Ok ok, cheesy and possibly overused title referencing a book that is only tangentially about maintenance of any kind. 

For the sake of this post, let’s ignore “Zen” for now (which I know basically nothing about) and talk about bicycle maintenance (which I know a whole bunch about). I certainly can’t cover everything in one blog post. There are countless books on the subject (do people still read service manuals?) and things are constantly being updated as technology marches steadily on. I can, however, share my ritual that I perform approximately one to two weeks before any major ride, event, or race. Glamorous? No. Satisfying? You betcha.

Let’s start with a clean bike. Give it a quick rinse, lather it up with some water and Dawn dish soap (is anyone from Procter & Gamble reading this? #sponsorme) to help cut grease buildup on the drivetrain, and rinse everything off with a hose when you’re done. Towel dry what you can; compressed air may be helpful for the hard to reach places.

Wheels off!

Remove both wheels and give both tires a quick visual, looking for tread wear, cracks from age, and any small cuts or punctures that you may not have noticed. Pull the valve cores and check sealant levels using a small zip tie or allen wrench as a dipstick. Make sure the valve stems are free of any dried sealant, and consider installing new cores if it’s been tough to get air in or out of your tires.

Feel the hubs. You don’t need to be a bearing whisperer to tell when they’re worn. Bearings should turn smoothly and quietly, with no lateral (side to side) or axial (up and down) play. Crunchy? Noisy? Might be time to stop by your local bike shop unless you’re comfortable digging deeper.

Check for any broken, damaged, or loose spokes. Measure spoke tension if you have the means. If you don’t have the tools, plucking the spokes like a guitar string will at least identify any that are severely loose or tight. Spokes should all have approximately the same pitch.

Now is also a good time for a quick brake inspection. Disc brake pads often feel and function fine right up until they are completely worn out! As a reference: when pads are brand new, the friction material is just a little thicker than the backing plate. Are yours gettin’ skinny?

Chain off!

Quick measure your chain with a chain wear indicator (available at any local bike shop for $10-$20), and pop it off with a masterlink pliers (also $10-$20 at your LBS). If it’s worn out, or nearly worn out; replace it. If it’s BAD worn out proceed with caution: you may need a new cassette too ($$$…this is why we measure our chains frequently often). If you have the tools and/or motivation to do so, remove the cassette and derailleur pulleys, too: although they can be cleaned on the bike it’s easier to be thorough when everything is disassembled.

Soak the chain in some mineral spirits or simple green. Scrub, rinse, repeat as needed. The cleaner the better (especially if you wax!). Old school tip: soak your chain in a plastic pop bottle partially filled with solvent. Thread the cap on and shake periodically to release any grit. Contaminated solvent can be dumped out and refilled as needed. Cut the top off the bottle to get the chain out. Let it air dry, or blow dry with compressed air.

Scrub the cassette, derailleur pulleys, and chainring. It’s hard not to make a mess if they’re still on the bike, but again: the cleaner the better.

While the chain is off, give the crank arms a spin. It’s way easier to identify noisy bottom bracket bearings when they’re isolated from the rest of the drivetrain.

Reinstall your nice clean parts.

And don’t forget to lube your nice clean chain! Cleaning and lubricating your bike is the equivalent of unplugging it and plugging it back in. Making noise? Try this first.

Give the wheels a quick spin and make sure they’re straight (heads up: a tire that is not fully seated can disguise itself as a tweaked wheel and is not at all uncommon) and that the brake pads are not contacting the rotors.

With the bike on the ground, grab the front brake and rock the bike forward and backward a little. Any play in the front end is usually a loose headset. Pick up the front of the bike and turn the handlebars back and forth. There should be no sad crunchy bearing sounds or drag. Overly tight headset bearings are very common, especially after swapping stems. That top cap doesn’t need to be that tight, people! Draw the top cap bolt down just enough to take up any play in the headset bearings, then tighten up the bolts on the stem. Done!

Feel the pedals for any play in the bearings; this is another very common issue, especially with you high mileage riders!

Double check the torque on the stem bolts, crank bolts, chainring bolts, axles/skewers, suspension hardware, and brake caliper bolts (and any other important bolts that I’ve forgotten to mention).

