Since when did it become politically correct to make your friends and family feel good about becoming a health risk and flirting with heart disease, diabetes and worse. Somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that we really can’t do anything about the way we look, the way we feel, or even what we do, because life just gets in the way. We remind ourselves, and those in our circle of influence, that life today isn’t as simple as it once was, and that we barely have enough energy to just keep up. Jobs, kids, family obligations, commitments to friends, church or community involvement, all seem to come before our own selves. We rationalize that we are doing it for them, and thus, we are able to let our own health and well being take the proverbial back seat on the procrastination train to nowhere.

The obvious problem with this is that we are not as good a spouse, a parent, an employee or even church and community member, if we are in poor health or depressed or both. We will be better at everything we do if we are healthier, happier, and confident that we can overcome the pressures of life.

I posit that the pace of life now requires a new outlook; one that does not feel defeated before we begin, one that understands that the proper response to a more complex life is a higher level of determination, not acquiescence to our circumstances. I say we need to stop co-miserating and start co-conquering! We need to stop enabling ourselves and our friends who likewise have not found a way, and find someone who has; someone who can help us overcome our circumstances. Maybe this someone, will give us an old fashion kick in the ass to help us stop complaining, stop making excuses, and make the decision to take our lives back!

I say it’s time to set our minds on something extraordinary, something we never thought possible. It’s time to grab that dream we always thought was out of reach, and think for at least a moment “What if I could actually do that?” It’s time to pick a goal so big, that once accomplished, we will never let the hurdles of life loom larger than we see our legs leaping.

With this, we will stop making excuses and start making plans. We will quit complaining and begin to count the reasons why instead of why not. Once and for all, we will decide to make our own circumstances and shape our own lives, as we want them to be.

For this end result, I want to find that someone who will give me one swift kick in the ass!

Let’s talk about a perfect example of small thinking as it relates to Cycling Fusion.  How about buying bikes that have power built into them, and not buying the computers that display that power, to go with them.  A major fitness chain has already done that.  Small thinking says that this will intimidate people and confuse instructors.

Here’s another popular train of thought.  “When we are ready to buy new bikes for our Spinning® or Indoor Cycling room, we are going to get the same ones we got before because that’s what everyone is used to, and anyway, nobody uses heart rate, cadence or power around here”. Geez, I wonder if the fact that you don’t have any bikes that have those tools, has anything to do with that?

Here’s one of my favorites.  “We really don’t have many cyclists here, so we don’t need all that computer stuff.”  Well, here’s a news flash, there are many cyclists that don’t use that stuff even while riding outside – did you ever think that you might be the ones to teach them?  As far as the cyclists that do use training tools outside, is it no wonder they also don’t come to your classes?  We complain about not attracting a certain segment of the population, and then we don’t do anything about understanding how to reach them.

Cycling Fusion & Heart Zones Are Fighting Small Thinking Together

This weekend I had the pleasure of launching Power Training for Indoor Cycling at the annual Heart Zones conference in St. Louis.  I had the largest group of the tracks offered even despite the fact that many of the students do not yet have power bikes in their cycling rooms.  These are not the small thinkers.  These are the leaders that are not content to maintain the status quo, but want to learn all they can about what the future may hold, and have a hand in shaping it.  They are big thinkers.  Despite the odds against them, they see the opportunities around them.  These are the folks that want to be change agents, not the victims of change.

Sally Edwards herself is one of the original big thinkers!  From making history with her Heart Zones training methodology, to partnering with Cycling Fusion on our brand new approach to training with power, she’s always tried to think creatively and break with the status quo.  This new system of training is directed specifically at the average indoor cyclist, in the average fitness facility, who may not even ride outside, and yet with very sound cycling principles to help even local competitive cyclists reach new levels.

Keiser Corporation is another big thinker.  It’s refreshing to see a corporation working in a recession impacted industry like fitness say – “We believe in the future, and we’ll back the leaders who are taking the risks to be there.”  They provided 20 bikes to the conference so that the power training could be experienced first hand by most who have never been on a power bike.  The Keiser M3 has been a tremendous tool in developing this curriculum, and while it is designed to work with any bike that can measure and display power, we’ve been really delighted to work with them on this project.  It’s no wonder that every bike was already pre-sold before we left the conference.

While this blog will begin to focus on the Giretto, and other Cycling Fusion projects in the near future, I will be writing a series of weekly blogs about Cycling Fusion’s Power Training for our friends over at the Indoor Cycling Pro membership site.  If you follow along there, you should be Power Proficient in time for winter training.

