A note on form for the cycling neophyte

Enough can not be said of the importance for perfected form in your cycling. It could be argued that improved form could make you a better cyclist before strength building. You can have strong legs, but if you're not using them, and the rest of your body correctly, your muscles are not going to take you very far. Form determines the efficiency of your riding and allows you to ride faster and farther with a quick recovery time.

It takes discipline to maintain good form, especially for beginners. You have to continually be conscious of it, forcing yourself to make minor tweaks in your body position. Still, the perpetual effort is worth it. Losing your form is a slippery slope into the abyss of utter exhaustion and frustration. While riding, when you start getting tired, your form is the first thing that starts to lag. As a result your performance will exponentially decline. You get tired, start losing your form, thus forcing your body to work harder, with minimal results, which only requires you to work even harder- and so it goes.

Much more could be written about form. Yet, below are a few pointers that will get you started on the right track.

1. Don't lean on your handle bars. They are there to help you keep your balance, not hold you up. Your core should be keeping you upright. If your hands are going numb, it’s an indication that you’re putting too much weight on them.

2. Keep your legs tucked in. I always find it curious seeing guys trying to do the splits while riding. Unless you have balls the size of ostrich eggs, there is no reason for you riding with you legs spread eagle. Instead, keep you legs tucked in as close as possible to your bike's top tube. Think of your legs like pistons in an automobile, moving on a consistent straight line at an even cadence. You'll get much more power from your legs this way.

3. Stand up on your pedals. Especially when you are climbing and are finding it difficult to maintain as decent cadence, stand up and pedal. You'll use some different muscles, stretch out the ones that are fatigued, allow blood to circulate better, and give yourself the momentum to return to your saddle and maintain a faster pace.

4. Don't rock your upper body. How many times do you see this: cyclist climbing a steep hill, their legs are getting tired, they have no momentum and can't set a decent pace, so they rock their shoulders back and forth. Newsflash! You can't use you upper body to get up the mountain, your legs, solely, have to do that. Plus, rocking your shoulders is only using precious energy your little legs need to get the job done. It is counterproductive. Instead, relax your upper body. Get all the tension out of your shoulders (see #1). Then, see #3 to get your momentum back so you can finish the climb.

5. Breathe at a consistent rhythm. Don't allow yourself to be gasping for air. A good rule: exhale for 3 seconds, inhale for 2. As your lung capacity increases, and the more discipline you are with your breathing, this ratio will widen. Some cyclist exhale for 4 seconds, inhale for 2. Breathing plays a big part in efficient riding, so don’t allow it to be haphazard.

Riding Log

Paradise Loop

41 miles
3000 feet climbing
15 mph avg
2.34 hours


Wanted to do something easy on Saturday so I would have some juice left for helping my friend move on Sunday. Paradise is a good ride to put in your miles, but not necessarily kill yourself doing it.

Had a good climb up Camino Alto. I was trying keep up with some fast guys from the "Mission Bike Club." We reduced a group of about 25 to 6 riders, but I couldn't quite overtake them- we'll blame it on my weight =). I did keep their pace though. We were averaging 14 mph on the climb. I couldn't have done much more. The ole lungs had a nice burn going, and the legs were starting to feel like jello.

later.

My Friend, Pain

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
- Lance Armstrong


It’s funny, really, what draws me to cycling. Despite all the thrilling and adrenaline pumping aspects of the sport, it is the hardships of cycling that attract me the most. For example, during the work week, when I am doing my cross training and anticipating my next weekend ride, I am not thinking about the views of the bay, or the people I'll meet. I don't imagine the forest rides accompanied by the fresh smell of Eucalyptus, Red Wood and Pine. I don't even consider the harrowing, thrilling, 40 to 50 mph descents into the valley. Instead, I think of the climbs. I think of the long, hard ascents when my will's rubber band is stretched to the maximum; when every fiber of my body is screaming at me to stop. It is at that time I'm left with a choice: I can back off and rest or I can press forward and work harder, forcing my body to function despite the suffering and anguish.

Now, I'm not talking about pain resulting from physical injury- that is another beast all together. I am not encouraging cyclists to outright ignore physical pain. It sounds cliché, but one must learn to listen to his/her body. Instead, the pain I speak of is when you have exceeded your V02 max or have far surpassed your lactate threshold. Either your body can't distribute enough oxygen into your blood stream, or the lactic acid in your quads and hamstrings have accumulated to the point that your muscles start to cramp, shooting sharp pains up and down your legs. The pain is so intense it can bring tears to your eyes. Your muscles are like squeezed lemons: drained and empty.

But with this hardship comes opportunity. It is at this moment a person has the chance to test one's core character and mental strength. Its a little crash course in 'self-knowledge,' per se. You'll find out how much will power you possess, and how mentally disciplined you are to tune out the pain and focus on the mission at hand. Many questions are answered in these times of prolonged physical suffering. How far are you willing to push yourself? How long will your body go before it absolutely slams on the breaks? What are your physical limitations? What exactly are you made of: bon bons and lace? Or, do you have a bit more substance down there in that soul of yours? The Russian born, high-altitude Mountaineer, Anatoli Boukreev describes it this way: "Men and women are judged not for what they have or where they come from, but who they are in hard circumstances."