Anything electronic on your bike? AXS batteries (don’t forget about the coin cell batteries in electronic shifters or power meters)? Computer? Lights? Charge ‘em up.

Test Ride.

And not just up and down your driveway. Go out for a regular ride and just ride like you normally would. Any brake noise? Is the chain skipping under heavy load? Maybe you made things worse? No worries! This is why we do these things a week or two before the main event (see paragraph one). You still have time to try again, grab any replacement parts if needed, or seek professional help.

But hopefully everything is smooth and quiet and we have guaranteed that nothing could possibly go wrong, right?!

Well, no.

Crashes, flat tires, and even mechanical failures can and do happen at inopportune times. But we can now approach our race with confidence, knowing that we have addressed the variables that are in our control. We’ll just have to roll with whatever else happens along the way.

Maybe that’s our Zen.

Thank you to Aaron Schutter @aaron_two_tired for being our 2026 Iceman Trailblazer.

You signed up for Iceman. Maybe you’ve been riding through the winter, maybe you’re just dusting off the bike. Either way, if you’re reading this in May, you have one job right now: build the nutritional infrastructure that your race-day performance will sit on top of.

Not carb loading. Not race-week fueling. Foundation work. And just like building your aerobic base on the bike takes months — not days — building your nutritional base is something you do now, not in October.

Let’s get into it.

Why May Matters More Than You Think

Here’s the thing about nutrition for a race like Iceman: the window between now and November is actually a gift. You have time to experiment, adapt, and train your body — both physically and metabolically — to perform on race day.

The athletes who struggle at Iceman usually aren’t under-trained. They’re under-fueled in the months leading up to it. They skimp on carbs during hard training blocks, they don’t pay attention to protein, and they wonder why their legs feel flat by mile 15.

What you do in May sets the ceiling for what’s possible in November.

Carbohydrate Periodization: Fuel the Work

Carb periodization is one of the most effective tools endurance athletes have — and one of the most misunderstood. It doesn’t mean going low-carb all the time. It means matching your carbohydrate intake to the demands of your training.

Hard training day? Load up on carbs. Easy recovery ride or rest day? Pull back. It’s that simple in concept, and it pays off in two important ways:

• Performance: your muscles have the glycogen they need when they need it — so you can actually hit quality training efforts instead of slogging through them.
• Body composition: easy days with lower carbs keep your insulin levels steady and encourage fat oxidation — without sacrificing performance on the days that count.

A rough guide: on days with 60+ minutes of hard effort or interval work, aim for 5–7g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight. On easy or rest days, 3–4g/kg is usually plenty.

Protein: The Non-Negotiable

Endurance athletes chronically under-eat protein. It’s the most common gap I see in athlete nutrition, and it silently erodes your adaptation over months.

The current sports nutrition research is consistent: endurance athletes need 1.6–2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day to support muscle repair, adaptation, and performance. That’s not a bodybuilder target — that’s what the research shows for people doing sustained aerobic training.

For a 150-pound (68kg) rider, that’s roughly 109–136 grams of protein daily. For most people, that’s significantly more than they’re currently eating.

Distribution matters too. Aim to spread protein across 3–4 meals and include a post-ride dose within 30–60 minutes after training — 20–40 grams is the sweet spot for stimulating muscle protein synthesis. Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, chicken, fish, or a quality protein shake all work here.

Training the Gut: Start Now

This one is underrated and often overlooked until it’s too late.

Your GI system is trainable. If you want to be able to eat and drink while riding hard in November — and you will need to — you need to start practicing now. That means fueling during training rides, not just before and after.

Start with real, familiar foods first: banana pieces, dates, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, rice cakes. Then gradually introduce whatever you plan to use on race day — gels, chews, sports drinks. Give your gut 10–16 weeks to adapt to on-bike fueling, which is exactly the window you have right now.

Athletes who skip this step often hit GI distress or appetite shutdown mid-race. Don’t be that person. Train your gut like you train your legs.

The Micronutrients That Actually Move the Needle

You don’t need to supplement everything — but there are a handful of micronutrients that consistently show up as performance limiters in endurance athletes. If you’re not paying attention to these, you may be leaving fitness on the table.