The issue is air flow in the Indoor Cycling / Spinning® rooms. First of all, let me get this off my chest – BUY SOME FREAKIN FANS! YYOOOIIII!!!

When I took Global Ride’s virtual cycling DVDs on a 15,000 mile nationwide tour last winter, we premiered the DVDs to sold-out cycling rooms in 11 major cities across the US. In only 3 clubs did I encounter more than 1 fan in the room. It was like I was in Spinning® hell, but I bet the Devil isn’t even that mean.

More recently, I’ve read some exchanges on two different forums that were like night and day. The one forum is dedicated to training with power. These are cyclists who race or who at least are fanatical about power and power meters. They understand the importance of airflow, and spent gads of time discussing how to buy, then position their individual fan in front of their single trainer. Discussions were insanely detailed about how big the fan should be, how critical it was to have good airflow, etc.

The other forum is dedicated to the indoor cycling / Spinning® instructor. In this forum, there were incredibly similar stories among members about the fights in their class between members regarding… are you ready… how they position the fan.. THE fan – that’s singular, as in NOT plural, as in NOT more than one, stinkin’ FAN. Consistent with my experience last winter, these places think they’ve done their duty by throwing ONE fan in the room. I just want to shake someone!

Here are a few quotes from that recent discussion:
“The Group Fitness coordinator also teaches a cycle class and she made an announcement in her class…which is that the fans are not for personal cooling…The expectation in a group exercise class is that one will sweat.”

“Just today before class there was a confrontation regarding which way the fan should be facing. One member moves it, the other moves it back”

“WOW, I can’t believe that I stumbled on this thread. This is EXACTLY what is going on in our club. I love what SpinBob says about members acting like children…I must pass that one along to management. There was an incident that happened in my class recently — this member was soooo disruptive before the beginning of class over the personal cooling/placement of the fan”

Then on Twitter, I got this tweet “Just finished a class with the insane instructor who shuts the fan OFF when she starts class because she wants everyone to sweat!”

If you don’t have some way to keep your body cool, you can’t use your energy to perform work – the real way to get fit and lose weight. Instead, you’re wasting energy cooling (or at least trying to cool) your body. Click here for more behind the physiology and a video with Dr. Lim from Garmin-Chipotle cycling team

The problem here is that you don’t have to understand training, physiology or foundational principles in heart rate training, or the cardiovascular system to own or manage a fitness facility. Owners and managers are not the only ones who don’t get it. Few certification programs for instructors also include this fundamental knowledge base. Consequently, there is a prevailing notion (along with other silly ideas like the 220 minus your age formula for calculating your max heart rate), that the more you sweat, the harder you are working. That kind of logic then leads those misguided souls to think that the more you sweat, the more weight you are loosing. The ultimate, and most heinous conclusion this leads some to, goes like this “They don’t need fans, they want to work hard and lose weight, and that’s what they are supposed to do… sweat!”.

In Cycling Fusion Fashion, We Must Unite!

If you’ve already spoken to management about this, and you are still working with just one fan… or even if they have broken down and gotten you one more for a grand total of two fans, do NOT settle for this kind of treatment. You pay good money, and deserve better. My strategy is this: shame them into doing the right thing. Get a dozen or so of the regulars together, have them each buy a cheap fan, and have them bring it to class every time they come. Have them explain to everyone that stops them in the halls with that blank look on their face, that you have been FORCED to bring your own fan because the club simply refuses to provide proper air flow in the Spinning® / Indoor Cycling room.

Here’s a link to a battery operated fan that can be set right in front or on the side of your bike. It’s small, but it’s also cheap – $19.95. In fact, it’s so cheap, you might even consider getting two of them. Even if management at your club is too stubborn to see the error of their ways (you should also share the article reference above with them), at least you’ll be cooler and you’ll get a more productive workout.

If you’re wondering what would be proper airflow, it really is about one fan per rider, or at a minimum, per every 2 riders if the fan oscillates. We have 8 fans for 21 riders in our facility. These are regular fans we built special ceiling mounts for, in order to facilitate maximum air dispersion. In fact, at Global Ride, we are still considering adding 3 or 4 more this year if our attendance increases.

Fans done the right way

This by the way, is a perfect example of why I want to build an online directory of all the Spinning® / Indoor Cycling facilities in the nation, so we can report to the world, just how every club is equipped and conducted. It’s one of the goals of Cycling Fusion – to pressure facility owners and managers into providing the right environment for us. After all, we are one of the few rooms that still generate additional revenue above membership, and probably account for our share of new memberships as well. So, if you want to remind management how important you are, just start your own fan club – and maybe they’ll jump on board.