It is an opportunity for self definition doesn't come easily. This opportunity doesn't present itself while lounging in front of the TV eating Ben and Jerrys. You can't order it from a drive-thru. Rather, it comes after many hours and miles of riding. It comes with a certain level of commitment. You have spent long periods of time on the saddle, demanding your body to continually produce, neglecting it from rest and relaxation. Fatigue begins building up. Your body is starved of the necessary fluids and fuel and rest that are needed to operate and function naturally and comfortably. 'Comfortable' is the operative word here. It is an opposite of pain. It is the opposite of what you are doing and pursuing. Welcome to the pain game, my friend.

Riding Log

Route: Alpine Dam Loop.
Length: 55 miles.
Time: 3:58 hours
Avg Speed: 14.1 mph
Total Climbed: 5200 feet

It was an unusually hot weekend in the bay area. I'm glad I got a 7am start. I rode hard- and paid for it. I had had a difficult swim the morning before, so I wasn't riding on fresh legs. Thus, I started cramping on my first long climb. I worked through it though and feel good about my overall output.

Besides the heat, I had a few other obstacles. Both my derailleurs started acting up. My rear derailleur was hyper extending, throwing my chain off the cog, and my front derailleur wouldn't let me get into my big ring. I was forced to spend some time on the sidelines making the necessary adjustments.

Also, the bees and horse flies were out with a vengeance yesterday (perhaps it was the heat). Wicked little bastards. Got bit twice on my leg (which drew blood), and had a few fly down my jersey and one into my helmet. On the climbs they were circling me like blood thirsty vultures.

I'm feeling in good form- finally. Looking forward to the next challenge.

Interesting cycling article in the Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/sports/othersports/01cycling.html

Catching a bus to Managua- video

Climbing San Cristobal

Our pursuit of the mountain began on Wednesday, April the 22nd with a 3 hour, 2 bus journey from Granada to Leon via Managua. Once arriving into the rather hot and muggy city, we roamed the streets in search of a travel guide to gather information and make arrangements for our trek to the active volcano, San Cristobal. After an hour or so of walking and making contacts, we finally found a company- Tierra Tours- that could arrange our trip within our specific time constraints. We were due back in Granada on Friday, and could only dedicate Thursday as our expedition day. Tierra Tours agreed to our terms and quickly made arrangements to pick us up at our hotel the following morning at 5am. It would be a full day of travelling and climbing and an early start was imperative.





At 4:58am our driver and guide rang us at our hotel. It was an hour’s drive to Chinandega, then another hour deep into back country where we finally parked at a coffee plantation at the base of San Cristobal. The road leading back into the jungle was passable only by a 4x4 vehicle or by horseback. It was a slow, tedious and sometimes treacherous drive. Once arriving at the volcano’s base, we were met by a second guide: a local coffee farmer who didn’t speak a bit of English, but possessed the practical and essential knowledge that would get us to the top safely, and provide us with a rich historical and geographical understanding of the views we would see and the country we would experience. We would be hiking up the western side of the volcano.


The climb initially started through dense jungle. While the 5725 foot volcano loomed above us, we trekked through a forest of densely green foliage and luscious tropical plants and trees of every sort. We passed avocado, banana, mango and cashew trees to name a few. We were introduced to many fruits and species of plants that were completely new to us.


Once we passed the timberline, the topography quickly and drastically changed. Where we once enjoyed the colorful and luscious canopy of the jungle, a hellish, and deathly and scorched earth only remained. The soil was a mixture of loose dirt, ash and crushed lava rock. Periodically, petrified looking tree limbs would rudely project themselves from the inhospitable soil. These wooden protrusions would prove themselves helpful as we would crawl and clasp our way up the 40 to 45 degree slopes. Claiming ground would prove itself difficult. We’d step up 2 feet, only to slide back down 4. It was a constant struggle gaining ground. The mountain’s steep slope and gravity was always working against us. If the anaerobic workout wasn’t enough, keeping the necessary oxygen levels in the body was too a struggle. While climbing 5000 feet on loose gravel can be a hardship within itself, introducing frequent plumes of sulfurous gas made breathing a struggle. The smell of sulfur gas is best likened to overcooked, hard boil eggs. But it wasn’t the smell that would get you. It was your lungs that would start burning after sucking in the toxic air after 1000 feet of climbing. Out of necessity we’d sometimes have to cover our mouths with bandanas. Yes we’d filter out the gas, but we would also constrict our breathing. I guess it was good training for future high altitude mountaineering.


After 2 & ½ hours of crawling and clawing our way up the slope, we finally made it. The view from the summit was spectacular. The eastern view was obstructed by volcanic gas, be we could see thousands of acres of rice fields, and bean and coffee farms on all other sides. We could see natural mud baths and mile after mile of dense jungle. The ocean was in view 50 kilometers to the west. From our vantage point we also were afforded the sight of some of Nicaragua’s other volcanoes, such as Chonco, Casita and Tellica. We weren’t standing on top of the world by any stretch of the imagination. But, we had reached the tallest peak in the country of Nicaragua. We had pursued the mountain, suffered its hardships, and reached its unwelcoming but rewarding summit. Mission accomplished.