After my last field test and doing some calculations on the % improvement and extrapolating that to what it means to road performance it struck me that training has to give you the biggest bang for the buck. In the video “S__t Cyclist Say” it is all about the weight of the bike and psychologically for most riders the weight of the bike is the most available feed back you get. I remember when I was only doing Heart Rate field tests...

I think the idiom “The hay is in the barn” is the perfect midwestern way of saying that your training is done, you are as ready as you can be and it is time to taper to your goal event. Zack De Leon used this with the Fairfield in Training group 2 weeks before the Columbus Marathon a couple of years ago and my son repeated it to me last year before my Columbus Half Marathon. It is equally important for runners and cyclists to stop...

“Your legs are your second heart” was the theme of the American Heart Assn Heart Chase station sponsored by us (Crook’s Cycle Right – CCR) and Lancaster Bicycle. We demonstrated this to the participants by showing them how your their rate jumps when you stop pedaling suddenly. This is opposite of the expected result of having your hear rate stay the same or decline when you stop pedaling. How your body can use your legs to...

We have finished the design and selection of the Crooks’ Cycle Right 2012 cycling jersey. The goal was to create a simple clean design and message that riders would be proud to ride in and combine that with a high quality jersey that riders would pull out of the drawer first. And the finishing touch would be to offer the jersey and accessories at a price that riders would jump at. One additional consideration on suppliers was a Made...

The course for Event #4 was all uphill with the exception of one flat section. The weight for each rider was entered to allow the Computrainers to calculate the speed based on power to weight (P/W) for each grade along with the wind resistance. Steep grades were dominated by P/W while 1-2% grades were dominated by wind resistance with a smaller factor for P/W. These are all Lab certified Computrainers that measure the power delivered to the...

Event #2 course was dead flat with no change in grade for 10 miles. The course favored pure power with a little impact from power to weight ratio for each rider. The trick was to produce even power for the 23-36 minutes it would take the riders to complete the 10 miles. Event #1 course was a rolling course with little flat and was more climbing than descending. That rolling course required the combination of power to weight with the ability...

I know many of you are asking this question, why would I want to ride an indoor time trial? I’m not a racer… At least that is what my wife asked me, why would anyone want to do this TT thing? Here are the top 5 reasons I would give to join the fun: #1 If you are a competitor (triathalons, city limit signs, etc), keeping that competitive mind set in the winter will help you jump start your spring. Thinking about doing your best...