Month: August 2023

Summer favorite places to train

Hey there! As the summer sun lights up the sky, discovering the roads less traveled is one of my go-to’s for staying motivated throughout the summer. Iceman will be here before we know it. So, gear up and let’s dive into my summertime motivation guide!

Explore New Horizons: Summer is the perfect time to break free from routine and explore the uncharted roads. Seek-out new or hidden trails, scenic countryside gravel routes, and embrace the thrill of the unknown. Every ride can be an adventure.

Set Summer Goals: Let’s not wait until fall to start our training. Set mini-goals for the summer, whether it’s achieving a specific mileage, conquering a challenging course, working on technical trail skills or improving your speed. These achievements will build our confidence and keep us focused on the bigger racing goals.

Rise with the Sun: Mornings in summer are pure magic! Wake up early and experience the tranquility of dawn. The crisp air and the promise of a brand-new day is a fantastic way to stay motivated on the sizzling summer days. Overnight rides when you can ride all night and see the sunrise are amazing too (some of my favorite rides are overnight).

Fuel Your Body: Summer brings a bounty of fresh fruits and wholesome foods (the local farmers markets are fantastic!). Take care of your body with nutritious meals, and don’t forget to stay hydrated. Proper nutrition keeps our energy levels up and our body performing at its peak!

Embrace Nature: Take time to appreciate the scenery around you—breathe in the fresh air, feel the breeze, and let nature be your muse. Don’t feel like riding today? Go out and pedal around for 20minutes with no plan, just absorbing the world around you. Great stress reliever too!

Document Your Journey: Capture the memories of your summer rides with photos and videos. Stravarecordings are great and now with videos attached to rides it’s a way to document each one individually.

So, my fellow Iceman peeps, let’s seize this summer and make it a season of determination, adventure, and many campfire stories to tell in November.

Thank you to our 2023 Ambassador Tobi Tungl @tobitungl

Summer Riding Tips

Summer is such a fun time to enjoy the great outdoors in Michigan. Sometimes, it can be easy to have a little bit too much fun! As we juggle busy summer events such as weddings and graduation parties, along with the invites for beach days and down-river floats, it can be easy to let training fall by the wayside. Here are some of my tips for staying in shape while still enjoying everything summer has to offer.

1.) Be proactive. If you are planning vacations or work tips, it’s a good idea to put those in your training schedule as soon as you know about them. It sounds commonsensical, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to forget about the effect travel has on training. You probably shouldn’t try to get off a 5 hour airplane ride and roll right into VO2 max efforts. If you schedule your workouts appropriately, you can focus your intensity training to occur prior to travel. This allows you to enjoy your trip and use it as a recovery period.

2.) Be flexible. You may not be able to take a bike on vacation with you. However, there are other ways to stay fit and have fun. One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to rent a bike or go for a run. You get to really immerse yourself in a city in a way that you just can’t replicate in a vehicle. As a bonus, you may become the person in your travel group that knows where all the cool cafés are! There are a huge number of shops that rent bicycles. A pair of cycling shoes and shorts takes up very little room in your suitcase. If you go through the effort of packing them, you will be far more likely to call a shop and rent a bicycle for a day.

3.) Be intentional. Everyone has different goals. For some people, racing at their very best is the focus of the year. If that’s you, set your intentionality on limiting external distractions. You may need to say no to that beach day invite if you already took an easy day for the week. However, for many of us (myself included), the goal is to squeeze every last drop of fun out of the summer. If that’s the case, then understand that sometimes training will look a little different than the ideal. Sometimes your aerobic rides will be replaced with fun hikes or a quick bodyweight workout in a campground. That doesn’t mean you will be out of shape come November. If you continue to focus on maintaining general bike fitness, the Iceman specific race fitness can be honed in on during September-November.

4.) Be coachable. It is very hard to be unbiased in assessment of oneself. I strongly recommend a coach to help you get the very most out of the time you can commit to training. A coach is not a necessity for having a great time at Iceman. However, if you want to really maximize your training benefit, a coach may be the missing piece of the puzzle.

I hope you have a fantastic summer filled with bikes, friends and fun!

Thank you to our 2023 Iceman Ambassador Elaine Sheikh @elaine_muskrat

5 Mistakes Rookie Cyclists Make

Biking down a mountainous trail is nothing short of an adventure sport. For those who love to get on that saddle and get their adrenaline pumping, there is virtually nothing that can stop them from achieving their goal. However, biking unprepared can be quite dangerous. You may think that as long as you have your helmet, it will all be okay, but in reality, there are many other safety concerns that rookie cyclists often overlook.

Today, we will discuss some of the common mistakes that rookie cyclists make and propose measures to correct them. This guide lets you go from rookie biker to pro cyclist quickly!

Overtraining

Amidst the thrill of riding your bicycle, what you may overlook is how much you are exerting yourself. Overtraining is a serious problem for many athletes and sports enthusiasts because they believe there is no end to training properly. Unfortunately, the body can only take so much stress, and after a point, you risk muscle fatigue and other serious health issues.

Just like any other sports activity, biking would require you to have specific recovery days in your schedule too. Make sure you rest up and perform lower body exercises on these recovery days. If anything, this will only improve your performance.

Skipping Bike Fitting

This is something even many pros are guilty of. Usually, if you purchase a bicycle, you get it online or from the store and fix the saddle as per your height. You eyeball it, and everything looks good. But then every part of your body hurts after just one session with your new bike. Ever wondered why?

This is a bit hit-and-miss, but it is worthwhile to note anyway. It is always better to see a professional fitter before you get a bike- especially if you are looking to bike across uneven terrain. A fitter will consider aerodynamics and give you the best of both comfort and performance. This way, you will be able to avoid some of the most common injuries cyclists face.

Riding Without Hand Gloves

Hand gloves are more than just a protective feature for cyclists. Professional cyclists never leave their homes without hand gloves. Wearing these allows you to have a good and proper grip on the handlebars, which improves your performance. Moreover, they also make you far

more comfortable by absorbing sweat and keeping your hands dry. And of course, in case you fall, they shield your hands.

Not Wearing Sunglasses

It sounds like something you usually won’t forget, right? Believe it or not, many cyclists often forget to take their sunglasses with them. Firstly, these protect against harmful UV rays from the Sun while cycling in hot and sunny weather. Cyclists can also experience irritation in their eyes from dust, insects, small particles, or even sweat or rain. Having the right pair of sunglasses will shield your eyes against all this and help you perform better.

Not Adjusting The Saddle

Something many cyclists fail to do is adjust the saddle on their bikes to their height. The height of the saddle will depend on the height of the cyclist. The right saddle will allow for greater efficiency and help you maintain your balance, while the wrong saddle will make you exert more force, tiring you quickly.

Make sure that the saddle is at length with your hip when you stand straight next to your bicycle. Your toes should touch the ground while you are on your saddle. This is the ideal cycling position.

If you want to improve your performance without overexerting yourself, make sure you have made a note of all these points. After all, it is all about enjoying the ride and making memories as you go by.

A gracious thank you to our author Michael Singleton, the Content Editor at BarBend.