Iron / Ferritin

Low ferritin — the stored form of iron — is the most common silent performance killer I see, especially in women. You can have “normal” hemoglobin but still have depleted ferritin stores that impair oxygen delivery and leave you feeling chronically fatigued and flat on the bike. Get a full iron panel including ferritin, not just standard hemoglobin. Aim for ferritin above 50 ng/mL for optimal performance.

Magnesium

Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions — including energy production and muscle function. Endurance athletes lose significant magnesium through sweat, and most don’t replace it adequately through diet. Signs of low magnesium include muscle cramps, poor sleep, and general fatigue. Food sources: dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate. A magnesium glycinate supplement in the evening is a low-risk, high-value addition for most athletes.

Vitamin D

If you live in Michigan, you are almost certainly vitamin D insufficient by the end of winter. Vitamin D plays a role in muscle function, immune health, and bone density. Get your levels checked — you’re aiming for 40–60 ng/mL. Most people need 2,000–4,000 IU daily to maintain adequate levels, especially heading into summer training.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3s support inflammation management, which matters a lot when you’re stacking training blocks week over week. Fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) twice a week is ideal. If that’s not realistic, a quality fish oil supplement of 2–3 grams of combined EPA/DHA daily is a reasonable approach.

Audience-Specific Notes

Women

If you haven’t had a full iron panel recently, this is priority number one. Low ferritin is pervasive in active women and rarely gets caught by standard bloodwork. You’ll also want to pay attention to how your energy and appetite shift across your cycle — many women find they need more calories and carbs in the luteal phase (the two weeks before your period), and forcing restriction during that window often backfires.

Masters Athletes

Protein timing around any strength training you’re pairing with your riding matters more than many realize, especially over 40. Muscle protein synthesis becomes less efficient with age, which means you need both more protein and better distribution throughout the day to stay ahead of it. Don’t skip the post-workout window.

Junior Riders

Growing athletes have higher protein needs relative to body weight than adults — closer to 1.8–2.2g/kg — because they’re rebuilding from training AND still developing. Parents: don’t let young athletes train on empty. A real pre-ride meal and a solid recovery snack aren’t optional for juniors.

Competitive and Pro Riders

If you’re tracking training stress scores (TSS) or using a power meter, you have the data to make carb periodization precise. Match your carbohydrate targets to your actual training load, not a generic formula. High-TSS days should be fueled aggressively — this is not the time to under-eat.

What to Focus on This Month

You don’t have to overhaul everything at once. Start here:

• Get a blood panel. Ask specifically for ferritin, vitamin D (25-OH), and magnesium. This is the most impactful thing most athletes can do in May.
• Start tracking protein for one week — not to obsess, but to find out where you actually are. Most athletes are surprised.
• Bring food on your next training ride. Even something small — a banana, a handful of dates. Get your gut used to eating on the bike.
• Pay attention to how you feel on hard days vs. easy days, and start matching your eating to your training load — not just to hunger.

Next month: the topic most riders completely underestimate in cold weather — hydration. Cold air blunts your thirst response, which means you can be significantly dehydrated and feel nothing. We’re going to talk about what that actually costs you, and exactly how to fix it before race day.

Gina Render is a certified Performance Nutrition Coach that works with a variety of athletes and active individuals both locally and remotely to help them meet their goals. As a wife, mom of two teens avid mountain biker, and strength athlete, she understands the demands that come with balancing life and sport. From sport-specific fueling to general nutrition, she’s your partner and advocate to empower you to Adventure More. Contact her at gina@adventure-more.com.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to help lead out the Calhoun County Girls on the Run 5K. Three of us from Super Duper Cycling volunteered to ride our bikes at the front of the runners, helping guide the course and cheer on the participants. This was my third year helping with the event, and every year I leave feeling inspired.

If you are not familiar with Girls on the Run, it’s a program that helps young girls build confidence, resilience, and self-belief through running and physical activity. As I watched hundreds of girls make their way toward the finish line, I couldn’t help but notice the pride on their faces. Some crossed the line smiling from ear to ear. Others looked exhausted but determined. Many were doing something they weren’t sure they could do just a few weeks earlier.

