Shape Shifter, Get Fit Right!

Most think that once they bought a bike and had the local shop fit you that you were done, well sorry, most shops do a poor job, you have stiff back, tough time running of the bike, pins and needles in the arms, etc, Well this device can cure what ails you. 

The motorized, computer-controlled Guru DFU, which stands for “dynamic fit unit,” can help you dial in your ideal fit.

The premier triathlon bike fit school and philosophy, F.I.S.T., teaches fitters to identify a rider’s preferred position by switching between potential configurations to help the rider perceive subtle differences. Mechanical fit bikes can create just about any position, but the rider often has to stop pedaling—or even dismount—while the fitter makes adjustments. These frequent interruptions make it difficult to perceive small differences, especially for novice riders. The DFU eliminates that problem. Here’s how:

• The DFU uses electronic motors to change saddle and aerobar position while the cyclist pedals. This allows the rider to feel the difference between potential frame and bike geometries without jumping off the bike then trying to recall the previous position after remounting.

• If you are deciding between a stock Guru, a Trek and a Felt, the DFU can mimic the precise fit coordinates so you can feel the differences between the actual, physical bikes. It can also take an aerobar attachment system into account, whether a bike uses a traditional stem or a proprietary integrated unit.

• In addition to its unique attributes, the DFU has all the features typically found on mechanic fit bikes. Saddles and aerobars can be swapped and the bike can be mounted with an adjustable-length crank and a Computrainer to measure power, cadence and pedal stroke efficiency.

Nothing Needs To Be Said!

Mongoose, A Hill In Spain! Danny MacAskill

MacAskill, always makes you want to go out and ride a bike, maybe not like him, but still ride non-less.

Bike Love

Great, keep the kid spirit going no matter what age you are.

Machine vs. Matt Reed

A bill that creates fines for motorists who mistreat cyclists

So it seems that a bill was signed in Colorado that protects the rights of cyclist.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gov. Bill Ritter plans to sign a bill here today aimed at protecting the rights of cyclists.
The measure (Senate Bill 148) requires that drivers give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing or risk a $110 ticket.
Anyone who throws an object at a cyclist could be charged with a class 2 misdemeanor. That carries a fine of between $250 and $1,000 and a possible sentence of three to 12 months in jail.
The bill was sponsored by a bipartisan pair of avid cyclists - Republican Sen. Greg Brophy and Democratic Rep. Mike Merrifield. It will take effect Aug. 5.

Now lets start to crack down on the cars that buzz cyclist.

Winter Biking

Looking for a good deal this time of year is right around the corner, Jenson USA has some great deals right now, take the Scott Cyclocross Comp a good bike that won't break the bank, wish the price way just a little better, still a great deal. Here is what Scott is saying:
he new CX Comp gets improved geometry and a sloping, hydroformed top tube for easier dismounts and improved stand over clearance. A carbon CX straight blade fork and Shimano 105 components make the CX Comp the perfect choice for the 'Cross fanatic on a budget.

With this type of prices $1049 and shipping just under $50 bike shops should beware, online is trying to survive just like everyone else. Sometimes online is better but you will still have to pay for tune-ups I guess that is where shops differ. If you can turn a wrench this deal might be for you. Plus it keeps you from staring at a TV all winter while you train.

Rollers

Rollers, tough, challenging and one of the best workouts you can get. Why, well not only are you peddling to keep going but you must balance on 3 inch aluminum roller that are about 2 feet wide. So after about a 1/2 hour you will feel as though you have ridden for well over an hour. You are concentrating the whole time so watching TV is out of the questions, a little break in concentration and off you go. Start by rolling next to a poll (something to brace yourself with) getting going is the toughest part, the rest at the beginning is just learning to ride all over again. You will be surprised on how all over the place you really are, after you see how tough it is to bike in a straight line imagine what you look like on the road, weaving ever so slightly transferred into lost power remember the bike likes to go straight, it scrubs speed when you turn.

Not only do rollers provide the most awesome stationary workout with incredible real-world ride feel, but they're also simple to set-up, store and transport. For warming up before a race or watching the time fly by during an indoor ride, rollers offer the ultimate in versatility and simplicity.

Cheers

Cyclocross, off season fun and training!

THE MOST FUN YOU WILL HAVE OUTSIDE OF RIDDING YOUR TRI BIKE. Cyclocross is amazing, getting the best of both worlds, road biking with the ability to go anywhere. Mountain bike trails, fire trails, roads it is fun. If most of you hate when the season comes to the end, extend the season and get a Cyclocross bike. Races seems to start in August and run into the new year depending on your region. Means you are not stuck inside on a trainer. Here is the racing calendar and the Mercer Cup a US Grad Prix is sure to be great.

