Month: April 2016

Bicycle Times speaks about bike fit


Interesting

As rewarding as it is, cycling can come with its fair share of aches and pains—especially for new riders who aren’t used to time in the saddle. Some soreness may be inevitable—this is a sport, after all—but a lot of discomfort can be remedied with a tweak of your bike setup or your riding style. Bike-fitting specialist Happy Freedman and exercise physiologist Polly deMille, both from the Hospital of Special Surgery’s Bike Fitting Service in New York City, offer their tips for a pleasant and pain-free ride.

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Wrists

If padded gloves don’t do the trick, try adjusting your handlebar position a touch. “The goal is to support your upper body without putting all your weight on it,” says Freedman. “You want to be able to put your weight forward when you need it and back off when you don’t, so your wrists get a break.” Off the bike, work your abdominal muscles with plank exercises, so you can support yourself while you ride. “If your core is weak, you have to lean on your handlebars much more,” says deMille.

Shoulders

Don’t lock your elbows or lean too hard on your handlebars, says Freedman. These habits stress the muscles in your upper back and send shockwaves straight up through your shoulders. Instead, keep a slight bend in your arms and adjust your seat height and angle so you’re not pitched too far forward.

Neck

Make sure your helmet fits properly and your glasses (Rx or sunnies) don’t slip down your nose. If you have to tilt your head back to keep them in place, you’ll strain your neck more than it already is. After your ride, do chin-to-chest and ear-to-shoulder stretches, along with chest-opening yoga poses like Cobra or Upward-Facing Dog. And when you practice planks, don’t drop your head—holding it up will strengthen the muscles that fatigue during long rides.

Lower Back

Sitting up too straight can be bad news for your back. “The energy of impact, if you hit a rough patch or a pothole, goes straight up through the seat tube into your lower back,” Freedman says. Even on a city or commuter bike, lean forward slightly and support yourself with your quads and core muscles to better absorb shock from the road.

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Seat

Wear padded bike shorts (with nothing underneath) or, at the very least, avoid clothing with lots of seams. Your bike shop can recommend a saddle width and cushioning level best suited for your butt shape and riding style. To keep the nose from smashing into your nether-bits, make sure it’s not tilted too far forward or back. And shift positions as you pedal through turns and change speeds. “It increases circulation, uses different muscles and redistributes your weight,” Freedman says. “The more you move around on the saddle, the less likely you are to be sore.”

Knees

Check your seat height: If your feet can touch the ground while you’re still in the saddle, it’s too low. Riding this way puts too much stress on the knees—yes, even on commuter bikes—and can hurt your hips and back, too. “With your heel on the pedal and your butt in the saddle, you should have just a little flexion in your knee at the bottom of your pedal stroke,” Freedman says.

Hips

“Tight hips can mean your glutes aren’t firing,” deMille says, leaving the front of your legs to do all the work. Strengthen your butt muscles with squats and single-leg bridges, and foam roll your quads after riding to release tension and open up your hips.

Feet

Loosen up! Many people wear their cycling shoes too tight, Freedman says, which can collapse arches and make existing problems (like bone spurs or neuromas) worse. Secure your shoes only to the point your feet feel snug—there’s no need to ratchet them down as far as they’ll go.

Theatre Thursday: How Far can wool take you


How far can wool actually take you? That was the question Cima Coppi, Galen Lofstedt and I debated when laying down the story for this film. Over a few Spanish pinchos and Mahou lagers Lawrence, one founding member of Cima Coppi, recounted his early days riding from Sweden to Spain on only his single speed bike and in his wool sweater. Or his adventures in Italy riding each stage of the Giro at the crack of dawn before the professionals hit the road for the day, all done in his one wool sweater. Indirectly this really served as product testing that later laid the foundation for the company that Cima Coppi has become, a humble, custom fit wool cycling garment company based in Asturias, Spain. This inspired Galen and I to create a film that paid homage to these stories and the distances wool can travel. In the film we hope that you get the feeling of never ending pursuits of adventure all in one custom made blue wool sweater.

None of this film would have been possible if it weren’t for the support from Cima Coppi. To clarify I hunted them down and demanded that we make a film together because I love what they stand for and their belief in an old but still very effective material called wool.

 

Kite time


yesterday was a bit light in troon for kiting but good to dust off the cobwebs ….

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but heading to east coast today Longniddry that i haven’t kited before – should be fun.

Longniddry is a small village in East Lothian, just a few miles from Edinburgh.

It has a relatively small wind direction range, but when it’s on it’s really good. Expect clean winds, flat water, little kickers and some nice chop. All in the same session!

Believe it or not, James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan once lived in Longniddry!

Wind Directions

Longniddry will work on SW around to W but is best on WSW.

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Peter Sagan wins his first monument 


Highlights

Last few km and Sagan is solo

The world champion went on the attack with Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo), dropping the former on the Oude Kwaremont and the latter on the Paterberg. As Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) gave chase behind in his final Ronde van Vlaanderen, Sagan folded his arms over his handlebars and soloed to take a famous win. 

It was a fast and furious day of racing in the Flemish Ardennes and the hopes of pre-race favourites Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) and Arnaud Demare (FDJ) were all left in tatters by crashes. 

Lizzie artistead also world champ won the women’s field too.

Well deserved as well dealing with a tailgating sprinter and a chasing pack

Lizzie Armitstead’s superb start to the season continued with a nailbiting victory in the women’s Tour of Flanders on Sunday. It took a photo-finish to separate the reigning world champion from Sweden’s Emma Johansson [Wiggle-High5] at the end of the 141.2km race over the Belgian cobbles.

So much for the fabled curse of the rainbow jersey. Armitstead has been in devastating form this year, winning at Omloop het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche and Trofeo Binda before adding the coveted Flanders title to the list yesterday. The Otley rider broke clear with Johansson on the approach to the Paterberg, the final climb of the race, and held a nine-second lead as they began the final kilometre. Johansson was first to launch her sprint but Armitstead responded to snatch victory for her Boels-Dolmans team.
“It’s really special to win, and to win in the rainbow jersey is even more special,” Armitstead said. “It was the perfect day.