Many bike riders who ride in large packs have been told to stay near the front. Riding near the front (but not AT the front) of the group is easier because the pace is smoother.  Riders near the back often have to close gaps if a rider in front of them fall off the pace.  They also suffer the "slinky effect" going through corners where they are required to decelerate into a corner and quickly accelerate out of the corner to keep up with the group. For this stage's analysis, we'll compare the power of one of the ISCorp riders who was able to stay near the front of the race to another rider who started further back in the field.  We'll see what difference a rider's position in the field makes on the power requirements to stay with the field.

Pro Schmo. We all love watching the pros and striving to become better riders by emulating their riding techniques, equipment choices, and training methods, but most of us are not aspiring to become a pro. We just want to get faster in our local time trial, make it to the end of the Tuesday night group ride in the lead group, or maybe even win our state's criterium championship race. But one of the unique things about our sport - unlike the NFL or the MLB - is that once in a while, we can have a chance to ride amongst the pros - to see how we match up against the best of the best.

Central California is littered with great riding terrain. Since I’ve been in San Luis Obispo for the past few months, I’ve explored lots of areas and decided to focus on a small portion of a route I’ve done a few times in the last two months. One of the well-known roads leaving San Luis Obispo and heading north toward Santa Margarita and Atascadero is called “The Grade,” which refers to Cuesta Grade. Climbing the Grade requires riding on Highway 101 alongside semis and other motorized vehicles up a 7% grade. The climb lasts several miles. After my more recent ride up it on Memorial Day, I decided to look back at some of my older data for comparison. It’s good to check in and measure our progress.

There are over 130 million people in the US alone that are overweight. Associated with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, gout, asthma, depression and so much more, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death. Although genetics and hormonal factors can play a role, for most the solution is simply a matter of shifting their ‘energy balance’.

by Manuel Prado Team Sho-Air / Rock N’ Road Cyclery.

Pacing yourself is a phrase many of us have heard many times before a race; it is hard, however, in a mountain bike race to pace yourself well. The start of a cross country race is probably the hardest part of it; once everybody settles into rhythm, then that is when pacing well comes into play. With my new PowerTap Disc Brake Hub, I was able to pace myself perfectly.

The Idyllwild Spring Challenge took place the first weekend of May in the San Jacinto Mountains in Southern California. At 5500 feet all racers had to be a little careful on how they spent their energy. I decided to start a little slower and let the other riders set the pace. Up until mile 17 Chuck Jenkins from Cytomax-KHS had the lead by about 30 seconds. I was making sure that the gap did not grow until the point we hit the major climb of the day (15 minutes long with a steady 18% degree grade). That is where I knew that I could get the most out of my effort.