Happy New Year 2019

Another year of cycling in the record books.  2018 was a good year cycling for me..only because I dropped so much weight (down to 160 lbs from 195 lbs.)  It was fun dropping all the Fatty Patty's on group rides- especially in/on the hills.  On one ride in the spring, I dropped the group leader on a long 1 mile hill that averaged 9% grade.  He wasn't a happy camper.  I don't think anyone ever passed him on the hill before..haha

For me, 2019 will be more year-round recreational cycling including more fishing and golfing in the spring, summer and fall.  What I won't be doing for the first time in 10 years is USA Cycling Officiating.  I decided to take the year off in 2019 as I was burning out in 2018.  I was disappointed in 2018 because at least a half-dozen races I signed up to officiate were canceled.  I was also disappointed at one particular race director/organizer who obviously doesn't know the difference between safe and unsafe race conditions.  I'll spare the details so that I don't embarrass her.

Today I'm actually going on a group ride w/ the old farts.  It's a local 'C' ride that I ride my bike to/from. It will be a little chilly (in the 40s), but hopefully the sun will be out.  The people on this ride are in their 50s and 60s and ride year-round.  They may actually be in better shape than what I'm in right now because I stopped riding outdoors in October.  I've been riding on my indoor Computrainer using Zwift just to maintain some level of fitness.  Riding indoors isn't as good as riding outdoors, but it's better than nothing.  I'll continue to ride/train through the Winter both indoors and outdoors (weather permitting). 

In the Spring/Summer of 2019, on my 60th birthday, I plan to ride from my home in Doylestown, PA to my Lake House on Lake Wallenpaupack in the Pocono Mtns.  It's a 100+ mile ride with over 3000 ft. of climbing.  My friend, and Cat 1 racer, Jason Wood may join me on the ride.  I've ridden many century rides in the past (100+ miles) but I never rode to the Poconos before.  And, I never rode at the (fast) pace that I'll probably be riding...especially with Jason.  I'm hoping to average 16 mph which includes hills and stops for water breaks and pee breaks.

Although I'm not actively coaching right now, I am helping a few people with their cycling training.  If anyone needs any help or advice with their cycling training, email me at: mullerrj@gmail.com and I'll help you out- for free.

Hope to see you on the road in 2019.  Happy New Year!  Ride On!  Coach Rob

From C- to B+ in less than 1 year

Well, I have to pat myself on the back..since no one else will..haha.  I started getting back on the bike a little less than a year ago (from a long layoff) and I've gone from being a C- rider to a B+ rider- in that time.  That's right, when I started, I was so out of shape I had a hard time keeping up with the C group rides in my area.  (That's why I rated myself a C-.)  I kept up, but my legs were tired.  The only good thing I had going for me last year is that I only weighed 160 lbs.  So, when we hit the hills I dropped all the fatty Patty's on a C ride.  Since then, I've only gained 5 lbs. which doesn't seem to hurt me on the hills.  I've also increased my FTP from a 180w to 225w.  My goal is to increase my FTP from 225w to 250w by July of this year.  My highest FTP was 275w.  That was about 9 yrs. ago though.  I don't think I'll get up there again.  Who knows.  Maybe I will..maybe not.  If I don't I won't be disappointed.

 I'm satisfied riding with the B group riders.  Most of the B riders are older riders like me.  Hell, most of the riders on all the group rides are older.  I'd say the average age for the A riders is 40, and the average age for the B riders is 50, and the average age for the C+ riders is 60.  Right now, I'm probably one of the stronger B riders..which is why I give myself a B+ rating.  I used to ride with the A group but then again, that's when I was age 50 and my FTP was at 275w.  The problem riding with the A group riders is the fast pace lines.  All it takes is one person to touch a wheel in a pace line and they'll take out everyone behind them.  Plus, after you go down, you hope to God a car doesn't run your ass over.  I've been in fast pace lines at 28-30 mph and witnessed guys crashing and breaking collar bones and/or arms.  Not pretty.  Plus, when you ride in an A group you never know who is going to show up.  You could have a Cat 1 racer show up to an A group ride, or a professional triathlete.  Been there done that.

Back in the day, if I rode in a group...it was with a bunch of friends that I knew.  Most of the time, I rode/trained by myself.  It's just easier to go out and ride when you can...rather than riding in a group and only riding at a designated time.  But, there is safety in numbers when riding with a group..unlike riding solo.  That's why I prefer riding in a group now- safety.

So, get out and ride solo or ride with a group.  The weather is warming up nicely these days.

Power ON!  Coach Rob 

Spring Time

It's Spring!  Yeah.  But, it doesn't feel like Spring.  It still feels like Winter.  In fact, I STILL have 5 inches of snow in my front yard in the shaded areas.  That should be gone this weekend with the rain and the higher temperatures.

