period of time.
During the class, Pearl Cromwell, the yoga instructor continued to advise us to relax the shoulders to get a good stretch and to keep that all important neutral spine. The education from the class was to keep good lower back flexibility you need to relax and release the shoulders. Riding in aero position with your shoulders near your ears will tighten the muscles around the neck. Release the shoulders, flatten your back and pow, it's easier to ride in that position. This applies to the riding with your hands in the drops or elbows resting in the aero bar.
When riding the trainer over the next few weeks try staying for periods of time in the aero position, I have been using time based intervals, 5 minutes in aero and 5 minutes in a more relaxed upright position. Don't drop your cadence, ride at 95-100rpm. You may notice as I have that after 3 minutes your shoulders will start creeping up, just pay attention to tightness in your neck. The point to this is ride strong against those strong spring winds. Have fun and let's get ready for an awesome cycling season.

Get out and Ride!!

2010-01-16T10:01:00.004-05:00

If you haven't already taken advantage of this fantastic break in the weather, drop whatever your doing, grab whatever bike you have and get yourself out the door. We are blessed with perfect riding weather that should last for most of the week. Enjoy while you can.

Winter Fun

2010-01-08T12:05:00.005-05:00

So the holidays are finally over and we can all stop to finally catch our breath. My holidays were no different from the past few years that I've been traveling back home (thunder bay). Basically I spent a little over a week sitting on my ass eating food and drinking beer. It didn't help the fact that my mom managed to find the biggest bird in town to cook up (38lbs) and the onslaught of home baked goods never ended. I tried to run in the field on my second day out and tweaked my ankle in the rutted out field, so my weight gain wasn't for lack of trying. As I currently sit I'm at a healthy 175, a little up from my usual 155 summer weight. The Holidays have definatly taken their toll and now i need to find the motivation to get back in the swing of things. This is normally the hardest time of the year for me to stay motivated and get in the mileage that i need to have a "good" spring. An overall lack of fitness and weight gain doesn't help the motivation when I actually make an attempt at training. It's because of this lack of motivation that I'm scaling back my expectations for the first two months of the year. Simply put I'm not going to bury myself with heavy intervals or intense trainer rides, instead I'm going to bundle up and try to get in as much low intensity riding out doors and get in some long trainer rides using my new tacx vr set-up, this combined with a weekly bouldering session and maybe some yoga so I don't toss my back again and I just might be in business. I've already done a few rides with my buddy Mikey and with the shop closing on mondays I will have the perfect opportunity to get in some longer rides. I'm actually looking forward to this winter.

Sugoi Wallaroo 290 Baselayer

2010-01-05T22:43:00.002-05:00

Hey guys,

Purchased the Sugoi Wallaroo 290 full zip top as a middle layer over the Christmas holidays.

It rocks.

For running, paired with a short-sleeved base layer and my winter-weight running jacket, the zip top keeps me toasty warm in conditions well below -20C wind chill. Over the weekend, I did two hours in -27C wind chills and felt very comfortable. On this morning's -18C wind chill run, I was too hot and had to unzip my jacket and take off my hat to keep from roasting. As such, I use the top between -20 and -30 wind chills as a middle layer.

For riding, I have paired the Wallaroo with a long-sleeved Cannondale base layer and last year's Cannondale LE Carbon jacket and have ridden comfortably in conditions as cold as -10C. (I have the Cannondale LE winter bib tights on my lower half). It was plenty warm during a two-hour ride - although I doubt if I could have tolerated conditions much colder. My C'Dale winter gloves struggled a bit, and below -5C, I have to augment them with chemical hand warmers.

As an aside, I see that you have 2XU thermal compression gear. I would be curious to hear feedback from runners. I use the normal tight down to -10C as a single layer and have raced down to -14C. Well, not exactly a single layer - I was wearing a running brief with a windproof panel where you would want a windproof panel. For training in condiitions below -10C, the compression tight becomes a base layer under my running pants. The combination of compression tight and running pant is good down to -30C. I am curious to hear about runners' experience with running with the thermal tight alone in conditions below -10C.

Warren

2XU Compression Calf Guards

2009-12-15T10:44:00.005-05:00

I love technology when it works. There are bold claims that compression apparel provide benefits to recovery through a more efficient distribution of blood flow. These are tall claims and I have been researching the subject and excited that pro cycling teams like Garmin and Cervelo have incorporated this science into their recovery regime.
As many of you know I love cycling and it is my game. But Canadian winters are long and I have been running to help maintain some fitness; triathletes understand the cross training concept.
I have been running for about 6 weeks and feel stronger week over week. I have trying to stretch and get used to run training. I have been trying to run quicker run times week over week. I think the volume of km's, intensity and colder weather I have been feeling tightness in my right lower calf muscle. On Sunday I went for an hour run and after the run I stretch and try to recover but the pain did not subside. The next day while in the store, Via Ciclante, a friend and I were talking about compression and decided that I should try the 2XU calf guard. After some deliberation I slipped off my shoes and slowly put on the compression garments. They were incredibly tight and difficult to get over my heels but within 30minutes I had started to feel some relief. I carried on with the rest of my day not feeling the dull pain in my calf.
Later that evening I decided that I need to spin my legs on the trainer and rode for an hour pedaling quickly at a low heartrate. The strategy of combining compression garment with low intensity effort produced a positive effect. I was no longer feeling the ultra tight calf muscles. I stretched for the final time and left the compression calf guards on and after 10mins of stretching I decided to take off the guards. As soon as I removed them I could feel my feet getting warmer. The tightness in around the calf restricted blood flow to my feet.
Wearing the compression guards made a positive difference. I had felt this kind of calf fatigue from running over the last few weeks and with the guards the recovery time has been reduced dramatically. I may not run faster with guards but recovery is much faster, so I can get back at it day after day.

Bump in the night

2009-12-15T10:43:00.005-05:00

So after being sold out on Saturday night by one of my friends I decided to strap the lights on the bike and go for a little rip to pass the time. Normally I wouldnt start winter night riding until there is at least a good base of snow down otherwise I always get taken out by patches of ice or get bogged down in loose choppy snow. Well, on Saturday night I experienced exactly that. It was bitterly cold but that is never an issue for me, generally the colder the better in my own scewed opinion. When I got to the the usualy sections of singletrack at Erindale the conditions were choppy at best but I decided to make the best of it, the trails up high in the valley near the 403 were relativly clear and I was able to do laps through my favorite section of trail enough times to tire myself out and enjoy the night. It was a pain in the ass to get out there but after the wet road section, the glare ice railtrail and the two hike-a-bikes I was treated to a 1.5k singletrack section that put a smile on my face and allowed me to get my heart rate up and pedal out all the stress of the holidays. It's been a while since I've been out on a night ride and even though there can be some hastles getting things organized and finding people to ride with, once everything comes together nothing can beat night riding.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

2009-12-07T11:00:00.007-05:00

Ingredients:

8 small new red potatoes
4 carrots or parsnips, cut into 1-inch slices
4 plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise and cut half into quarters
16 pearl onions, your choice of colour
2 zucchini, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
2 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley

Preparation:

1. In a large pot of boiling water par boil potatoes and carrots for about 5 minutes, drain and place in a large bowl. Cool slightly; add zucchini and onions.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables tossing lightly; add tomatoes and gently toss until all vegetables are coated.
3. Spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender and golden.
4. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves: 4

Roast Turkey Breast with Cremini Mushroom Stuffing

2009-12-07T10:01:00.017-05:00

Instead of making an entire stuffed turkey that takes hours to cook and yields leftovers that you'll be eating for weeks, try roasting a turkey breast on a bed of stuffing. it's easy to carve and the stuffing still catches all the drippings as the turkey roasts.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 rib celery, sliced
1 lb. cremini or portobello mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp. each chopped fresh sage, pasrsley and green onion
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
3 cups diced crusty bread (whole wheat or white)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Turkey Preparation:

1 tsp. each kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper, paprika and grated lemon peel
3 lb. boneless turkey breast (one breast with skin)

Sauce:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 dry white wine (or more stock)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

For stuffing, heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large skillet. Add onion and celery and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until tender. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Add muschrooms and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until liquid evaporates. Add herbs and cook for 1 minute. Add bread, 3/4 cup stock, salt and pepper. Cool. Spread on bottom of a small roasting pan.
For turkey, combine salt, pepper, paprika, lemon peel and oil. Rub turkey with mixture. Place turkey, skin side up, on stuffing. Roast in a 375 degree F oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 165 degrees F.
For sauce, heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add mushrooms and cooks until liquid has evaporated. Add flour and cook for a few minutes. Add stock, wine and Worcestershire sauce. bring to a boil. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, whisking often. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.
Slice turkey and serve with mushroom stuffing and sauce.

Serves: 8

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving has 412 calories, 45 g protein, 18 g fat, 15 g carbohydrates, 2.5 g fibre.

Via Ciclante Christmas Open House

2009-12-03T18:10:00.002-05:00

On Saturday December 5th from 12pm till 4pm we will be holding our Christmas Open House. During the event there will be product giveaways and huge savings through out the store. We are also pleased to present Canada's top female triathlete Lisa Bentley. Lisa will be signing autographs and answering questions from 2pm till 4pm. Stop by the shop for some great gift ideas and a little taste of Christmas.

Pilates 101: Breathing Exercises

2009-11-26T22:18:00.036-05:00

"Breathing is the first act of life. Our very life depends on it. Millions have never learned to master the art of correct breathing." -Joseph H. Pilates.

What is an Abdominal Breathing Exercise?
When you watch a baby sleeping you can see their belly rise and fall as they breathe in and out. This is a natural abdominal breathing exercise that babies do unknowingly. As we age we tend to lose our natural instincts for breathing and it becomes shallow. We do not get full inhalation and exhalation to this movement of the belly.
When you inhale normally your lungs expand, your diaphragm drops and your stomach moves out. As you exhale, your diaphragm lifts and your stomach or belly button pulls in. This is called abdominal breathing and it should feel quite natural to you.
We, as a society, are tense and tight in our neck and upper back which ultimately exacerbates improper posture and reinforces tension problems. Most People breathe at half their capacity. This shallow breathing is an unfortunate side effect of a sedentary and stressful life. People often hold their breath when performing a new or difficult task. Focused breathing can maximize the body's ability to stretch, and through this release of tension optimal control of the body will be gained.
We breath from our chest and don't use the diaphragm the way it was intended. Deep inhalation and full exhalation exercises the lungs and increases lung capacity, bringing relaxation as a pleasant side effect.
In Pilates there is a focus on breath because it is the basis of movement. How many of us have been stressed and it was those couple of deep breaths that got you through the day? I know that has been most of us at one time or another.

Breathing supports the following ideas in Pilates:

Oxygenation Releases Tense Muscles
When we breath, effectively, oxygen flows into our blood which flows through our muscles. More oxygen in the muscles equals relaxed muscles. The more, effectively, we breath in Pilates the more we can release those tense muscles "trying to help" in our exercises.
Heightens Concentration
In Pilates there is a breath pattern with each individual exercise, and one of those major benefits of this is the concentration we gain.
Activiation of Stabilization Muscles
Exhaling deeply also encourages the activation of the deep abdominal muscles, which are essentail in Pilates. breath and muscular stabilization should occur before movement for safety and efficiency....for all of you type A uber-anxious people out there!

Principles of Pilates Breathing

Do not hold your breath - keep your breathing flowing
Inhale through your nose to cleanse the air
Do not let shoulder rise on inhale
Breathe into your back and side of ribs
Exhale through the mouth with relaxed lips, don't purse your lips
Relax your jaw and tongue, neck and shoulders
Exhale completely
Hollow abdominals, pull navel to spine on exhale
Zip or stitch ribs together on the exhale. Try zipping down and zipping up
Try to breathe at least five seconds each way
Exhale to flex/round spine
Inhale to extend/arch spine
Exhale to move legs and arms away from body (typically in mat work, varies)

Often, new students tend to take shallow, rapid or ragged breaths, using the tops of their lungs only. Pilates referred to this as the "lazy" breath. Alternately, especially in a difficult new position, the breath becomes "stuck" or held. When performing your exercises, work to become mindful of your Pilates breathing, and try to elongate each inhale and exhale. Many Pilates' instructors recommend a few Pilates breathing exercises before beginning abdominal exercises, so as to focus their students attention on creating a full deep breath.
The basic Pilates breathing exercises require that students lie on their back, in a relaxed position. The knees should be bend, and the head propped up on a towel or pillow if this feels more comfortable. The student should place a hand on the stomach so as to feel the movement of slow gentle breaths filling the lungs, expanding the chest, and filling the abdominal cavity.
A proper diaphragmatic breath will raise stomach slightly on the inhale, and contract and lower the stomach on the exhale as the breath moves out of the air passages. Attention should be paid to shortening the pause between inhale and exhale in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. it helps to visualize the breath as a cleansing wave, beginning in the lower abdomen and gently sweeping through the heart centre (your core) as it proceeds up through your body.
Inhalation and exhalation should be equl in length and depth. This exercise, sometimes called the "rising and falling breath", can also be practices as a mindful meditation prior to beginning practice. Pilates staes that the breath should be exhaled "on the point of effort, "that is, the breath should be used as a tool when moving into and out of poses. You should think of the breath as facilitating the movement by creating the energy to execute it. A natural full breath, rather than exaggerated one is key.
Some beginners, especially those who have not made a habit of breathing in a deep way, may find themselves to be slightly dizzy after the first few Pilates breathing sessions. The additional intake of oxygen sometimes causes dizziness or lightheadedness if the body has not experienced it for some time, persist as this initial feeling quickly passes, and the benefits of proper breath are numerous.

Benefits Include:

Improved cardiac health and stamina, leading to better cardiac health and athletic stamina
Prevention of lung infection or disease by improving blood and oxygen circulation to these vital organs
Increased relaxation response and ability to deal with stressful situations, as well as a general sense of calm and well being
Increased energy efficiency and a feeling of vitality
Enhanced gas exchange in your lungs
Strengthening of the diaphragm
Increased lung capacity
Enhancement and flexibilty of ribs and spine
Provides a gentle internal massage to abdominal organs
Enhanced function of stomach, intestines and lymph system
Lower blood pressure

Try this Abdominal Breathing Exercise:
Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. As you inhale deeply through your nose you should feel your chest and stomach expand out. Make sure that you do not hike your shoulders up but keep them down and relaxed as you do this abdomianl breathing exercise. As you exhale expel all the air out and feel the stomach and chest collapsing or pulling in like avacuum sucking all the air out.
Pilates Breathing Exercise:
Pilates breathing is different than your normal abdominal breathing in that we need to contract the abdominal muscles to strengthen them. So we use a technique involving thoracic (ribcage) breathing also referred to as lateral or intercostal breathing.
When doing Pilates exercises it is important that our focus be on the abdominal muscle contraction. This is the centre or core support for the rest of our body. Without the abdominal muscles being contracted and stabilizing the trunk we are not efectively able to use the muscles of the extremities without possiblilty of injury.
Try this Pilates Exercise:
Standing or sitting tall place your hands just below your chest on either side of your ribcage. Inhale through your nose and feel expansion laterally and posteriorly through your ribcage (thoracic spine area).
As you exhale through your mouth expelling all of the air out feel the ribs collapse back in as your abdominals contract and you feel the belly button pulling into your spine. Your focus should be on keeping the abdominals contracted while breathing into your ribcage instead of your belly so that your ribs expand outward as you inhale.

You Just Learned Pilates Breathing.....Breath On!

Crank The Shield

2009-11-24T11:38:00.004-05:00

Early registration has opened for Eastern Canada's premier bicycle stage race Crank The Shield. I participated in the 2009 event back in September and even though I had a race ending mechanical on the last day forcing me to pull out, I will be one of the first people registered for the 2010 race. The terrain for the race had a good mix of everything from bombed out atv trails, rolling single track and dirt access roads. My Moots 29er was the perfect weapon for the varied terrain and the road sections. The cabins that they provided were perfect and the massive buffets of food and free flowing beer at the end of the night made for the perfect ending to each stage. This is one event to mark on your calender for next year if you are a serious mountain biker, just make sure that you train as much as humanly possible because the days do take their toll.

www.cranktheshield.com

My Boys riding at Kelso

2009-11-15T12:27:00.003-05:00

Fall MTB riding is the best time to ride and this fall season is offering us so much opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. The boys went to Kelso on Saturday and we capture some precious moments for kids being kids and having fun on their bikes. It reminds me of being that age and the fun and exhileration of riding your bike, clearing jumps and showing off mad skills.

Riding is a special experience of balance, hand-eye coordination, aerobic endurance, strength and speed.

Enjoy the rest of the riding season. We have been blessed with a month of exceptional riding weather take advantage and get outdoors.

Riding in Tusucany

2009-11-14T09:43:00.003-05:00

Good Morning to you
I received a message from April and Dave Belbeck, a inspirational couple who enjoyed riding in the rolling hills of Tuscany. They had a wonderful time and all their riding in southern Ontario prepared them for their Tuscan adventure. They share their thoughts in this postcard.

Enjoy your day

THIS BIKE IS PURE FREAKING SPEED!!!!

2009-11-05T15:13:00.008-05:00

Giant Trinity Advanced SL 2

Seriously though, this bike is amazing. We will have the bike on display for the next few weeks as a lead up to us stocking the bike for 2010. The lines on this bike are so clean it looks like a space ship, all while maintaining the UCI's 3:1 ruling. Come by the shop to see the TT bike my own personal hero Lars Boom will be killing it on for 2010.

