A breath of fresh air

One of my biggest complaints about the DFW metroplex has been the general lack of concern for the environment, health and the overall SUV-centric culture. It took a while for me to find my niche here, and I found it in cycling; however, there seems to be this general attitude in the 'plex that having a huge house, driving a huge car and pouring huge blocks of big box stores is where one can find the meaning of life. That may be shifting a bit...

A positive change is in the air. Back in 1999, Fort Worth took the bull by the horns and the Bicycle Blueprint was born. It was a plan that was put into action and resulted in 300 miles of bicycle routes in cow town. Now, the plan is on the verge of being taken further. It has been coined "Bike Fort Worth", and it will expland the existing 300 miles by 755 new miles of trails and bike lanes. It could turn Fort Worth into a cycling haven.

The idea is that adding an abundance of trails and lanes will open up another avenue of transportation as well as slow motor-vehicle traffic. Interestingly, the bike lanes result in better business for shop owners because motorists who drive slower are more likely to stop and shop or eat. An article from the Fort Worth Business Press outlines the plan along with some of the benefits that shop owners on Magnolia have personally experienced since lanes were painted on that road.

My hope is that this project will make both cyclists and motorists happy while doing something good for the environment. With lanes and trails, we cyclists will happily get out of the path of vehicles. ;)

Digging up dirt

Up until this Tuesday, I'd been using the wrong muscles.

I had gone through several seat adjustments on my bike and nothing ever felt quite right. One adjustment gave me pain in the front of my knee, another adjustment gave pain in the back of my knee and the most recent made me feel like Quasimodo. And, all in all, I never felt like I was getting that much power out of my legs. I got another adjustment over this past weekend. Then I went out for a 26 mile ride on Tuesday evening after work. WOW. What a difference! My legs felt so much more powerful and I was able to keep a better cadence and better consistent pace. I just plain felt stronger.

Over the course of the Tahoe training season, I had heard several times that you want to imagine yourself scraping mud off of the ground when you are peddling. Did I take this advice? I guess not. I either wasn't aware that I wasn't doing that or I just didn't listen. Either way, I was doing it all wrong. When I was getting my bike adjusted this last time, while I was peddling on the trainer, the mechanic brought it to my attention that I was pointing my toes down while I peddled. He, too, told me that I should scrape mud. It was advice that I'd heard of course, but I didn't realize that I wasn't putting that advice into motion. He told me "You're using all the wrong muscles that way." See, if you peddle with your toes pointed downward you are using all of the small muscles in your leg. Instead, you should keep you foot parallel to the ground and imaging yourself scrape mud off of the ground with your cleat. This form will ensure you are using the big muscles in your legs, the ones that you can really leverage power from.

My husband always says there are four steps to proper form. This can be applied to any sport, really. 1) You are doing it wrong, 2) You realize you are doing it wrong, 3) You correct it and are aware that you are correcting it, 4) You do it correctly without thinking. Tuesday was my step 2. Moving onto step 3....just scraping mud, peddling faster and digging deeper.

P.S.

Today I stumbled upon a site that gives a nice explanation on cycling form and bike fit. If you ride and feel that you may not quite have the right fit, I recommend checking it out.

To subscribe to my blog, go to taylorcycles.com and click the Follow button or subscribe via RSS feed.

To Gu or not to Gu: What's in a gel?

I've done the Dew. Recently I decided it was time to do the Gu. Before I got into cycling I did not know what a Gu was. I'd never tried a Gu, I didn't know anyone who Gued and certainly didn't know what was in a Gu. To me, gu was something icky and sticky. But, then I started seeing fellow Team in Training teammates doing Gu on our long training rides and it made me curious. Many people would substitute Gu for solid foods. I was told that the first time I try a Gu it should be on a short ride of 30 miles or so. Apparently gus and gels can make some not so fun gu in your stomache when your system first is introduced to it.

A few weeks ago, on a sunny and blistering Tuesday afternoon, I decided to go on a ride after work. On this day, I also decided I would try my first gu. To my surprise I had no issues. My stomache did not burn and I actually felt great. I did one gu about 15 minutes before I went out and another on the ride. I did 31 miles that day with calorie consumption that consisted of 2 gus, sports drink, half of a Clif bar and tons of water. It was a good ride for an evening. Hot but good.

You may be asking yourself what's in these gels and gus that endurance athletes are always raving about? The simple answer: calories. Calories that you can absorb and burn through quickly. Calories that help your body avoid using itself as fuel on long rides. Gus provide a blend of complex and simple carbohydrates, electrolytes and amino acids to keep you going with a "hopefully" smaller amount of pain. They are a good fuel for endurance training because they offer a balanced blend of the nutrients you need and they are fast and easy to consume. Do be cautious when first trying a gu or gel. Although my stomache did not burn, they are not always so kind. Slam a gu on a short ride or near the end of a long ride just in case they do cause some stomache issues. You'll also want to try different flavors. I recommend buying a variety box at first. I like the non-fruit flavors - Espresso, Chocolate and Vanilla fare well with me. Give some different flavors and shot and see what works for you.