Favorite new tool: Kool-Stop Tire Bead Jack

If you’ve learned how to change a tube, then you know about tire levers. They’re small and get the job done, but I don’t know anyone who likes them. You fight to get a grip with one, then fight to get the tire where it needs to go. If you’re trying to mount a tire that is especially tight, this can be a long, finger numbing battle ... one that I haven’t always won, and I bring a good amount of skill and experience to the process.

I happened to run across a comment about a tire jack tool. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was referring to but with some quick digging I found it! The Kool-Stop Tire Bead Jack might not replace your set of tire irons on the road—although, it’s small enough that it’s possible—but it’s a dream for your toolbox to use at home or out of your car.

Anyone who’s changed a tire knows that slippage on the tire and/or rim while using tire levers is just part of the trial and error process of mounting a tire. No longer! The Tire Bead Jack provides a secure hold of the tire and a very secure fulcrum point for lifting the tire onto the rim.

At about $12, it’s not expensive. You might not use it every day, but if you plan to keep riding your bike, you’ll probably see how a tool like this would be a great asset to avoid those tire mounting struggles.

***

A chamois for the office?

Who said you couldn't kit up at the office? I guess it helps if the office is a parking lot with a van and a few folding chairs. 

Team BMC management at work

TrainingPeaks WKO+ 3 with CrossOver Mac 8

Let me cut to the chase: running TrainingPeaks WKO+ 3 with Mac CrossOver 8 is pretty darn easy. You have a Mac and want to run WKO+ without messing with Windows? Just keep reading.

Some background...

Early last year I posted step by step instructions for running TrainingPeaks WKO+ on a Mac using only CrossOver Mac—no Bootcamp, Parallels, or other installations of Windows needed. I figured it could be helpful for others but was surprised at just how popular, especially considering it wasn’t the most straight forward process. Success varied, but it showed there was a big interest for Mac users to run a Mac-only solution.

The original post used TrainingPeaks WKO+ 2 and CrossOver Mac 7, and both have since moved to newer versions. I was very interested in upgrading to TrainingPeaks WKO+ 3, but I was afraid the setup wouldn’t work. Given all the advantages of my working set up (not installing, maintaining, protecting, backing up or running Windows in any way), I was hesitant. But as with all things foolish I figured, “Let’s just see what happens?” If you want more background, check out the original post.

The process...

I said this was pretty simple. But it’s not Steve Jobs simple. Downloading from your device directly to WKO+ doesn’t work out of the box, so you’ll need a separate Mac-native application to do that. But generally, all you need is:

• Desire to run WKO+ without ever starting up Windows
• Mac with an Intel processor
• GoldenCheetah, Garmin Training Center, PowerAgent, or other software to download data from your power meter or heart rate monitor
• CrossOver Mac version 8 (30-day free trial, $40)
• TrainingPeaks WKO+ 3 (30-day free trial, $129)

Last year’s instructions were lengthy, it helped to be running specific builds of WKO+, and a little digging in Windows was needed. This year’s process is A LOT easier.

1. Install GoldenCheetah, Garmin Training Center, PowerAgent, or whatever other software you want to use to download data from your device.
2. Download the TrainingPeaks WKO+ 3 installer
3. Install CrossOver Mac.
4. Install Internet Explorer 6 in CrossOver (optional step, but I did it, everything works, so I’m including it). In CrossOver, select Configure > Install Software..., then select Internet Explorer 6 from the list and install it in a new bottle of its own following on the onscreen prompts. A standard install works fine—no need to customize it.
5. Install TrainingPeaks WKO+ 3 in CrossOver. Select Configure > Install Software..., then click “Install unsupported software...” and install it in a new bottle of its own. When asked for the installer file, find where you saved the WKO+ installer and let it go through its paces.

That’s it. No tweaking needed. Launch WKO+ and go to work. I was able to upgrade from my previous WKO+ 2 license and activate in version 3 right in the new install—no fancy work around needed like last year (I left that part out of the last year’s already lengthy directions).

To get files from a previous version of WKO+ I recommend reviewing the online help topic “Migrating Your Data...” at WKO+ Start Up Guide: First Hour. This will give you the needed background for migrating data, but I found a slight modification to those directions that works better:

1. Manually create a new athlete in WKO+ 3 with the same name as the data you want to import
2. Exit WKO+
3. Find the folder created for that athlete’s data (should be at /user home folder/Documents/TrainingPeaks/WKO/Data/). 
4. Drag the old .wko files into that folder
5. Launch WKO+ again and ta-da! This only seems to work, though, if you manually create the athlete in WKO+ first.

To get new files into WKO+, you’ll need to use GoldenCheetah, Garmin Training Center, PowerAgent, or whatever other software you want to use to download data from your device. Then find the file you downloaded in that application (or export it from that app), and open it from within WKO+. Unfortunately, dragging and dropping a file from the Finder onto WKO+ doesn’t work when using CrossOver as it would when using WKO+ in Windows.