Kelso Halloween Cross Stage Race

2009-11-03T17:59:00.010-05:00

Well, what can i say. This weekend pretty much played out like I had thought it would, Saturday was a muddy shit show and on Sunday I simply blew up. The course layout for sundays race was epic by every meaning of the term, the course was really long and and the lower section was a peanut butter mud fest. After hanging around in the cold watching Mikey race at ten I wasn't to keen on setting off for my 1pm race, this changed around 11:30 when the M2's went off and the Healing cycle's own Steve Eastwood flat out destroyed the field in his second actual cross race. Watching Steve kill it was a great motivator to get my ass into my tighties and start warming up. Once the race got under way I settled into my usually spot in the bottom third and picked out my pace bunny for the race, newly upgraded Jeff Moote. Jeff has been having a good season and was one of the few sandbaging beginner guys to ball up and upgrade into elite. As we plodded through the laps our cohorts in the bottom 3rd eventually dropped out or suffered from race ending mechanical brought on by the muddy conditions. In the end I got dropped by the new guy but I still finished the race with a smile on my face, well I didn't actually smile until I opened my beer in the parking lot. That pretty much sums up day one. Day two started with me rolling out of bed at 7:30 with every part of my body in a world of hurt, nothing some Advil and coffee won't fix. After what seemed like an hour of hosing by race bike down in the driveway to get it somewhat rid able for the day Mikey pulls up and we were off. Once we got to the venue we were surprised to see that the course had some drastic changes from last years, they kept the horid run up and about 1 minute after they put in one whore of a climb that was just barely rid able in my "cool guy single 42T front ring"... god dammit that hill hurt. They added a new sand pit just off of the parking lot that made for some great spectating and heckling. Well as for the race it was pretty much the same outcome as the day before, poo start, blew up on second lap and struggled to stay on the new guys tail. All in all the weekend was still a blast, the weather was amazing, I got in a good shit kicking and I really don't have anything to complain about. If anything this season has taught me that I can't do everything (24hr->Cross) and to be competitive I need a coach and should lay off the beer.

Eastwood killing it on day one:

Me getting killed on day one:

Han Solo himself in the pit:

*Photography by Mike Clark

Willow Beach Cyclocross

2009-10-29T17:43:00.003-04:00

Sat. October 24th, Port Hope, Ontario

It was a perfect chilly fall afternoon and the course was extra muddy from the previous days rain. I was lucky not to crash and tweak my back this time around (*epic failure last year), I managed to pull off 6th place, down from last years 4th. I haven't done much cross racing this year and I certainly don't have the "snap" that is required to hold on to the insanely hard accelerations that occur in cross racing. My best friend on the other hand finally managed to nail his first podium in the 10am race and got his well deserved spot on the podium. If you notice in the picture above he is in the background holding my pit bike. Mike's dedication as a mechanic far exceeds anyone I have ever encountered, shortly after that picture was taken I flew by and whipped the white bike at him and exchanged it for the clean and functional black bike, no pleases, no thank yous just a blur of frantic panic and desperation. It's for this reason amongst many that Mikey deserved his podium on saturday, If he would only apply the same dedication to training as he does to maintaining our cross/road/mountain bikes he would be a beast of a rider... although I don't think he'll ever cut back on the beer, and neither will I for that matter. So this weekend we will be packing up our bikes and heading out to the Kelso Cross Stage Race to get our asses handed to us, it's safe to say that beers will be on me this weekend.

Mikey:

Sex, alcohol, fat among world's big killers: WHO

2009-10-29T09:27:00.001-04:00

Wed Oct 28, 2:24 AM
By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) - Tackling just five health factors could prevent millions of premature deaths and increase global life expectancy by almost 5 years, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

Poor childhood nutrition, unsafe sex, alcohol, bad sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure are to blame for around a quarter of the 60 million premature deaths around the world each year, the WHO said in a report.

But while not having enough nutritious food is a big health risk for those in poorer countries, obesity and being overweight pose yet bigger risks in richer nations -- leading to a situation in which obesity and being overweight causes more deaths worldwide than being underweight.

"The world faces some large, widespread and certain risks to health," the WHO said in its Global Health Risks report. It examined 24 major health risks, and said recognizing and assessing them would help policy makers draw up strategies to improve health in the broadest and most cost-effective ways.

"As health improves, gains can multiply," it said. "Reducing the burden of disease in the poor may raise income levels, which in turn will further help to reduce health inequalities."

The report warned that although some major health risk factors, such as smoking, obesity and being overweight, were usually associated with high-income countries, more than three-quarters of the total global burden of diseases they cause now occurs in poor and developing countries.

"Health risks are in transition: populations are aging owing to successes against infectious diseases; at the same time, patterns of physical activity and food, alcohol and tobacco consumption are changing," it said.

"Understanding the role of these risk factors is important for developing clear and effective strategies for improving global health."

The Geneva-based U.N. health agency listed the world's top mortality risks as high blood pressure (responsible for 13 percent of deaths globally), tobacco use (9 percent), high blood glucose (6 percent), physical inactivity (6 percent), and obesity or being overweight (5 percent).

These factors raised the risk of chronic diseases and some of the biggest killers such as heart disease, diabetes and cancers, and affected "countries across all income groups -- high, middle and low," it said.

The WHO said its study, which used data from 2004 -- the latest available -- showed how health was becoming "globalised" and warned that developing countries now increasingly face a double burden of risks to health.

"The poorest countries still face a high and concentrated burden from poverty, undernutrition, unsafe sex, unsafe water and sanitation," it said. "At the same time, dietary risk factors for high blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity, coupled with insufficient physical activity, are responsible for an increasing proportion of the total disease burden."

The WHO added that if the risks in its report had not existed, life expectancy would have been on average almost a decade longer in 2004 for the entire global population.

Indoor trainer racing

2009-10-28T17:48:00.004-04:00

Get ready for the compu-trainer race series at the Burlington Peak Centre. The race series will be on Saturday at 12:00 and will connect to other computers allowing for a tough and enduring competition with other Peak Centres around the country. The cost is $300 plus G.S.T. for 20 races which run from Oct 31st to May 1st.

We encourage you to challenge yourself and race against others within the comfort of the temperature controlled indoors.

If you have any further questions, email or call (905) 333-8558.
Joanne Shields
Mari Spano
Peak Centre Burlington

Toronto International Cyclocross

2009-10-15T10:13:00.005-04:00

This coming weekend the city of Toronto will be overrun with some of north americas best cyclocross racers. The venue will be at centenial park just off of eglington ave and promises to offer a challenging course for all the heavy hitters that plan to show. The elite race goes off at 3 on sat and 2 on sunday. If you have ever wanted to spectate a cross race to see what all the fuss is about this is one to mark on the calender. Last year I "rode" in the elite race on the sat and got my ass handed to me, I had an amazing time and with the little rain that we had the course was as slick as a skating rink. This year i'm taking a different approach and will be hanging out in the beer tent on sunday cheering on the locals. If your in the area stop by and check it out, admission is free but the beer isnt.

click for more details

Me being a knob at last years race

photo: Mike Clark

Cannondale Wins at Ironman

2009-10-14T18:50:00.002-04:00

Chrissie Wellington Is World Champion! Again!

Course Records Fall as Cannondale Athletes Ride Strong in Kona

Chrissie Wellington, aboard her Cannondale Slice, put in a fast bike leg on her way to a third straight Ironman World Championship and a course record time of 8:54:03. The impressive performance was topped by only 22 of the fastest men!

Coming out of the water in 8th place, Chrissie built up a lead of over eleven minutes on the bike. “I knew going into the race the competition was going to be tough and the bike was going to be my ace in the hole,” said Wellington. “Throughout the tough conditions my Cannondale Slice performed flawlessly as if it was the wind beneath my wings.”

Finally showing signs of fatigue towards the end of the run, Chrissie struggled in the finale of the marathon, but the win was never in question. The only thing in doubt at that point was whether Chrissie would break Paula Newby-Fraser's seventeen-year-old course record.

"The first kilometers of the run were difficult for me and then I found my pace, but then I struggled towards the end," Chrissie said at the post-race press conference. "It was only until the last five miles that I changed my watch over to cumulative race time and saw that I was on track for the course record, but those were the most difficult miles of the race for me[…] I do hope that my course record will be broken. That's the benchmark that shows that we can get faster."

A hard-charging Mirinda Carfrae started the run in 9th place, but set a new run course record of 2:56:51 to come in second, twenty minutes behind Chrissie. Her impressive finish is all the more spectacular considering that the race was her first-ever at an Ironman distance. As to whether she could one day beat Chrissie, Mirinda replied, "I think anything is possible and she's only human. I certainly hope so, I don't think it's going to happen any time soon. She's basically taking on the pro men."

Supermom Sandra Wallenhorst also used a strong run to net herself a top-ten finish, coming in 8th to round out the impressive day for Cannondale-sponsored women.

On the men's side, Swiss Ronnie Schildknecht passed 32 competitors on the bike on his way to 18th place overall. Likewise, Miki Weiss put in a blazing bike leg of 4:30:04 and passed 68 people on his way to 25th. With no official ranking available at press time, Weiss' bike leg appears to have been second-fastest of the day!

Cannondale triathletes compete, win, and set world records and fastest splits aboard the Cannondale Slice. The Slice features class-leading aerodynamics to achieve higher speeds. It is one of the absolute lightest triathlon bikes on the planet and has the best stiffness-to-weight ratio in the industry. In addition, the S.A.V.E. tube shapings soak up road buzz and leave you fresher for the run. Chrissie says so... imagine what it can do for you!

2009-09-28T19:50:00.006-04:00

Chicken Souvlaki

This is an excellent served with pita bread, a garlicky tzaziki and a crisp, green salad. The marinade can also be used with veal.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

Sauce:

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper each
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. savory
1/4 tsp. thyme

Directions:

1. If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for at least 30 minutes before using.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl; mix well.
3. Stir in chicken cubes; marinade for at least two hours before threading onto skewers.
4. Grill on high heat, lid down.
5. Grill for about 4 minutes per side (total 8 minutes) or until juices run clear.

Serves: 4

Season Finale - World Duathlon Championships 2009

2009-09-28T14:33:00.006-04:00

After a season full of injuries and a bike crash I have been fortunate enough to finish the season on a high. On Sunday September 26, 2009 I participated in my 5th World Duathlon Championships in Concord, North Carolina as a member of the Canadian Duathlon Team. It would be my 2nd race of the 2009 season, my first being Guelph Lake 1 only 3 weeks prior. My coach thought this may prove to be favorable as my legs would be rested while everyone else may be mentally and physically fatigued from a long season.

I arrived in North Carolina by airplane on the Tuesday prior to the race. I arrived at noon checked into the hotel, put my running gear on and went out for a run. This proved to be a bit more challenging than I thought as Concord is Nascar country and not pedestrian friendly at all. What that means is that there are no side walks and no bike lanes and lots of cars on the road who don't expect to see people crossing the road. I managed to get in a run by doing out and back loops on the side of the road being mindful of the traffic. Did I mention how hot it is hear this time of year. The days leading to the race the temperature was an average of 82 degrees and extremely humid. The hottest part of the day between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. Fortunate for me my race was scheduled to start at 3.40 p.m. - just kidding. For those of you who aren't aware the distance for Duathlon Worlds is 10km run/40km ride/ 5km run. I certainly wasn't looking forward to running the first 10km in the heat.

The days leading up to the race were filled with short workouts on the bike course getting familiar with the 29 turns on the 20km x 2 loop course and to keep the body from getting lazy. The race was set to start and finish in the Lowes Motor Speedway with several laps of the bike course actually on the Nascar race track. We were unable to get a good sense of the run course as it was not open to the athletes prior to race. Not a welcome surprise when we actually made our way through the run course on race day. The remainder of my time was filled with ensuring I stayed hydrated, focused on nutrition and staying relaxed and visualizing how the race would unfold.

On Thursday we celebrated the opening ceremonies down at the Lowes Motor Speedway. The town put on a parade for all the athletes with each team filing behind their nations flag and in their team uniform. It is our "mini" Olympics of sorts. Canada was represented with the second largest field at the start line on race day next to USA, with 90 athletes from across the country. The opening celebrations is usually where teams come together for the first time prior to the race and the excitement starts to heat up. It is when we share stories from the time we saw each other last, which was the World Championships in Rimini, Italy 2008. Unfortunately, the heat was also in the air. By the time the ceremonies wrapped up, we were all saturated in our own sweat as it was over 90 degrees with humidity and not a cloud in the sky. Great if you were at the beach and not trying to stay hydrated with two sleeps left prior to the race. We were all hoping for overcast and 60 degrees for race day.

Race morning was just what the weather man called for and we cried for - well almost; i.e. temperatures of 69-70 degrees, and winds of 10-20 mph and rain (we didn't ask for that). Race day leading up to the race start proved to be mentally challenging as I was not scheduled to start until 3.40 p.m. It was important to be mindful of rest, relaxation and fueling properly throughout the day which was challenging as most of us had never raced in the late afternoon. I also had to be prepared for a drop in temperature and rain showers. None the less I managed the day by preparing my race bag with all essentials i.e. sleeves, legging, sunglasses, and extra layers in the event I needed them. Once we arrived at the race site we realized that although the day was gloomy and rainy the temperature was warm and humid and no extra layers were needed. The remainder of the hour and 1/2 was filled with preparing my bike in transition and rehearsing in my mind the run in, bike out, bike in and run out. Then off to the bag check in to get rid of the remainder of my items with the exception of my pre-race drink.

With 20 minutes remaining, I headed off to warm up for my run. I was extremely nervous, however as ready as I was going to be. The final call came for all remaining women to line up at the start line, so I made my way over. My strategy was to place myself at the very back of the pack, pace myself as I had discussed with my coach i.e. 4.45 for the first 2km to gauge how I was feeling and then decide how to manage my pace for the remainder of the 10km. I had to be mindful that it was only my second race of the year and only had 5 weeks to prepare for the race. I have to admit although humbling to stand at the back of the pack at the gun it definitely felt better both mentally and physically to find my own pace and then pass those who went out to fast and struggled after a few kilometers. The first 1.4 km was in the race track with a slight decent into a flat and then an unexpected incline for 100m. The next km was a quick descent and then a turnaround back up the hill for about 1km and over an overpass. The next 500 m was a quick descent followed by flat and then a very steep, long climb up a hill and over an overpass. My legs felt great however my chest could not take the hard work and a fast pace. I ended up walking for about 10"s on both hill climbs. The remainder of the run back into the raceway to complete the run was a mix of flat and rolling all on paved drives or concrete sidewalks. It was great to return into the speedway and feel the energy of the onlookers and those calling out to me by name "go Lucy go" or "go Canada go". The rain went from light showers to pouring rain by the second lap. By the sixth km I was asking myself what I was doing here, however quickly snapped remembering I should be celebrating the fact that I got to the start line at all.

My shoes were soaked, and heavy by the time I finished the run into transition at 46.02' which I thought was respectable for me and I was pleased. In transition I quickly put on my helmet, dug my shoes out of the plastic bag I tucked them into prior to the race, and put on my glasses (which later proved to be a bad idea). The rain was coming down quickly and continued to fall throughout the majority of the bike. Caution on the ride was definitely key as there were many crashes in the a.m. in the elite races. It took me about 5km to get into a rhythm and to ensure I stayed focus on the task at hand as I saw an ambulance taking away an athlete on a stretcher who crashed coming down on a fast and sharp decent . There was lots of pooling on the road and lots of painted lines within the perimeter of the raceway and the dragway which are extremely slippery. The multiple turns together with the rain and puddles slowed the bike down as I was more tentative on the bike than usual. The second lap was significantly faster as I knew when to "go" and went to "slow" and how the turns and climbs fared in the rain. I finished strong on the bike, although my time was slower than I had wished.

I tried to quickly transition to the run however it proved to be a bit of a challenge as my calf was starting to cramp when I was putting on my flats. I had to focus and make sure I didn't flex my feet which was causing the cramping. My legs felt great out of transition and onto the first few km of the run. I was able to manage the run up to the last long climb, my legs felt awesome, however my chest was not so. I walked for about 20" to get my breath back and then ran the remainder of the way to the finish. I finished with grace a smile and a curtsy at the end holding the Canadian flag proudly in my hand feeling very proud of my accomplishment. I know that I could have done this race with better results with an injury free year!

I finished with a 2.24 time, 46.02, 1.11.58 on the bike and 24.15 for (5km). That placed me 17th /27 for my age group. I'm good! My body felt good the morning after the race despite the fact I didn't sleep much from the after race celebration. As my coach kindly said in an email to me after the race "The effort is more important than the results and I'm not sure anyone at the race can say they put in more effort into GETTING to the start line. I'm proud of you!". On August 5th we were ready to pack up the season, however I had to give it one more try. See you in Edinborough Scotland in 2010.