So, did you meet your Winter Goals?  I did, and I have to pat myself on the back.  My Winter goal was to ride 3 times per week and to improve my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) by 25 watts.  I rode through the Winter getting out at least 2x during the week, one night ride during the mid-week on my Mountain Bike that was 1.5 hrs. long (in all kinds of weather: snow, rain, sleet, extreme cold, etc.) and a day ride on my Road Bike on the weekend that was 2-3 hrs.  The other ride was an indoor trainer ride (on my other road bike) in my pain cave using Zwift Virtual trainer.  Not to mention that I didn't gain any weight over the Winter (which is tough to do), so my power to weight ratio improved as well.  I'm still btwn 160-165 lbs.  Therefore, my power to weight ratio is now at an even 3.0 w/kg, which is analogous to Cat 5 power.  My Summer goal is to get that number up as close to 3.5 w/kg as possible, which is near Cat 4 power.  At almost 60 yrs. old, I'm ok with that.

My FTP in October was 195w and it's approximately 220w now (March).  Actually, I think my FTP is closer to 225w because my latest test was indoors and I know for a fact that your indoor FTP is about 10% lower than your outdoor measured FTP- for many reasons.

I hope you met your Winter goal.  If so, great job!  If not, make a goal for the Summer.  My next goal is to increase my FTP another 25 watts so that my FTP is 250w by July/August timeframe.  Good Luck.

Power ON!  Coach Rob

VO2max Workout

If you're training for a Spring race, it's best to incorporate High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) as part of your training schedule.  You want to incorporate at least (1) Sweet Spot training interval and (1) VO2max interval per week.  That's in addition to a long (3 hr.) 'spirited' ride on the weekend.  When I say 'spirited' I'm talking about a ride where you're riding in or near your Sweet Spot training zone.  If you're not in that Zone, you're just logging a lot of 'grey' (trash) miles that's not too beneficial for racing.  As working adults, we're all 'time-crunched'.  We don't have the time like Professional Cyclists to log tons of base miles in the Tempo range during the off-season.  So, when we do train, we should train hard.  You want to be tired after your training intervals or long weekend ride.  Also, if you're new to racing, you want to get used to riding in fast groups during your weekend rides.  So, look for those fast 'spirited' weekend group rides.  They're around.  If you don't know where to find one, go to your local bike shop (LBS) and ask.  Most LBSs will have a group ride leaving from the shop on the weekends.  There are also local clubs/groups that host weekend rides.  I belong to the Central Bucks Bike Club (CBBC) and they have weekend A/B rides for me to ride in.  I used to ride in the A group, but now that I'm nearing 60 I feel more comfortable in the B group.  There are more old farts like me in the B group so it's a bit more social for me.  Not that I need socialization..ha.  Instead of talking about booze and women, like I did when I was single riding in the A group, I talk about vacations, retirement, good restaurants, etc. in the B group.

Here's a good VO2max workout I like to do.  It doesn't take much time and it won't 'kill' you or make you feel like you want to puke afterwards.  I like to start VO2max workouts at the bottom of my VO2max training zone.  Each week, I'll move up in that Zone until I'm at the peak of the Zone.  Once I'm able to complete the intervals (at the peak), I'll increase my FTP value and train at a higher wattage.

This particular VO2max workout is a 5x4 @ L4/L5 3RI.  That means there are 5 four minute intervals at the bottom of the VO2max training zone, with 3 minute rest intervals in-between.  I normally have a 10 minute warmup and 5 minute cooldown with all my workouts.  I think anything more than that is just a waste of time.  Remember, we're all time-crunched.  This is a 47 minute workout.  That's the other nice thing about it, it's hard and it's quick.  Check it out:

What's important when doing these intervals is to make sure that the power level of the first interval is the same as the power interval of the last one.  That is, there is no drop in power.  If you have to drop your power on the last interval, you're training at too high a power.  If you're not feeling tired during the last interval, then you're power is too low.  You need to crank it up.  The objective of any workout is to be able to complete it (barely) and have no drop in power across all intervals.  You can see that my power levels remained consistent (at 220w) across all five intervals.  I can tell I was working in my VO2max training zone because my heart rate is usually around the 175 bpm mark- which it was during this workout.

Power ON!  Coach Rob

Training for your first Spring ride/race

It's Ground Hog day in a couple days.  Wonder what Punxsutawney Phil will predict for 2018?  Legend has it, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, there will be six more weeks of Winter-like weather.  If he doesn't see his shadow, we'll have an early spring.  Regardless of what Phil predicts, will you be ready for your first early Spring ride/race in March or early April?  If you just started training, I hope you're not planning on peaking until mid-May..because that's about how long it will take.  For those of you that started training the end of December or beginning of January, you're in better shape.