"The second weekend of the USGP of Cyclocross returns to Mercer County Park on November 16th and 17th where the racers are sure to face windy, challenging conditions and deep fields from the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic cross scene.

Once again Clif Bar will present it's Kids' Cross Clinic featuring the Clif Bar athletes at the race venue. We follow that up with a Race Number Presentation taking place at Knapp's Cyclery from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. It's a great chance to meet your favorite Pro and check out some great gear at the same time!"

If you are looking for a second training bike or even a third bike the use that a cyclocross bike will give you will extend many years. Even if you buy a second set of wheels and turn your training bike into a CX bike in the off season you will not be disappointed.

What to ride to, Hulu.com!

OK the winter is almost up so getting out and ridding is coming, soon. Next year if HULU can hang on and go up against YouTube, spending hours on the trainer won't feel so bad. You can watch almost any show and tons of movies, for free. This is from their "about us" section.
Hulu's ambitious and never-ending mission is to help you find and enjoy the world's premium content when, where and how you want it. We hope to provide you with the web's most comprehensive selection from more than 50 content providers including FOX, NBC, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and more to deliver premium programming across all genres and formats, television shows, feature films, and clips. Watch full-length episodes of current primetime TV shows such as The Simpsons and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Miami Vice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and clips from Saturday Night Live, Nip/Tuck, and others. Hulu also offers full-length feature films like The Usual Suspects, Ice Age, Three Amigos!, and The Big Lebowski as well as clips from films such as Napoleon Dynamite, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Devil Wears Prada and many more. Hulu is free and ad-supported — available anytime in the U.S.

Hulu was founded in March 2007 and is a joint venture owned by NBC Universal and News Corp. In addition, Hulu has closed a $100 million investment from private equity firm Providence Equity Partners.

Go HULU, Go.

2007 Ford Ironman World Championship

KONA, KONA, KONA, is upon us! If you can watch the race, it is going to be one of the best based on all the trash talking going one. Here are some of the stats:
The field racing here in Kona on Saturday will include just over 1,800 athletes.

Of that group, 73 per cent are men.

There are 90 male pros and 52 women professionals.

The largest category is the men 35-39 with 259 athletes, but the men's 40-44 is only nine behind on that front.

The largest women's categories are the 30-34 and 40-44, each with 75 participants.

51 countries are represented here, making this truly a world championship

There are 49 states represented.

One way to celebrate your birthday would be doing an Ironman, which is exactly what Patrick Bless, Marty Bulcock, Erik Grimm, Michelle Krelle, Hiroyuki Nishiuchi and Lynette Warn are doing.

The youngest competitors on Saturday include Phan Long from Carmel, Indiana and Tatiana Vertiz from Dallas, Texas.

Frank Farrar, the former governor of South Dakota, is our oldest competitor at 78. He's a few months older than our other 78-year-old, California's Loren Leonard.

Sister Madonna Buder, 77, from Spokane, Washington, is our oldest female competitor.

Watch this video from last years champion Normann Stadler.

The one competitor that is sure to excite is the defending Ford Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Samantha McGlone, is here to compete in her first Ironman. She’s prepared carefully and arrives here in Kona both fresh and with lots of bottom-end speed thanks to a career that included both the Olympics and lots of World Cup experience. She has breathed some life back into the smaller events and has shown that you don't need to do Kona to be successful. Samantha is the best at the 70.3 distance.

and

Craig Alexander
who is a world class professional triathlete with nearly a decade of racing experience. Craig, known as Crowie, is based in Boulder Colorado in the USA for the spring and summer, then heads home to Cronulla for the Australian summer. He too is also the male Ford Ironman 70.3 World Champion 2006.

This is crucial to your training.
Kona

Cyclocross coming to Mercer County Park, NJ

Mercer Cup, presented by Toyota
, is coming to NJ. Wow Mercer County park has changed so much in the last 10 years, you now have the New Jersey State Triathlon being held here and the USRowing National Championship Regatta, what a great thing to see.
So what is this:

• "Cyclocross has been described in many ways, some of the more common phrases are...
• “the toughest hour in cycling”
• “the NASCAR of bike racing"
• “requires the finesse of a ballet dancer, the speed of a motorcycler and the grit of a hockey player”

Cyclocross is a fall/winter, on-road/off-road cycling discipline held on a looped circuit of approximately 1-2 miles.

