I want to thank all of you that have sent well wishes and prayers. I really appreciate the sentiment. Here is what is going on. My spine is waving like a snake moving along (see pic)and the last disk in my spine is bulging to the left causing irritation to the nerves, hence chronic pain. I finally found a chiropractor that has an x-ray machine to diagnose the problem. I have avoided medical doctors because I will not take drugs or go under the knife which is what the fix is for bulging disks in the medical community. He says he can fix the bulging disk, but not the wavy spine. So where does that leave me? Well the adjustments have relieved some of the pain. I am hoping to get enough relief to at least start exercising again. More than likely it will be mostly on my bike though I plan to continue modified WODs also. I just need to snap out of the depression from the chronic pain and hit the road. I love to ride my bicycle. Anyway there is my sob story. Thanks again to all my friends and family for the prayers. I need them.

Letter from my Christian Brother

Here is a letter from a brother that is part of IC3, the Christian cycling team I belong to. I cannot add to this incredible display of patience and love.
"Having four visiting family members, the wife was very busy, so I offered to go to the store for her to get some needed items, which included light bulbs, paper towels, trash bags, detergent, and Clorox. So off I went. I scurried around the store, gathered up my goodies, and headed for the checkout counter, only to be blocked in the narrow aisle by a young man who appeared to be about sixteen-years-old. I wasn't in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there. This was when he waved his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm over here." It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged, and also startled as he turned and saw me standing so close to him, waiting to squeeze by. His eyes widened and surprise exploded on his face as I said,

"Hey Buddy, what's your name?"

"My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly.

"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name; I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Steve."

"Steve, like Stevarino?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "How old are you Denny?"

"How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle..

"You're fifteen-years-old Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by."

I acknowledged her and continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles, and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement because he was the center of someone's attention. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section.

Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him. I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said something I have no idea where it came from, other than by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow, and pink roses in God's Garden; however, "Blue Roses" are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness. You see, Denny is a Blue Rose and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a blessing from God. She was silent for a second, then with a tear in her eye she asked, "Who are you?"

Without thinking I said, "Oh, I'm probably just a dandelion but I sure love living in God's garden."

She reached out, squeezed my hand, and said, "God bless you!" and then I had tears in my eyes.

May I suggest that the next time you see a BLUE ROSE, don't turn your head and walk off. Take the time to smile and say Hello. Why, because, by the grace of GOD, this mother or father could be you. This could be your child, grandchild, niece, or nephew. What a difference a moment can mean to that person or their family.

"From an old dandelion."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

"People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Why I CrossFit part 2

“But I’m sore” said the voice. I heard this at the box (CrossFit name for gym) yesterday and Coach Justin replied “Crossfitters workout while sore”, which led me to a revelation of some sort. I have done some kind of training most of my life and when I was younger I had some aches and pain, but recovered quickly. These days the aches and pain seem to never go away (Especially the pain in my left knee due to Osteoarthritis). I had assumed it was because of my age, almost 52, and figured it was all part of the process of life. Like I said hearing Coach say that was a revelation. You see the average age at our box, heck the CrossFit community in general, is around 30 years old probably a bit less. I hear the athletes talk about soreness from time to time, but I thought “they are young they will recover by tomorrow.” CrossFit’s prescription for achieving fitness is constantly varied high intensity functional movements which means serious butt kicking workouts, each day. That leads to you will be sore.

Soreness to a certain degree is a good thing because it means you are teaching your body to perform. Our bodies are smart and when we tax ourselves physically we break down muscle, but the body rebuilds so we get stronger to be able to handle the workload. We never know what life will throw at us and is not this perfect little paradise (that comes later). So if we are constantly asking our bodies to perform, we achieve fitness. CrossFit defines fitness as “work capacity across broad time modal domains.” I know what you’re thinking, huh? Give it some thought. Life is physical in all aspects we walk, squat, reach, twist, well you get the idea and even in our sleep the body rejuvenates (works) itself to be ready for the next day. So the greater our “capacity” to “work” (perform), the better our fitness.