So, how do you prep for your first ride/race?  Do you do any indoor interval workouts?  Are they High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) indoor workouts?  Are your rides long Tempo rides outdoors on the weekend?

Here's how I approach my first ride/race.  Since my first Gran Fondo type ride (I don't race anymore) is April 7, I count back from that day to today's date.  This tells me how much time I have left to train.  So, I have 67 days or a little over 9 weeks of training left.  The ride is an 80 mile ride with 6000' of climbing.  So, it's going to be a hilly ride.  And, since I anticipate riding at an average speed of 16 mph (including rest stops for something to eat/drink and to go to the bathroom), that means I'm going to be 5 hrs. in the saddle.  That's a long ride for early Spring since it's hard to get long rides in over the Winter.  (Normally, I don't do any century rides until Summer.)  Then, I look at the elevation profile of the ride (see below):

It looks like there are 13 distinct climbs over 200 ft. of elevation gain each.  And, the percent grade on some of the climbs is close to 15% (which is pretty steep).  The good thing is that most are short climbs between 1-2 miles long (which should only take 3-5 minutes to climb).  Those climbs will be in the L4/L5 power ranges which is Threshold/VO2max.  You'll need to generate that much power on 15% grades just to climb at 6-8 mph.  It looks like there's at least 5 minutes in-between climbs too, even though it looks like it's one climb after another on the elevation profile.  So, right away I'm thinking L4/L5 intervals with 5-10 minutes of rest in-between intervals.  In weeks 1-2 of training I'm looking at two interval workouts during the week: 1) a sweet spot interval workout like 2x10s or 2x12s and 2) an L4/L5 interval workout like 4x3 or 5x3.  On the weekends I'm going to ride a minimum 2 hr. Tempo ride with plenty of hills.  In weeks 3-4, I'm going to do the same interval workouts: a sweetspot and an L4/L5 workout.  This time I'm going to increase the duration to say a 2x15 sweetspot workout and a 7x3 L4/L5 workout.  And, I'll up my time in the saddle on the weekend Tempo ride from 2 hrs. to 2.5 hrs.  In weeks 5-6 I'll continue to increase the progression of all workouts.  I'll do this up to the 7th week.  Then, I'll decrease the duration and increase the intensity of the interval workouts.  Here's where I'll start the HIIT intervals (add some Tabata intervals).  Week 8 is sort of a taper of the volume (time)..where I'm not going very hard either.  I'm just going to maintain my fitness and form and be ready for the ride in week 9.  There it is, easy peasy.  You can follow the same training protocol if your 'ride' is a 'race' instead.  My rides like this are not beach cruiser rides.  I ride hard trying to maintain a specific average speed or power.  Not sure what my goal will be for this ride yet.  I'll make that determination the closer I get to the ride. Good Luck with your training.

Power ON!  Coach Rob

Winter Tires

I've been riding my bike every weekend throughout the Winter (weather permitting).  Weather permitting means unless it's raining or snowing or below 32F- I'm riding.  In addition to the salt on the road there is an over-abundance of gravel.  I'm sure there is some glass mixed in with that gravel too.  Just like your car should have all-season tires in the Winter (as a minimum), so should your bike.  I ride with Continental Grand Prix 4-Season tires and I love them.  They're constructed with Duraskin and a double Vectran puncture-resistant belt and reinforced sidewalls that stand up to brutal conditions.  They're also made with a rubber composition that performs well in cold temperature.  It's a great Winter/early-Spring tire.  I take them off when I ride in the Summer/Fall.

It's also a great tire for riding dirt/gravel roads like the Hell of Hunterdon bike ride in March (in my area).  In the Spring/Summer, I swap the Continental 4 Season tires for the Continental Grand Prix 4000 II tires.  They're not as stiff, they're lighter and they have great wet weather traction.  They're made in Germany where they know a little bit about automotive products (BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Audio automobiles not to mention Michelin and Continental tires).

Power ON!  Coach Rob

Tire size

I'll bet if you ask 90% of amateur bicycle riders what size tires they ride on, they'll give you the 'deer in the headlights' look.  They'll have no clue.  They probably don't care either- unless you told them if they chose a wider tire they'd probably ride faster with more comfort.  Really?  Yep.  Wider tires require less pressure to support the same weight.  Thus, wider tires can be inflated at lower pressures than narrower tires which yields more comfort.  What about speed?  Wider tires don't have any more total surface contact than narrower tires.  But, the fact that wider tires are not as tall as narrower tires means there is less deflection (up/down) yielding less tire rolling resistance.  Less rolling resistance equates to faster speed.  See Chart below:

If you've ever owned a high performance car with low-profile tires you'll know that the ride is not as comfortable as say a regular sedan with narrower tires.  That's because the low-profile tires are built for performance/handling- not comfort.  Same thing with bike tires.