Happy Healthy Training

Lucy

Take a Kid MTB Riding

2009-09-18T19:08:00.001-04:00

On Sat, Oct. 3, Kelso Conservation Area will host young riders, ages 6 to 16, for
a youth mountain biking event. The ride is part of a nationwide celebration
known as Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, supported by the International
Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).
Kelso Conservation Area welcomes all local riders who want to have a fun day on
their bikes. Here’s everything you need to know:
• Be sure to bring a bike, a helmet and some warm clothes.
• Event location is The Summit entrance to Kelso Conservation Area – off of
Steeles avenue – just outside Milton.
• Event runs from 9:30 – 5:30pm – drop in anytime. Guided rides and
mountain bike skills sessions happening all day.
• Parents are welcome to ride too!
• Park entrance fee of $7/person is required.
Certified Ontario Mountain Bike Instructors will be leading group rides through
the trails at various times throughout the day catering to all ages and abilities.
We’ve got a supervised Skills Park, which will have a plethora of features and
stunts to ride over and off of. Instructors will also be on hand to offer tips and
guidance in the Skills Park. As well, attending local bike stores will be offering
bike safety checks, bike demos, and general bicycle advice, and there will be
bike games like the bike limbo and log pull; a BBQ running from 11am – 2.30pm
and a DJ spinning some tunes to keep you grooving to the beat of your bike!

Venga, Venga Vuelta

2009-09-09T09:54:00.004-04:00

I wanted to share the excitement of pro racing with everyone. We have been streaming from www.steephill.tv where you can catch the Vuelta Espana. The race is in the second week and the action is building. Go Ivan Basso!! Connect to www.universalsports.com and watch the action of the Tour of Missouri. The cycling season is not over. The action keeps going.
On another note the weather has been fantastic lately I hope everyone is getting the opportunity to get out and ride.
The Healing Cycle is coming let your friends know that the most important ride of the year is on Sunday September 13.

Sick and Sweet

2009-09-07T19:34:00.009-04:00

I decided that I needed to change the scenery and go mountain bike riding this morning. I have been planning a ride with my son Marcel and a family friend, Hubert Casmiro and his two boys, Dylan and Nicolas. We emailed each other and found a time that suited everyone's schedules. I think the kids are happy about making their "Black Monday" , the day before school resumes, an excited and enjoyable day.
We met at Kelso conservation, I haven't been there in many years, of course I have ridden on the roads around Kelso, but negiotating trails, Not a clue.
The weather was perfect, the skies were clear and the trails were dry. OK a perfect trail riding day for nubees like me and the kids. Hubert, well, he has mad skills, so even with a non functioning front suspension he still cleared everything.
We started off real easy, it was perfect for me and the kids. Let me tell you that Marcel is 9 years old, Dylan is 7 and Nicholas is 6. Marcel has a perfect trail bike in the Trek MT220, but Dylan and Nicholas's bikes have 14" coaster brake sidewalk bikes. Hubert is convinced if they can ride these lousy bikes it will give them a greater appreciation of better quality bikes. I swear heard my Dad in his logic; and it's probably correct. I can't imagine how well these guys will ride with some killer MTB machines.
We rode the Green, easy trails, and the boys found it too easy, they wanted to head into the woods. So we decided to get on the Blue, intermediate trails. These trails were a collection of rock and roots as well as short ascents and descents. The kids just ripped it up. At the half way point, at a about 1.5 hours into the ride Dylan yells out with excitement and joy. "This trail is Sick and Sweet" Hubert and I just started laughing and the entire crew adopted this as our motto for the day.
The boys were having fun and I understood at that moment why I love to ride as much as they do because it's fun. The trails at Kelso are really good and we are blessed to have the Halton Conservation maintaining and developing these trails. I found the riders were as conscious as ever with regards to nature and other riders. Riders waited for the boys to get up and over rocks and everyone that we met were in their "happy" place.
At the 2.5 hour point I heard grumblings from my stomach and the boys just wanted to go back into the forest. Somehow and not by choice we ended up on a Black, advance trail. Well the boys just showed their stuff. They cleared everything, even double and triple log crossings. Marcel was jumping and catching air, Dylan was threading the needle finding the smoothest lines and Nicolas well he's just a MTB dude, leading the entire pack on these advanced trails.
The boys were pumped, Hubert and myself were thrilled that we could share some precious moments, with nature, our bikes and each other.
Forget the video games, the boys are so excited to get back out there. We hope to see you on the trails over the fall season.

The Healing Cycle GranFondo

2009-08-16T19:37:00.003-04:00

I'm back. I have been away from the blog over the past two months because of business trips looking at new bicycle products from Cannondale, Giant and Trek. As well a back injury removed me from racing for the rest of this season. I am on the road to recovery, exercising to become a stronger rider. I want to enjoy hours in the saddle and my riding season is not over.
The Healing Cycle, a charity ride that was born in our bicycle store has embraced a new concept and I am encouraging you and your friends to join me on a journey that will challenge your endurance.

What is a GranFondo?

Take a scenic, hilly course and add several thousand cyclists ranging from pros to eighty-year-old cycle tourists. Mix in roving and fixed mechanical and medical support, feed zones manned by cheerful volunteers serving up sandwiches, fruit, and drinks, and traffic halted at intersections to let you pass. Garnish with enthusiastic and supportive spectators lining the course. Top it off with coverage by news and other media. Energy, excitement, atmosphere!-- this is gran fondo, a phenomenon that has taken Italy by storm. Gran fondo means long distance or great endurance. Some cyclists ride for the satisfaction and pride of just making it to the finish line. Others want to improve upon their previous times, and to challenge themselves, their friends, their teammates. And some ride to win!

Gran fondo races are usually 160-225 km long. The majority offer an additional fondo course (120-160 km) and sometimes even a medio fondo course (under 120 km) for those not willing or able to ride the longer distance(s). These shorter courses are just abbreviated versions of the longer ones, utilizing most of the same roads, but taking shortcuts to avoid some of the climbs. There are also events which are fondo or medio fondo only (see below). (NOTE: there are no universal regulations specifying distances, so there are so-called gran fondos that are less than 160 km, and the terms medio fondo and fondo are sometimes reversed, with the medio being the longer course. It's a matter of interpretation.)

The idea is to share our passion on a ride that will challenge our bodies as well fundraise for The Healing Cycle's objective of raising 1 million dollars for the new palliative care department at Credit Valley Hospital.

The course has been set. If your interested check out www.thehealingcycle.ca for the course details. If you have any questions please post your comments and let's make this a great and fun ride on September 13.

2009-07-05T21:39:00.010-04:00

Laura's GOBA Adventure

You're wondering what is GOBA? GOBA stands for the The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. It is an annual one-week bicycle loop tour through Ohio, held each year at the end of June. GOBA features a different part of Ohio each year, travelling through peaceful countryside and stopping at interesting tourist destinations along the way. The week-long adventure offers fun, Ohio hospitality, and a challenging and rewarding vacation.

Myself, and two friends Scott and Brian from the Halton Outdoor Club decided to go for a one week cycling vacation. Being new to this type of trip I was thinking would riding 100kms per day for one week be challenging as I don't usually ride consecutive days too often. But I had no problem at with the riding and actually as the week went on I felt more charged up. Maybe camping under the stars as we chose to do made for a good night's sleep. Many other people chose to stay in motels, hotels or college dormitories.

We rode better than 700kms under the sunniest seven days we've ever experienced on a bike with all routes well-marked that we didn't have to use the maps provided making the riding that much more enjoyable. Most days the temperature were in the 80's and 90's and it was so hot it could blow out tires or fry eggs on the road. wearing sunscreen and keeping your bottles full was a must. People along the routes would be standing on their lawns with their garden hoses ready to cool off willing cyclists as they passed by. One day we even stopped to take a dip in a lady's pond on her invite to cool off from the scorching heat. That really helped us enjoy the rest of the ride to our next destination.

Most of the roads in this part of Ohio were flat as a pool table with some small rolling hills closer to the towns we rode towards. The entire area we travelled was once a swamp. Deep ditches drained off the water making farming possible. The most common crop we noticed was corn. The towns were far and few between and traffic was almost non-existent. Often the roads we travelled were no wider then the average paved driveway. And like a paved driveway most of the roads were smooth as silk.

Each day on the route there were at least two rest stations and a lunch break which supplied us with all the food and drinks to perform like athletes. They were manned by volunteers of non-profit organizations who used the profits to benefit the communities in various ways. We were always made to feel welcome and were often entertained with live music from local talent or high school theatre arts programs. Many of the rides were up before the crack of dawn and riding by 6am. We chose to get up with the sun and start are journey around 8am. Along the way we stopped in at local attractions including a working Gris mill, a small train museum and a fort. Plus riding through small towns was very pleasant with alltheir history, interesting homes and buildings.

On one of the two layover days we rode north to Lake Erie and enjoyed a dip in the lake's warm waters. We also enjoyed a great seafood lunch a one of the local haunts. Nothing better than a meal of fish and chips with a cold drink. There were also these pesky Mayfly insects found in ever area and they seemed to attach themselves to everything but are short-lived.

The other layover day was our chance for a century ride. Brian chose to attempt the 100 mile route while Scott and I chose more wisely the shorter 50 miles. Brian, however made a few wrong turns and thankfully ended up on the 70 mile route. Being the hottest day of the week with temperatures in the high 90's the organizers posted warning signs for diehard riders of the century route that if they had started by the crack of dawn there would be no support after the 70 mile route after a certain time. Only a handful of riders completed the ride and there were no problems.

Brian and Scott met people from previous cycling trips. These types of trips have quite the following. I have much to look forward to the years ahead when it comes to these cycling trips. The guys have informed me that next year we are going to Michigan state for a hilly ride trip. This winter it's back to the gym for more training.

Brian being experienced camper, hiker and an expert in canoeing and portaging he had me setting up my own tent and carrying my own canoe pack right from the start. By the end of the week it was a contest to who would be packed up first with the bags on the truck ready for their journey to the next rown and us back on the road again to our next destination.

There were may types of bikes from fixed gear, road, mountain and hybrids to quad tandems and all sorts of recumbant styles. People of all ages with children being pulled in trailers to young teenagers on road bikes to older adults on comfort bikes all riding the minimum 50 miles a day just maybe taking longer to get to the end. Afterall it's about the journey getting to the end not necessarily how fast you arrive.

Although about 2,500 riders started, not all finished. The first day sent some weaker riders packing for home. Then the sun persuaded more to pack it in on the second day. By the last day inexperienced riders in pace lines, gravel corners and various other hazards along the way had sent quite a few to the hospital for treatment from road burn to broken bones. Scott, Brian and I managed to avoid any mishaps along the way. Except for a few saddle sores and a bit of sun burn we easily handled the 50 to 60 miles a day rides.

GOBA was well-worth the taking and for anyone wanting to get away on a vacation with a different view than with a car or plane this may be just what your looking for.

Healing Cycle Racing at O-Cup #6

2009-06-15T22:28:00.004-04:00

The weekend of June 6/7, Bruce and Stirling headed to Prince Edward County for the Milford-Picton Stage race. The racing started on Saturday with a 20km time trial in the morning and a circuit race in the early evening that was 110minutes in length. To cap of the weekend’s racing, there was a 127km road race on Sunday.

We were on the road Saturday by 7am which should have given us plenty of time for the 2.5hr drive and about 45mins to warm up for the time trial. Unfortunately, unexpected construction resulted in us arriving just in time to unload our bikes, sign in and line up for the start with no warm up. Time trials are definitely better performed with a good warm up! In the end Stirling managed 7th and Bruce just rolled through the course content to save his energy for the weekend of racing.

With an afternoon of relaxing, we were back in race mode for the start of the circuit race. The course was 6.9km and had the mix of a road race with some tight turns through the town of Picton that also made it feel like a criterium. The course had a steep climb (about 1km in length) that immediately started to break up the peleton. About 10 of us made the final selection, and the racing continued to be aggressive. With 2 laps to go, Bruce jumped away from the group and soloed to his first victory of the season! Stirling rolled in 9th place and Bruce moved up to 4th place in the General Classification.

Greg joined us for the Sunday road race, as did about another 30-40 riders who didn't want to race all the stages. With all the fresh legs, it was going to make for some tough racing for those of us who had already been racing. The plan was to work for Bruce to try and improve his overall placing in the GC. Stirling and Greg worked to keep things in check for Bruce as there were constant attacks coming from the field. With 2 laps to go (32km), Stirling moved to the front of the pack to chase a Cyclery rider who was 100m up the road, and opened up an unexpected gap. He bridged up to the other rider and were soon out of sight from the pack. With 6km to go, they had a 1 min gap which was just enough to get them to the finish. Stirling came across the line to win his first race of the season! Greg sprinted for 5th place and Bruce came across in 15th place. Stirling's win was enough to move him into 3rd place in the overall GC, and Bruce finished 7th.

A great weekend of racing and a special thanks to the Midweek Cycling Club, Craig Fagen, the towns of Milford and Picton and all the volunteers for a great weekend of racing

Fun Wow!

2009-06-11T17:22:00.003-04:00

In all the years that I have been participating in running and cycling, I have traditionally done most of my training on my own. It was not unusual for me to undertake an early 4:00 a.m. run in -30 degree weather. The goal was to complete the run by 5:30 a.m. prior to Tony leaving for work so not to leave my young daughter unattended, returning for a quick shower and change prior to catching the GO train for 1 1/2 hour commute to Toronto. Nap time on the train was a welcome treat after an early morning workout.

Other than racing, and the more recent rides with Tony on the weekends I have put many "alone" (I wouldn't call them lonely as I enjoyed "my time) miles on the pavement both running and cycling. Unfortunately I have been injured and have not been able to run much, and for that matter go to the races where my racing friends are at. Fortunately my cycling is coming along as I have spent the balance of my running time on the bike.

Now that the kids are older and we can leave them unattended, we ventured to try something different. Last Tuesday, we had our first experience with "Time Trialing'. A great way to meet new people, make new friends, test your ability and shake up your training a bit in the company of others with a common interest.

My goal going into the Time Trial was to have fun, be safe and work at a moderate effort, so not to irritate my leg. However, as I suspected, once "my gun" went off, as you part at 1 minute intervals; for those of you not familiar with time trials, my competitive side took over and I "gave er" all the way to the end of the 15km ride. It was a total rush. The course was challenging with 4-5 moderate rollers out and back (remember "up and over"). The wind was blowing every which way with no reprieve. I definitely had to push hard start to finish. It was hard work, however you wouldn't have known it by the smile on my face throughout the entire ride. I finished the 15km in 26.27 minute, 33.9 kph pace, average watts 189. I was hoping for 28 minutes-so I was very excited by my finish.

Highly recommended just for the thrill of the ride- you've gotta try it!

P.S. Time Trials, or rather cycling clubs welcome people at all levels - don't be shy:). Just get out there.

Next week-average 200 watts, bring it on! Can't wait. It's like when I was a little kid and couldn't wait for the weekend for a play date.

Happy Healthy Training,

Lucy

"Up and Over"

2009-06-08T17:16:00.002-04:00

Want to get stronger climbing hills? Then test yourself during your next training ride.

When planning your training ride consider one of the following:

pick a course with rolling hills
or a course that has one hill that you can climb/descend multiple times safely

During the ride:

When you reach the bottom of each hill, stay in the gear you have been pedaling in on the flat part of the ride, at least for the first part of the hill. Your normal inclination may be to put it in an easier gear as you are anticipating the harder effort.
Remember you want to "challenge" yourself
Keep chanting to yourself "up and over" throughout the climb
When you get to the top of the hill, don't stop, keep pushing until you are "up and over" the hill
Reward yourself once you are over
Recover for 2 - 3 times it took you to climb with high cadence pedaling
Prepare yourself for the next hill - mentally and physically. It will only hurt for a few seconds - a minute, then it will be over until the next one.
Repeat 5-6 times

Note: If you don't have many hills in your area, then just pick one hill. Complete a good warm up prior to attempting the hills, say 15-20 minutes with some hard efforts. Try a few repeats up and down the same hill, remembering to recover at list 2 - 3 times the amount of time it took you to climb with high cadence pedaling

What will you notice after a few repeats:

If you do this several times through out your ride, you will notice that you will be able to push a bigger gear on the flats
You should be able to push a harder gear as you get to the 3 or 4th hill/repeat - remember, mind over matter

What will you notice after a few sessions of repeats you will find that:

you will be able to push a harder gear for longer periods of time during any workout
you will be able to climb each hill with greater ease and in less time than the time before
you should be able to challenge yourself and pick a longer climb next time
you have less lactate build up in your legs while climbing

How did you do?

Try it - I did. I pushed 401 watts on Saturday. My hard work is finally paying off.

Happy Healthy training,

Lucy

Jarvis Street bike Lane

2009-06-02T09:57:00.004-04:00

I have been listening and very interested in how the City of Toronto has moved forward in the planning of bike lanes to eliminate traffic congestion on the Jarvis Street Corridor. My understanding is that this is an important thru way from upper Toronto to the downtown core. There are many articles concerning this issue. I am presenting the recent media coverage so that you are informed, as well I am interested in your comments because these changes can and eventually will be spread through suburban areas like our city of Mississauga.

CityPulse24
City Council Votes In Favour Of Bike Lanes On Jarvis St.
Staff
Monday, May 25, 2009

For cyclists, it's the best news possible.
For motorists, it conjures fears of instant gridlock.
City councillors have voted 28-16 in favour of eliminating that alternating lane on Jarvis St. and putting in two bike lanes instead. The controversy has been brewing for some time, with advocates arguing it will eventually reduce gridlock and opponents insisting it will cause it.
At present, Jarvis is a five lane street that has a single lane that goes southbound during one rush hour and northbound the next. It's designed to ease traffic flow when the most cars are heading in one main direction. Under the new idea, the lanes would be reduced from Bloor to Queen to make way for bike lanes on either side.
Councillor Kyle Rae believes it's a good decision. "I have constituents who live on Jarvis, who refuse to cycle on Jarvis because it's so unsafe," he claims.
But opponent Councillor Karen Stintz doesn't buy the argument that the lanes will solve anything. "We say on the one hand the TTC won't be expanding yet we know somehow if we put these bike lanes in, the masses will come and 27,000 cars will also be replaced with bicycles? I don't believe that's a reasonable assumption."
The news comes as the city officially takes the wraps off Bike Week, with a lot of events centering on the two wheeled conveyance. But car drivers fear that 'week' is how long it will feel to get through Jarvis on a daily basis during rush hour once the idea is put into place.
The construction will cost about $6 million.