It reminded me of something I have learned through cycling and endurance racing: confidence doesn’t come before the challenge; it comes because of the challenge.

As adults, we sometimes forget that. We wait until we feel ready before we sign up for the race, join the group ride, or pursue a big goal. But confidence is built in the process of doing hard things. Those young girls were proving that lesson one finish line at a time.

With the Lumberjack 100 just around the corner, I have been thinking a lot about that idea. There are several women from our cycling community who are preparing to tackle this demanding mountain bike race. One hundred miles of singletrack isn’t something you accidentally complete. It requires months of preparation, countless training rides, problem-solving, and a willingness to be uncomfortable for a very long time.

Lately my focus has been on nutrition. Training is important, but so is fueling the work. Endurance events have a way of exposing weaknesses, and nutrition is often one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle. Learning what works, what doesn’t, and how to stay fueled over hours of effort can make the difference between surviving a race and performing your best.

That is one reason events like Lumberjack are such valuable steppingstones toward Iceman. They help us dial in the details, nutrition, pacing, equipment, and mental toughness. They teach us how to respond when things don’t go according to plan. Most importantly, they remind us that we are capable of more than we think.

As I watched those girls cross the finish line a few weeks ago, I realized they are learning the same lessons many of us are still learning as adults. Growth happens when we challenge ourselves. Confidence comes from keeping promises to ourselves. And sometimes the best way to find out what you’re capable of is simply to show up and try.

Whether you are running your first 5K, lining up for Lumberjack 100, or preparing for Iceman this November, remember that every finish line starts with the decision to take on something that feels a little intimidating.

What is one hard thing you are doing to challenge yourself this summer?

Thank you to Heather Newman @goodtimesally_mtb for being our 2026 Iceman Cometh Challenge Trailblazer!

I have not been able to make as many women’s group rides as I wanted to this past year. Life, classes, work, it all stacks up. I caught a couple last season and made it to one so far this year, but not nearly as many as I had hoped.

But here’s the thing…even without being at every ride, I’m still feeling it.

Something is changing out there.

Now that classes are wrapped up for the summer, I am all in. Because the energy I have been seeing, at the trailhead, at the start lines, out on the course, it is something I do not want to miss.

It starts before the race even begins.

Standing at the line, you start talking. Where are you from? What have you been racing? What brought you here? And then you hear it, the why. Everyone has one. Some are chasing goals, some are just getting started, some are out there proving something to themselves.

Those conversations stick with you.

And then the race starts.

What I have been noticing more and more this season, especially at races like Barry Roubaix, Yankee Springs Time Trial, and this past weekend at Mud Sweat and Beers…there are more women showing up.

And not just showing up…racing.

Really racing.

But it does not feel cutthroat. It feels connected.

There is encouragement mid-race. Quick words as you pass. A shared understanding that we are all out here doing something hard.

At Mud Sweat and Beers, there was this one moment I keep going back to.

Three of us women ended up together on the trail. We passed a couple men, picked up the pace, and just…flowed. No words, no hesitation, just that unspoken connection. We were moving fast, hitting lines, riding smooth.

I remember thinking in that moment, this is it.

That feeling when everything clicks on singletrack…when you are not overthinking, you are just riding. And to share that with other women, all of us pushing, all of us in it together…it hit different.

No ego.

No competition in the negative sense.

Just respect, effort, and shared momentum.

And honestly, I do not think that is something you can fake.

It’s something that’s being built, ride by ride, race by race, conversation by conversation.

I’m seeing more women at the line.

I’m hearing more stories.

I’m feeling more connection out on the trail.

And now that I have got the time to fully lean into it this summer, I’m ready to be part of it in a bigger way.

Because something is happening out there.

And if you have felt it, you know exactly what I mean.

Mud, Sweat, and Beers

Lady Parts group ride at Fort Custer (Peep our 2025 Iceman Trailblazer Haleigh Curtis)

Thank you to Heather Newman @goodtimesally_mtblife for being our 2026 Iceman Trailblazer!