After much chiding, I finally relented and signed up with Strava. ‘Another online social network…really? Really…?’ Yes. And if you’re like me, and a bit frayed around the edges with already trying to keep up with Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter (maybe others), then adding yet another place to log into and catch up on probably isn’t what you’re looking for. I know I wasn’t… But, here’s the thing. I ride, and if you’re reading this I assume you do as well. If you ride like I do and you’re already tracking your ride data (me via Garmin) and uploading it to an online website, like Garmin offers for free, then maybe you’ll be swayed like I was to move over to Strava.

Now, I’m a total newbie, and I haven’t spent a bunch of time looking into everything Strava has to offer, outside of Ken’s article, which he posted awhile back on the Strava App, so if you want a detailed breakdown feel free to read it, or visit the Strava site. But, from a top level, the basic idea of a social network that helps motivate you by linking you within a network of other riders who track data is appealing to me. I can see who else rides where I ride, and I can compete with them based on my GPS data (I use a Garmin 500, but these days you can also use an Android or iPhone – could it be any easier?), which sounds like a lot of fun. I can track all my training data, and see the training data of others, peers/adversaries, and pros from around the world – in fact Tim Johnson is my first follow (appropriately enough it was a tweet Tim put out on the weekend about Strava that finally got me to take the plunge). Plus you get virtual awards, so ‘virtuawards’! I’ve already been awarded the 6th fastest time up Gallagher Hill. Of course, I was doing steady-state repeats on that hill when I logged that time, so as soon as the snow melts a bit, I’ll go back and rip up it and try and take first place. Knowing I’m in 6th, what other option do I have? So, you see, for a guy like me, who rides, trains, tracks data and loves to compete, Strava could be, where it’s at.

Hope to see you on there.

Related posts:

1. Strava Cycling App

Following up on, and in response to Ken’s most recent post, ‘Ode to the Parka‘, or something like that, I thought it’d be cool to do some looking around to see where the best cycling threads are coming from these days.

Obviously, Rapha, from the UK, is going to sit at the top of my list. Rapha offers a unique blend of cycling performance capability and modern urban style I haven’t found anywhere else… It’s an undeniably attractive combination, providing cycling wear that can also often be worn ‘off the bike’ (Ken, this stuff was made for you). Collared shirts, jeans, trousers, have never really been considered performance cycling wear, but now, thanks to Rapha they kinda are. I wear my Rapha shirts at the office no problem. Rapha’s success has been driven even further through clever collaborations with designer Paul Smith. Need I say, it’s nice stuff. Maybe not cheap, but very, very nice. Coles Notes: Highest quality, artistic detail, spendy, incredible fit and performance, distinct yet understated, and very hip.

Assos, from Switzerland, has always been right at the top for me as well, when it comes to really cool, and well-made cycling gear. And, not to be outdone, they’ve also launched what I call a lifestyle line, offering cycling gear you can wear both on and off the bike. Style-wise I can’t say it pulls me in as much as Rapha, but you can bet your last Swiss franc (euro), you won’t be disappointed with the quality, and if the ‘sportier’ look is your thing, then Assos has got you covered. Coles Notes: Ultra high-end quality, spendy, understated, very high cool factor.

Sugoi, from Canada, is a hallmark brand around the Edmonton scene. You’ll see lots and lots of it on any group ride, and there is good reason for it – the cost is less, than say, Rapha or Assos, but the high quality is still there. Sure you give up some finer styling details, but I’ve never been dissatisfied with the look and quality of my performance Sugoi gear. Now, searching their website, I didn’t notice any lifestyle line sections, but a huge advantage Sugoi has over the brands above, is their  well-established Custom Gear. You can design your own complete team kit, and have Sugoi make it. That’s awesome! Coles Notes: Good quality, well priced, nice looking, your basic ‘go-to’, well-known for great custom gear.

Louis Garneau, from Canada (thought it was from France), is a similar level of gear to Sugoi, at least to me. It’s sporty looking, I’ve heard it’s well made, and seems to be decently priced, plus they offer a wide range of options for all riding and racing clothing needs. Louis Garneau is also a big player when it comes to Custom Gear. I see quite a few local teams wearing the stuff, and it looks pro. Coles Notes: Good quality, decently priced, well-known and trusted brand, popular for custom gear.