Toronto Star
New bike lane symbol of city's commitment to the bicycle, Heaps says
By: Tess Kalinowski
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

It only represents 2 per cent of the city's bike-lane total,
But the two-kilometre stretch just opened along Wellesley, from Parliament St. to Queen's Park, is symbolic of Toronto's determination to transform a cycling patchwork into a network, Councillor Adrian Heaps, chair of the city's cycling committee, said today.
The Wellesley lane was on the books for years before it finally materialized late last year, he said at a news conference near Sherbourne St.
The city is still putting some of the finishing touches at intersections along Wellesley.
Traditionally, Toronto has installed bike lanes in the "path of least resistance," making them scarce in the most heavily trafficked areas, such as the narrow and busy Wellesley.
"Cycling is not the panacea. It is a viable transportation option," he added. That means it has to be part of an integrated transportation network.
The city's alliance with cyclists came to a head this week with a council decision to build bike lanes on Jarvis St. The plan, which involves removing a reversible north-south car lane, was approved despite fierce opposition from motorists who use Jarvis to commute from homes north of Bloor St.
The city also opened its first bike station at Union Station this week.
About 600 kilometres of bike lanes, shared roadways and off-road paths remain on the planning books, and Heaps acknowledges that Toronto lags behind other North American cities with comparable climates in providing cycling infrastructure.
"Traffic is the reason you put bike lanes downtown," said Heaps. "The (city's) population is expanding 35,000 to 40,000 people every year, and every year we're not building more roads."
But even the existing lanes are mostly unpassable in winter. Last winter, the city kept the Martin Goodman Trail clear along the lakeshore. This winter, Heaps said, the city will consult with cyclists on a second lane designated for snow clearing, probably a north-south path.
But he acknowledged there's a lack of hard data showing how much use people are making of the bike lanes. The city has committed to building $70 million worth of cycling infrastructure over the next five years.

The Best Way to Commute
Staff
Monday, May 25, 2009

Today is the first day of Toronto's annual Bike Month. As usual, there was a group commute from various corners of the city, converging on City Hall for a City-sponsored pancake breakfast.

So how was it? I have no idea, really. I did the complete opposite and rode out of the city this morning, as usual, since my job is in that scary hinterland that few downtown Toronto cyclists ever venture out to: Mississauga. Actually, it's not that scary. I enjoy my commute, and it's often the best part of my day.

Last year I did the group commute to Toronto City hall from High Park, ate breakfast, then turned around and rode back west to work. It was a great way to start the day off, but perhaps a bit too much cycling so early in the day and I got to work even later than usual.

This year, however, the City of Mississauga, via Smart Commute Mississauga and the Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee hosted their Bike to Work Day Pancake Breakfast on the same day as Toronto's, so I headed straight west this morning.

My lovely wife and I stopped in High Park just as the Toronto Pancake Ride was heading out. Most of the riders were already assembled, so I just had a quick chat with a few friends before everyone departed. It was certainly fun seeing all of these cyclists together at High Park, especially the three or more teams of tandem cyclists. But I was soon on my own, as the number of cyclists I see on the roads seems to diminish the farther I get from home.

The ride to work was pretty uneventful, but since I left earlier than normal and took a different route, I beat the worst traffic and felt like I was exploring new territory again (Bloor St., all the way to the end!). I even noticed more cyclists than usual today, and exchanged some friendly waves and nods.

I arrived at the Mississauga Central Library Square, across the street from City Hall, a couple of minutes before the Mississauga group commutes arrived. I grabbed a banana, and patiently waited for the pancake breakfast table to open up.

The cyclists started to arrive around 8:00am. I counted about 50 cyclists during the time that I was there, which to me is a pretty good turnout, considering that there are days when I don't see a single other cyclist during my commute. Good diversity of ages, and a mix of spandex road warriors and dressed-down casual riders. However, I noticed that the commuter cycling population here doesn't seem to represent the ethnic diversity of Mississauga, especially compared to my bus commutes.

It was a pretty casual and friendly atmosphere. Lots of smiles, laughter, and people out enjoying the sunny morning while eating their free breakfasts. Thinking back on it now, as I type this from my office, I feel like Mississauga's downtown often lacks this friendly laid-back vibe that cyclists and pedestrians bring to an area.

One of the main attractions this morning was the Mississauga Transit bus outfitted with a new bike rack on the front. These are the same style of rack that the GO buses use that I have raved about here in the past. Many people queued up to try their own bikes on the racks, while a Mississauga Transit employee explained how to use it and answered everyone's questions.

I tried my recumbent bike on the bus rack, but the wheel lock arm didn't close down far enough on the 20" front wheel. This is unfortunate, as the stated minimum wheel size is 16", and I have had no trouble with my 20" wheeled folding bike on the GO racks. I wonder if there's some kind of adjustment that can be done to make those wheel locks tighten down better.

I was a bit bummed that my 'bent didn't work on that bus bike rack, but it's still exciting to see that so many of the GTA's transit systems are already equipped or in the process of equipping their buses with bike racks (GO Transit, TTC, Brampton Transit, York Region Transit, Oakville Transit, Burlington Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, etc.) This will certainly make car-free travel even more accessible.

After chatting with a few more people, I hopped back on my bike and rode the short distance to work. And now I sit here, wishing I was still out in the sun riding my bike. It was a nice start to Bike Month, and I'm excited to take in as many other events as I can. I can hear my bike calling me, telling me to skip out of work early and take the long way home.

Strength on the bike isn't just about the legs

2009-05-29T20:14:00.005-04:00

After cycling indoors for about 4 weeks as a result of my bike crash I am being reminded the importance of upper body and core strength in both my running and cycling.

Because I broke the radial neck in my right arm I was unable to lift weight, do resistance training, swim and sit comfortably in my aerobars for many weeks - not to mention brushing my teeth but that is a story for another day. Now that I am gratefully back out on the road I am realizing that re-building strength on the bike for me is going to mean re-starting my core and upper body conditioning.

The most obvious way to build strength on the bike is more time in the saddle. Riding for an hour outside has become increasing easier over the last few weeks with each ride. I have been trying to get my weekend rides in excess of 2 hours, however I am noticing that this is proving to be a challenge. While I was indoors on the trainer riding for more than 3 hours was not a problem- other than the general boredom of staring at the same space. Now that I am back on the road, my body is no longer conditioned to handle the same distance outdoors. This isn't because my legs are fatigued, rather that my arms, neck and core are not as strong and/or stable. When riding indoors, and most of you know this from your winter months on the trainer, you don't have to deal with the wind, traffic, stops and starts, bumps in the road and the added weight of a helmet.

My recommendation

By investing even 10 minutes a day to upper body and core strength exercises you will begin to feel the benefits as you will find that you are:

able to endure longer rides with greater comfort
less fatigued during your rides
able to climb hills with greater ease
better able to handle your bike in windy or rough conditions
able to reduce the risk of injury

There is a myriad of information, tips and exercises that can be found on the Internet, in most cycling, triathlon and running magazines the like. Pick one up, choose a few exercises and make a plan to stick to them. Start with 1-2 sets - 20 reps of each and increase the repetitions as your body adapts or make the exercise more challenging by incorporating weights and/or a stability ball. The key is to stick to it and continuously challenge the body. I assure you within 1 week you will feel the difference, I did.

Happy healthy training,

Lucy

A "Good" bike fit is a "Great" Investment

2009-05-27T17:50:00.005-04:00

Have you finally found a bike that you have totally fallen in love with, however you just can't seem to get comfortable on and the more you ride it the more the "new bike bounce" wears off? Or perhaps you realize that of your "old" favorite. One thing I always encourage people to do is to consider a bike "fit" or "re-fit" to ensure comfort on the bike and that you have the opportunity to enjoy a growing recreational past-time with family, friends or on your own. A bike "fit" or "re-fit" is a "valuable" investment when you just can't comfortable and are considering hanging up your wheels for good. A bike fit would also be recommended when you are:

investing in a brand new bike
moving from a recreational rider to a more competitive rider
looking for a more aggressive or aero dynamic position
dusting off an old bike for the new season
investing in new bike parts to enhance your riding performance or comfort on the bike e.g. aero bars, saddle etc
just getting older and not as flexible as you used to be

dealing with a chronic/recurring injury that is not relieved with regular massage, physiotherapy or other therapy the like

As a matter of fact as recently as this morning, I went to visit my trusty friend JP for a bike "re-fit". Despite the number of years I have been riding and racing, I find myself needing a bike "re-fit" for some of the reasons I have listed above. Most recently, I have been working with my physiotherapist, massage therapist and chiropractor to manage some chronic pain in my leg, however was falling short in diagnosing the cause. After a great deal of treatment to calm the pain, and a commitment to myself to "take stock" I was able to determine the following:

during my winter training I never experienced the same pain
I could ride high cadence /low wattage forever with no pain
I suffered from pain in my adductor at the same time in my training cycle every season i.e. about 4-6 weeks into my build phase. Essentially when I started to include or increase my training for power on the bike
I did not have any adductor pain during my run interval training during training in the winter months
the wear on my shorts was only on one side which gave me the insight that I must be leaning/or favouring one leg

Key things that assisted me in diagnosing the problem and would encourage you to "take stock" of if you are considering a bike "fit" or "re-fit" prior to making an appointment include:

listen more closely to your body
try sitting in different positions on your saddle i.e. move forward or backward-how does each position feel
write down what you are experiencing, etc. each time you ride e.g. how hard were you working during your ride, was it windy, were you riding flats or hills, what was the most comfortable/uncomfortable. These are all valuable pieces of information and will help ensure a "good" fit.
determine what is most important to you i.e. comfort, speed, aero dynamics etc.
have you ever been assessed by a chiropractor or the like that has determined that you have leg length discrepancy or other imbalances?
how flexible are you in general?

I assure you time spent in "taking stock" and in a "good" bike fit will mean more happy days on your bike on the road, on the trails, in the bush or at the races - and less time on the doctors table.

Thanks for the fix J.P !

Happy healthy training

Lucy

Bike the Bruce O-Cup #5

2009-05-26T21:14:00.003-04:00

Greg gets the gold for the team!

The weekend of May 24th had The Healing Cycle sending 4 riders to the first ever Owen Sound O-Cup. To date, this was the longest race of the year at 124km on a relatively flat but undulating course, with good weather, and as expected, stiff winds. With Pav being the current Ontario Cup point’s leader, the team needed to balance going for the win and helping Pav obtain more points to remain in the lead. Throughout the race, Pav kept a watchful eye on his closest rival in the point’s race in case he tried to break clear to gain more points. A group of 3 riders eventually did go clear at 45km and stayed out there for over 40km until work from Francois and 2 riders from rival teams helped neutralize it. In the last 15km there were many small group attacks with Bruce and Greg covering most of these to ensure we had a strong finish. With 5 km to go on a technical twisty stretch of the course, Bruce launched an attack and broke clear alone for 3km taking the pressure of the team to chase late race breakaways. With Bruce back in the pack, the sprint finish came down to a 2 up drag race for the last 250m between Greg and a rider from the Ziggy’s team, and it was a well timed bike throw by Greg that won the race by the slimmest of margins, 200ths/sec! Pav finished a credible 9th place adding valuable points to further increase his O-Cup lead!

Master 1 Men
Name Team Total

1 STANOJEVIC, Pavle HEALING CYCLE BIKE CLUB 43
2 DAVIS, Kevin WHEELS OF BLOOR 33
3 SCHMIDT, Matthias ZM CYCLE & FITNESS CYCLING 33
4 EUGENI, Paolo Z- TEAM 25
5 CAVANAGH, Greg HEALING CYCLE BIKE CLUB 25
6 DAGENAIS, Richard INDEPENDENT 25
7 HAWKES, Craig THE CYCLERY 20
8 VINCZE, Jason SOUND SOLUTIONS 20
9 ABRAMAVICIUS, Tony WHEELS OF BLOOR 19
10 MCKEE, Mike RACER SPORTIF/MATTAMY 18
11 MCARTHUR, Stirling HEALING CYCLE BIKE CLUB 17
12 SQUIRES, Charlie TEAM LONDON 16
13 BOUDREAU, Marc RIDE WITH RENDALL 16
14 LEES, Andrew TEAM ULTRALINK 16
15 POLSINELLI, Mark Z- TEAM 13

3 Healing Cycle guys in the top 15 best placed masters racers in Ontario. We are proud of the team work and achievements from the entire team. Their determination and commitment to each other has exemplified how racing as a team can lead to great results.

Niagara Classic O-Cup #4

2009-05-19T18:56:00.006-04:00

Pav gets another podium finish for the team with 3rd place!

The annual Niagara Classic held by the St. Catharines Cycling Club took place on Sunday May 17th. With almost a full roster of riders; Steve, Pav, Stirling, Bruce, Jean-Paul and Francois were eager to keep our trend of podium finishes in tact. The plan was to be attentive for the first 60km of the race and conserve as much as possible for when the real racing started. Only 3 laps into the 8 lap race, a significant split in the field occurred along on the back of the course with the strong cross wind. Luckily, Steve, Pav and Stirling were safely up front, and not to let an opportunity go, Steve and Pav aggressively drove the front of the race to the climb and started the main move of the day with 10 riders that also included Stirling. The group started cooperating immediately and we quickly opened up a minute and a half lead and as the race progressed the gap grew to over 4 minutes by the end. Not content to wait for the sprint finish against Kevin Davis, the 3 of us started attacking on the last lap and unfortunately nothing stuck. In the finish, Pav had the strongest legs of the 3 of us and finished 3rd with Steve taking 6th place and Stirling 9th.

As a side note, due to consistent performances to date, Pav holds 1st place in the Ontario Cup Standings and Stirling is in 8th overall.

Ontario Cup #3-1st Place!

2009-05-14T08:56:00.003-04:00

Springbank Park, London Ontario –

On May 3rd, Greg, Stirling, and Bruce lined up for a race along the Thames River in London Ontario for the annual Springbank Classic.

With a small team, it was decided that Bruce and Stirling would be the active ones throughout the race in order to protect Greg for the usual sprint finish on this highly technical course. The two “Domestiques” were active throughout the race, either initiating attacks or following them, and when required driving the front of pack to close the gap on any that got away.

In the end, Greg came to the line with fresh legs and was able to power away from the rest of the field to take the top podium spot.

Another successful weekend of great teamwork and a podium finish!

International Cycle-1958

2009-05-13T02:59:00.004-04:00

WWII handed Europe and it's citizens incredible disaster and destruction. In rebuilding Europeans and other war torn countries looked for prosperity and hope in new lands. The decade following the War saw many Italians immigrate to places through out the world. It was during this time that the Miele family had decided to search for new hope in another country; the hopes and dreams for a better life lay in Canada. The reasons for Canada were simple, my grandmother, was born in Canada in 1919 and immigrated back to Italy by 1925. The paperwork was clean and the econmy offered the family an opportunity.
Canada during this time welcomed immgriants to help build the Canadian economy and many resourceful people from Europe decided to make Canada their home. Canada encouraged entrepreneurship and the Miele family had the means to offer a new type of business and culture to Canadians. In 1958, after a few years of living and working in Southern Ontario, the Miele's decided to open a bicycle store at Keele and Wilson in North York, Toronto. The new store was called International Cycle and Sports.
The bicycle business at the time was made of practical offerings, heavy three speed english-styled or coaster-braked CCM cruisers. There very little understanding of the sophistication of the mulitspeed external geared drivetrains or frames designs to rocket downhill at high speed. There were no Campagnolo parts or Bianchi or Legnano brands. No one knew the Fausto Coppi or the Tour de France. The world of bicycles were made for light family leisure; a toy for families to spend their leisure time. Kids of the time enjoyed their first bicycle from Canadian Tire, an institution in bicycle retail.
Umberto Miele was an independant, proud man who was driven for business opportunities and my Nonna always supported him and the family in his business life.
There are no pictures of this first store but I was told a story by Klaus a German man two years ago, of my grandfather building wheels in a cluttered back room workshop, seated on a small wooden stool, crouched over spinning wheels with a cigarette in his mouth. He was described as a friendly but an intense man. Klaus at the time was a bicycle racer in his early teens and would do anything to earn his first racing bike, that he purchased from International Cycle.
International Cycle supported this new type of cycling that Europeans were excited to participate in. It was this spirit from new Canadians that began to build the cycling scene. To build a "culture" you need to particpation of people and the emotions to incorporate into daily life. It's a lifestyle chosen by people who find something special in their participation. Klaus described his passion for the sport, the respect he had for Nonno Miele, as well as the struggles he made to race for the store. FYI, Klaus in his eighties and still racing bikes and competes local as well as at International Masters events. His love for the sport will never wain and as he told me he will die on a racing bicycle.
International Cycle was born by Umberto Miele with the intention of getting back to his passion, but this land were not all Italians who supported cycling as integrated part of daily life and sport. This was a hard new land that challenged him in new ways, he and the family's determination were stressed and the finnacial investments needed time to nurture and grow.