From now on I will carry my soreness as a badge of honor and won’t let age be an excuse, though you young folks still recover faster. Life doesn’t take excuses. If a dude with stubs for arms and legs (Kyle Maynard) can CrossFit, in fact he owns a CrossFit box named “No Excuses”, just about anyone can have a go. So lace up the shoes, chalk up your hands and go out and do what your coach tells you regardless of what you think because it won’t be easy. However it will be satisfying and improve your fitness. BTW click on Kyle's name to watch a video about him. There are videos of him competing at the CrossFit games also.

Day 2 started with a lecture on technique which is for safety and performance. Once again the information was great. Then we were hit with an early workout. It was teams of 4 and we did a 12 minute metcon. About a 100 meter run, rest, kettle bell swing, push-ups. We rotated each time the runner came in. It was a good workout. The only problem is we all had to go through the rest of the day all sweaty. After the workout we went into nutrition which was timely as it was before lunch.
Then we did a review and followed up with scaling workouts and programming. Then it was time for “The Test”. I had studied and took notes on all the lectures, but I was very nervous about the test. There were a lot of people that felt the same way. In fact the head trainer found it strange that most were more nervous about the test than the workouts. We had 45 minutes to answer 50 questions. It took me less than 30 minutes to complete. When we were finished we had to go down stairs and wait. It took the trainers additional time to grade our tests and make out the certificates. Finally they brought us back upstairs for a final debriefing. The whole time my stomach was in a knot. He was stalling and said as much. They were not quite ready. You could tell a lot of people were getting restless. Then the trainer told us you will find a file folder out on the table with your name on it. Inside there will be a certificate that says either level 1 trainer or certificate of completion. If it says level 1, you passed. If it says completion, you did not. It was torture!! I felt I did OK, but there was a lot of doubt. I grab my folder, hesitate and then opened it to see Level 1.
I learned a couple of other things this past weekend. One is what a good coach Coach Justin is. More than one trainer at the cert said as much. He trains us well. I also want to thank Justin for his encouragement. I would have never done this without his suggestion. Another thing I learned, or better put reinforced, is the CrossFit community is a tight group. I love the way we all compete against each other then turn around and cheer on the very people you are trying to best. BTW that is Jason the owner of CrossFit Santa Clara, HQ trainer for certifications, and 2008 CrossFit games winner doing a 2:44 "Fran" right after another hard WOD. He apologized for it being slow. Really???

CrossFit Certification Day 1

Ok what an incredible day So far this cert has exceeded all my expectations. The speakers are dynamic, very informative, funny, and serious Bad Asses all of them. The way the information was presented, demonstrated, and applied was excellent. I have learned so much and I have all this info rolling around in my head. Went through the 9 functional movements in the class room and then went outside and practiced what we learned. The 9 movements are squat, front squat, OH squat, straight press, push press, press jerk, dead lift, sumo dead lift high pull, mb clean. We covered “What is CrossFit?” and “what is Fitness?” and once again tons of great information.
And of course as Coach Justin said, we got "Franned". There are 56 of us and it was a crazy new experience working out with so many people at once. We went in three waves so there were about 18 us at a time. I chose to go in the first to get it over with. The scaled version was jumping pull-ups, also a new experience as I usually use the band. My “Fran” time was about 4 minutes faster than my last, but the jumping pull-ups seemed much easier than banded pull-ups.
All and all it was a great day. And though we did a bunch of squats and held most of them and “Fran” I am not too sore, a bit worn out, but not sore. I am sure it is due to Justin’s advice to take the 2 days before off. I am not quite sure what is in store for tomorrow and I can hardly wait. I do know we have a test. Well I need to study some and hit the rack. Tomorrows update will not probably come until Monday. See ya at the box. BTW that is my backside in the picture right before "Fran". Very flattering shot and nice posture!!

