Go Slow To Get Faster

We think of over-training as something only Olympians and highly competitive athletes are subject to. How could my modest achievements relate to over training? But it's quite possible for recreational cyclists to do sub-optimal training by going too hard too often.

What are the symptoms of over-training? General fatigue, difficulty achieving maximum heart rate (MHR), increased rate of injuries, less enthusiasm for your sport, trouble sleeping, drop in performance, change in resting heart rate. Cyclists often mis-diagnose these symptoms as poor fitness and push harder instead of what's needed, i.e., backing down.

To build up your peak power output and aerobic capacity, you want to go harder at the peak moments (85% of MHR and above) on your hard days and go extremely gently on your easy/recovery days.

To build up your endurance you need time in the saddle and miles on the road, but they don't all have to be at race pace. In fact, they shouldn't be.

What is happening in the training and recovery cycle? 
Think of your hard efforts as breaking down muscle tissue. Any effort above 70% MHR begins to do this. The harder you go, the more muscle breakdown occurs. But after breakdown, your muscles will re-build a little stronger than they were before -- if you allow them to. "Active recovery" days can bring more oxygenated blood to your muscle cells and flush out waste products. But if you go too hard, you'll break down new muscle tissue before it has a chance to fully form. Counterproductive.

An ideal training week might look like:
Day 1: gentle recovery: 20 minutes easy spin at 60 - 70% MHR, 20 - 30 minutes of stretching
Day 2: gentle recovery
Day 3: gentle recovery
Day 4: Hardest day of the week: Most of the time at 60 - 65% MHR interspersed with brief aggressive hill climbs or intervals between 85% and 100% of MHR.
Day 5: gentle recovery
Day 6: Fast group ride: Pace varies between 60% - 90% of MHR based on terrain, wind, and group.
Day 7: Endurance ride: Often the longest ride of the week. Pace varies between 65% and 80% of MHR and averages 75% or less.

You might do two weeks like this, followed by a third week that looks similar except substitute an active recovery day for the hard "Day 4". This becomes a "recovery week." After that, do two more weeks like the first two, except very slightly harder top-end efforts.  As you build strength and overall fitness, your recovery days do not get harder. They stay gentle. Your hard days get longer and the number, speed, and duration of hills or intervals you do may increase. But recovery days always stay super light.

The good news for those who want to lose weight is that the best heart rate range to build endurance and burn fat is is 60 - 70% of MHR, not higher.

This year my MHR is about 185. For me, that means:
60% = 111
70% = 130
75% = 140
80% = 148
85% = 158

To call today's bike commute a "recovery" day, required climbing hills at just over FOUR miles per hour and stopping occasionally to look at the scenery.

Even at that pace, I would briefly hit a heart rate of 75% of MHR climbing the hills on Rosedale and Carter Roads -- well above ideal. I also spent a lot more total riding time than would be ideal for recovery. It may be better to do a little strength training or take the day off if you can't go easy on recovery days.

Workin' On The Chain Gang

Salt and grit does serious nastiness to bike chains. They wear much faster in the winter. The moment you notice your chain begins to jump while you pedal, its time to replace it. It's actually past time to change it. But timely replacement of a chain will save you a lot more money than if you defer the work until the chain's looseness is intolerable. 

With use, the links in your chain gradually stretch. If you change it right away, all you'll need to do is replace the chain. But if you ride long enough with a stretched chain, the elongated links will wear down the teeth of your rear cassette. Then you'll need to spend an extra $45 on a new cassette. too. If you ignore that and manage to keep riding with a chain that's skipping teeth badly, you may need to replace the front chain-rings, too. That's a few hundred $.

There are a few approaches to chain maintenance: 

     1. Change it every 1000 - 1500 miles. This is best practice. For me, it results in changing chains a couple times a year. This is least expensive in the long run because you don't need to replace the rear cassette as often.

     2. Change it when you can measure that it's stretched. There's a nifty little measuring tool that you insert in the chain to measure the link-to-link distance. If it won't slide into the chain, then your chain is still okay. If the tool fits, then the chain needs replacement. This requires periodic proactive checks. Monthly?

     3. Change it when you notice it jumping teeth while you ride. This is most common, but most expensive because it can result in damage to other components.

You'll need a specialized chain tool and a pair of pliers for this job. Chain tools are miniature hand vices. They cost about $15 which is cheaper than paying someone to do the job.

