You are currently browsing the archives for the 'Health and lifestyle' category.
I know, I know, I was going to build up the hardtail. I will still do that, but I’ve been sidetracked by a new ride.
A couple of weeks back, I picked up the Haro Sonix S and I’ve been grinding out some miles as I get the bike dialled in and get used to running a shorter travel fork up front. The Sonix rolls nicely on gravel and it climbs well on steeps but I think I need to spend some more time with the Reba. I’ll do a more complete writeup after I’ve spent more time on the trails.
3 Comments »
Some people ride for exercise. Some people ride to train for races.
But as I’ve learned over the past few weeks, riding can be pretty therapeutic too.
I haven’t posted much over the past 10 days and the reason is my father passed away July 5. I’ll spare you all the details, but I’m happy to say he died peacefully and I was by his side when he went.
Needless to say it was a tough week, especially because it was 15 years ago someone close to me died. As my father’s only son, it was my responsibility to take care of his business things, so I spent a few days last week living in a hotel in his hometown of Toronto.
It was pretty devastating to go through, but the turning point was last Thursday night, when I got back to my house in Niagara Falls and hopped on my bike for the first time in four days.
It certainly wasn’t a long ride – maybe 15 or 20km on the roads around the Falls, but it was one of the best rides I’ve had. For that time I was finally able to take my mind off things and just enjoy the sunshine. I didn’t care about heart rate, cadence or my average speed. I was just out there riding because I could.
I have now ridden every day since then and it has been great. I certainly hadn’t lost my passion for riding before all this happened, but I’ve gained a whole new level of interest. I have learned that riding can do more for the mind than an hour on a couch with a shrink.
If you haven’t done so recently, give your father a call and tell him you love him, and then hop on your bike and go for a spin, just because you can.
4 Comments »
When most people think about sprints or leadouts, most people associate the terms with road cycling.
While typical amateur mountain bike races are so spread out that it’s rare to see a race end in a sprint — in all my years of racing sport I’ve had one sprint finish (for 6th place) — at the pro level you tend to see groups stay together until the end.
Even though most of you will rarely experience a true sprint finish, sprint and leadout training are extremely beneficial techniques for mountain bikers. And it’s not useful only for racers either — any technical riding can benefit greatly from this type of training. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
A lot of readers of The Biking Hub probably don’t race and aren’t interested in racing, but I imagine that everyone who comes here enjoys riding more when they are riding well.
This article will talk about a simple approach to cycling that will make you faster without seeming like training.
A little personal history
Seven years ago my wife and I had our first child. For a little while, I tried to hold onto racing but family life became way too stressful, with constant arguments revolving around a training schedule like the one I used before kids. Anyone with small children knows what I mean — it’s difficult to balance ‘regular’ life with cycling, especially if you like to ride a lot.
At that point, I decided to ‘ride for fun’, ’smell the roses’, and just enjoy being on the bike when I could. Honestly, it sucked. Every hill became a lung burner, single track was more pain than fun, and group rides were bummers. Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments »
Is there anything more motivating before a big race or even a serious training ride than listening to some heart-pounding music? Or conversely, how frustrating is it to hear some horribly annoying tune just before you start a long ride. Then just as you’re about to be passed on your favourite singletrack you catch yourself singing the theme song to some TV show (Blue’s Clues if you’re a dad like me).
Technology in this day and age has made listening to music before or during a ride incredibly easy, and surprisingly safe. Read the rest of this entry »
6 Comments »
While almost everyone who enters a mountain bike race claims to be out for victory, the fact is that only a small percentage of those people actually have a chance of making it onto the podium on a given weekend. What that means is that most people really enter bike races for the fun of it, to participate in an activity that gives them pleasure, affords them the chance to challenge themselves in a competive environment, or gets them off the couch for a few days each season.
As those of us in the northern hemisphere round the corner and move towards the race season, many riders are going to start tuning up their bikes, hopping on new rides, and, in general, getting ready to rip on their local circuit. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments »
It’s that time of year again. You know, the time when you hit the indoor trainer. Whether you’re faced with limited time, daylight savings, or the lousy weather, at this time of year many cyclists are faced with getting their miles in on a trainer or not riding at all. And for most of us, spinning on the trainer isn’t the most enjoyable part of the cycling experience, so I’ve got some tips to help make your trainer time more bearable. Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments »
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about some of my worst mountain bike crashes and asked some of you to describe your most painful bails. The severity of the crashes varied although most of the outcomes weren’t too bad — there was a nose case, some cartwheels, a big blast of wind, some road rash, and some hurt pride — any of the crashes could have caused serious injury had the rider made one wrong move too many. For me, my wrong move has kept me on the shelf for almost four months, although I’m expecting that I’ll be back on my bike shortly, just before I’ve been off of it for four months. What have I done during my ‘time off’? Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments »
I’ve been riding mountain bikes since the late 1980s and have spent countless hours in the saddle. That time has allowed me to develop some decent bike handling skills and, while I haven’t had too many serious crashes, I accept that the law of averages is bound to catch up with me once in a while. In my mind, when someone rides enough, whether it’s on a cross country bike or a full-on freeride machine, they’re going to meet the ground at some point or another and that fact is something all mountain bikers need to understand.
Getting knocked around is part of the game when it comes to mountain biking and I’ve experienced my fair share. Along with a regular assortment of scrapes and bruises, I’ve lived through the odd broken toe and one or two slightly separated shoulders. But this entry isn’t about these little dust-ups. Instead, I want to talk about the biggies, the crashes that you describe with relish and the ones you don’t need to embellish with any sort of superlatives. So without further adieu, here are three of my worst and scariest crashes: Read the rest of this entry »
9 Comments »