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the fact that you have one more reason to not run Windows!

***

Cycling is Hard

If you didn't hear the news about sports physiologist Allen Lim leaving the Garmin team for RadioShack, Velonews' story is a good read. Whether on the bike or off, jobs in cycling are simply hard work. Officials, coaches, managers, mechanics, soigneurs, and others work tirelessly to support the sport. Aside from slaving on the bike, the riders almost have the easy part of the job. This dedication comes from caring about the sport and the people involved, and making a change is often difficult because of the personal ties involved.

What to do following missed workouts

It’s nice to have the world’s most perfectly planned training schedule—or at least some plan at all—but what happens when life throws you a curve and you can’t follow the plan as written? I don’t know a single person who is able to follow a pre-written plan without missing a workout due to work, weather, unexpected travel, or some other reason. But when you get back to the bike, do you pick up where you left off, only 5 days later? Do you skip those 5 days and stick with what’s already on the plan for today? Will you be “ready” for the workouts that follow?

What do you do? The unfortunate answer is, “It depends.”

Of course you can always ask for advice. A coach can give you direction and not leave you assuming where to pick up your training. Some coaches even give specific directions on what to do when you miss a workout. If you don’t have a coach, you can ask a fellow cyclist you trust to give you some insight, but you can probably make a decision on your own.

If you have identified some key goals for the season, those dates are set and it is probably more important to continue with the plan mostly as written (do the workout written on the calendar for today) so the general progression of your training stays on schedule for those big events. Chances are the missed workouts were just more intervals—maybe there were a few more or they were a little longer than previous workouts but nothing that different.

Sometimes, however, there can be a few key skills or efforts that are important to “go back” and do. If you had planned a time trial, fitness assessment, drill, or something else specific to prepare you for an upcoming goal or determine your upcoming training, then you will want to work in that specific workout. If none of those were on the schedule, it’s just water under the bridge.

If the break was longer than a few days, then you can assume that you’re pretty well rested (at least from a training perspective). But if it’s been a few weeks, it may take some time to feel good on the bike again and get some endurance back. That doesn’t mean going back to old workouts, necessarily, but it does mean looking forward from this point to your next goal(s) on the calendar to see if some other adjustments are necessary to your overall plan. If you’re working with a coach, this would be a good time to talk. If you’ve developed your own plan, it’s now time to revisit your planning process and come up with a new training progression to lead up to your key goals.

Missing a workout or two rarely affects if you’re “ready” for a future workout, so don’t worry about that. If you miss a longer block of time, just revisit your goals and adjust your overall schedule accordingly. But regardless of what training plan you follow, missed workouts simply mean missed time and repetitions of intensity and recovery. You can’t get that back, so the best thing to do is move forward and let the missed workouts go. And for those compulsive types of us out there, that may be the hardest part of all.

Sunday Funnies: See it to believe it

This guy did this for a full 9 minutes!

Strength training during race season

The following is in response to a recent question about strength training (off the bike) during the race season.

My first question is: what’s the goal of your strength training?

Any training you do takes energy and time, and any training you do that’s not on the bike takes away energy and time that could be spent cycling. While a rider can benefit from off-the-bike training, these cross training activities need to address a specific goal, especially if they are being done during the peak part of the season. Specificity is key to top cycling performance, and during the middle of the summer that means time on the bike. Cross training can provide a fitness base but does not provide the specificity needed for peak cycling performance since it does not exactly replicate the motion and position of cycling.

As a result, strength training off the bike during the middle of the season needs to address a particular deficiency that cannot be easily addressed through on the bike training because greater strength does not necessarily translate to higher power on the bike (see Dr. Andy Coggan’s Stength vs. power article for more detail on how more strength doesn’t necessarily lead to more power).

Generally, weight training is part of a cyclist’s training program in the following scenarios:

1. off-season cross training for full body development and maintenance
2. bone health (weight bearing exercise)
3. rehabilitation from injury or physiological imbalance
4. address a specific muscular weakness
5. increase short-duration (sprint) power [this is somewhat debatable—see above article link]
6. comprehensive physical development for young riders

As a general practice, for every weight/strength workout you plan, subtract that time and energy from what you will have available to spend on the bike. If you ride less during the core racing season as a result of strength training, reconsider how much weight training you do (if at all).

A few exceptions apply. If you have issues with your lower back like I do, then time and energy spent on core strengthening and flexibility in the short term can be well worth the time saved from injury in the long term (see 3 & 4 above). Also, if the strength workouts take place during time you would not have been able to ride, then it may be a great addition to your training.