One reason I CrossFit. I have been riding bicycles for more than 20 years completing all sorts of different events from triathlons, centuries, runs, rock climbing and just putting in miles with friends. My training philosophy has always been volume, volume, volume. This past winter I decided to attempt a 200 mile ride. My longest one day ride had been about 130 miles so I wanted a new challenge. I picked the Davis Double because it is a fairly flat ride. Shortly after making this commitment I joined CrossFit VictriX because all I was doing for training was riding about 300 miles per week, but did nothing else. Needless to say my fitness was very imbalanced. I could jump on my bike and hammer out 100 miles without a second thought, but I could not do a pushup or any upper body exercise.
Hello CrossFit, my arrogance and training history told me I could just jump in and catch up in no time. Well that notion was crushed quickly. My butt was handed to me with a vengeance each WOD. My training took new shape as the main focus was CrossFit and the riding was supplementary. As the Davis ride got closer I started to worry that I was not putting in enough miles, but time and my passion for CrossFit kept me from logging the miles in the saddle. My fitness had improved in so many areas, but the “old” philosophy was always in the back of my mind. What would happen?

3:30 am Saturday May 15, 2010 I get up with much apprehension a bit later than I wanted. I had prepared the night before for the most part, but I forgot some stuff. Now further behind apprehension turned to panic. I was able to pull it together and get to Davis on time. Here we go!
The first 50 miles was hard as it was windy (head wind), dark, and I was not very confident. In fact my mind was really messing with me. And to add insult to injury my butt was already starting to complain. Not good!! I rode on thinking I may not finish. Finally the lunch stop came and I rested my poor bootay and refueled. Then we head back (with the wind) and am thinking how fast I am riding. All the doubts disappeared as I flew down the road. Well soon the euphoria of speed gave way to the pain of the saddle. With 30 or so miles to go I could not find a comfortable position in the saddle. All the self doubt took over once again as I struggled with, “will I make it?”
It got dark again and with my lights back on during the last miles which not only took a long time, but felt twice as long. My main motivation was two things; a) Fitness wise I felt good, b) If I could finish a WOD, I could finish this ride. I would ride hard for as long as I could and then rest for a bit. Repeat for another round. Once again the lack of time in the saddle really played havoc on getting comfortable (when you ride a lot you get used to the saddle and it doesn’t hurt). Lessons learned:
a) CrossFit prepares you for life
b) Sport specific training is important (especially on a bicycle, OUCH)
c) Mind over muscle really works
d) I will include more riding in my training
It was a good experience in so many ways. My time was a bit slower than my goal of 14 hours (15:48:00) and the entire trip was about 18 hours. Next year my goal is the California Triple Crown which is three double centuries in a calendar year. Whish me luck, wait, just push me in the daily WOD and I can do just about anything. Now I can do at least 20 pushups, power lifts, Olympic lifts, and many different exercises thanks to CrossFit VictriX. The CrossFit philosophy works. All you have to do is commit. Simple- yes. Easy?-NO. There is nothing easy about CrossFit or training, but it is simple. Just do it!

PERFORMANCE AND SPORTS

I have been swimming, running, and cycling for many years. I started competitive swimming at 10 years old, ahem, some 40 plus years ago. I have that competitive spirit that drove me to race. I love to compete to this day. My goals and abilities are a lot different, but I still give my best effort. The following post is a few years old and still timely. I am not sure if I buy into his drug opinion, yet he does have a point. I definitely agree about the level playing field part as I used to whine about the top athletes that had "more time to train" than I.

This brings me to my point. At CrossFit more training (volume)is not better! In fact, CrossFit Endurance preaches more rest is better. It is all about quality and intensity. From the years of training and racing I suffer from osteoarthritis in both knees. Essentially I have no cartilage left it is literally bone on bone. Two orthopedic surgeons have told me I will need a knee replacement, but because of my age and activity level it is not in the near future. For the time being I get a series of Euflexxa shots about every 8 months. At least I don't have heart problems or a pace maker like the athletes in the following article. I know a few triathletes myself with hip and knee replacements. Read this post from Mark's Daily Apple, part 2 is the most interesting to me.

CrossFit is training for life which is fitness for us all not just elite athletes. So not only train hard, but rest!