Pearl Izumi, from Japan, comes in as another one of the main players here. I have some of their stuff and like it quite a bit. They offer ‘cool’ sporty styling and designs, plus I found a lifestyle line on their site that I didn’t know about. The men’s jackets look pretty darn snazzy to me. Coles Notes: Good quality, edgy-sporty designs, reasonably priced.

Gore, maybe best known to most of us for their innovative development of the famous ‘Gore-Tex‘, has come on pretty strong around here. I see it in a lot of the local bike shops now, which means they’re offering both quality and good pricing. I find Gore wear to be simple looking – not to be confused with boring, just really modern, clean designs that are going to allow you to easily wear it on and off the bike. Personally, I really like the look of Gore stuff, and can see myself adding it to my gear more and more as time goes on. Coles Notes: High quality, reasonably priced, but getting up there, modern/clean designs. Pretty cool, I think.

When it comes down to it, I’m with Ken on the whole, ‘necessary duality’ of cycling clothing. I’m not sponsored, so I need to shell out for everything I own, and therefore it only makes good sense that when I do put my money down, that I’m getting some cross-over functionality – at least with some of the big ticket items, like shells/jackets. And though I dearly love all my Rapha gear/clothing, and I’ve threatened to wear my collared shirt with my new knicker bibs to the next CX race, I’m not likely going to do that (much to everyone’s chagrin, I’m sure). I do however enjoy the fact that I have some gear that rolls with me both on and off the bike – and the thing I like the best is most often the ‘fit’, because they just don’t make baggy cycling gear, which is self-explanitory… the stuff simply fits me. And like Ken always says, ‘what’s cooler than biking? Looking cool, while biking…’ of course.

If you’re aware of any ‘off the beaten path’ cycling clothing companies not listed here, we’d love to hear about them, so drop us a comment, or send us an email.

Related posts:

1. Ode to the cycling jacket
2. Tour of California: Rapha Films
3. 2011 Ultimate Cycling Gift Guide

Motivation – in the off-season we’re all looking for it. Without it, we’d never get off the couch. If you’re talking about just ‘riding’, finding motivation can be pretty easy – riding is a blast, and all about fun! Personally, I’m up for going for a ride pretty much anytime. But, if we’re talking about getting on the bike for training purposes, that’s a different story… Training is mostly about hard work, and if you’re training hard, there usually isn’t much ‘fun’ to be had. So, we need another motivator, or at least I do – something that is going to get us into the gym, on that stationary bike, or out on that winter ride. For me, it’s results. I’ve found that I respond to results really well, and I know I’m not unique in that, but I admit, I am a bit surprised just how pumped I can get about training, when I can actually measure and see the results of that effort. And it’s training with POWER that gives me those metrics, that keep me coming back for more.

During the race season, you always have the benefit of that direct feedback. If you train hard, eat and rest well, then you’ll race well – you’ll see your result. If you slack, you’ll see the result there too. A race performance is always going to be the ultimate measure of our performance, because that’s when and where it all matters. But, when the race season is done, in my opinion, (PE) perceived effort training can only take you so far. I can’t really tell if, week after week, my training program is working, if I’m training too hard, or too little… It’s all a guessing game. Sure you can set some loose metrics attached to PE, but it’s all too vague for me, and certainly not much of a ‘motivator’… Now, give me a measurable number like watts/kg, that I can track and see improve, and now you’re talking.

I’ve had a POWER TAP for three seasons now, but it wasn’t really until this off-season when I started using the ‘Real Rides’ video series from Vision Quest, that I started to really understand how to train with power. The videos give you a visual dashboard that displays the vitals of the riders, like VQ founder Robbie Ventura, showing his cadence, heart rate, perceived effort, and power, the whole time. As you try to follow along as Robbie and his VQ crew grind up real climbs, or race in a real race, and you record your own efforts, you get a ‘benchmark’ for yourself. It’s this benchmark, your average power, your peak power, etc… during these sessions that give you an accurate picture of where you’re at, fitness-wise. You also get to know yourself, and your own PE zones, using these videos. You get to know what a 5 out of 10 feels like, versus a more sincere 8, or 9/10, which is where you spend a lot of time in the Real Rides videos. You’re being asked to put in honest efforts, and in doing so, you’re registering honest power data, that you can measure yourself against, ride after ride, week after week. And let me tell ya, seeing your numbers go up is a great feeling. So much of the guess work is gone. You know your training program is working. You know you’re getting stronger.