To buy a replacement chain you need to know the manufacturer and component line of your gears and the number of teeth on the rear cassette. This one is a 9-tooth Shimano Diore/Ultegra. Although other suppliers sell replacement chains that are cheaper, I find that they're noisier and don't shift as smoothly. Don't combine SRAM, Campy, and Shimano components in the same drive train. It's not pretty.

The job will be easiest if you shift the front derailleur to the smallest (easiest) ring and the rear derailleur to the smallest (hardest) cog.














Use the chain tool to drive out one of the link pins. Then pull the old chain out. This is a good time to show the remaining drive-train components a little love and clean them up with a used toothbrush.















Check the new chain against the old one and confirm the new chain has the same number of links as the old one. You may need to remove a few links using your chain tool.

Slide the new chain back through the derailleur, around the rear cassette and over the front chain-rings so it's hanging loose on both ends. Look at a different bicycle or YouTube video if you're unsure about what route to thread the chain.

There are a few different types of connecting mechanisms for new chains. Shimano supplies an extended "break-off" pin with each chain to make insertion easier.

Grabbing both ends of the new chain with one hand, use the other hand to manually insert the new pin through the two ends of the new chain to hold them together.

Then use the chain tool to drive the new pin into place. As you drive it in, you'll feel hard resistance, then light resistance, then hard resistance again. Watch carefully so you don't drive it too far and out the other side.






 Use pliers to break off the end of the new link pin. Then verify that the new links flex smoothly. If you've driven the new pin in too far or not far enough, the links will bind. If so, you may need to monkey around with the chain tool to get it set properly.

Most new chains come pre-lubricated. Adding more oil will only attract more dirt. If the new chain does come with no lubrication, use only a few drops of oil on it. Note that WD-40 is primarily a cleaner, not a lubricant. Use proper chain oil.


Clean up the tools, recycle the waste, wash up, and take your bike out for a short spin. Shift up and down through all the gears to confirm everything's working smoothly.

As soon as you get inside, order a new chain and keep it on the shelf so you're ready for next time!

Dispelling Food Fears

Let's get a couple food fears cleared up with measurement, not myth.

I've followed a whole-food plant based (essentially vegan) diet for the past four years after discovering that I had severe cardiovascular disease. Plants appear to be the ideal fuel for the human machine I'm operating. I tried statins and found that they can have some extremely negative side-effects including: severe pain, and muscle, liver and kidney failure. I kind of like my muscles and internal organs and am not a big fan of pain, so decided to optimize my diet rather than accept the collateral damage.

But isn't high cholesterol genetic?
A propensity to high cholesterol may be genetic. I own a particular set of genes and don't expect to change them. But daily food choices can have at least as strong an influence as genetics.

On a plant-based diet I've maintained excellent cholesterol numbers that are 10 - 20 points lower than I used to average on what was already a good diet that included modest amounts of fish, chicken, and very rarely some beef. On a plant-based diet I have every expectation of gradually reversing the effects of cardiovascular disease.


Don't you lack calcium, protein, and iron?
I get all I need from plants. No meat or dairy is needed. Check the facts:

But isn't it impossible to build muscle without meat, or milk?
Let's go for a bike ride in the Sourlands and you can decide.

Riding in A Fog

Keep a clear head in the fog.


Be even more aware of cars by listening attentively and being continually conscious of their position in your rear-view mirror.




You have equal right to the road as four-wheeled vehicles, but they outweigh you by a lot and are less maneuverable than you are. Give them as much help in avoiding you as you can.

Ride predictably maintaining a straight line. Signal turns, and lane changes.


Wear obscenely bright and reflective clothing.




Throw on an extra flashing reflector or taillight. The law requires lights at night. Your personal safety is not an area where you want minimum compliance with the law.



You want face-melting headlights and no-kidding taillights. You want shoes, panniers, pedals and a helmet with reflective bits, too. The weight is trivial. Your safety is not.

Ride on!

Hats Off to Christoph!

I'm not much of a pro cycling fan these days. But Christoph Strasser is worthy of praise.

He's won the Race Across America three times.

On Saturday he set a new world cycling record: 556 miles in 24 hours.

Five hundred and fifty six miles!
That's farther than Pennington to Montreal. It's like Pennington to Charlotte, NC.
In twenty four hours!
By bicycle.