Whew… (pant, pant, pant), that felt good, I’m glad I’m wearing my heart monitor. No really, I am steaming mad. I’ve seen our roads steadily decline in quality and appearance over the last several years, all in the name of cost savings, with this idiotic, and completely deceitful program of tarring and chipping. I’m not alone in my disgust and outrage either. Jon Schmitz of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote on this very subject just 2 months ago.

It’s not really cost savings, it’s COST SHIFTING, and the tax payers are getting double dipped. No one has lowered our taxes since they started this program, so from where I sit it hasn’t saved me ditly squat. We certainly don’t have a higher percentage of good roads to drive on – they are in worse shape than ever, with many of them “first generation” tar and chip roads that didn’t last a season. But the real reason every driver in PA should be up in arms is the additional cost this has added to every driver who has to endure these conditions every day. Here is how they have added to what we Pennsylvanians pay:

1. No reduction in taxes, despite claims of astronomical savings
2. Greater wear and tear on our tires (already subject to normal PA potholes), now the rough surface is wearing out our tires about 20% faster than in previous years
3. Worse gas mileage when the price of gas continues to fluctuate into the stratosphere. This is something we suffer on a day to day, week to week basis.
4. More body repairs from chipped paint that results from flying stones kicked up from recently chipped roads
5. More frequent under carriage treatments because of the constant beating the underbellies of our cars take
6. Greater health care costs for the accidents caused by these loose gravel conditions (especially with motorcycles).

You think I’m “reaching” with my ranting here – I am not. The International Research and Technologies published a book called “Surface Characteristics of Roadways”, where it is stated “Rational pavement management requires that any decisions regarding construction and maintenance policies to take due account of their consequences on the national economy, thus including consideration of vehicle operating costs.” You can read the exerpts from the book yourself by clicking on the link.

Look what they are covering, a good road! Why not fix the CRAP roads!?!

These just represent the cost shift to us. It doesn’t even touch the inconvenience, and unpleasantness of driving on the stupid things. I don’t care what car you drive, these roads will NEVER give you a “quiet ride”. It’s like riding your MTB on the road or on your trainer at home – deafening at times. And forget about that SMOOOOOOTH ride you used to like on _____________ (fill in the blank) road. Whatever road it was, wherever it was, your smooth ride is no more.

But wait, it’s not just a cost or convenience issue either, it’s also an Environment issue. We are being bad stewards of our environment if we allow the state to keep up with this destructive practice. In the same book as referenced above (and there are other references one can find throughout the internet), the rolling resistance can be higher by a factor of 2X, thereby requiring more energy to overcome it, thereby requiring more FUEL to generate that power. The result is an average additional 9% in fuel consumption!! Is that what we are supposed to be doing to limit our dependence on foreign oil?!?!

If these weren’t enough reasons to make you HATE this practice, we haven’t even spoken about the hopeless souls on two wheels. I’m talking about motor cycles here. The danger factor just increased by about 25% with all this loose gravel on the road. Add the fact that PA in its infinite wisdom, repealed the helmet law a few years back, and you have the good makings for a head trauma unit needed now in every local hospital. I suspect even cars have had more than one incident due to the loose surface of these roads, but on two wheels, it’s not a matter of IF there has been a Tar and Chip caused accident, it’s only a matter of HOW MANY.

Doesn't that look like FUN to ride on?

Of course, the group really taking it… uh… on the chin… is cyclists, bike riders. We may not be motorized, but we still pay our taxes, and according to law, we are legitimate users of the infrastructure. Now, even if we wanted to ride on the birm if it is wide enough, we can’t – there is so much loose CRAP there (95% from tar and chip), that it’s simply not safe enough. We are hence, forced to keep it well into the road, and still keep a watchful eye. This doesn’t even begin to touch the uncomfortable aspects of riding your bike on tar and chip. Try to imagine 120 lbs of tire pressure on a surface like the moon; only this moon surface is just miniature enough that you feel every single bump on every single inch you travel.

Whatever road rage you’ve seen from impatient drivers, it can’t equal the road rage felt by cyclists who not only have to ride on these roads every time they want to recreate, but who keep seeing more and more of their “smooth” routes destroyed. For me, if they don’t stop this in PA, I’ll be moving my tax money to a different state as soon as I possibly can!

There… I feel better now.