If you have chosen to do strength training during your cycling season, I recommend always giving priority to the cycling workouts. That means strength workouts should follow cycling workouts on high-intensity days so that you have your full energy available to commit to the cycling workout. Next, make sure to balance your overall training plan so your body regularly has time to recover. Strength training also needs to be counted in your overall training hours to reflect the additional energy required to complete these additional workouts.

Obviously there is a great deal more to understanding how strength training can be a part of your annual training.

For more information, check out Cycling Anatomy by Shannon Sovndal or Weight Training for Cyclists by Ken Doyle, ask a cycling coach, and continue to learn more about the numerous factors and techniques for improving cycling performance.

Speed, Leg Speed, and "Spinning Out"

Cyclists sometimes refer to “spinning out” in a sprint or down a hill, meaning they feel they reached the maximum speed they could in the gears they have. The implication is that with a bigger gear they could have gone faster in the same scenario. However, fitness and skill development (or lack thereof) are the limiting factors long before gear selection.

Leg speed is a skill that juniors are forced to develop due to junior gears (Huugh! Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. That happens when I think about junior gears.) Track riders also develop this skill due to riding a fixed gear. And it’s a skill that all riders should work to develop through high cadence workouts. Accelerating out of turns, jumping, attacking, and sprinting will all improve if a rider is simply comfortable using higher leg speed (100–150).

At the end of the day, your top speed is limited by power—800 watts in a 53 x 12 is the same speed as 800 watts in a 53 x 14. But developing leg speed so your muscles will perform well at high RPMs can help you put all of your available force into the pedals, ultimately producing more power.

Power aside, let’s just look at the myth of spinning out. Not many riders are hitting 40 mph in a sprint. Never the less, it’s possible to reach that speed in nearly any set of gears whether you throw on a monster 55 chainring or you’re limited to junior gears (roughly a 48x13). As you can see in the chart below (click to enlarge/zoom), the absurdly large 55 x 11 requires a cadence of just over 100 to do 40 mph. Juniors can keep pace with a cadence of about 138.

On the track, pursuit riders use a cadence of about 120, kilo riders are around 140, and track sprinters are over 150. This isn’t the cadence you want to hold for an hour, but for accelerating out of corners, sprinting, or descents of a few minutes, the stock 53 x 12 on most bikes is more than enough. If you can’t hold 140 RPMs for the duration of a sprint, or 120 for at least 10 minutes, it’s time to add some high cadence drills to your workouts so you’re capable of it and become more comfortable maintaining this tempo.

So next time you hear a rider say he’d “spun out,” what he really just said is, “I can’t go that fast,” or “I’m lacking leg speed.” The chart doesn’t lie, and any rider should be able to put out 140 RPMs for a 10-15 second effort. Few riders have the power to turn the pedals at 140 RPMs in their biggest gear, but if you did you’d hit nearly 48 mph on a 53 x 12 and just over 40 on junior gears. Those are speeds that can win a lot of races.

The Feed Zone - Tips for Hand Ups

So that long road race is coming up, and you’re starting to think that getting a few bottles during the race would be a big help for staying hydrated. The feed zone is a tricky place, both for riders and the people feeding them, because most people—on and off the bike—don’t do it much.

A few things to think about before you plan to get a hand up during a race:

• If you’ve never done it before, race time is not the right time to learn.
• If putting 1–3 bottles in your jersey will be enough for the race, that’s the best way to go. If that won’t suffice, then make time to practice before race day.
• It’s great that Billy’s girlfriend volunteered to help at the race, but if she doesn’t dress like Mother Theresa, she shouldn’t be asked to do her great works either. Feeding a team during your first race is totally unrealistic! And if you’re a friend of Billy’s, you won’t do that to his girlfriend. Plus, you’ll have a better chance of getting your bottle.

At this point, if you’ve decided that you need to get a feed at the race, or simply that it’s about time you started learning how to do this, read on. If the person giving you bottles knows what to do, that will be a big help. Next, a lot of your success will depend on everyone around you staying sane and whether or not you have good hands. If you took up cycling because you were the kid who couldn’t catch a ball if offered a million dollars, this hand up thing is not looking good for you. But these basics will help both you—the rider—and your assistant if you’re new to this. In the cycling tradition—and lacking a better name—I call the person handing up bottles the “soigneur.”

Before race, plan the following:

• What bottles, drinks (water, energy drink, etc.), and food should be put in a cooler or other container for quick and easy transport and access
• Where the soigneur will stand (right/left side of road, and beginning/middle/end of feed zone), and where on the course the feed zone is located
• What the soigneur will be wearing (clothing color, hat, etc.) so they can easily be spotted
• Which lap(s) you plan to get a feed
• What items you will get (energy drink vs. water) on which laps

Soigneur skills for handing up bottles:

• Get close to the riders—usually this will be uncomfortably close for people new to feeding—but obviously don’t get into the road, which is dangerous for you and the riders
• Hold the bottle correctly!!! Refer to image shown here.
  