For me, the results were speaking for themselves, but I still wanted to better understand the training with power concept, so I did a little digging around, which of course raised some questions. I was about to do some more digging, but then it occured to me, who better to answer my questions than pro US Postal Service team member and Vision Quest coach, Robbie Ventura himself.

Q & A with Robbie Ventura:

Outside of actual race performance, is power the best metric for assessing your progress, and the effectiveness of a training program?

Yes – if your power is going up at a given intensity, or duration, then you are improving and what you are doing is working.   If your power starts to go down for given effort then it may be time to take a rest.  On a daily basis if you train consistently you can see changes in power and determine your training direction based on them.  You still need ‘how you feel’ to play a big role in the process.  If you feel great and the power is high, then all systems go – if you feel bad and power is high,  that is OK too.   If you feel bad and power is low, then you need to rest.  How you feel and the power you are putting out are the two most important pieces to solve the training puzzle.

Do you find power to be a motivator, at all levels of racer, Beginner, up through to Elite?

For sure.  The key to motivation is improvement.  If you can see measurable improvements it motivates all athletes.   Getting stronger and measuring that growth is the reason we train.   We work with so many levels of athletes and one thing is consistent –  as your power goes up, so does your motivation and feeling of excitement about our sport.

What are the drawbacks, or pitfalls of relying on power?

When you measure something there is always the chance your power will go down.   This is depressing at times since we work so hard to grow.  Chances are, though,  you just need rest. If you train hard and rest you will get stronger, that is a fact.  However sometimes at the end of a big training block we get tired and our power suffers – this is hard mentally for you because you just busted your butt.   You have to believe in your plan and understand that you cannot grow without rest and when your power starts to drop that is a signal that you may have gone a bit too far and you need a rest.   Also, sometimes knowing that you have to be at a certain wattage to be competitive, and you cannot get there, is tough, but the reality of power is something that makes sense when you’re considering your goals and what makes sense for you in the short term.

What are your thoughts on power profiling? Is it an effective way for coaches and teams to identify what kind of rider a person is, and how best to train them to maximize their natural ability?

I think that it makes sense to some degree but I think it is always skewed with the athlete’s training.  I think you need to really train all the systems for a while before you really figure out what you are best at.  I think when you take an untrained cyclist and do a power profile you may not be getting a great picture of what the athlete’s true energy systems look like. I say you work the entire aerobic system for a while before you start focusing your efforts on what the profile says you’re best at.

So far, I’ve found all the VQ Real Rides videos are really good. (I use RACE DAY, CLIMB and FORCE). They’re nicely filmed/produced, and interesting enough that I haven’t become bored with them (which happens for me with most vids). More importantly though, I’m finding that they work – I’m seeing improvement. If you’re looking for some new vids to mix it up, and get you going again in the New Year, I’d recommend them.

For more information on Vision Quest’s Real Rides videos, and training services, check them out at visionquestcoaching.com

Training with a Power Tap vs. Heart Rate

Watts per Kilogram video with Dr. Allen Lim & Robbie Ventura.

For more information on training with power, I also found these links useful:

Power Profiling

 Training Strategies

Are you interested in getting a powermeter? Here is a detailed article from Cycling Tips:

Powertap vs. Quarq

Related posts:

1. Ryno Power Supplements
2. The Secret of Un-Training

I heard it said once, that having beauty around us in our day-to-day lives greatly enhances our overall quality of life, which I would have to agree with – especially when beauty comes in the form of a bike. In my opinion, the VINER Perfecta that I rode this season, is as as nice to look at as it is to ride and race. And that goes a long way with me because admittedly I enjoy things that operate exceptionally well, but also look good do it – form and function come together in this bike like the two halves of DNA’s double helix.

