Liege-Bastogne-Liege which took place Sunday marked the end of the Spring Classics season. If you followed cycling news over the weekend, you know that there was an incident in the final 300 meters that affected the outcome of the race. I have been so busy that I have only had time to watch the final kilometer or so. I am looking forward to watching this video which covers the final 20 K.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
TNR - April
Here's a photo of the great turnout from the most recent TNR. Fun to have a good group out in the cold and sunshine at the end of April.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Bring Your Gravel Bike Tonight
From time to time, we have done a road-gravel split on the TNR. I have had some requests to do that again tonight. If you have a cross bike or a gravel bike, consider bringing it with the knobbies on. Here is the plan for tonight. Everyone rides up Summers' Road and regroups at the south end. Anyone who wants to opt for a shorter ride can return by way of Webster's Road. Everyone else continues to the end of the pavement at Lyon Creek. Road bikes return on pavement, gravel bikes drop into Archer by way of Squires' Dugway.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Gus and Lachlan Morton. "Thereabouts" 2500 K Across Australia in 12 Days
Photo Copyright cyclingtips.com.au/Gus and Lachlan Morton/Scott Mitchell
If you are like me, the first time you really took notice of Garmin professional Lachlan Morton is when he lit up the 2013 Tour of Utah with his attack on Mount Nebo and subsequent stage win. This is a link that comes from Tate. The story appears on a great website, cyclingtips.com.au, which I had never even seen prior to this. It tells the story of the brothers’ 12 day trip across a very substantial part of Australia. Included in the story are essays, photos, and video. This is a high quality piece of cycling journalism and I think you will enjoy it.
Tate says that this reminds him of some of the long road and dirt rides out of Ashton. When I see some of these pictures, I think of Moab, specifically the road transition across Island in the Sky on the White Rim. http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/04/thereabouts/
From Bart. Dave Harward from Plan7 Endurance Coaching Coming to Rexburg
I just wanted to let you know that Dave Harward from Plan7 Endurance Coaching is coming to our area to do some bike fits. It is a really great opportunity!
He will be here: Tuesday the 13th and will possibly stay through Friday the 16th (MAY)
Here is info about him (and his background): http://plan7coaching.com/about/
Here is his phone number: #801-661-7988
I believe he charges $250 per fit - but very worth it!
I would love to see lots of people taking advantage of him being in town!
Thanks!
Bart Miller (GoatMan)
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Early Season Road and Dirt
I left home this morning on my cross bike with the plan of doing a RAD ride up Kelly Canyon, down Lyon Creek, and home across the dry farms. It seemed like a pretty good plan until the end of the pavement at Kelly Canyon. From that point, conditions began to deteriorate almost immediately. It was not long after that a very nasty little storm blew in. I made it a little beyond the Y-Junction, pushing my bike through snow in an icy downpour. It was pretty obvious that the only viable plan was retreat. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to doing the loop and at that point the shortest distance home was probably to continue forward. Realistically, it will probably be two more weeks until this route is rideable on a gravel bike.
From John. Haute Route Alps Promotional Video
The Haute Route Alps is an annual seven day cyclosportive, essentially an amateur road race, featuring many of the toughest climbs of the Alps. The organizers also put on annual events in the Dolomites and Pyrenees. Depending on your world view, one of these would either be a dream vacation or the seven worst days of your life. You can take advantage of this 25 minute video to either plan your European vacation or to live it vicariously from the comfort of your office or basement.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Also from Tate. Lance Armstrong Changes a Flat Tire
From the Outside Magazine How to do Everything series 2014.
From Tate. Eddy Merckx at the Giro d' Italia
Vintage Merckx footage with period music. You could watch this all day long.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Headwinds, Crosswinds and Tailwinds (a tribute to this week's TNR)
After a ride like today I think it's fun to see both how much harder it is to ride against the wind and what benefit is derived from having the wind at your back.
I ran across this site (A Practical Analysis of Ærodynamic Drag) the other night and found it fascinating. The site's author is noted for his having authored "The Bicycle Wheel", the definitive text on the theory and practice of building spoked bicycle wheels.
Jobst Brandt is a mechanical engineer (Stanford) with extensive experience, having worked for Porsche automobiles, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Hewlett-Packard and Avocet bicycle products.
If you'd like to geek out some on the physics of biking I recommend checking out the site here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/index.html
I ran across this site (A Practical Analysis of Ærodynamic Drag) the other night and found it fascinating. The site's author is noted for his having authored "The Bicycle Wheel", the definitive text on the theory and practice of building spoked bicycle wheels.
Jobst Brandt is a mechanical engineer (Stanford) with extensive experience, having worked for Porsche automobiles, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Hewlett-Packard and Avocet bicycle products.