Giant Bikes Group Ride

2009-05-04T10:47:00.004-04:00

On Saturday May the 2nd we were lucky to have picture perfect spring weather for our first ever group/demo ride with Giant Bikes. We had a great turn out of seasoned cyclist's and beginners eager to head out for a casual 30k ride in the country. The support from Giant was amazing, they had a full fleet of bikes for us to try out including the responsive TCR Advanced, the comfortably stable Defy, and the women's specific Avail. It was amazing to see that many Dura-Ace equipped bikes hanging around the parking lot just begging to be ridden. Our route took us across Lower Base Line over to Fourth then back across Britainia, It was a great route with one small climb and a great tailwind coming back across Britainia that really gave people a chance to see what the bikes were capable of. My ride of the day was the TCR Advanced SL I was blown away by the stiffness and responsiveness of the bike, I hung back a few times so that I could launch into a couple sprints and damn did that bike want to go. Overall everyone had a great time and I would once again like to thank Giant bikes for providing us with this opportunity. I'm looking forward to our next ride.

-Jay

Click here for the route
Check out our Flickr account for all the Pictures

Gaining confidence on the bike

2009-05-03T13:33:00.003-04:00

I happened to be at Via Ciclante yesterday and happened to over hear a customer requesting someone to remove pedals that her cycling shoe clip into her and replace them with standard pedals that would enable her to ride her road bike with her running shoes. I could see the sense of urgency in her face to solve the problem and provide her some comfort and confidence when she would ride again (no mal intended).

She reminded me of the early days (only 7 years ago) when I first started cycling. I went from a heavy duty mountain bike to my Cannondale Multisport 700 bike with Speedplay pedals that JP got me all syked up about riding and eventually racing with.

Tony and I got all geared up to go out for our first ride. Little did I know that it's like learning to ride a bike all over again. I should have got some basic instruction on getting in and out of the pedals. Needless to say my first ride around the block was not too successful i.e. when I came to a stop my brain was pre-programmed simply to lift my foot off the pedal and place it on the ground. Well I am sure you can imagine what happended next. Yes I tipped over. Tony wasn't too impressed and couldn't understand how I could have possibly fallen. All good:). I got back up again - wiped off my embarrassment and some gravel from the road - got on the bike to finish the ride. At the next intersection I was mentally and physically prepared to slow down and clip out my pedals to come to a stop. The funny thing was I didn't realize just how skinny those skinny tires are. I rode right into a divit in the road, got stuck and blew my first tire *&^&%$. Needless to say a ten minute ride took about 40 minutes. Bottom line is a lived, learned and can now laugh about it and share with others. The only thing wrong with making a mistake is not learning from it.

A few suggestions if you are interested:

1) if you are not comfortable getting in and out of your pedals, put your bike on a trainer and practice clipping and unclipping and dismounting.
2) if you don't have the benefit of a trainer, or as a next step take your bike out in your car to a parking lot or a straight away where there isn't much traffic. Practice at your own pace to clip and unclip your pedals and dismount. Sometimes, especially if you live and ride in the city, traffic, pedestrians, stop lights, stop signs etc. can make your first few rides overwhelming until you get comfortable in the pedals
3) Leave your girlfriend, boyfriend, sister, father (the know it all's) at home - lol. It falls under the same rule as - "never let a family member to teach you to drive a car". You may just end up throughing the bike down and walking home.
Other:
If you are riding aero bars for the first time, try riding aero with one arm at a time until you get comfortable. Follow lessons 1-3 above.

Happy, healthy training,

Lucy

Crash, break, rip and stitch - Get back up again:)

2009-05-02T07:21:00.004-04:00

Well, after 7 years plus of riding I have to say that I have been quite fortunate not to have experienced any serious mishaps on my bike or falls from running for that matter. On Saturday April 18th @11.30 a.m. that streak came to an unfortunate end. I was riding down the escarpment-the best part of the whole day as it is fast and fun. Cars often track my speed and tell me at the bottom of the mountain how fast I was going. Quite the rush!

Well, after almost 3 hours in the bl@#&*$ing wind - 3 km from home and 80km of riding I was certainly feeling the fatigue of the day. The biggest question on my mind was should I go down Dewitt or down New Moutain Rd. Well looks like I picked the wrong route. I got to the bottom of the sweet ride down and decided I was too impatient to wait for the light to turn so I opted for a short cut across the Shell station parking lot. Remember "Short cuts COST". Normally, I should be able to negotiate a simple "climb" -lol over the curb. Not this time. I went to the crime seen last night to try to understand exactly what could/did happen. I had to laugh at myself as any moron should have been able to negotiate the driveway. Looks like I need to spend sometime working on my bike handling skills. Perhaps the ice rink parking lot would be a good place to start, kind of like when I started to learn how to drive a car. My father figured I couldn't hurt too many people that way.

It all happened so fast, one minute I made the decision to take the short cut, the next few minutes I woke up, on the ground surrounded by strangers. My first thought was will I be able to get up and make it the rest of the way home. It was my mother's birthday and I hadn't wished her a happy birthday. Then the reality set in. A gentleman was compressing my head with towels as I was bleeding, my right arm was sore and someone was calling out "why isn't the ambulance here"? My next instinct was to turn off my Garmin so that I made sure I could get somewhat accurate stats from my ride. The next was to pull my cell phone out of my pocket to phone home and see if Tony had left for his 4 hour ride. Well he had, so I left him a message "i am ok, crashed by bike and off to the hospital in an ambulance).

Long story short, short of a messed up face with a bunch of stitches, a broken radial neck in my right arm (they don't cast these things you know-which is great) and a broken helmet (one bump rule!) oh and I mild concusion, I am happy to be alive. It was Wednesday before I could see the surgeon. I had 5 minutes to ask all my questions. Most importantly "can I run? can I ride? Is pain my guide?" He looked at me like I had three heads. The answer was "yes, pain is your guide. No, you can't ride your bike - oh inside you say. Yes, was the final answer!" I left the surgeons office with a new found happiness. Yes, of course I was saddled up the next day on my bike and put in a 30km ride. I elevated the bike on the riser so not to put too much pressure on my forearm. The following day I booked a 10km run. The biggest challenge is not being able to use my right arm very well. Yes, going to the washroom and cutting up my food are the biggest challenges. I am MILKING it for whatever it it worth. My daughter makes a great helper!

Oh - JP, my bike is fine - just needs some new bar end tape.

Got to go. Have a 20 km run to put in today. See you on the road and at the races....

Happy, Healthy training

Lucy

Ciclante Routes

2009-05-01T18:19:00.002-04:00

Working at a bike shop I can honestly say that I am very privileged when it comes to my schedule. Not everyone can head out for a 2 or 3 hour ride before work, or even disappear for 6 hours on a Thursday afternoon. Over the course of the spring and summer I will be bringing my GPS with me to map out some of the more memorable rides, the rides will vary from short rides with heinous hill repeats with JP to longer 200k suffer-fests of rolling hills or the simple 2 hour rip before work. Hopefully you can take something from the routes posted and maybe you even have a favorite route that you would like to share. We will be posting our favorite rides up on Bikely.com and you can get access to them by clicking the link in the right side column of our blog. If you want to share a route, upload it to Bikley.com and email us the link at bikes@viaciclante.com.

-Jay

Giro D' Italia

2009-05-01T08:01:00.005-04:00

The tifosi (fans of racing) of the cycling world will be treated to the 100th edition of the Giro D'Italia. This race is an epic spectacle of human determination and emotion, not to mention the raw human power. Speeds are crazy fast, stages are long and arduous and the climbs are steepest climbs in Europe.
At Via Ciclante we will have the Giro on screen everyday brought to us by cycling.tv. We invite you to the store to see the stages and comment this great race.
To get you up to speed check out todays edition of the www.cyclingnews.com a quick link is on our most admired cycling sites. A reporter has put together day to daylisting of the stages. The maps on the routes show the intensity of each day.

Pedal Rotation

2009-04-26T21:22:00.002-04:00

Today was a tough day in the saddle. I left home early this morning with a plan to avoid the rain, a forecast projected by The Weather Channel. 30 minutes in I realized that I was riding in a storm with strong winds and cold drizzle. I had a plan of 5 hours of pedaling so get comfortable with the conditions. It was a classic spring morning and these are the rides that make riders hard. 3 hours into the ride I joined a group of experienced riders, many who I race against. Each of us worked equally sheltering each other from the wind for enough time to recover to be exposed to the wind again. I noticed that every rider have their strengthes and styles of pedaling.

The pedal rotation is a push-pull effect that enages many muscles through the hips and lower legs. While one side is pushing the other is complimenting that downward motion with an upward pull. I was aware of the foot action through the hard effort that riders in front were doing. I thought to myself what is the difference between riding with your heel high versus lowering your heel in the pedal rotation. The efforts were hard and consistent here was a great time to test this pedal rotation theory. For years I have heard that pedaling with your heel down will increase power. I used my power tap to measure the effort and the effects to watts, heart rate and cadence.

Each time I took a turn at the front in the wind I lifted my heel in the upstroke and then followed through in the down stroke, bringing my heel down to a point where it was level to the ground. Cadence was pegged at 95 rpm. I noticed that when I followed through the pedal rotation my power was up by 10 to 15 watts. My intention was not to increase the speed dramatically because in a group their is an etiquette of pace, we were not racing to jam one another; we all want to get home. I noticed that the strongest and smoothest riders were the ones who followed through in the pedaling action. My biggest surprize was through the rest portion of the echeleon I recovered quickly. I know you are thinking that this is the effect of fitness but I was fatigued from 3 hours of solo effort.

My point to this entry is to experiment with your pedaling style to be aware of foot motion through the pedal rotation. Follwing through the last portion of the push motion will build strength and consequently produced greater speed. On your next ride into the wind and we all know that coming soon pay attention to your pedal technique and keep your cadence consistent. . Cylcing is game that involves the skills of technique, be aware of what you are doing, good luck and ride strong.

2009-04-26T20:35:00.008-04:00

Benefits of Eating Fish and Shellfish

There are many benefits to eating fish on a regular basis whether it is wild or farmed. Studies have shown that people who eat fish at least once per week significantly lower their risk of heart disease and stroke. Studies have also shown that fish is beneficial for the developing fetal and infant brain.

Health benefits related to cardiovascular disease have been associated to the consumption of fish and to some extent attributed to omega-3 fatty acids. All fish, but particularly "fatty or oily fish" such as salmon, mackerel, herring, trout (rainbow) and sardines contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids do not account alone for all the reported benefits. Methods of preparation may negate any benefits such as when fish is fried and also sandwich fish does not contribute to cardiovascular benefits. Other choices to include in a healthy diet are: anchovy, basa, caelin, char, cod, haddock, hake, mullet, pollack, smelt, sole and tuna (light, canned).

Fish is an excellent source of protein, calcium and minerals such as phosphorus, iron, selenium, potassium and vitamins including thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, which are all inportant for achieving and maintaining good health.

Shellfish can also contribute to a healthy, balanced diet. Shellfish including, mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp, oysters, lobster, and abalone are low in calories and saturated fats, and are excellent sources of protein and contain omega-3 fatty acids. Also, shellfish, like fish contribute to health by providing essential minerals and vitamins such as iron, zinc, copper and vitamin B12.

Consumers' Concerns

Today there are concerns about the levels of mercury found in , both wild and farmed fish and seafood, Health Canada studies have shown there are trace amounts of mercury found in all types of fish and seafood. Mercury being a natural element found in soil, rocks, streams and oceans and also with human activities, such as pulp and paper processing, mining operations, and burning fossils fuels all attribute to higher levels of mercury being found in the environment. Mercury tends to accumulate in the food chain, so large, predatory fish species are at risk of higher levels; these include fresh/frozen tuna, swordfish, shark, escolar, marlin, orange roughy, fresh or frozen tuna.

In recent years there has been concerns over the amounts of PCBs found in farmed salmon and as no contaminant is desirable in our food supply, Health Canada researches and determines levels at which a contaminant does not pose a risk to human health. Canada Health and the Canadian Food Inspection agency (CFIA) work together to provide one of the safest food supply systems in the world for those who live in Canada. This includes fish and seafood both wild and farmed that are available for retail sale.

Raw Fish and Sushi

Raw (sashumi) and undercooked fish and shellfish can carry harmful bacteria, viruses or parasites. Seniors, pregnant women, young children and people with weakened immune systems should avoid eating raw or undercooked fish or shellfish, including sushi. Sushi made with well-washed vegetables and/or cooked lower mercury fish is fine for everyone.

Bottom Line

Choosing a variety of fish, salmon and shellfish in a well-balanced diet benefits heart health. The benefits may outweigh the risk of getting cancer when eating farmed salmon. Also try the following tips:

Trim the skin and visible fat from your fish, since PCBs are stored in the fat portion.
Prepare your salmon in a way that reduces a significant portion of fat, such as grilling and broiling.
Try canned salmon, since almost all of them are wild salmon.

Guidelines for Fish and Seafood Consumption

Canada's Food Guide recommends two servings of fish per week. It is important to remember that women of child-bearing age, pregnant, or breastfeeding and children under 12 choose fish from this list. For safe amounts check the Health Canada website: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca

Maple Teriyaki Salmon

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets

Marinade:

1/3 cup apple juice
1/3 cup pure Canadian Maple syrup
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 -2 minced garlic cloves

Directions:

Mix marinade ingredients into a bowl; remove 1/2 cup for basting (cover and refrigerate).
Pour remaining ingredients into a large plastic bag. Add salmon, seal bag and turn to coat both sides. Refrigerate for 1 - 3 hours.
Drain and discard marinade.
Broil salmon 4 inches from heat for 5 minutes.
Baste with reserved marinade and broil 10 minutes longers or until fish flakes easily with a fork, basting frequently.

Serves: 4

Interval Speed

2009-04-22T21:02:00.003-04:00

After the last race I realize that I need to continue to work on speed. The key is to push my limits and reach into my fitness. The only way to build on strength is to break through your barriers. This is a workout that I am working on.

Warm Up: 15 minutes warm-up, then (1) 5 minute interval at 110% of LT 350w then 5 minutes easy.

Main Set: Then Do 6 x 3minutes, trying to average the highest watts you can in the 3 minutes. REST for 3 minutes between each.
Then cruise easy for 10 minutes, and then do 4 x 2 minutes with 4 minutes rest between each. These are hard 2 minute efforts.
I want to make sure you are getting in the Vo2 work!

Cool-down: 10 minutes

Healing Cycle Race Team: Bloomfield Road Race

2009-04-20T20:27:00.004-04:00

Four members from our team entered a Road Race in Rochester, New York yesterday and it offered I all pain and suffering that I could handle for one day. Due to age sanctions three members were forced to race in the Senior 1/2/3 race. The race was 110km on a challenging course, to my surprise it didn't have one flat section on the entire 18km circuit. The elevation changes made for a strikely hard event. I can tell you that racing at 40+ km/h uphill is not something that I do everyday, let me re-phrase that that I ever do. At one point on lap 2 sitting in the middle of the group beggin' for more air I looked down at my power meter and saw 600 watt continuously posted on my computer. Hitting that number is not the challenging as doing it on ever hill, repeated every 2 to 3 minutes. The fitness of the riders around me was amazing, I could tell from the back of their legs. Ever pedal stroke was a flexing of ripped, tanned skin. How many hours do these guys ride? These thoughts don't stay around for long when pain from my legs scream louder than any passive thought.
The course unraveled any insecurity and expose the naked truth. I tried, I suffered and died all at the same time. I impaled myself on my own sword. But like any stubborn warrior I will not give up and rode on own for another 2 laps to complete exhaustion. My day was done but the adventure was worth the journey.

My congradulations to Stirling our fearless director, he finished 8th overall in the Senior 1/2/3 race. And a huge applause to Greg for fininshing 1st overall in the 40+ race. The Healing Cycle team once again proved that we are ready to battle. These guys are hardened warriors and unleash their strength at every event. Thankfully they're on our team.

Presenting: The Healing Cycle Racing Team

2009-04-16T07:41:00.003-04:00

Via Ciclante is proud to be part of the new Healing Cycle Racing team. We will be following the conquesting of this racing team all year long.

With the season kick-off with the Good Friday Road Race, The Healing Cycle Foundation is pleased to announce the formation of a competitive cycling team that has the goal of increasing the awareness of the foundation and the sponsors that support the team.

The Healing Cycle Bike Team will field a team of Master 1 road racers for 2009. They will focus on major regional events throughout Ontario, the North American Master s Championships, the Ontario Championships, the occasional US race and the Ontario Cyclocross series.

The 7 rider squad consists of past Provincial Championship riders who always have their sites on the podium. The team is happy to have the sponsorship support of Erin Mills Acura, Blackwood Miller Ltd., Giant Bicycles, Via Ciclante, DeFeet, Giordana, Schwalbe Tires and Shimano Canada.

The Team
Greg Cavanaugh (Oakville)
Stephen Eastwood (Oakville)
Francois Faust (Georgetown)
Bruce Krip (Etobicoke)
Stirling McArthur (Mississauga)
Pavel Stanojevic (Etobicoke)
Jean-Paul Tesolin (Brampton)

The Healing Cycle Foundation is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization that honours life by raising and stewarding funds to palliative care services that inspire compassion and dignity.

The Foundation is concerned about the quality of life of terminally-ill patients and believes that families of patients should be supported throughout the palliative care process.