BUSTING THE DIET MYTH

CrossFit promotes the Zone or Paledo diets to improve health, fitness, and performance. For years we have been told low fat, high carb for our nutrition intake. The food pyramid is the way to go. Umm NO! Read this post about nutrition from a local CrossFit affiliate CFC’s Very Comprehensive Diet Page. It is really long (but worth the time) so get your Zone or Paleo snack and beverage ready and when you are finished if you are not convinced (once you're revived from the catatonic state), well fire up the ice cream and the couch. Here are easy descriptions for each that were posted at CrossFit VictriX:
Zone – adequate lean protein, healthy fats, and low carb with most of carb from vegetables and fruit but anything is allowed.
Primal – same as above no grains
Paleo – same as both above but also no dairy

You should avoid any type of sugar, NO SUGAR!!

Train Hard!!

CrossFit NorCal Sectional

First of all let me say what a performance by the athletes. Our CrossFit Victrix athletes, Stacey, Faith, Darrin, Patrick, EJ, and the instigator of it all Justin were all amazing. The chipper on the final day was brutal. It went like this: 6 minutes to max rep Clean & Jerk. Then 25 burpees, 100 yard walking lunge, 5 rounds (15 DB overhead press 40lb/25lb and 100 yard farmer’s walk with DBs), 25 more burpees, 500 meter row, and finish with a 400+ meter run all for time. It wears me out just writing about it!

I discovered CrossFit about 3 months ago and bought into the logic and philosophy about fitness, training, and nutrition, but I was not quite sure about the CrossFit culture and community. That was until this weekend. There was love and passion for the sport everywhere. With around 400 athletes competing from too many different gyms to count, there was cheering and encouragement for all competitors. No one was above a “come on, you got it” for a passing athlete.

It was a long hard weekend for everyone involved from the event organizers to the dudes that had to clean the bathrooms every hour or so. I want to say here that the organizers did a great job in spite of many throw backs. The venue owners were very strict about certain things and kept threatening to shut the competition down. They probably had no idea what a CrossFit competition would bring, “Oh some people lifting weights, doing lunges, and running around the track?” The athletes were strong, fast, and brought their “A” game.

It was an incredible experience for me and I will do it again. I will drink the kool-aid and continue to train hard, eat clean, and get plenty of rest. Because next year I won’t be there as a volunteer, I will be there to compete (masters of course!). My only regret is that I was too busy as a judge that I didn’t have time to take pictures. I only took a quick video of VictriX’s trainer/coach Justin Arnest nailing the overhead squats. We had a good turnout for a smaller gym with 6 athletes and 4 volunteers (Duffy, Denise, Janelle, and me). Thanks to Faith and her parents for their hospitality. It was fun to hang out with you all away from the gym.

The motto for the CrossFit games “The unknown and the unknowable” fits life perfect. We never know what’s around the corner. Could you pull an unconscious body from a burning car, lift it on to your back or shoulders and carry the person to safety?? A CrossFitter could!

Through the Valley

“Think with me here…everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you’ll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what’s a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination – our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak. So, my contention is that you are right where you are supposed to be.” (from The Noticer, Andy Andrews)

When You Pray For Needs, Do You Really Need?

Have you ever really thought about the Lord's prayer or do you even pray it anymore? Can you find it in the Bible? Do you just rattle off you list of needs or wants. Hopefully there will be some praises and thanksgiving in there as well.

Jesus gave us the example in Matthew 6:9-13 for those of you who haven't found it yet (just kidding)...it took me a while to find it. I found it in my Lutheran hymnal that I got the day I was confirmed on May 18, 1969. It is printed in my church's bulletin every week and we all seem to do it from memory without skipping a beat. I was thinking about it the other day and wondering about when we pray "Give us this day our daily bread" was it physical food that Jesus was talking about or was it for spiritual bread to nourish our hearts and minds? God knows that when I open my cupboards at home there is no shortage of food...especially if I have just been to Costco.

When our brothers in Uganda, Kenya, or even Romania pray that prayer they are actually praying for their daily food. Many are using the cycling end of this ministry to try and help support their families and start business.

Please remember the many blessings we have with multiple bikes and more than we will ever need as we head into the cycling season and keep all our brothers in prayer for their daily bread.

Are You Respectful?

This morning on my morning commute there is a certain intersection where I have to turn left and get no love from the light. I have tried, trust me. So as usual, I make sure I can make the turn without disturbing traffic. I take no chances and I try to be courteous to cars. An oncoming car had a light that turned yellow then red as I was turning. He honked at me and waved a no no finger at me. I just waved. It leads me to think of the example I personally set as a cyclist.