He did that.

Let's try to get our heads around his record.

556 miles in 24 hours means averaging over 23 miles per hour. Even if he didn't stop the entire time, he must have slowed a little bit to relieve himself sometimes. There must have been some wind or elevation changes that required him to drop below 23 miles per hour. So at other times he was necessarily going 24 or 25 miles per hour.

Without the engineering details, wind drag increases geometrically in proportion to velocity. Gut-feel language: when you increase speed, it takes much, much more energy to sustain that speed.  That's why drafting is so beneficial. Christoph rode solo. No drafting.

Just a couple photos remind us that his achievement is not all smiling podium moments:

My typical commute might average 12 - 14 miles per hour. I get pretty excited when my speed is above 20 miles per hour -- instantaneously! I've done several multi-hundred-mile rides and averaged less than half his pace! In my best cycling shape ever I've ridden a hundred miles without stopping and averaged 20 miles per hour --- and every cell in my body felt like applesauce by the end. Christoph did more than FIVE TIMES THAT DISTANCE at a much faster pace.

DUDE! You rock.

Joy Trumps All. Patience Is A Virtue. Savor Now.

Friday the world returned to a winter wonderland. I wondered how it would be possible to survive another wintery day skidding along the roads.

"Just messing with you." laughed Mother Nature. By late Saturday afternoon, the roads were clear enough for a quick spin as a reward for organizing tax papers.

 

I had visions of a long, hilly solo Sunday afternoon ride. But I was blessed with a request for a short Kid-n-Dad ride into town for snack food. Joy wins. Human connection wins. The brief moments I can spend riding for pleasure with my kids trump any random training ride. No one is really interested in how many miles or what elevation gain you made today. But the whole universe vibrates at a higher level when you bicycle with a friend!

Bike Zen Master reminds us:  Follow Joy. That's why you first got on a bicycle! This very moment is what you are training for and to be savored. This moment is not an interruption of your training. This is the event. The hills have been there for an eternity. They are patient. They will be there for you when you are old. Learn from them.

Being Blanche or Being The Boy Scout?

In A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois famously confesses: "I always rely on the kindness of strangers." ...just before she's ushered off to an asylum. What Blanche relied on was that people would be willing to work within her imaginary world instead of the real world.

Today I was blessed by the kindness of a stranger, too. But he's fully real.

As I bashed through a pothole at the bottom of Rosedale Road, I missed the fact that one of my panniers had come unhooked and fallen off my bike. Somehow I didn't notice the shift in the bike's balance -- and didn't realize that the pannier with my planner containing all my notes and appointments and contacts and prescriptions and family photos, etc. was missing! I called home. Nancy hopped in the car and drove my commute route. I turned around and hastily pedaled back along the route towards her. After 20 minutes of fruitless search, we met in the middle and drove back towards Princeton. No luck.


Just then the phone rang.

Caller: Hello, is this Edward?
Ted:     Yes! Who's this?
C:        Tucker. I've got your bag.
T:        You are TOTALLY my hero! Thank you, thank you SO much! ...where are you?
C:        At the Princeton Cemetary on Witherspoon. Know how to get here?

As it turns out, Tucker works at the cemetery. He found my business card in the planner and tried my cell phone twice before that, knowing that it was probably pretty critical that I get the bag back as fast as possible. The hand-off and grateful hand-shaking were accomplished. Nancy drove me back to work.

As bicycle travelers, we are more vulnerable and exposed to the world. But that's not all bad. We're more connected with it's humanness, variety, and beauty. We see more, smell more, feel more, and experience more than the unfortunate souls who travel in cramped glass and steel isolation tanks on wheels with synthetic sound pumped in to mask the world's sound-scape.

While traveling as a cyclist, the vast majority of my chance encounters have been pleasant, and affirming of others. Many times I've been given help or good guidance by people I met along the road. And I do my best to offer the same whenever possible.

But rather than relying on the world for kindness, you can improve your odds by following the Scout Motto: Be Prepared!