The Foundation has raised $480,000 towards a $1 million commitment to the palliative care unit at Credit Valley Hospital. 100% of donations go directly to its palliative care unit.

The Healing Cycle Foundation’s 5th annual charity ride of various distances will be held on September 13, 2009, Please visit www.thehealingcycle.ca for more details.

2009-04-13T07:52:00.007-04:00

Why I Ride: The Wind - Is It Beast or Friend?

I've been riding outdoors since the beginning of March and the wind has been a beast which is typical for this time of year (in like a lion and out like a lamb). Riding alone on many days I don't have my cycling friends to draft behind so the wind is always pushing hard against me at some point whether starting out or coming back home and there is also the crosswinds to contend with too. Being only 115 pounds and riding my carbon Trek Madone I feel at times I'll be blown into a ditch never to be seen again.

The wind is a training tool - a cataylst to propel an average rider into a better-than-average-rider. Riding into the wind you mimic the motion of being in front or climbing a hill. As one of my good cycling friends reminds me to ride in front of the group as much as possible. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It can also replicate the motion of being on a TT bike pushing hard on the gears. Riding into the wind stresses your legs and your spirit to endure and to appreciate days that are calm - or riding with a group. So appreciate the wind especially when it's in your back. Sail on.

Good Friday Road Race

2009-04-11T20:35:00.005-04:00

The Healing Cycle Racing Team sponsored by Via Ciclante is officially on it's way. The first O-Cup was held on Good Friday and the team represented ourselves and the jersey very well. A decisive move initiated by Stirling Mcarthur on The Healing Cycle team went off the front of the peleton within the first few kilometers. His strength and determinition kept him out there all day. He was later joined by Pav Stanoevic who bridged to the breakaway and placed two team member in the seven man breakaway. The main field was contained by the leadership and organization of Greg Cavannah and Steve Eastwood. These guys really worked hard and I can tell you that the race was fast all day. The rolling hills of this course definitely bit into my legs and I did all I could to hang with the guys. Congratulations to Pav and the team for finishing second and great team work by everyone.

I will keep you informed our our racing events and how our strategies work on the race course. I am having a great time and having a great bunch of guys to hammer with makes racing a fun and pain-filled exercise. Bye for now.

Paris Roubaix

2009-04-07T22:30:00.013-04:00

This week begins the Belgian classics with a spectacular race from Paris to Roubaix, other wise understood as the Hell of the North. I am sharing this with you because I was on the Bike Radar site and read a post from Joseph Parkin, an American pro cyclist you challenged himself to this race and posted an interesting article about the race. The cathedral of pain and agony and race that is hated and loved simultaneously by the riders and watched with astonishment for the fans.
Joseph Parkin has written a great book on cycling titled A Dog in a Hat, chronicles of his experience in the pro European peleton for 8 seasons, recalling the moments that define a riders career and shape of a man that endures through the toughest of all sport.

I have attached an interview with Parkin to give a description of the importance of this event to cycling psyche and understanding of racing and suffering.

BikeRadar asked Parkin, who's finishing his second book, to write about his experience racing Paris-Roubaix in 1988.

For me, this is the greatest week in pro cycling. It kicks off with the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the classic most pros consider the hardest of all one-day races. We’re then treated to the mid-week, side-wind fest, Gent-Wevelgem. It’s fitting that this great week culminates with the Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix.

Paris-Roubaix is the first bike race I ever saw on TV and is partly the reason I became a cyclist in the first place. The sheer brutality of what I saw captured my imagination completely, and I knew I needed to see the race in person. But as a 21- year-old in 1988, I went one better and experienced Paris-Roubaix as a competitor.

Being on a small team, I knew I was in the selection for Paris-Roubaix almost from the moment I signed my contract, and it was the race I was most looking forward to riding. Unfortunately, being on a small team also meant I would be riding every race in Belgium and Holland happening before Paris-Roubaix. I think that if my level of fitness had been better, I would have benefitted more from these other events, but the truth was that I was not exactly finding flying form, and was dropping out of many of these smaller races.

Had I not been looking for results in these, I would have been training through them, but I was hoping to get some early results and land a contract for the next year early, which meant I was resting too much between races, so my fitness was fading. I tried to “cram” a little for the cobblestone test by doing some motorpacing behind my derny, but knew I would be having it tough come race day.

Most teams that will be competing on Sunday have spent time checking out the sectors of cobblestones that give Paris-Roubaix its character. While many of the teams from my era did the same thing, my team, Eurotop, and other small teams opted out of any course reconnaissance. It’s my feeling that checking out the sectors beforehand is really more about putting a rider back into the cobblestone mode than course memorization – I rode Paris-Roubaix just once, but can still recognize every sector of stones that was in the race back then.

We were riding bonded aluminum Vitus bicycles, which offered a good, soft ride over the Belgian cobbles, and the same type of frame Sean Kelly had won the race on, so I felt pretty confident about my ride. A 48-tooth chainring replaced the 42-tooth inner ring. In the back was a 12 -18 straight block 7-speed freewheel. This combination of gears provided not only the best possible gear selection, but also an added level of safety during shifts from the big ring, to the small one, since the jump was so small. We were using Mavic components and the Modolo-style brake calipers offered adequate clearance for the massive, 4-year-old Paris-Roubaix tubulars I’d bought from a retired racer.

Patrick Versluys, the runner-up in the 1987 edition of Paris-Roubaix, suggested I run 5.5 BAR, which is just under 80 psi, but I opted for a little bit more flat resistance and went with 6 BAR – roughly 85 psi. I rode the amateur version of this race the year before and knew, at least, what the cobblestones were going to dish out pain-wise, but still used just one wrap of handlebar tape.

Being a competitor in any of the classics is exciting and inspiring but this one topped all the rest for me. The start square in Compiegne was packed full of spectators, journalists and autograph collectors, all wanting to be part of the action. After signing my typical “Sid Vicious” on the sign-in sheet, I spent the next 45 minutes nervously sitting on the hood of our team car, signing autographs or looking for another place to pee. As this was the time before the US had live race coverage via both television and the internet, I was also pretty excited by the CBS television cameras and crew, and lined up on the front of the starting line to make sure I might at least make the rollout coverage.

Most classics during my era started nervously and quickly work up to full race speed, as lesser riders try to make it into early breakaways. Knowing my form was not exactly up to the level I would need to be great at the end of a long day, I stayed close to the front and went with every move I could. I was off with a little group that got absorbed just as another group including Dirk Demol and Thomas Wegmuller took off. I wanted to go with them but was in a bad position, so I sat tight, hoping this group would be reeled in quickly, like mine had been. This group somehow was the early breakaway that was meant to be, and the gap grew quickly to more than 10 minutes.

The sprint to the first section of cobblestones was insane. It started about 10km out and seemed to increase in intensity until it reached full bar-banging and head-butting mode. I found myself on the wheel of future Paris-Roubaix winner Eddy Planckaert. I told myself to stay on his wheel because I knew the guy was capable of keeping both of us at the front. As we turned onto the first section of pave, I learned that sprinters like Eddy are capable of shape shifting – he fit himself though a hole that and emerged at the front of field. It was a hole that closed just as his rear wheel entered it.

As the early part of the race went on, our chasing peloton split into two groups. I was not happy to be in the second one and thought I would never see the race again. Entering the Arenberg Forest the groups fragmented again. I was near the front of the second group and managed to make my way through across this brutal section of cobbles with just one brush off the side of a team car, and one incident with a television camera. It was exiting the Arenberg Forest where I made my worst mistake.

A small group accelerated away as we hit the pavement again. I opted to sit up for a couple of seconds and enjoy what seemed to be the smoothest section of road I’d ever felt, thinking riders behind me would get us all back to the main peloton. I was wrong and not quite strong enough to get back to the group on my own, so I was relegated to riding in the group that would forfeit the race en masse at the second feed zone. This was Paris-Roubaix though, so when a neo-pro in his late twenties asked if I wanted to ride with him just so that we could finish, I grabbed a musette from one of our soigneurs, pocketed the goodies inside, and pedaled the rest of the way to Roubaix.

My partner and I made it to the finish nearly a half hour after Dirk Demol and Thomas Wegmuller made it to the finish, successfully keeping the chase group behind them. They’d been out in front from the opening kilometers and it was sort of cool to see an early breakaway succeed. Of course, Demol won the sprint, immortalizing him in cycling history.

Paris-Roubaix is such a strange, amazing and brutal bike race. You simultaneously love it and hate it. The morning after riding it, you promise to never ride it again, as pain cripples your hands. By the next morning, you’re thinking about next year’s race. To do well in Paris-Roubaix a rider has to love the thing. Only the hardest riders in the world, who possess the strength and determination to throw themselves in the ring with the terrible and wonderful French pave, can finish Paris-Roubaix in the front. Its winner often seems to be the one rider at the start line who wanted it most.

If I were back in Belgium right now, I’d go into a café and put some money on my podium selection. Fresh off his dominant victory in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, I’d say Stijn DeVolder could pull off a cobbled classics week double. Fabian Cancellara surely cannot be ruled out and will be looking to redeem himself from the bad luck in Flanders. I don’t know if he’s going to find the top spot on the box or not, but I would love to see George Hincapie in the mix somewhere in the race he loves so much.

Whatever happens, I’ll be tuned in this coming Sunday.

Follow the live coverage at Cyclingnews.com or on cycling.tv

I have recently purchased and have for anyone who is interested to cruise through Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell. This book is a detailed and poetic capturing of the race with all it's guts and glory. The publishers of Parkin's book also released Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell in 2007. The coffee table book captures the imagery and gut-wrenching pain of the take-no-prisoners cobble stones Parkin experienced in 1988.

Held the third Sunday in April since 1896, Paris-Roubaix is a race of great tradition. Belgian superstars Tom Boonen, Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck and Johan Museeuw have won the infamously cobbled race multiple times, catapulting the race itself into legendary status each year.

The race’s long history, coupled with its proximity to the cycling-mad triangle of northern France, Belgium, and Holland, means that it has served over the years to confirm the fame of cycling’s greatest champions. The 224-page Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell is a complete exploration of this glorious race. The race will be held this year on April 12 and will follow a 270-kilometer course between the suburbs of the French capital and the northern industrial city of Roubaix.

All of the history and excitement of the world’s most famous one-day bicycle race is captured and comprehensively illustrated with hundreds of spectacular color and black-and-white photographs in this lavish, oversized format. With authoritative text from France’s top sportswriters, Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell presents the inside story of the race, its great riders, its traditions, and its secrets.

Paris-Roubaix is known as “The Hell of the North” for good reason. Though flatter than the other spring classics, it includes interminable stretches of muddy farm roads paved with rough-hewn cobblestones. The cobbles alone are enough to shake bikes and bones to bits; throw in notoriously fickle weather, which often includes rain, snow, and driving wind, and the course becomes downright treacherous.

2009-04-07T20:12:00.005-04:00

Getting in the Exercise Habit

It sounds easy enough to start a fitness program and most of us have done more than one time. But what helps many people stay with an exercise routine to lose weight, become stronger or train to enter an athletic is that they have developed good habits that help keep them on track to reach their goals. Below are a list of ways that may help encourage you to get into the exercise habit.

Be Specific - Determine what you want out of exercise. Don't just say, "I want to lose weight and be in better shape." Set a goal.

Measure - You must follow your progress. Start by picking a goal of how many times a week you want to go the gym or pick a target weight loss and weigh yourself before you start exercising.

Achievable Goals - Start with short term goals such as losing five pounds the first month. This way you'll feel good about reaching them and then can focus on the next one.

Realistic Goals - Don't expect yourself to make major lifestyle changes to achieve your goals. Be realistic about the time commitment involved in going to the gym if you work and have a busy family life. You could sabotage your chances of success if you say to yourself, "I''m going six times a week to the gym."

Hire a Personal Trainer - If you're new to exercise hire a trainer to get you started with an exercise program. They will assess your current fitness level and tailor a fitness program suited to you and help you keep on track with your short and long term goals.

Train with a Friend - This could keep both of you motivated and accountable to the goals you're working towards. Having someone to inspire and encourage you helps to remove barriers and excuses, for example when you're feeling lazy and rather lay on the couch instead of heading to the gym for your workout after working all day.

Chart Your Progress - Keep an exercise journal of your workouts, and write positive feelings to counter any negative feelings about your workouts on days that you're not focused on exercising.

Don't Aim for Perfection - Don't fall into the "all or nothing trap" so if life gets busy or you're feeling under the weather it's okay to skip a workout now and then. But if skipping is getting to be regular maybe it's time to revise your original plan.

Modify Your Plan - If your plan isn't working maybe you set your goal to high or low, or simply aren't getting enough enjoyment as you thought. Maybe it's time to add some variety with other activities to motivate you to continue with your current program.

Time of Day - Try switching the time of day you workout if it fit conveniently into your daily schedule. You may have better results both physically and emotionally.

It All Counts - Mix activities of daily living (ADLs) with traditional training. Walking to pick-up your kids from school or riding your bike to work instead of taking the car.

Positive Reinforcement - Keep fitness and healthy-eating articles, magazine and books around the house for down time reading.

Explosive power development

2009-04-06T07:49:00.002-04:00

Warm Up: 10minutes warm-up the (1) 5minute effort at MAX pace you can hold, blowing up in the last 30seconds... Recover for 5minutes,

Main Set : then EVERY 5 minutes for the rest of an hour, do a 53:13 effort for 20 seconds...
PUSH THIS big gear.. Jump HARD into it and try to get it going as fast as you can in 20seconds.
REST for 5minutes after each one, then go again....

Cool-down for 10minutes.

2009-04-01T20:23:00.005-04:00

The Art of Breathing

Is good posture and breathing related?

Do you ever think about the muscles that work to allow space in the chest and torso for the lungs to be able to fill with air, and the muscles that push air out of the lungs, and also work to hold the body upright in its many positions are also the muscles used for good posture? The breathing/posture muscles are:

Diaphram
Abdominals (transverse abdominius, internal and external obliques and rectus abdominus
Intercostals - sets of muscles that crisscross and are located in between the ribs

Breathing is defined as "the exchange of gases between the cells of the oraganisms and the external environment :"by physiotherapists, Kendal and Kendal in their book, "Muscles - Testing and Function."

Despite how complex and extensive the physiology of breathing is; people with a non-medical background can understand through breathing exercises for general relaxation, pain management, general health, and promotion and increase of energy how gases from the environment are processed down to the cellular level of the body.

Listed below are the two simple concepts that make up the act of breathing.

Ventilation, or brining oxygen in to the lungs
Circulation, or transporting the oxygen all over the body, to where it is needed

Ventilation is supported by a two-fold mechanical process.

Inhalation - the lungs inflate with air, brining oxygen into the body
Exhalation - lungs let go of air, releasing carbon dioxide out into the environment

Our lungs work automatically during inhalation and exhalation, expanding as breath is needed by the body, recoiling to expel the unwanted air when it is not.

The diaphram, abdominal and intercostals work by expanding and contracting the lungs in the chest cavity and trunk. They function under conscious and semi-conscious control to have a major impact on the quality of the way you breathe.

Circulation is the result of oxygen being transported all over the body and collecting carbon dioxide to remove it from the body, via the lungs. Without the action of the muscles pumping circulation would not be possible.

While exercising breathing properly helps in a few significant ways. It makes cardiovascular training more effective, helps with power and stabilty during strength and endurance training and it promotes relaxation during mind/body and flexiblilty training.

Cardio Training
With activities such as running, cycling or swimming it's important to remember that breathing and cadence of the cardio activity may not always be in sync. Take for example when you are cycling uphill, you may be pedaling slower, but your breathing rate may be high.
Avoid shallow breathing as much as possible during cardio as this is a indicator that you are working too hard or have not established a good breathing pattern for the activity you ar doing. Try taking long slow deeper breaths during cardio training and establishing an inhale pattern that feels comfortable for you. Some runners may for example inhale once during three foot strikes in a row (right, left, right) and then exhale once during the next two foot strikes (left, right).

Strength/Endurance Training
When performing strength resistance training, such as weight lifting, it is usually recommended to exhale on the exertion (most difficult part of the exercise) and inhale on the recovery (easiest part of the exercise). An example is when performing a sit-up, you should exhale as you lift your shoulders off the ground and inhale as you lower your shoulders back to the ground.
In teaching of Pilates instructors encourage their students to "inhale on the preparation for the movement" and exhale on the actual execution of the move.
Learning this breathing pattern usually makes it easier to perform strength/endurance moves.

Relaxation
The focus of the breathing for mind/body, stress reduction or flexibilty training, such as yoga, tai chi and qigong is for a deeper, diaphragmatic breathing that will not only slow your breathing rate but decrease oxygen demand and use less effort and energy to breathe.
The movement of the breather is show by the expansion of the abdomen rather than the chest and is done with slow intakes of air allowing the body to absorb all of the inhaled oxygen.
Instructors of yoga and tai chi will provide direction for their students while performing these types of movements.

Recipes for your Ride

2009-03-31T22:22:00.003-04:00

As you know you can come into the store and pick up "space food" any time. Via Ciclante is not in the nutrition business we present to you the edible cycling experience. It is through hours of participating at this game that we have come up with suggestions to help you prepare for your next ride.

The following are several interesting ideas for homemade snacks to take on that next ride. They not only can provide some taste variety, but they are definitely easier on the wallet than the commercial energy bars. The following recipes are generally low or non fat (except those containing peanut butter). However, sometimes it tastes better with some fat - is often important to keep eating during a ride, so try to find the balance for your tastes.