Here it is: I stop at 4 way stop signs (with a foot down and wait my turn) when there is traffic. If there are no cars, I will ride through the intersection. I will always stop at lights when red. The exception is early am when I know the light will not change for me. Three way stops I will not stop if I am on the side with no intersection.
There are not many intersections on my commute that do not recognize a bike. Roseville has amazing bike lanes and has gone so far as to hand paint a bicycle symbol on the pressure plates to show where to stop to get the light to change. Really cool stuff. Also, I am very fortunate that half my 22 mile (one way) commute is on the bike path. So I am only exposed to traffic and angry people 11 miles a day each way (Yes these pics are from my ride!).
We as cyclist have to do our best to set a good example. Some drivers are just angry people and the simple fact that we are on the road makes them mad. We can’t do anything about that except just be aware and safe. What we can do is be courteous and respectful so that traffic recognizes our rights to share the road.

Get involved in your communities to help build an infrastructure that includes bike lanes. Go to city council meetings, write your councilperson, and do volunteer work. We all can do something to help raise awareness to our rights as cyclist. The biggest thing we can do is to set good examples on the road.
Be safe!!

May Bicycle Month

May is National Bicycle Month. There are several events in our area to celebrate this. Powerhouse Century is this weekend.

May 21st is Bike to Work day and Department of Parks is giving us free parking to access the American River Bike Trail to ride to work.

"The Jedediah Smith Memorial Bike Trail runs 32 miles along the American River Parkway, and has consistently been rated as one of the best biking trails in the nation. By purchasing a Parks PASSPORT, for as little as $50, you can help support this region’s treasure. The Parks PASSPORT is accepted at any of our Regional Parks located in Sacramento County and all funds from the PASSPORT go to the operations and maintenance of our parks. If you purchase your PASSPORT in May through June, you will be entered to win a Trek 7000 bike, courtesy of Bicycle Works and you'll receive a coupon book valued at $250 from our sponsors Elliott's Natural Foods, Bicycles Plus, City Bicycle Works, River Rat Raft & Bike, Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op and others."

Coming soon an interview with Chief Ranger Steve Flannery about the bike trail. Good stuff!

Liege-Bastogne-Liege

This is one of the oldest modern sporting events. Check out Bob Roll's 5 things you must know. Click Here
It is on Versus this Sunday at Noon.

Need Lighter Equipment?

I have said this before, "instead of buying lighter equipment lose 5lbs." In my case more than that. There is a lot of very sexy equipment out there. Unfortunately it is also very expensive.

Personally a Garmin and a power meter would look very good on the Colnago. However, parting with 2K plus to make the additions does not fit into the family budget.

Now some of you may be racer fit and a few grams here or there will make a difference, but most of us could just lose some lbs to improve our performance.

Here is some geek speak from Astana's website about weight (click on link to the right) Fresh Brew. Check it out and put down the donut and go do the Donut ride!

It would be cool to be able to afford a power meter, but for now it has to be just ride hard. Fixedgear Dad is a minimalist, no computer, one brake, one gear, one bottle cage and I am sure he is rolling his eyes right now, but he rides just fine. Me, I like all the equipment, but first I need to drop a few grams or kilograms more like it.

Performance Tips

Whether you train for racing, train for centuries, or train for fitness we all have our routines and superstitions. Here are some don'ts from Hammer Nutrition:

1)Don't give in to the temptation to train too much and/or too close to race day. You will not be able to positively influence your fitness; however, you can negatively impact your race during that time (training meaning anything of significant duration or intensity).

2)Don't drink excess amounts of water in the hopes of "getting a head start" on your fluid requirements for the race. Consumption of water equivalent to roughly .5 to .6of your body weight is a good gauge (example: 180lb athlete should drink 90 to 108 ounces daily.

3)Don't stuff yourself with extra food leading up to the race in the hopes of "carbo loading." The time period for carbohydrate loading (i.e., maximizing muscle glycogen storage capabilities)has passed. The time for "carbo loading" 0-60 minutes after each workout. That is when your body's glycogen synthase is most active which controls glycogen storage.