Cyclocross racers navigate mud, sand, pavement, grass, gravel, pasture, and mulch. When the terrain is too steep to ride or they are confronted by a standard set of wooden barriers, riders dismount, shoulder their bikes and run. Regulations suggest a lap be comprised of 90% riding and 10% running.

Each race is a timed event lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour depending on the racer's category. The race leader at the completion of the last lap is declared the winner. The sport originated in Europe after the second World War where road cyclists began riding in pastures and muddy fields to maintain their fitness. The first World Championship was held in Paris in 1950.

A cyclocross bike splits the difference between a road bike and a mountain bike, equipped with knobby skinny tires, drop handlebars and a lightweight frame.

Cyclocross enjoys a colossal following in continental Europe and is currently the fastest growing cycling discipline in the United States. The UCI has targeted the US as a key market for the expansion and continued growth of the sport.

In 2007 US athletes made history - winning 3 Silver Medals at the World Championships for the first time since the US began competing on the international stage.

Cyclocross is a great sport for viewing by spectators as the racers complete laps every 6-7 minutes, so there is always plenty of action happening right before your eyes. Clanging cowbells are a staple accessory used in cheering on the competitors at most every cyclocross event."

This is a great way to change it up and enjoy another way to train in the off season. If not just come out and support the riders. Cyclocross, Mercer County Park

Bike Crashes, Road ID

OK here is my public service announcement, be careful and over cautious. Now a lot of people who do the sport of triathlons have fallen down or been hit by a car while biking.
So here are some things to remember and DO:

1. You must carry ID on you, it is against the law not to have ID.
2. Get a Road ID
3. Never, Ever think that someone (a car) sees you, be on the offense at all time. This stinks for serious training but we are smaller and lighter than a 5,000 pound car.
   
4. If you carry a phone, and you should have I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) plugged into your contacts or favorites so if unconscious, the police have a number to call.
   
5. Helmet, but this one is not for us.
   
6. Insurance, both for your bike and yourself.

Having this happen is scary and there are really only two outcome, scraps bruises and broken bones or morgue.

Be safe and careful, I like having people around reading Thinktri

Pedal stroke, Proper Position

image courtesy of Road Hogs


Pedal stoke is one thing you need to get correct, you will find foot numbness, knee pain, thigh and calf strain, so make sure you get fitted when you start out. Bike shops that are any good will have a couple tools in their shop to help you achieve good bike position. A company called Slow Twitch has developed a process called F.I.S.T., Fit Institute Slowtwitch. "A proper road bike fit system is one that helps a rider adopt a road bike fit used by most of the better road bike riders. And a proper tri bike fit system will place triathletes in an optimized position for riding a bike outfitted with aero bars."
1) A trainer (bike trainer) with a riser ring keeping the bike level.
2) Knee Angle tool, making sure you have about 150 degrees
These two are the most important but read more at..

Speed training on a Bike

picture from Cannondale, thanks!

We all think that getting out and ridding is training, we are in our aerobars, going through an 2 hour or more ride. Now this is great but does it build up speed, the answer is NO. As in running or swimming breaking your rides up into hill, Mt. bike, out of the saddle can dramatically increase your speed. Over time you should see an increase 1 to 2 MPH. The best way to accomplish this is in group rides, but this can also be done alone. The short intervals develop your explosive power, improving your top end speed. These are essentially "weight training" on the bike when done at full intensity. If you can increase your top speed over short distances, either your "old" race pace will become easier to maintain, or you'll develop new speed for the distance; your "economy" at sprint, Olympic, and even Ironman distance will improve.
Here is a great workout:
Instructions:
• 1+ hour ride: 10-15 minutes warm up
• 30 minute tempo ride
• 5 minute recover
• 3 minutes on, 3 minutes off x3 (18-20 mph on, 14-16 mph off)
• 5 minute cool down
NOTE:
This is biking BASE PHASE which is used to build the aerobic capacity. Longer duration workouts at slower pace and intensity are predominant. You are building a biking aerobic base and getting stronger.
Try it I am sure you will be impressed with the results over time.

Bike Body Position video

At Think Tri, we are about making you faster by showing or telling you way's to accomplish that! Now not to take anyone away from ThinkTri.com, but YouTube is one of the best places to find hundreds of videos, from swimming to biking and even running. What I am trying to do is find the best so that you don't have to, keeping you in one place, ThinkTri.
This video is about body position on a bike and finding the comfort level, based on body position, it can even give you some knowledge when purchasing a bike. What I find the best part and most overlooked for most triathlete's is the shifters and breaks on the aero-bars (Profile Design). Having the shifters and breaks on the ends of your bars keeps you in the tuck position enabling a great stream and not having to sit up or move around to shift or break.
Check it out!