2nd Place Overall Women By: Christina Vipond This was my first opportunity to race Hart Hills The Classic Gravel Road Race. I have never ridden this course in previous years and since it was a last minute addition, there wasn’t time for a pre-ride. That may have turned out to be a good thing. I did look at the profile on Strava so I knew there was 3000 feet of climbing that included a long, steep climb about 40 miles into the 55 mile race. I did a quick look at the route but figured it would be marked well so no need to study or download it onto my computer. I did a pre race ride the day before
By: Raquel Torres Sweating can be embarrassing if you are at work, school or a meeting, but sweating could also be beneficial for your health. The almost 1 liter of sweat our bodies produce per day can strengthen our immune system and give us healthy-looking skin. Doctors, scientists and dermatologists talk about the several benefits of sweating. It is the way the body and the skin protect itself from overheating. Sweating also increases the blood circulation and the drips of sweating is the proof of our body’s built- in mechanism to keep it cool while opening up and unclogging the pores, the dropplets consist primarily of water, sodiums, chloride and potassium to an extent. Detoxifies The Body Sweating can flush the
By: Collin Snyder These days, there are countless products out there to measure power. Each type has their own pluses and minuses. Pedal based powermeters have become more and more common over the past five years, although has been mainly targeted towards road bikes. This year, the German company SRM and Garmin have brought this technology to mountain bikes, both using a Shimano SPD style XC pedal. The big benefit of a pedal based system vs a crank based system is it is very easy to swap from bike to bike. With two mountain bikes, a fat bike, and several cyclocross bikes, this benefit is very enticing for me. Earlier this week, I was able to purchase a single sided
By: Christina Vipond The risk of injury is common for athletes and many who mountain bike have their fair share of stories to tell. I learned so much about cycling and racing in my rookie year with a few minor injuries to talk about. The season ended with a fun ride of the Iceman No Cometh, the nicest weather ever for the non-event The next day, I was mountain biking with a friend when my back wheel slid out on dry leaves and down I went. It should have been a non-incident, unfortunately, my left arm was extended when I landed and I heard bones breaking. The doctor from ER reported the X-Rays showed a shattered head of the humerus
By: Raquel Torres If you want to increase the likelihood of reaching your goals and dreams, visualization is where it all begins. Just as affirmations or mantras are beneficial for motivation, focus, and effective goal setting, so too is a visualization or mental imagery. What is Visualization? It is the use of the imagination through pictures or mental imagery to create visions of what we want in our lives and how to make them happen. Along with focus and emotions, it becomes a powerful, creative tool that helps us achieve what we want in life. If used correctly it can bring about self-improvement, maintain good health, help you perform well in sports, and accomplish your goals in life. In sports,
Below are some frequently asked questions by attendees of our custom training plan clinics. Hopefully these questions and answers will help guide you while using the training plan you received after the clinic. What if I get sick and miss a day in my plan? This is a tough one. It depends on a lot of factors. This is one of those situations where a coach is a huge help. I’ll try to give some rules to follow. The main factors are: How sick are you? Is it in your lungs? Where in the training block are you? 1st week, 2nd , recovery week? How close to a race are you? Is it a big race? If you are really sick then
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