4)Don't consume sodium in the hopes of "topping of your body stores" prior to the race. Americans already consume too much salt. Adopting a low sodium diet will improve your health and performance.

5)If your race or workout is more than 60 minutes Don't eat less than three hours before the race. The first fuel your body will use is muscle glycogen. Eating a pre-race/workout meal at the wrong time will negatively affect how your body utilizes its finite stores of glycogen, which will negatively impact your performance.

Hammer Nutrition has great products. They had gel products long before GU. Check out their website.

CYCLE FOLSOM part 2

Second part of my interview with Steve Ward of Cycle Folsom. Once again he was engaging and passionate. Not to mention the dude can lay down the hammer. Mix that with what he does for the cycling community, Steve Ward (far left) is priceless to our area. Here is the conclusion to the interview:

TC: One of the dos and don’ts of organizing group rides is don’t do the same ride every week. Your rides have a lot of variety. Was that a conscious effort on your part?

SW: Absolutely! It’s a planned variety. We have an annual theme for the way we go about the rides. In the fall we taper down and go easy. Through the winter we do the long flat base miles. In the spring throw in the rolling hills and as the season comes in and we want to get on form we add the bigger longer climbs. We have a huge data base of rides and it is expanding all the time. We find that people don’t like going down the same track all the time.

TC: You designed the course for Folsom’s Gold Rush Century. What was your thought process when you designed that course?

SW: It was a collaboration of a lot of people. It started with the city of Folsom wanting a classic ride that would stand the test of time for their Cyclebration event. They wanted a ride that would be challenging and show off the history of the area with a signature climb. We mapped out some potential rides and went out to ride them. We took into consideration the roads, the pavement, the shoulders, traffic, spacing for rest stops all that sort of thing. We threw a couple of rides away and eventually came up with what is the Gold Rush Century. It is a 102 mile ride with 9200’ feet of climbing. The signature climb is Prospector’s grade. It was a lot of fun to do. It’s a hard ride, but it’s challenging and rewarding (he gave a lot of other people credit for helping design the ride specifically Scott McKinney, Curtis Taylor).

TC: You started racing this year with Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada. Congratulations on your third place finish at Bariani Road Race. What are your racing goals?

SW: Thanks, the more I race the more I’m convinced that the number one goal is to finish each race on my wheels and not on the pavement. At first it was just to finish with the pack. Now I want to finish on the podium. Otherwise, my goals are to move up to Category 4, which I will do after the Wente Road Race next month. Then I’ll be the low man in the next bigger pond and hope to do the domestique work and to learn from more experienced teammates the finer points of racing strategies and team work.

TC: You have other members that contribute to the website and lead the group rides. How many members do you have and what does one need to do to join?

SW: We have approximately eighty members, in as much as they can be considered members. CF is a no dues, no meetings, no obligations riding club. Essentially, being a “member” of Cycle Folsom means getting on our mailing list which anyone can do by sending an email to me and requesting that they be added to the list.steve@cyclefolsom.com We put on two different levels of rides each weekend and, as you mentioned, provide ride leaders to show the way. And we have a great team of ride leaders that I would like to acknowledge: Performance Group:Ozero Lee (he goes simply by OZ – pronounced: Oh-Zee), Gary Kurtz, Phil Blay. Peloton Group: David Drahmann, Stan Schultz. I have a full refund policy if for any reason someone doesn’t like the ride, they get a refund on no membership dues (he said that laughing and we here at TC can’t imagine not liking CF’s rides).

TC: What are your goals for Cycle Folsom?
SW: In addition to our mainstays of hosting rides and providing a rides database, CF has become a distribution node within the cycling community. We forward communications relevant to cyclists from agencies, city’s, authorities, businesses, associations, other clubs and an endless stream of other entities. These communications may be related to events, road or trail closures, fund raisers, etc. Often, volunteers are found though our network to support advocacy groups, the building of bridges and trails, support for regional events such as the California International Marathon; the list goes on. Our specific goals for CF are to continue to provide quality, enjoyable rides for all levels of cyclists, from beginner to competitive racer. In this area, we are working with a local bike shop in Folsom to host a weekly ride for new cyclists. It will be a slow paced, no-drop ride around Lake Natoma with many stops to rest, drink water and ask questions; all within the relative safety of a group. A ride leader would be on hand to help with any minor mechanical difficulties that may arise so that beginners can ride with confidence that they won’t get stranded.

