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My buddies Scott Tyree and Todd Dawson and I had a good training ride this weekend in the Kanawha State Forest near Charleston, W.Va. If you have not ridden there, you should give it a try. There are some great trails and primitive camping. Also, it is just outside of Charleston so there are conveniences nearby. On to the ride: We rode a course which leads to a trail called "Wildcat Ridge Trail." There was almost 1000 feet of vertical climb in a little over 3 miles. At the trail head on the top of the ridge, we ran into a lady named Carrie or Terrie (I can't hear. Deaf as a stump.) who informed us that the hill we just rode was called "Heart Attack Hill." I get it. She rode the rest of the way with us. She was in awesome shape and rode things that kicked my hind-end. One of the great things about mountain biking is that I am yet to meet a stranger on the trail. |
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Training Tips |
24 Hour Training Ride Report
A dorky training thing callled: BASE
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By walker on 11/14/2006 on walker's blog I think the cycling coaching-master Rick Crawford invented BASE training. Do you know what BASE is? According to Rick it is... “Base training is the foundation of endurance fitness and benefits athletes on many different levels. If done correctly, riding base can propel an athlete to new levels of success. But that is just it, it must be done correctly or its value is diminished greatly. Base is the time that I am most inflexible with my athletes, it takes great patience on their part.” You could also go to his camp to learn more... |
Biking, in the mountains ... Not quite "mountain biking"
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By Steve Outing on 8/6/2006 on Steve Outing's blog Given the choice, I'll go on a mountain bike ride over road riding any day. But I still like to mix it up and count myself as an enthusiastic road biker. Yesterday I rode the Copper Triangle on my Trek 5200. This was the first time for this road event, which starts and ends at Colorado's Copper Mountain ski resort, going through Leadville, Minturn and Vail. The tour (this was not a race) covers 80 miles (although the event website says 78, both my bike computer and GPS put it at 80) with a bit under 6,000 feet of climbing over three mountain passes. |
Come on, everyone can benefit from a little coaching
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By walker on 7/27/2006 on walker's blog Do you need a cycling coach? Is it time to re-focus on your skills? Are you getting rusty? I have a friend who just switched coaches. I was shocked to learn he actually had a coach to begin with. "What do they help you with?" I asked. "She keeps me focus and I don't overtrain," he answered. "Well, since when is overtraining a bad thing, I ask you? OK, it is, but I can control it. I don't think I need a coach to tell me to stop training," I said. "I doubt that, Walker," he said. The truth is, a coach might help me. What about you? I looked into a couple of coaching programs to see what they are all about. The Peaks Coaching Group has specialized coaches that seem to focus on helping you push the outer boundaries of the aerobic frontier. They have a surprising number of athletes using their services: Jeremiah Bishop, Nick Waite, Matt Cooke. These are all consistent podium finishers. |
Go ride a club ride!
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By walker on 7/21/2006 on walker's blog
Do you remember the Get-A-Long Gang? It was a stupid cartoon. There was this moose, who was the leader, and other animals who played really well with each other. If there was a problem, then the Get-A-Long Gang could solve it. Yeah, right, a moose? Whatever! You're probably wondering what this has to do with cycling, but it has everything to do with it. Do you do club rides? Usually, these rides are on the road. However, there are plenty of group rides that are for mountain bikers. Last night there were about a hundred mountain bikers hitting the trails. They all seemed to be in packs. It was good to see. |
It's transition time, so what are you doing to make it great?
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By walker on 3/13/2006 on walker's blog As spring throws a firm shoulder to winter and the days become longer, I was wondering, what are regional riders doing to get into shape for the mountain biking season. In the Southwest, where I call home, we have the desert scene; however, it can be several tanks of gas to get you there. But, it is good riding when you are alone near the Moab corridor. So what say you Northeasterners? Is it still too cold to care about the singletrack in the Northern neck of the woods? What about the Southern riders? Put down your mint juleps and tell me how you spend this transitional time? I also want to hear from the Westerners – the Californians and Nevadans. Do you actually have a winter down near the border? |