If you'd like to geek out some on the physics of biking I recommend checking out the site here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/index.html
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Myostatin Inhibitors Could be the Next Big Doping Agent
Courtesy of Se-Jin Lee and Alexandra McPherron/PNAS, copyright National Public Radio
The animal in this picture is a Belgian Blue bull. Due to a genetic mutation which reduces the activity of a protein called myostatin, these bulls have unusual muscular hypertrophy. Myostatin is a naturally occurring substance that limits the number and growth of muscle fibers in the body. If you inhibit myostatin, you build more muscle. Thomas directed me to a very fascinating NPR story on the potential of myostatin blockers as performance enhancing drugs. You can read the article or listen to audio here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/08/12/210487410/new-muscle-drugs-could-be-the-next-big-thing-in-sports-doping?utm_source=npr_email_a_friend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140418&utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_term=
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Mountain Bike Park Proposed West of Idaho Falls
"A proposal for a mountain bike park near Idaho Falls is gaining traction at City Hall.Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation Director Greg Weitzel supports the concept, as do members of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission. A consultant working on the city's broader paths and trails plan was paid an additional $4,200 to develop of map of the proposed park, which is backed by members of the local mountain biking community."A mountain bike park is a great idea, and I think that it would be well-used," Weitzel said.The concept plan, developed by Joe Gilpin, a planner with Alta Planning + Design, was unveiled last week at an open house on the city's plan for trails and paths. The mountain bike park includes about seven miles of new trails, in addition to many miles of old two-track dirt roads mountain bikers already use at the 760-acre desert site near Noise Park. The plan also provides for construction of a parking lot, as well as a terrain park with dirt jumps, a pump track and dual slalom racing course". *copyright Post Register
If you have a Post Register account (user name and password), you can read the entire story here: http://www.postregister.com/story.php?accnum=1001-04172014&today=2014-04-17
Friday, April 11, 2014
How to Watch Paris-Roubaix
I just went online and upgraded my satellite package. Afterward, I went straight to the DVR to set Paris-Roubaix to record. I was not happy to find a bunch of junk sports on Sunday morning that NBC apparently considers to be more marketable than cycling, but no listing for Paris-Roubaix. This is what I found on the NBC Sports website:
I have never tried watching a cycling event streaming on NBCSports.com. As an alternative to watching in HD on a big screen and using the DVR to skip commercials, it seems pretty sad. Here is an update. I just found a listing for a 2 1/2 hour Paris-Roubaix recap at 6 p.m. on Monday night on the NBC Sports Network, Channel 159 on Dish.
Top 10 Riders to Watch at Paris-Roubaix
The Queen of the Classics is only a couple of days away and I am pretty excited. Here’s a chance to take a look at the favorites.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Rules of the Road: Paceline
Thanks to Ryan for this excellent little video. To maintain the smooth rhythm of a paceline, fight the temptation to accelerate when you rotate through to the front. A constant speed (with common sense accelerations to accommodate changes in wind and terrain) allows a paceline to flow smoothly. Even a series of small accelerations can quickly destroy the rhythm of a paceline.
Here is one additional video that contains some supplemental information including a description of the various types of pacelines.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Tour of Flanders the Final 45 Kilometers
I still don’t have a full video, but the final 45 K should be perfect for a lot of viewers.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Lemhi Valley Century Ride 2014
A fair number of local riders have enjoyed this well organized event which serves as a great early season tune up. See below for details from Marla Hunteman:
Mark your calendars for June 21st, 2014 and join us for the Lemhi Valley Century Ride. Come and enjoy another great ride in beautiful Lemhi County. Look for more information as it unfolds on our website http://lemhivalleycenturyride.weebly.com/ or find us on Facebook. Registration forms are now available for printing on our website. Thanks for participating in one of our previous rides and we hope to see you again this year.
Mark your calendars for June 21st, 2014 and join us for the Lemhi Valley Century Ride. Come and enjoy another great ride in beautiful Lemhi County. Look for more information as it unfolds on our website http://lemhivalleycenturyride.weebly.com/ or find us on Facebook. Registration forms are now available for printing on our website. Thanks for participating in one of our previous rides and we hope to see you again this year.
A Spectacular Tour of Flanders
The two most anticipated days of the Spring Classics are The Tour of Flanders which took place earlier today and Paris Roubaix which is scheduled for next Sunday. Paris Roubaix will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network. Flanders was not broadcast on US television. I managed to get up and to the computer this morning just in time to see the finish in real time. I am looking forward to seeing more of the race when the full video is posted, probably later today. I will embed that video when it is available. If you want to go directly to the heart-stopping finish, here is the video.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Open Spot on a Lotoja Relay Team
We heard from Matt Allred this morning who, along with his wife, is organizing three 2-preson relay teams for Lotoja. The plan is for the three teams to ride together at a medium tempo, something short of racing, just riding for a solid finish. They currently have five people committed and one spot available. Their preference is for a female to fill the final position, but with a short registration window, I think they would be happy to find that 6th rider regardless of gender. If you are interested, let me know and I can get you in touch with Matt. Even if you are not interested, you can help by getting this message to anyone who might be interested.
It's Decision Time
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Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Weston and Kellen Decided to Press On
If you read the comments on last night's blog post, you know that Weston and Kellen decided to press on after the rest of the group abandoned. We believe it looked something like this.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Weather Not Cooperating Tonight
I am looking out the window as I type at a weather situation that while not intolerable, is unlikely to get better. I spent the day today, like many Tuesdays, checking the hourly forecast even down to the 15 minute details. We have had an informal policy in place for a while of trying to cancel the ride by 4 p.m. if the combination of weather conditions and forecast looks too unfavorable. I was a little too optimistic tonight. When Jeff told me that it was snowing in Idaho Falls, I was still hopeful that we would have a window of 90 minutes or so to ride. We had a surprisingly strong turnout tonight considering the rapidly deteriorating conditions. To the credit of the group, there was a pretty strong consensus to cut our losses and abandon the ride early. We will look forward to seeing everyone next week.
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