CYCLE FOLSOM part 1

In my quest to regain my fitness after a crash that involved a broken collar bone, I found Cycle Folsom. A local club founded by Steve Ward. Their rides are challenging to difficult. They have two levels of rides, what I call the A group and B group. They have put together a variety of rides that are second to none. Go to cyclefolsom.com and check it out. The A group are fit, fast, like to climb, and the rides are not usually swept. The B group rides are much flatter and they have a no-drop policy. The B group is not slow by any means, but not quite as fast as the A group.

TC had the opportunity to sit down with Steve and talk about Cycle Folsom. You can tell he is passionate about his club and cycling by the way he smiled and his eyes lit up. He is sincere, humble, and, I believe, part mountain goat (check out the profiles of his rides). CF has the rides posted complete with maps, profiles, and even cue cards. The weekend rides are usually posted Wednesday evenings. The rides start at Karen’s Bakery in Folsom and that is where we met.

TC: What year did you start Cycle Folsom?

SW: The best I can recall is the fall of 2006. At that point it was just a website.

TC: You have come a long way in three years. There is a lot of participation on the rides.

SW: We ride all year long. We have a solid core that rides even in the winter. It thins out a bit in the winter as you would expect and though there are not as many riders the rides are more serious. It’s a good training regimen. We have a tradition each year to ride the first or second stage of the Tour of California. This year we watched the prologue in Sacramento and then rode from Davis to Santa Rosa. Then we did the second stage from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz.

TC: How was the first stage ride? Even the pros said it was one of the toughest days weather-wise.

SW: (laughing) We started with 11 riders and because of the weather we finished with 3. It was brutal. The first year was really unique for us because, one, it was the first year of the TOC and second, while we were riding the second stage Santa Rosa to Sacramento, the road over Trinity, we rolled up on Saul Raisin from Credit Agricole. He was making a comeback from a near fatal crash in Europe. He wasn’t doing the event, but he rode the course to get the training miles in and he shared 30 miles with us complete with support from his team car behind us. It was an awesome experience.

TC: You started because you were new to the area. How did you get people to show up for the rides?

SW: I didn’t know anyone. I started cycling, didn’t know where the roads went, I just went! The second cycling buddy, Quinn Hawkinson, I met was into networking and started a group called the Peloton. He put together a sizable riding club. He would get the people to the ride and I would lead the ride. He got tied up with other commitments and wasn’t able to maintain it so it kind of just folded. The following fall is when Cycle Folsom started and with his blessing we used his mailing list. So we started with a core of riders.

TC: You have a vast library of rides. How did you come up with the rides, trial and error?

SW: Like you I wanted to make improvement in my riding and I was finding out the way to do that is with different specific workouts. To do these workouts you need to know the terrain and where to find it. If I wanted to do a speed workout, I needed flat uninterrupted terrain. If I wanted to do hill repeats, I needed a hill the right length and steepness. I was new to the area and couldn’t find it anywhere. I figured the best way was to just make it myself. Then make it available to everyone else and THAT was the real reason for Cycle Folsom. To answer your question it was a lot of trial and error. I bought the Garmin GPS put it on my bike and recorded my rides starting and stopping right here on this corner. If I liked the ride I would download it and get the elevation chart, map, the motion based piece of it, write a description, put it all together in a package with a cue sheet and post it on the website to make it available to everyone. We all benefit from it.

Enthusiasm for LIFE!!

This is a cycling blog. We focus on mostly bicycle related posts. Having said that each day as cyclist we wake up with a passion for our sport. Cyclist tend to be happier, more fit, have better attitudes, and appreciate things you cannot from a car. Jimmy Valvano's speech is the epitome of positive attitude especially the last fifteen seconds, one of the best speeches I have heard. Take ten minutes to watch the video. The dude was dying from cancer! Live well, play hard, work hard, and ride strong!!!