A few suggestions:

* Check your brakes, tire tread, and tire pressure before every ride.
* Maintain your equipment in good condition. Proactive repairs are much easier in a well lit garage, than a muddy ditch beside the road.
* Carry a kit of quality tools that you know how to use.
* Understand that all the bouncing of bicycling causes everything to loosen up. (My error this morning was not realizing the pannier's tension strap had gradually loosened).
* Communicate clearly and consistently with body language and your position on the roadway.
* Do your best to approach everyone with humility and respect and express appreciation for even the smallest kindness.
* Follow Tucker's example too: Do a good turn daily!

First Across Town

A colleague and I both needed to get to a meeting across campus. We both left with only five minutes to spare. He grabbed a golf cart. I hopped on my bike. We took different routes across campus and up hill but arrived at the same time. He parked the cart and met me at the door.

After the meeting I was able to get down the hill and put away my bike about a minute faster than he was -- due to the governor that limits the speed of our golf carts.

The competition was just for fun. But having a bicycle available in a dense urban environment can be vastly better than having a car for short-radius trips. This is particularly true where there is heavy traffic or there are constraints about routes cars are allowed to use and where they can park.

When living and working in Philly, back in the '80s, it took less time to hop on my bike, zip across town, and lock it outside my office or a store than to walk from home to wherever I'd parked my car, drive across town in city traffic, find and pay for parking, and then walk to the office or store.

In Princeton it's much faster to grab the bike and ride across campus and into town and back for small errands at lunch than it would be to walk down to the parking lot, drive all the way around the campus, go find parking, walk to the store, and reverse that to get back.

For me the radius where a bike is faster than a car is between one and three miles. Beyond that, cars usually get there faster. ...but then you need to factor in JOY!

Know Thyself ...and laugh!

Stephan Pastis wields such a sharp knife, it barely hurts:

The NYC Vegetarian Food Festival

Took the family to NYC Vegetarian Food Festival on Saturday. I discovered a yummy vegan cheese that actually had the texture and taste of cheese. A very creamy vegan mayo that’s made with avocado.  A great seven-nut-butter.

Mostly went to hear Rich Roll speak. He’s an ultra-triathlete who follows a vegan diet for optimal performance and fastest recovery. He has done things like five Iron-Man length triathlons in five days. While his podcast had me thinking he was a bit “out there”, in person I really connected with his personal story and saw his path as a very understandable one to have taken to shake his own demons and restore wellness. Went up and thanked him for his talk. But there were a zillion people wanting his attention, so I didn’t stick around to ask anything.

 

A lot of the folks were there because they are motivated by compassion for animals, not necessarily optimal human health and wellness. While they really are thinking on a higher ethical plane than my own self-serving reasons for following a vegan diet, I don’t need another beets-and-soy vegan “hotdog” any time soon.

Eyes On The Flag

I pay attention to the wind when selecting a route. I look at clouds, flags, branches, leaves, smoke from chimneys and blowing debris. Given the choice, it's preferable to head outbound into the wind so you get a boost when you're more tired and can get home a little quicker than you got wherever you rode to.

It's often the case that winds blow from the west to the east. If you watch western Pennsylvania's weather today, you can guess what ours might be tomorrow.

Want to quantify wind speeds? Back in 1805, Sir Francis Beaufort of the British Royal Navy wanted to standardize notes about wind in ship's log books. So he developed a wind-speed scale based on commonly observable objects.

The Beaufort wind scale is still practical today:

Today's ride started into a moderate breeze. Got home pretty quickly, too!

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

May the rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Easy Urban Travel By Bicycle

It's wonderful to see bicycles becoming more integrated into urban transit systems. People are re-learning that cycling is an excellent and efficient mode of basic transportation.

For years I've had it in mind to ride into New York City by bicycle.  The city has a very impressive cycling infrastructure that includes dedicated lanes and bike trails as well as good signage. Great maps are available from the NYC DOT.

But the George Washington Bridge is the only place you can cross by bike.  That would be a long ride from here before even entering the city!

Alternatively, Google Maps bicycle option suggests the Paulus Hook Ferry. That would be a 65 mile ride from Pennington and would be a pleasant way to access lower Manhattan. We could take the train back after riding around.


A third option would be to hop on NJ Transit and ride up to Penn Station. There are now hundreds of bike rental stations all over the Manhattan and into Brooklyn. Pedal around all day. Lock it and leave by train again that evening.

We saw these while driving in Manhattan today:

The concept is quite common in modern cities. It's called Velib in Paris and Bixi in Montreal.


Time to do some urban riding!