Off the grocery shelf products such as:

bananas
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Fig Newtons
Pop Tarts
relatively low-fat chocolate bars like Milky Way. Chocolate is good except on hot summer days, try to avoid the messy in your jersey pockets.

Puddings (fat free)
Make with skim milk for a fat free, high carbo treat on the bike.
4 ounces = approx. 100 Cal and 22 grams of carbo

Brownies (fat free)
Follow the directions on the premixed package, but substitute 1 banana and 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt for the oil and eggs. Be careful with nuts and toppings which will add loads of fat.
1 average serving = 100 Calories and 18 grams of carbo

Dry cereal in a sandwich bag -
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
1 ounce = 110 Cal and 25 grams of carbo

Pancake Sandwich
Toast or microwave 2 frozen pancakes (waffles)
Spread with jam and wrap in a baggie
2 - 4 inch pancakes + jam = 195 Cal and 35 gram of carbo

Energy "gel"
Mix an energy drink at 5 times the recommended concentration (accelerate tropical fruit was the brand mentioned) and then carry a second water bottle to wash it down.

Not quite cheesecake
Sandwich shortbread cookies with non fat cream cheese and raspberry jam. The three components can be carried separately and mixed during stops as well.

Trail putty
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 1/2 tablespoons dried non fat powdered milk
1/2 cup raisins
Roll into a log, then roll in coconut or chocolate.
Chill and then wrap in plastic wrap.

Four blender ideas - for before or after the ride
1)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 bananas
touch of honey
2)
plain non fat yogurt
skim milk
banana
pineapple chunks
ice cubes
3)
milk
orange juice
bananas
4)
cranberry juice
orange juice
strawberries
pineapple chunks
bananas
frozen fruit bars ice cubes

Muffins
These may be the ideal cycling snack. It's just a handful in size, and can be tailored to your needs. The only drawback is that they tend to crumble the longer they are in your jersey. Keep them stored in a reuseable plastic bag. Here's one recipe for an example:

Oatmeal raisin muffins
1 1/2 cups whole wheat (or white) flour
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar (try honey if you'd like)
1/2 cup raisins (other fruits are optional)
1/4 - 1/2 cup nuts if desired (they are high in fat)
2 egg whites
1 cup non fat milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix flour, oatmeal, baking powder, sugar, and raisins in a large bowl. In a second bowl beat egg whites, then stir in milk and oil. Add liquid to flour mixture and stir till blended - do not overmix. Bake 15 to 20 min. until muffins spring back when touched.

Enjoy your ride and be strong.

2009-03-29T11:48:00.005-04:00

Fitness Basics

Components of a Fitness Program

Below are reasons why including each of the following components are important in a well planned fitness program as each will benefit your body. When combined together they will contribute to overall fitness and good health.

Importance of a Warm-up
Helps prepare the body for the main workout (cardio, resistance, or flexibility training).

Increases body temperature, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure
Helps to screen for possible physical problems or injuries made worse by intensity
Helps to focus from life's daily stress to the workout ahead.

Importance of Cardiovascular Training
Aerobic exercise is the an important aspect of any fitness program because by elevating your heart rate during a workout it will improve your heart and lung function. Regular aerobic exercise makes your muscles use oxygen more efficiently and strengthen your heart and lungs.

Increased maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max)
Improved cardiovascular/cardio respiratory function (heart and lungs)
Reduced workload on the heart at submaximal exercise intensity
Heart works more efficiently pumping blood to the body
Increaased blood volume and abilty to carry oxygen
Increased blood supply to muscles and abilty to use oxygen
Lower heart rate and blood pressure at any level of submaximal exercise
Increaased threshold for lactic acid accumulation
Lower resting systolic and diastolic pressure in people living with high blood pressure
Increased HDL Cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
Decreased blood trigycerides
Reduced body fat and improved weight
Improved gluscose tolerance and reduced insulin resistance
Decresed anxiety and depression

Importance of a Cool-down
Returns body back to pre-exercise state by reducing body temperature, heart and respiratory rate and blood pressure.

Reduces potential for injury and muscle soreness
Reduces chances of lightheadedness or fainting by preventing blood pooling in muscles
Aids in dissipation of waste products such as lactic acid which can lead to muscle cramps

Importance of Strength Training
When you strength train with weights, you're using your muscles against the extra pounds (this concept is called resistance). This strengthens and increases the amount of muscle mass in your body by making your muscles work harder than they're accostumed to.

Increased metabolic rate by adding muscle increases metabolism naturally
Increased and restoring bone density will help prevent and fight osteoporosis by building strong bones
Increased lean muscle mass as each pound of lean muscle mass burns 35-50 calories per day
Less chance of injury due to a solid foundation of strong bones, ligament and tendons
Improved balance due to stronger leg and core muscles that help stabilzie the body
Decreased risk of coronary disease as strengthening can reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Aids in rehabilitation and recovery by slowly building your strength around an injured area while keeping uninjured muscles strong
Enhanced performance in sports, exercise and in daily life
Age gracefully with strong muscles and improved balance by keeping the body in well-working condition
Feeling and looking better as strength training reduces overall body fat, tones muscles and builds confidence

Importance of Flexibility Training
Flexibilty is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion. Flexibility (stretching) is not about becoming a world class gymnast - it's about balancing muscle groups you use or overuse during exercise and other activities, or from bad posture.

Reduces stress in exercising muscles
Improved performance, decreased injury risk during daily activities and sports
Improved posture
Reduced risk of low back pain
Increased transport of blood and nutrients to tissues
Improved coordination
Enhanced enjoyment of physical activities

Remember it is important to consult with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

Races don't take place on the trainer

2009-03-28T08:38:00.005-04:00

I don't know about you, however I know that cycling indoors on a trainer for months on end in Ontario can get old fast. Sure it's great over the cold winter months, being in a controlled environment, working diligently on your pedal stroke and form. Fine tuning and building what will prove to be of benefit when the weather gets warmer and race season arrives.

At last, the weather is warmer, the sun is bright, the roads somewhat clear and you are as excited as the kids dusting off their bikes for the first time since putting it away for the summer. With your workout plan in mind, you head outside. My heart rate a little higher than usual simply because I am excited about finally getting outside.
Workout plan -

warm up 10's,
10's @ 80-90 rpms
10's @ 90-95 rpms
5's @ 95-110 rpms
10's @ 90-95 rpms
10's @ 80-90 rpms
cd - head home

Sounds, good. On the way out the ride seems effortless, and the months of training indoors seem to have paid off and then you turn around and BAMM. It feels like you just road into a brick wall. I know you can all relate. What I forgot about, from my winter rides in doors, is the WIND. Not just slight intermittent blowing wind, I am talking about continuous bursts of wind that don't stop and I feel like I am not moving at all. Of course at first I complain, and question why I am doing this, and why I didn't keep my bike on the trainer. Then I remind myself of how great it is to be outside, the sun is shining and the simple fact that races DON'T take place on the trainer. So I change my focus, and make the best out of the situation-which for me is sometimes harder than you think as I like to stick to the plan.

Option 1- high cadence ride to get me back home
Option 2- low cadence ride recruiting different mucles than originally intended
Option 3- high cadence ride with bursts of long low cadence (2-5 minutes) visualizing that I am climbing a long and steady hill.

I opt for # 3, and the wind no longer is an issue, rather my mind focuses on the workout at hand and the benefits that I am gaining from the workout. When I get home, I have forgotten about the wind and feel accomplished about the ride and reflect on how hard I worked and how much stronger I know I am going to be on the first hill and the last hill on race day!

Happy training!

Eddy Merckx

2009-03-26T22:03:00.003-04:00

Cycling heroes offer a sign to human greatness and folly. Eddy is the ulitmate cyclist of all time to win: even though he is the most successful, he still lost more races than he won. The beauty of winning is his commitment to himself and his pain is the reality needed to play.

Music by: Social Distortion - Winners and Losers

In 2009, let's put a better spin on the economy.

2009-03-26T14:52:00.002-04:00

Via Ciclante was featured in a piece on the economy on the March 25 airing of CBC's The National.

Video

The piece starts at about 15:20.

Between the day that the piece was filmed (mar. 24) and the night it aired (mar. 25) I personally cashed out four bikes, processed countless repairs and even sold a $400 cycling jacket. I agree that many people are scared about the economy, but to a cyclist the local bike shop is still a very important part of their lifestyle and their health.

2009-03-24T20:12:00.011-04:00

5 Components of Physical Fitness

1. Cardiovascular Endurance

What is cardiovascular Endurance?

This is the body's ability, over sustained periods of physical activity, to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and remove wastes. To understand the terminology you should know, cardio = heart, vascular = related to blood vessels, and pulmonary = related to the lungs.

Why is Cardiovascular Endurance Important?

Cardiovascular endurance is very important because the more cardiovascularly fit you are, the healthier your lungs, heart and vascular systems will be and this will be obvious while your exercising.

Demonstrating high cardiovascular endurance during exercise, you have a more efficient heart, lungs and vascular system while at rest which takes up the majority of your time.

This means less stress is put on your heart and lungs around the clock which enables you to avoid illness and live a long healthy life. Many experts will agree that cardiovascular endurance is the most important part of the 5 components of physical fitness.

Physiologically, endurance deals with the efficiency of your body's (heart, lungs and vascular system) ability to transfer oxygen rich blood to your working muscles during activities lasting longer than 90 seconds.

2. Muscular Strength

What is Muscular Strength?

This is the muscle's ability to exert force against resistance over a short period of time, anaerobic (without oxygen) activities. Resistance includes objects such as free weights or household objects as well as your own body weight.

Why is Muscular Strength Important?

The primary reason why muscular strength is important is your efficiency in activities of daily living (ADL). While ADLs vary from person to person, being able to perform activities that require you to push or pull and carry heavy objects is part of daily life. Each of the 5 components depends on one another but poor muscular strength can negatively effect aerobic fitness and muscular endurance.

Physiologically, muscular strength is the ability of your body to suppy ATP (Adenosine Tri-phosphate or muscle engery) to your muscle fibers for concentric and isometric contractions in short times, which range from 0 to 15 seconds.

3. Muscular Endurance

What is Muscular Endurance?

This is the ability of a muscle, or group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue applying force against extenal objects and other anaerobic activities lasting less than about 90 seconds.

Why is Muscular Endurance Important?

Muscular endurance bridges the gap between muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance. To be cardiovacularly fit, you must must demonstrate muscular endurance.

Physiologically, muscular strength deals mainly with type II, fast twitch muscle fibers, muscular endurance deals mainly with type I, slow twitch fibers. Your body contains both but only anaerobic exercises which last longer than 15 seconds and less than 90 seconds strengthen your type I muscle fibers.

4. Flexibility

What is flexibility?

Flexibility is the range of motion possible for each of your joints or groups of joints.

Why is flexibility Important?

To some degree, your flexibility may determine how efficient your muscles are. Increased flexibility has also been associated with decreased risk of acute and chronic (overuse) injury.

Poor flexibility can directly effect cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance.

Physiologically, flexibility can include extra-muscular (range of motion at a joint) and intramuscular factors such as hypertonicity (knots) within the muscles themselves.

5. Body Composition

What is body Composition?

Body composition is the percentage of your body's tissues (ratio of lean mass to fat) which you exhibit.

Why is Body Composition Important?

Body composition depends on other components of physical fitness. Having a poor body composition has many negative effects on overall health such as an increased risk to variety of diseases and depression. Unhealthy lifestyle choices including lack of proper exercise and poor food choices may lead to being overweight and obese, but decreased bone mass may lead to diseases such as osteopenia and osteoporosis.

You are only as physically fit as your weakest link!

All five of the above components are interdependent upon each other. You could change the order of the above physical fitness components but not one out ranks the other. The best approach to fitness is to have a balanced fitness program including all five components being consistent with your workouts.

You can be very lean and cardiovascularly fit, but if you can't reach down to tie your shoe laces you need to work on your flexibility. If you are very strong but can't run to the corner to catch the bus without gasping for air, you need to focus on your aerobic exercise.

Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta with beans)

2009-03-20T23:09:00.005-04:00

An early post in the Culture and History section, I wrote about my Nonna Caterina preparing a dish for the Bianchi team including Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. I present to you an authetic dish prepared in the same way my Nonna used to make it. This hearty dish is known and loved in the Italian cuisine. I hope that you enjoy classical Italian recipe.

Ingredients for 4 people

300 gr. Romano beans
1/2 kg of pasta ( could use Pantacce Toscane pasta or different type of pasta broken into little pieces)
garlic,
salt,
pepper black and hot red pepper ( if desired)
2 or 3 fresh tomatoes
oil

Soak beans overnight. Rinse and cook in a pot or an old fashion clay saucepan with cold water at low medium temperature for about 2 hours.

Remove when cooked
In a pot fry garlic add 2 or 3 chopped fresh tomatoes, basil and Italian parsley.

When ready, add beans and warm water bringing to boil. Add salt.
Then add mixed crumbled pasta or pantacce Toscane .
Cook the pasta and beans. When finished add pepper and let it rest for a while.
Add olive oil when placing it in each individual dish.

Buon appetito

2009-03-17T09:41:00.008-04:00

Choosing a Healthy Energy Bar

1. Before purchasing an energy bar, spend time reading the label. Don't assume that because the bar is advertised as "healthy" that it actually is. Verify the facts for yourself by scutinizing the fine print on the nutritional label.

2. When choosing an energy bar it is best to select one that has minimal processed ingredients and instead, more natural ingredients such as dried fruits, veggies, nuts and whole grains.

3. If your lifesytle is more sedentary choose a bar with 10 to 20 grams of carbbohydrates. If your an active person choosing one with 20 to 45 grams of carbohydrates would more suitable.

4. This is where many energy bars fall short. Some are loaded with sugar. To determine the quantity of sugar in a energy bar, take the number of sugar grams and divide by four. This will give you the number of teaspoons of sugar in a serving. Try to keep it below two teaspoons per serving.

5. You'll want a bar that has some protein since this helps to prime your metabolism and giving you a full feeling so you won't be hungry two hours later. The number of grams of protein is clearly stated on the nutritional label. To determine your daily needs, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2. This will give you your weight in kilograms. You should get around one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

6. National labels are now required to list fat content. A bar with no more than 2 grams of saturated fat as a higher amount can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol. Choosing bars contining polyunsaturated (vegetable oils such as soybean, sunflower and safflower) or monunsaturated (almonds, pecans and cashews) fats can help raise your HDL (good) cholesterol. Be aware the label may read less than 0.5 grams of transfats, and if you see partially hydrogenated oil listed, there is a small amount of trans fats in the energy bar.

7. The calorie content should be one of the first number on the label. Some energy bars can be quite high in calories; if the energy bar is going to serve as a snack, keep the calories under 200. If you're using it as a meal replacement, you can double that amount. The recommended caloric bar size for women is: 150 to 200 calories and for men 200 to 250 calories.

8. An occasional meal on the fly with a supplement bar, a piece of fruit and a serving milk or soy beverage is acceptable. But go easy on bars, and don't short change yourself with nutrient enriched foods and disease fighting phytochemicals.

Chocolate, Cranberry and Oat Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate , coarsely chopped
1/2 cups pecans, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine cranberries and orange juice in microwaveable bowl.
Microwave on HIGH 30 sec.. Let stande 10 min.
Meanwhile, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat margarine or butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each adddition.
Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in cranberry mixture, chocolate and pecans and mix until well combined.
Spread dough into 13x9-inch baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake 25 to 30 min. or until lightly browned.
Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Nutrition Info (per serving)

Calories - 160
Total fat - 7g
Saturated Fat - 1.5g
Cholesterol - 15g
Sodium - 90mg
Carbohydrates - 23g
Dietary Fiber - 1g
Sugars - 14g
Protein - 2g
Vitamin A - 4% DV
Vitamin C - 0% DV
Calcium - 2% DV
Iron - 6% Dv

Healthy Living Information

Low Sodium

Diet Exchange

1-1/2 Starch + 1 fat

Nutrition Bonus

These tasty bars are made with oats and can fit into a healthy eating plan.

Family Business in the Thirties

2009-03-17T05:36:00.001-04:00

Umberto and Caterina Miele, my grand parents, had a family while the business flourished. My mom, Mirna, my aunt Diana, uncle Enzo and aunt Anna-Maria. Enterpreneurial circumstances are and were never easy but the children attended private schooling and never lacked comforts. The Miele family had success but at the sacrifice. As with many families in small business, and I know this from personal experience, will extend working hours into personal time. Throughout the years business relationships became personal ones and I am not contesting or proclaiming that this was wrong or disturbing to the family, I am stating that this is a consequence of being in business. As I reflect on this issue I think that it can be positive because it shaped each character and help inform a personal view of work/life balance.

With that said not everyone wanted to be in business and that is not only normal but healthy. Nonna Caterina told stories me of how they coped stress filled times and the emotional pitfalls on family. I call this "sweat equity" we all put in our time for long term reward, or at least we hope that our time is invested for the future. I have a young family of my own and I now appreciate this concept.

The thirties had brought many challenges the Miele family, to Italians, as with most of the world. The economic problems of the Great Depression, as well as political growth of Communism in Italy and Europe along with many other social and political unrest had witnessed a rise in strong authoritarian rule. Fascism demanded resolution between Church and State and determined to control captialism and industry through the State. These political ideas were strongly and violently nationalistic, opposed to liberal and democractic ideas, strongly anti-Semitic and racist, elitist and authoritarian. Heavy handed political, social and economic control came as a consequence to the turmoil within Italy at the time. Under times of great stress a consequence can be an appeal to the strength of law and order.