HISTORY OF THE BICYCLE PART 1

We have a small group of cyclist at work that I send a daily cycling quote to. The group has a varied interest such as road, downhill, duathlon, fitness, crit racing. It got me thinking about the versatility of the bicycle. I could not think of another a piece of sport equipment that has so many uses. Maybe the ball, but the sports are very different. You ride the bicycle no matter what event. I have read that the basic engineering of the bicycle has not changed since it was invented, especially the bicycle wheel. Sure the materials have changed drastically, but the engineering has not.

The documented ancestors of today's modern bicycle were known as push bikes, draisines, or hobby horses. Being the first human means of transport to make use of the two-wheeler principle, the draisine (or mistmashine, "running machine"), invented by the German Baron Karl von Drais, is regarded as the archetype of the bicycle. It was introduced by Drais to the public in Mannheim in summer 1817 and in Paris in 1818. Its rider sat astride a wooden frame supported by two in-line wheels and pushed the vehicle along with his/her feet while steering the front wheel.














In the early 1860s, Frenchmen Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement took bicycle design in a new direction by adding a mechanical crank drive with pedals on an enlarged front wheel. The French creation, made of iron and wood, developed into the "penny-farthing." It featured a tubular steel frame on which were mounted wire spoked wheels with solid rubber tires. These bicycles were difficult to ride due to their very high seat and poor weight distribution. It was not unusual to flip over the top.


The dwarf ordinary addressed some of these faults by reducing the front wheel diameter and setting the seat further back. Having to both pedal and steer via the front wheel remained a problem. J. K. Starley, J. H. Lawson, and Shergold solved this problem by introducing the chain drive connecting the frame-mounted pedals to the rear wheel. These models were known as dwarf safeties, or safety bicycles, for their lower seat height and better weight distribution. Starley's 1885 Rover is usually described as the first recognizably modern bicycle. Soon, the seat tube was added, creating the double-triangle diamond frame of the modern bike.

Further innovations increased comfort and ushered in a second bicycle craze, the 1890s' Golden Age of Bicycles. In 1888, Scotsman John Boyd Dunlop introduced the pneumatic tire, which soon became universal. Soon after, the rear freewheel was developed, enabling the rider to coast. This refinement led to the 1898 invention of coaster brakes. Derailleur gears and hand-operated cable-pull brakes were also developed during these years, but were only slowly adopted by casual riders. By the turn of the century, cycling clubs flourished on both sides of the Atlantic, and touring and racing became widely popular. The bicycle has undergone continual adaptation and improvement since its inception. These innovations have continued with the advent of modern materials and computer-aided design, allowing for a proliferation of specialized bicycle types. Bicycles can be categorized in different ways: e.g. by function, by number of riders, by general construction, by gearing or by means of propulsion. The more common types include utility bicycles, mountain bicycles, racing bicycles, touring bicycles, hybrid bicycles, cruiser bicycles, and BMX bicycles. Less common are tandems, lowriders, tall bikes, fixed gear (fixed-wheel folding models and recumbents (one of which was used to set the IHPVA Hour record). Remember the beam bike?

The bicycle is extraordinarily efficient in both biological and mechanical terms. The bicycle is the most efficient self-powered means of transportation in terms of energy a person must expend to travel a given distance. From a mechanical viewpoint, up to 99% of the energy delivered by the rider into the pedals is transmitted to the wheels, although the use of gearing mechanisms may reduce this by 10-15%. In terms of the ratio of cargo weight a bicycle can carry to total weight, it is also a most efficient means of cargo transportation.

Materials used in bicycles have followed a similar pattern as in aircraft, the goal being high strength and low weight. Since the late 1930s alloy steels have been used for frame and fork tubes in higher quality machines. Celluloid found application in mudguards, and aluminum alloys are increasingly used in components such as handlebars, seat post, and brake levers. In the 1980s aluminum alloy frames became popular, and their affordability now makes them common. More expensive carbon fiber and titanium frames are now also available, as well as advanced steel alloys and even bamboo. Whatever you ride, ride strong.