• Hold your arm straight out—this will be the right height for the rider and you won’t have to get quite so close
• Let the rider absorb the impact of grabbing the bottle—don’t try to run along or move the bottle in the rider’s direction to lessen the impact. It’s a bike racer you’re working with, not Randy Moss, and there are usually lots of other people in the feed zone.
• Pick up dropped bottles after completing the feed
• New soigneurs should only try to feed one rider, two max. With more experience for rider and soigneur it’s possible to feed more riders but still tricky.

Rider skills and tips for getting a feed

• Toss off extra bottles after the feed zone—this way if you have a half-empty bottle you can keep it in case you miss your feed
• Aim to grab the bottle at the neck with your thumb and forefinger, and the rest of your hand wrapping around the length of the bottle
• Anticipate the difference in speed of the stationary bottle and let your arm absorb some of the speed difference—don’t try to grab the bottle with an iron hand and arm
• Let dropped bottles go—don’t look back after them as you’re only likely to cause a crash

General stuff to know

• Feeding is a learned skill, so practice it!
  
• Plan feeds earlier than needed in a circuit race so you can always have full bottles with you, even if you miss a feed one lap.
• Only hand up 1 bottle at time. If you really need to hand up more, then you need to use a musette bag (photo of musette bag) which uses a little different technique and practice
  
• Many relationships have been negatively affected by the failure to connect on a feed, so talk and practice ahead of time and leave any errors out on the course (don’t bring them home afterward)
• Writing your name (and team name) on bottles helps you get them back, but expect (and plan accordingly) to lose some.

Now practice

1. Find a quiet street/road with an uphill—hopefully the races where you need to feed will also have a hill at the feed zone.
2. Practice with the soigneur on the right side of the road. This is the side you will feed in most races, plus most riders are right-handed which will make this easier (sorry lefties).
3. Have empty and water-filled bottles available (don’t use energy drink for practice—it’s sticky, and bottles sometimes squirt or pop-a-top during a feed); start with an empty bottle then move to water-filled bottles
4. Soigneur stands on the white line (or on the curb) on the side of the road
5. If necessary, before reaching the feed zone the rider moves any empty or near empty bottles to make room for new bottle
6. Rider approaches following a straight line near the white line
7. Rider maintains line through the feed zone—do not swerve in toward the soigneur to get the feed as this creates more chaos for riders and feeders alike; the soigneur should adjust their road-side position to be at the appropriate distance
8. Soigneur holds bottle straight out at arm’s length grasping the bottle from the top (bottle dangling down)
9. Rider puts hand out in bottle grabbing position (about 18“ in front of the shoulder at shoulder height with hand open) signaling they will take the bottle and helping the rider and soigneur home in for the feed
10. Rider holds line and keeps eyes on bottle as taking feed to properly catch bottle. I recommend wrapping the bottle into your chest to hold it securely (sort of like it was a football) and making sure you still have a safe line through the feed zone.
11. Rider then places bottle in cage or jersey
12. Rider tosses off any empty or nearly empty bottles
13. Repeat a half-dozen times or more increasing the speed as you get more comfortable

During a race

• Stay to the left if you are not feeding—this will make life better and safer for everyone
• Make sure to follow all of the pre-event planning noted above, plus remember and use the same techniques you did in practice
• Expect the feed zone to be a bit chaotic during a race, but focus on getting into position (or out of the way) before entering the feed zone, and holding your line through the entire feed zone.
• Rider and soigneur should communicate with each other each lap through the feed zone—confirm the schedule (as it was planned) or make changes as necessary

Example

In this video, riders are going through a feed zone picking up musette bags and grabbing bottles.  They make it look very easy, and you’ll probably have a hard time picking up the feed zone action until you’ve watched through the video a few times. Look for riders slinging musette bags over their heads they have just grabbed, and a few bottles being handed out. Everyone continues to ride a steady pace and a smooth line. Watch the upper left corner as the soigneur with the white and red shirt hands out three bottles from 0:23–0:28 in the video.

Twelve Things You Absolutely Have to Know to Race Bicycles

The Wisconsin Cycling Association (WCA) website has an excellent resource and reminder for all bike racers called Twelve Things You Absolutely Have to Know to Race Bicycles. The list of 12 follows, but check their page for the quick details on each point. This really is essential info for all bike racers.

1. Be on time for races
2. Check your equipment before the race
3. Pin your numbers on correctly
4. Be a good, responsible citizen
5. Understand the free lap rule
6. Listen to the starting instructions
7. Ride so as to make it a safe race for everyone
8. Know the rules for working with teammates
9. Know when you finish if you get lapped
10. Be courteous to the folks you meet on race day
11. Understand the results process
12. Enjoy your race! It's supposed to be fun!