During the 30's and the lead up to WWII, Mussolini's Fascists took up the business of sport as the rallying cry for national propaganda. Victory, under Fascist control became a political message of strength and superiority. The Fascists gave great respect to cycling, showcasing and romanticizing the country and exhalting the strength of Italian athletes. The cyclists of this generaion were Ottavio Bottecchia grand winner for the Tour de France, Alfredo Binda winner of 5 Giro d'Italia, his predecessor Gino Bartali and the "il campionissimo" Fausto Coppi. Government invested in cycling to create sporting legends reasonant throughout cycling history.

Nonno Umberto had dreamed of creating a bicycle that represented his family name and involved his cycling knowledge and hertiage to professional cycling epic battles . His dream was to create a bike worthy of a Giro champion. In those days the mythic brands were Legnano and Bianchi. But I specificlally remember the Legnano name and that business model was one that he aspired to build. It no surpise after I read about the importance of the Legnano bicycle to the sport of cycling. It may not be a brand spoken about today but it's very important brand to Italian cycling.

Legnano was the Italian brand that steered many road champions to victory. It symbolized Italian pride. In 1924 the Legnano brand was popularized by the impressive cycling superstar Alfredo Binda. During the mid 1930s, Legnano's team, starring Alberto Binda but captained by Eberardo Pavesi, collected six world titles and won five Giro d'Italia, two Tours de France, four Tours of Lombardy, and numerous less famous races. To make matters more interesting (and no doubt profitable), the racing world promoted an emerging rivalry between the Legnano and Bianchi teams.

By the late Thirties and with Europe plunging into a war partly initiated by Germany's refinements of Mussolini's fascism, Legnano adds a pair of certified cycling all-stars to its team: Gino Bartali in 1936, followed by Fausto Coppi in 1939. This was the time that Nonno Umberto was in contact with the cycling elite and part of the racing culture in Southern Italy.
These are important times for the Miele family, it had planted the seeds for a future in cycling during a time of immense destructive change. No one in the family had the idea that everthing would be lost in a short period of time.

Belgian Waffles

2009-03-11T08:31:00.003-04:00

We are in the spring season and the Spring Classic series happen in Belgium. Belgian cycling is the inspiration for the enitre cycling world. This simple recipe will get you into the spring season. The cold, wet and windy riding days lay ahead is the stuff that makes riders stronger. All Canadians can appreciate thhis weather and the Belgian spirit. Having this small taste of Belgium is better than eating the dirt from Belgian cobbles.

Brussels Waffle

10 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon salad oil
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
2 cups milk
2 cups water
1 ounce fresh yeast or
1½ envelopes granulated yeast
4 cups sifted flour
4 eggs, separated
½ cup sugar

Heat ½ cup of the water to lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the water. Put the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the egg yolks, the sugar, and the yeast. Beat in the remaining water, the milk, the butter, salt, salad oil, and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth. Beat the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter. Let the batter stand for 1 hour, stirring it 4 times. Bake the waffles in a waffle iron as usual. Serve with whipped cream, fruit, jam or sugar (if you have a sweet tooth). Send us one !

Liege Waffle

Another native waffle, that can be baked with any waffle iron

1 ¾ cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cup light beer
¼ salad oil
vanilla extract to taste

Cycling Ristorante

2009-03-11T08:19:00.005-04:00

Food is the fuel that sustains you and allows you to excel through your rides and to excel through your day. This series will explore the cultures of food offering you tips on nutrition, recipes of food that tastes great and will power any hard ride. We will explore the history of food in cycling and offer strategies that sustain healthy living. Follow along and we are looking forward to future comments.

Threshold Pacing

2009-03-11T07:50:00.004-04:00

Planned Duration: 1 Hour

Warm Up: 15minutes warm-up with heartrate around level 2
Main Set: Start out with a 'blow out' effort to get the 'carbon' out of the legs.
Do (1) 5 minute effort with your heartrate at level 4 pushing hard.
Easy spinning with heartrate at level 1 for 5 minutes afterward.
Then do (3) x 10 minutes with your heartrate at lower level 4. Try to stay right at your threshold watts or just below it. It's a tough pacing job, but you will get better as you begin practicing more.
REST for 10 minutes of easy pedaling, watts at level 1 between each effort.
Try to keep your cadence between 90-100rpm.
Remember: You'll want to start out too fast on these. Don't do it! Allow the first minute to be a 'build up'.
At the end of the first minute, you should be right on that 96% of your threshold heartrate
Cool Down: A nice 15 minute cool-down will be great.

2009-03-10T12:40:00.008-04:00

Tips for Riding in the Rain

Spring is around the corner and the northern climate cyclists will be itching to get off the trainer and out onto the road on a real bike - they won't be concerned by a little water or grit on the road either. There will be days however, when starting out for a ride and the skies will be clear but Mother Nature has a different forecast for later in the day. So being prepared for a wet ride is important as all cyclists at one time or another have been caught in the rain - it's not so unpleasant in the summer but in the spring, fall and winter months with the cooler temperatures dressing properly is key to staying dry as possibly until you reach your destination.

Dress to Stay Dry
The wetter you get while riding the colder you are going to be. Keeping your core warm is important as it is your heat source. Purchasing a waterproof vest or jacket with a drop skirt in the back and a hood for heavy downfalls is a must. Jackets with zippers under the arms allow for ventilation and wrists with adjustable cuffs to keep the wind and rain from going up your arms can also help to keep you dryer. Many jackets have fleece lined collars that are soft and wick away the moisture plus keep air from blowing down the neck of the jacket when a cyclist is in a bent forward position. Jackets that are more form-fitted to the body are better as the wind and other elements will not blow freely up into the jacket while riding. Plus they are more aerodynamic being they offer the least resistance to wind flow.
Layering is vital so wearing a wicking underlining made from wool or polypropylene will help keep you comfortable dry.
Waterproof pants for commuting or long cycling trips worn over you cycling shorts or tights will help keep you dry and warm.
Wearing shoe covers made of neoprene to insulate them when they are soaked, and wool socks will keep your feet warmer as well block the wind . Some riders insert toe warmers used by skiers and hikers into their shoes for added warmth.
The use of fingered, water and wind resistant gloves are important as the hands when they get cold could hamper your ability to use the breaks. Also there are gloves with removable finger covers for added protection from the elements.
You can also buy breathable waterproof helmet covers to protect your head from the wind and rain.
Remember, your body sweats rain or shine, so your jacket and other garments should be made of a material that breathes (choose Gor-Tex-type fabric or ventilated outer garments) or you'll arrive wet from the inside, instead of the outside.

Bright Colours
Being highly visible while riding in rainy weather, along with low light and glare from vehicles makes wearing a brightly coloured rain-proof jacket critical. Wearing a bright colour like yellow used to be the standard in technical clothing and still makes for a good choice. But today however, many manufactures make jackets with reflective tape or piping that makes for a great safety feature but is more expensive.

Clear Lenses
In low light, wearing clear or yellow lenses for eye protection is crucial. Normal sunglasses worn while riding in the rain cuts too much light and can make road obstacles hard to see. Wearing a cycling cap placed under the helmet will shield some of the rain and road spray from hitting your glasses making visibility better.

Road Patches and Puddles
The road surface will be most slick and dangerous just after the rain has started. At this time the rain will cause oil build-up in the pavement on the surface, causing the surface to essentailly become a giant oil slick. Watch out for rainbow-edged patches on the street. This is an indication of an oil patch. Avoid breaking or cornering in the centre of the roadway at intersections, as this is where vehicles leave the majority of oil drippings. Be extra alert of what is ahead especially metal surfaces such as manhole covers or steel-grid bridge decks, painted traffic markings, or wet leaves or other debris, they will be slippery and could you to lose control and fall.

Fenders Unite
Fenders are not foolish. If you plan to ride for long periods of time, or with others, install fenders on both wheels. You will be more comfortable as your backside will stay dryer, and keep your vision crystal clear. Maybe it should be a rule that on rainy days group rides cyclists should not show up without fenders. Drafting through a thin stream of grimy cold water gets old in about 10 metres. There are various types of fenders that clip onto the seatpost and downtube to fit bikes without threaded eyelets.

Light it Up
Being visible is essentail as heavy rain and glare from vehicle headlights reduces motorists' vision. Let everyone know you are there if you ride in the early morning or evening by using a bright LED lamp on the seatpost, handlebar or helmet. If you chosse to buy only one light purchase a red LED rear lamp as it is an absolute must for stormy riding. LED lights are inexpensive and most have clips or use velcro to attach them to your , backpack, or helmet.

Get a Rain Bike
Riding in the rainy weather can be damaging to your road bike you hold so dear to your heart. Consider using an older bike for inclement weather or purchasing a less expensive bike for use in the rain. You can install fenders and lights, and you'll have a bike ready for rainy day riding. Purchasing a bike for this type of riding may be an option but be sure there is room for fenders between the fork and the frame.

Cleaning Up
Keeping the chain well lubricated with a heavier lubricant if you ride as a means of transportation not just for sport in rainy weather. Riding in the rain is a good way to shorten the life of your chain. It would be more economical to clean your chain after each ride than having it seive up and rust and then be forced to replace it sooner. Always clean and dry your chain thoroughly or your lubrication won't penetrate into the links when applied. Clean and dry the rest of your bike to help keep it looking and working as it should for your next ride.

Go Prepared
Using storage-like saddle bags or even a backpack that secures to your body is important for several reasons. Storage gives to a place discard layers as you warm up plus a place to keep your work clothes if you commute to job while ridng throught the elements. It can also hold your spare tube and tools need for repairs if you do break down. Plus taking your cell phone to call for help if you do break down with more than a flat, some minor repairs or adjustments.

Add Time
Riding slower and allow extra time when riding in the early spring, fall and winter weather. Riding a heavier bike or riding in the rain can add minutes to your commute as road conditions will be poorer due to the wet roads, low lighting and slower traffic.

Break Early and Often
Allow for plenty of stopping distance while riding on rainy days. Gently squeeze your brakes to clear the water from your brake pads before you need to stop as the pads don't grip as well when wet. When cornering avoid tight turns as you might slip more easily and take a fall. Take it a bit slower on the descents also, you could easily slide out of control trying to come to a stop too quickly.

Riding in the rain isn't so bad if you and your bike are prepared!

2009-03-08T22:09:00.013-04:00

Baby We've Come a Long Way

“Bicycling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by the wheel. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self reliance.”….Susan B. Anthony

Biography of Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony was born February 15, 1820 in Adams Massachusetts. She was brought up in a Quaker family with long activist traditions. Early in her life she developed a sense of justice and moral zeal.

After teaching for fifteen years, she became active in temperance. Because she was a woman, she was not allowed to speak at temperance rallies. This experience, and her acquaintance with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, led her to join the women's rights movement in 1852. After that she after she dedicated her life to woman suffrage.

Ignoring opposition and abuse, Anthony traveled, lectured and canvassed across the nation for the vote. She also campaigned for the abolition of slavery, women's rights to their own property and earnings, and women's labor organizations. In 1900, Anthony persuaded the University of Rochester to admit women.

Anthony, who never married, was aggressive and compassionate by nature. She had a keen mind and a great ability to inspire. She remained active until her death on March 13, 1906.

ABOLITIONIST

After they moved to Rochester in 1845 members of the Anthony family were active in the anti-slavery movement. Anti-slavery Quakers met at their farm almost every Sunday, where they were sometimes joined by Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Anthony's brothers Daniel and Merritt were anti-slavery activists in Kansas.

In 1856 Anthony became an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society, arranging meetings, making speeches, putting up posters, and distributing leaflets. She encountered hostile mobs, armed threats, and things thrown at her. She was hung in effigy, and in Syracuse her image was dragged through the streets.

EDUCATIONAL REFORMER

In 1846, at age 26, Susan B. Anthony took the position of head of the girls' department at Canajoharie Academy, her first paid position. She taught there for two years, earning $110 a year.

In 1853 at the state teachers' convention Anthony called for women to be admitted to the professions and for better pay for women teachers. She also asked for women to have a voice at the convention and to assume committee positions.

In 1859 Anthony spoke before the state teachers' convention at Troy, N.Y. and at the Massachusetts teachers' convention, arguing for coeducation and claiming there were no differences between the minds of men and women.

Anthony called for equal educational opportunities for all regardless of race, and for all schools, colleges, and universities to open their doors to women and ex-slaves. She also campaigned for the right of children of ex-slaves to attend public schools.

In the 1890s Anthony served on the board of trustees of Rochester's State Industrial School, campaigning for coeducation and equal treatment of boys and girls.

In the 1890s Anthony raised $50,000 in pledges to ensure the admittance of women to the University of Rochester. In a last-minute effort to meet the deadline she put up the cash value of her life insurance policy. The University was forced to make good its promise and women were admitted for the first time in 1900.

LABOR ACTIVIST

Susan B. Anthony's paper The Revolution, first published in 1868, advocated an eight- hour day and equal pay for equal work. It promoted a policy of purchasing American- made goods and encouraging immigration to rebuild the South and settle the entire country. Publishing The Revolution in New York brought her in contact with women in the printing trades.

In 1868 Anthony encouraged working women from the printing and sewing trades in New York, who were excluded from men's trade unions, to form Workingwomen's Associations. As a delegate to the National Labor Congress in 1868 Anthony persuaded the committee on female labor to call for votes for women and equal pay for equal work, although the men at the conference deleted the reference to the vote.

In 1870 Anthony formed and was elected president of the Workingwomen's Central Association. The Association drew up reports on working conditions and provided educational opportunities for working women. Anthony encouraged a cooperative workshop founded by the Sewing Machine Operators Union and boosted the newly-formed women typesetters' union in The Revolution. Anthony tried to establish trade schools for women printers. When printers in New

York went on strike she urged employers to hire women instead, believing this would show how they could do the job as well as men, and therefore deserved equal pay. At the 1869 National Labor Union Congress the men's Typographical Union accused her of strike- breaking and running a non-union shop at The Revolution, and called her an enemy of labor.

In the 1890s, while president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Anthony emphasized the importance of gaining the support of organized labor. She encouraged Florence Kelley and Jane Addams in their work in Chicago, and Gail Laughlin in her goal to seek protection for working women through trade unions.

SUFFRAGIST

Susan B. Anthony was convinced by her work for temperance that women needed the vote if they were to influence public affairs. She was introduced by Amelia Bloomer to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the leaders of the women's rights movement, in 1851 and attended her first women's rights convention in Syracuse in 1852.

Anthony and Stanton believed the Republicans would reward women for their work in building support for the Thirteenth Amendment by giving them the vote. They were bitterly disappointed when this did not happen.

In 1866 Anthony and Stanton founded the American Equal Rights Association and in 1868 they started publishing the newspaper The Revolution in Rochester, with the masthead "Men their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less," and the aim of establishing "justice for all."

In 1869 the suffrage movement split, with Anthony and Stanton's National Association continuing to campaign for a constitutional amendment, and the American Woman Suffrage Association adopting a strategy of getting the vote for women on a state-by-state basis. Wyoming became the first territory to give women the vote in 1869.

In the 1870s Anthony campaigned vigorously for women's suffrage on speaking tours in the West. Anthony, three of her sisters, and other women were arrested in Rochester in 1872 for voting. Anthony refused to pay her streetcar fare to the police station because she was "traveling under protest at the government's expense." She was arraigned with other women and election inspectors in Rochester Common Council chambers. She refused to pay bail and applied for habeas corpus, but her lawyer paid the bail, keeping the case from the Supreme Court. She was indicted in Albany, and the Rochester District Attorney asked for a change of venue because a jury might be prejudiced in her favor. At her trial in Canandaigua in 1873 the judge instructed the jury to find her guilty without discussion. He fined her $100 and made her pay courtroom fees, but did not imprison her when she refused to pay, therefore denying her the chance to appeal.

In 1877 she gathered petitions from 26 states with 10,000 signatures, but Congress laughed at them. She appeared before every congress from 1869 to 1906 to ask for passage of a suffrage amendment. Between 1881 and 1885 Anthony, Stanton and Matilda Joslin Gage collaborated on and published the History of Woman Suffrage. The last volume, edited by Anthony and Ida Husted Harper, was published in 1902.

In 1887 the two women's suffrage organizations merged as the National American Woman Suffrage Association with Stanton as president and Anthony as vice-president. Anthony became president in 1892 when Stanton retired. Anthony campaigned in the West in the 1890s to make sure that territories where women had the vote were not blocked from admission to the Union. She attended the International Council of Women at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

In 1900, aged 80, Anthony retired as President of NAWSA. In 1904 Anthony presided over the International Council of Women in Berlin and became honorary president of Carrie Chapman Catt's International Woman Suffrage Alliance.

Susan B. Anthony died in 1906 at her home on Madison Street in Rochester. All American adult women finally got the vote with the Nineteenth Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, in 1920.

Bicycles - "Instruments of the Devil"

Sabbath breaking and nonattendance in church increased markedly. At first ministers and priests called bicycles instruments of the devil, until succumbing to the joys of it themselves. The birth of the bicycle drew more than religious condemnation. As shameless women leaped into the saddle, doctors warned against "bicycle walk" and kyphosis bicyclistarism.

Woman in Bicycle Costume

Advertisement for Manufacturer Columbia Bicycles, about 1895