There’s little question, that the fact that this bike is designed and handmade in Italy, plays into why it looks the way it does. Everything from the unique contours of the top tube, the subtly flared chainstays, to the colour scheme, all make this an unquestionable work of cycling art that literally makes me happier when I see it. And it didn’t just have this effect on me – not a race went by when I didn’t have at least one person come up and ask about that bike and comment on how nice it was. There aren’t many CX bikes out there that can do that.

Now looks, though important, do only go so far. So on the performance side, simply put, this is the best bike I’ve ever ridden and raced. I’ve become partial to the feel of the full carbon frame, which somehow delivers both the responsiveness and stiffness you want in a race, and the comfort you need to keep from having your teeth rattled free from your skull. Initially I was luke warm on the Campi set up, but as the season went on, I came to enjoy that as well – consistently precise, crisp shifting just came to be expected. To me, the only downside to this bike is the wheel set it came with. Fulcrum Racing 7 CXs, aren’t a bad wheel set; they are strong, and track high speed corners really well, but they are a heavy wheel set choice in relation to such a high-end frame as light as this one. If you put a lighter set of wheels on this bike, it would be scream like a lunatic with its hair on fire!

So, even though the CX season still rolls on strong in US right now, I lament that the race season here in Alberta is long over, and I am sitting here reluctantly concluding my review of this bike with this post. Handing this bike back over to SRI Importing will be sad affair.

For those of you looking for something a little out of the ordinary, a CX bike that’s not only fast and light, and all those good things, but also has something special about it, a level of design passion you might not find in a bike from one of the larger manufacturers, a handmade Italian VINER Perfecta just might be for you.

For more info on VINER bikes contact SRI Importing.

Cheers, to Sarns for stepping into the role of ‘The Rider’, for the product vid.

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In this third and final instalment of my interview with Team H&R Block’s Aaron Schooler, I ask him who he thinks has the edge come CX season, the Roadie or the MTB’r. Personally, in general, I have to hand it to the roadies because they show up with such great fitness. At least this is my perception. Take 20 roadies and 20 MTBers at any given Tuesday Night’r and you’ll see a skew toward the roadies in the top end of the field. That said, if take the fastest roadie and fastest MTB’r, and if they are of similar fitness, then I’d say the edge has to go to the MTB’r due to the bike handling skills, and the explosiveness of the MTB riding style. Really, it’s a pretty tough call, though.

View interview parts #1 and #2.

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Ever gone back to a park that served as a cyclocross venue a week or so afterwards, to see if you can remember the course? If you have, then you’ll know as well as I do that more often than not, though the course marking might be down, the damage left from the tires leaves an impression you can still follow around.

As a racer, who lives near cyclocross venues, I like the fact that I can revisit a course I raced and re-ride it. But, as you can imagine, not everyone sees this the same way I do, like other park users, or the city parks department… On the one hand, I’m sure park officials are pleased to see the parks getting put to good use. I mean, why have parks if no one uses them? But, on the other hand, having to spend city park budget money to re-seed, or sod sections of the park each year due to the furious churning of knobby CX wheels, might not sit as well.

Here in Edmonton, we’ve got it pretty good. Our local bike advocates cooperate with the city parks department, and we’ve come up with a system where we are constantly changing the courses, and moving the locations of the races altogether, to ensurewe the grass has all the time it needs to recover, all on its own. So far this has worked out pretty well for us, but in Toronto, the battle for cyclocross race park locations has heated up.

“My hands were tied,” says Mr. Martuzalski, a former member of the Polish national cycling team. He says he was turned down for permits at five or six other parks, with supervisors telling him he would have to run his off-road race along paved bike trails if he held it in more central parks such as Riverdale, Cedarvale, Christie Pits and Winston Churchill.

Here is the article from the Globe and Mail.

What do you think? Should public spaces, like city parks be off-limits to sports like cyclocross, or is there a better solution?

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Following up on the post from last week, here is the second instalment of my interview with Team H&R Block‘s, Aaron Schooler.

In this part of the interview Aaron talks about the shift from roads to cyclocross season, and the changes he makes to his own training.

For more information on Aaron, check out his blog at Schooler’s Cycling Stuff.