  The majority of bikes sold pre-2016 were sold with stock 700x23c bike tires mounted on 15mm rims.  The 700 tire number is the diameter of the tire in mm, the 23 tire number is the tire width in mm (un-inflated).  So, based on what I said earlier, why doesn't everyone just go out and buy wider tires for their current bikes?  The problem with that is when you put a wider tire on a narrower rim you create turbulence from the wind which negates any of the rolling resistance advantage.  When wind hits the front (or slightly from the side) of the wheel, you want it to hug both the tire and the rim (as shown on the bottom right view).  You can see that with the wider tire and narrower rim below (on the bottom left) the wind separates from the rim causing turbulence.

That's why the trend these days is towards wider rims and wider tires.  So, if I have a 700x23c tire mounted on a 15mm rim, is there anything I can do to reduce the deflection and decrease rolling resistance making me go faster?  Yes, there is, you can slightly reduce the amount of pressure in your tires.  When I first started riding 15 yrs. ago (and using 700x23c tires) everyone pumped their tires up to 120 psi right before their ride.  The belief was the harder the tire the less tire to road surface area contact and the lower the rolling resistance.  Today we're smarter, we know that by lowering the tire pressure (down 5-10 psi) we can reduce the amount of deflection, decreasing rolling resistance and making us go faster.  Here is a chart from Michelin with recommended tire pressure based on wheel/tire size and rider weight.  You can see that the wider tires allows the tire pressure to be lowered almost 15 psi for the same rider weight:

The benefit of lowering the tire pressure is increased comfort.  You may not notice that comfort increase on a 20-30 mile ride or in a short race, but you'll definitely notice it for a century ride or longer race.  Instead of pumping my tires up to 120 psi, like I used to, I keep them between 105-110 psi (I weigh 160 lbs.).  I definitely notice more comfort.  I'm not sure I notice any more speed from decreased rolling resistance.  But, I'm not supposed to because when we talk about going faster, we're talking only seconds in a 40k TT.

Also, with the wider tires (that have shorter sidewalls) comes better bike handling, just like an high performance car with low-profile tires.

Power ON!  Coach Rob

How to choose the right bike frame size

There are plenty of ways to size a bike frame to yourself.  Notice I said 'size a bike frame to you', not the other way around.  When you purchase a bike, the bike should be custom fitted to you, not the other way around.  One of the best websites I've seen on how to fit a bike frame to you, is the Fit Calculator on Competitive Cyclist website: www.competitivecyclist.com 

You'll need a tape measure, stool, a bubble level and someone to take the measurements.
You'll need to take 8 measurements.  What's nice about the Competitive Cyclist Fit Calculator is that is shows you how to correctly take the measurements with both a photo and a video.  It doesn't get any easier/better than that.  You can take your measurements in either inches or centimeters.  I'd take it in inches since most tape measures are in inches. 

Here are the 8 measurements you need to take (I've included my measurements):

Inseam- 32"
Trunk- 24"
Forearm- 13"
Arm- 27"
Thigh- 23"
Lower Leg- 23"
Sternal Notch- 58"
Total Height- 71"

After taking my measurements, I entered them into Competitive Cyclists Fit Calculator.  Competitive Cyclist gave me 3 different results (for 3 different fits): a Competitive Fit (for aggressive riders or racers looking for speed over comfort), an Eddy Fit (less saddle to handlebar drop for more comfort), and the French Fit (puts you in a more upright riding position for maximum comfort and the largest frame).  Out of curiosity, I included the measurements from my Trek Madone 5.2 road bike (which is the same bike Lance Armstrong used to ride- so it's a race bike).  I was dumbfounded by the results.  It seems like my Trek Madone is a combination of all 3 fits..ha.  (see yellow highlights)  Go figure.

BTW, Trek recommends frame sizing from height alone.  According to the Trek sizing chart, I could ride either a 56cm or a 58cm size frame.  Since I'm 5'11" tall, I'm in the middle.  Too bad they don't sell a 57cm size frame.  I believe I opted for the 58cm size frame.  Perhaps that's why my bike measurements span all three of Competitive Cyclists Fits.  Now I'm wondering if my seat/saddle height is a little too low (BB Saddle position).  That would definitely put me in a more aero position when I'm in the drops.  Also seems like I can move my seat up a tad, which would decrease my saddle setback.  I'm not doing anything right now, because I'm comfortable when I ride and seem to be producing optimum power...for an old guy.

Power ON!  Coach Rob