I recently stumbled upon the video below which demonstrates an interesting pedaling technique. If you are one of those types that just goes out on the road and hammers it out, perhaps you should examine your pedaling technique. I do not know if this is the perfect cycling technique nor do i know much about the author. I went to a few of her websites but could not find out anything about her background or education. The point of the video however is to awaken you to the fact of examining your pedaling technique. Just like one may need a golf instructor for golf or a personal trainer when starting a weight lifting program, you may need a lesson or two on pedaling technique. In the next post I will try to find some online sources to help you improve your pedaling technique.

Perhaps I should have titled this article, what gets measured, gets managed. A line made well-known by Peter Drucker, a business consultant/guru. His advice is as relevant to being a better road biker as it is for any business.

Please question yourself the following questions:

How many miles did I ride last week?
How many miles did I ride last month? 3, 6, or 12 months ago?
What was my average speed for my ride?
How many of the miles ridden were uphill? Straightaway?

If you cannot answer more than one of those questions, you should consider keeping a mileage log.

Why keep a mileage log? How do you know if you are improving if you don’t measure it? Sure you can say things like, “hey i stayed on pace with that cyclist this year and I couldn’t do it last year”. But really measuring your average speed and distance for each ride will help you become quicker. For example, by examining your log you can determine if riding too much in the beginning of the week causes you to be too slow at the end of the week during your group ride. If you are doing any interval training, how does it affect your riding pace 1,2,3 or 4 days after that intense training. Perhaps you want to try some type of supplement that helps in your recovery, if you do not measure your pre-supplement rides to your post supplement rides, how do you know if that expensive supplement helped you or not? Can you see how vital measuring the speed and distance of your rides can be now?

Start simple. Try to just keep track of the miles and your average pace for the ride. As you get used to keeping a mileage log, you may find you want to keep track of other statistics. To get you started, I found a fantastic free mileage log for you. Click here to get your free excel spreadsheet from bikeleague.org (or here for a pdf version) and start your measuring journey!

Since spring is coming and we have mentioned the topic of building explosive cycling power with weights, we want to introduce the step up exercise. This is an fantastic lower body exercise and you will readily see why is it appropriate to road biking when you watch the video below. As always, consult a doctor or medical professional before conducting a new workout regimen. If you are a beginner to this exercise, start without any weight and a small step, no more than 12-24 inches, whatever height you feel you can do at least 8 reps without gritting your teeth! Once you find a comfortable height and can do three sets of 8, start using weights. Use 2-5 lb dumbbells in each hand and try to accomplish 8 reps for 3 sets. Make sure to watch the video below to see proper form. It is also a excellent thought to watch yourself in a mirror when starting this exercise. Let’s build some road bike cycling power!

The government recently created a new and easy to use product safety recall site. This site allows you to search for products that have been recalled or to report an unsafe product. Road biking is dangerous enough just fighting oncoming cars and pedestrians let alone a possible defective product! A quick and simple scan led me to find that a crank set that was installed on many different road bikes could be a crash hazard. Here are a few of those road bikes that had this crank set:

2010 Bianchi Sempre Ultegra
2010 Cannondale Six Carbon 5
2011 Felt F75
2011 Felt F75x
2010 Quintana Roo CD.0.1

There was several others that have been recalled. Click here to see the official recall notice for the crank set and the list of bicycles affected.

If you are concerned about other bicycle product recalls, please visit the bicycle recall section of http://www.saferproducts.gov/

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Below is an brilliant demonstration of the Kettle Bell Swing. I have found this to be a fantastic exercise to help build explosive power when I ride uphill. If you are like most cyclists, you probably ignore working your core and upper body muscles. This simple exercise utilizes your upper body, core muscles and legs all in one movement. Start with a light weight until you feel comfortable with the exercise. Then experiment as to which weight works best for you. If you have never done this type of exercise before, be prepared to be sore the next day or two! Always contact your physician before starting a strenuous exercise program.

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