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Cyclocross has become by far, my favourite discipline of racing. Fast, furiously difficult and fun as all hell. Earlier in the season, I got to tag along with Rob from Sri Importing and Team H&R Block’s Aaron Schooler on cyclocross training ride. Aaron gave us both some first rate 1 on 2 coaching (including the dismount and re-mount – which I hate to admit it, Aaron, but I’ve still got that extra hope in there…) and he was gracious enough to also do a video interview with me for Bikeridr. In that interview we spanned a surprising amount – too much to cram into one web-post, so I’ll release the interview in stages. This segment #1, on CX race strategy.

For more info on Aaron, check out his blog, Schooler’s Cycling Stuff

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We all know the UCI approved disc brakes in CX, and most of us have already seen a few racers out with a disc set-sup. What did you think when you first heard disc brakes were allowed, or saw your first disc equipped CX rig? Did you salivate with envy? Scoff with distain? Or, did you shrug with indifference? Personally, I did a little of all three.

Last season, I never did quite get my brakes dialled in. There was a pretty predictable ‘howl’, and amount of chatter in the front end when I hit the binders hard. At the time, I was told by more seasoned racers, this was just the way it was with canti’s – part of the deal/fun. Knowing the couple racers with discs weren’t dealing with any of that made me pretty envious. But, I was also told, again by more seasoned racers, that the disc guys were giving up weight – an unavoidable compromise. Disc set-ups weigh more than canti’s. Add that to the prolific believe held by most of the racers I talked to that canti’s are part of the CX ‘spirit’, part of what makes CX what it is, and I met disc brakes with a similar distain to an audiophile who refuses to give up his vinyl. At the end of the day, I didn’t really care that much. I knew damn well, braking power wasn’t going to be a silver bullet a racer like me needed to crack into the pointy end of the field… I had more immediate shortcomings to address, like fitness.

Thinking about it more this year, however, even though I have my canti’s set up perfectly, (for now), I have found in the last couple races that I’m starting to figure out how to carry more flow though a CX course, and with more flow, comes more speed. Now, to say I have more flow, doesn’t necessarily mean, I’m not blowing lines and corners with every lap, so it’s precisely for this reason I’ve found that I really would enjoy more braking power, and the modulation that comes with discs. They may have saved me a couple times already this season, from bustin’ through the tape – hard to know for sure I suppose… But, I do know from MTB, when I switched to disc, I was instantly ‘willing’ to go faster, because I knew I could stop sooner/better. It was a huge confidence boost. I’d imagine going to discs in CX would offer a similar experience.

This season, I can’t say I’ve seen too many racers using disc. I feel like I saw more last year, than I have this year, which really surprises me because I figured they’d be catching on quickly. That said, I don’t believe anyone is making production CX bikes with discs yet. You can upgrade a bike easily enough with a new fork, but really that’s it, for now. Next year, however, I know Specialized should have its Crux model out, with discs. I’d imagine other manufacturers will follow in short order and then we’ll see an influx.

So, with that in mind, are you holding out for the forthcoming CX disc models, or do you think canti’s are still where it’s at?

Related posts:

1. Cyclocross Disc Brakes
2. Alberta Cyclocross Wrap Up

Coming off a full season of mtb racing, my first cyclocross race ever was a Tuesday Nighter put on by Cory from United Cycle. It was really cold. There was some snow already, and it was getting dark fast as I rounded the corner to cross the finish line… I was in last place, and felt crushed both physically, as I’d pushed myself to exhaustion, and emotionally, disappointed in my finish. But, that didn’t really matter, because as I found out, no one cared about where they finished in these races. It was all about just getting on the bike. I didn’t quite get that then, but I managed to keep coming back for more, each time, feeling just as welcome and part of the group as anyone there… It was a nice laid back scene then. Now 2 years later, keeping the same vibe, it’s clear I’m not the only one who likes these kind of ‘low-key’ races, with more than 100 of us showing up to one of them this season. Good job, Cory! Can’t wait for next season already. CX is where it’s at!

Here is a great article from the Shaughn Butts from the Edmonton Journal that came out just yesterday. Nice to see CX getting some mainstream media.

Also some really cool video courtesy Pedalheadful, from last night’s race (final Tuesday Nighter race of the season). Clearly shot on a nice camera :-)

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