Executive Summary
The graph above demonstrates the effectiveness of training both indoors and out. A full 75% of my training for the Dirty Dozen was done inside – focusing on both Heart Zones@ training above threshold, as well as power exercises on the Keiser m3. Once per week, rides were done locally to continue with the same approach outdoors, and every 2 weeks a portion of the actual DD hills were ridden to test and validate our methods. The efficiency gains garnered through training this Cycling Fusion™ way …

Tomorrow we officially hit the half way point of our 16 week Winter Training program at the Global Ride Training Center. We’ve employed the Keiser M3 power indoor bikes and Cycling Fusion principals to maximize our use of the indoor environment. We are preparing for personal bests and new levels in the great outdoors on two wheels.

We have become a nation of excuse makers. Instead of admitting we are lazy, we say we are busy. Instead of being honest about our eating, we claim we just “can’t seem to do anything to lose weight”. Instead of being disciplined with our time, we complain that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. We have become overweight, out of shape, and worst of all, we feel justified because everyone else tells us that it’s “OK”.

Whether it is mountain biking, road cycling, or even touring, power can be the gateway to a new experience on two wheels. You’ll be able to “hang with the faster group”, climb the hills you used to walk, or climb with speed where you used to get dropped, or just feel fresh throughout a touring ride while your companions are “suffering”.

Nothing frustrates me more than small thinking.  In fact, if I can point to one factor that has compelled me to virtually every entrepreneurial endeavor I’ve ever done (of which there are many) it would be small thinking.  Small thinking is what makes a great idea fizzle and die.  Small thinking takes opportunity and handicaps it.  Small thinking is fueled by fear and a lack of confidence.  Small thinking is expert at discovering all the reasons why something won’t work, and is blind to all the reasons something will work.  …

So finally after about 7 years of road riding I can stop avoiding the phrase “I’ve never crashed on my road bike”. Saying that would be the kiss of death, and a sure fire way to “fix” that statement. I managed to make my road crash look more like a MTB crash (check out the mud on my left side). I’m tossing this one into the category of Too Much Testosterone. Yeah, it was my fault and entirely avoidable.

These are the words that rung in my head just before we headed out the door, helmet & gloves on, bikes ready to roll. My 19 year old daughter had a simple goal a few months ago – to lose weight and get in shape (sound familiar?). She had done a good job on her own, but hit the proverbial “wall”… little to no additional progress. I knew that if she was going to take it to the next level, she needed to have her sights set …

To all my Spinning® buddies and fanatics out there, don’t get too excited. I have nothing but kudos and good things to say about Spinning®, and have huge love for what Johnny G did to bring indoor cycling “to the masses”. Frankly, if it wasn’t for his work in the 80s, we would probably still be fighting to build the “perfect trainer” while a stationary bike is simply the perfect solution for both the class environment and introducing folks to cycling for the first time. If we …

Reflecting on the Giretto, after being home for more than a week now, I feel like I’m still waking up from one of the dreams that you could swear was real. It was grueling, exhilarating, exhausting, rewarding – each emotion at its peak. The overwhelming feeling I am left with is “I can’t wait till next year!” The logistics were as challenging as the training. The fund raising was as challenging as the riding. But the experience was well beyond what I had expected, even …

On my last post I told you how yesterday’s 8 hr in the saddle, concluding with both a Category 2 and a Cat 1 climb wasn’t really over after we stopped riding. The strength of our riding group was consistently Nina leading the way, and Jennifer brining up the rear. We all shared our time in the front pulling on the flat lands, but in the mountains, this is how it shook out. These climbs were no joke – each one taking 1 to 2 hrs …