Cycle Racing Archives - Page 2 of 2 - www.pbcyclecoaching.co.uk/

25/09/12 Cycle Racing

New To Cycling? Should You Shave Your Legs?!

First of all why on earth do cyclists shave their legs?

Pro cyclists say they shave their legs for 2 reasons:

1. If they crash and cut themselves (otherwise known as road rash) then hairs (which carry germs) might encourage the spread of an infection into the open wound.

2. They receive regular massages (sometimes up to twice a day) and it is much easier to massage a smooth leg than a hairy one.

You, like us, are probably not a Pro so why do so many amateur cyclists shave their legs?

Well, you’re unlikely to be getting a massage anywhere near as often as a Pro anyway we’ve never seen a Sports Massage Clinic with a sign outside saying “shaven bodies only please!” That rules out reason no. 2.

With reason no. 1 you might be onto something but then if picking up an infection was that likely then wouldn’t all rugby players, footballers, and other sports people do the same? Well, some do so we’ll let you get away with that one.

Do you want to know why cyclists really shave their legs?

TO LOOK LIKE CYCLISTS!

NOT for aerodynamics!

Even half the pro-pel0ton confess that they think it looks better and, let’s face it, if you feel better about yourself then you’re half way there. This sport is largely in your head (tell our lungs that!). When we first shaved our legs we felt like proper cyclists and then when you line up against 50 riders and 2 or 3 look like Chewbacca in lycra then it is hard to take them seriously, in fact we’ll try not to ride behind them in case they haven’t owned a bike for that long! Your legs will look more muscular and that’s not just vanity it is due to what’s called the refraction of light; pay attention here comes the science bit…….every shape we see is due to the shadows that are formed, not the shape itself. If light shines onto a hairy muscle then the shadows are not as sharp as the light is deflected slightly and forms various fuzzy lines. Without hair the shadows are sharper, giving the illusion of more definition (you might intimidate a few people that way!

That’s why bodybuilders shave their entire bodies cos it makes them look more defined and therefore more muscular.

Whether you decide to shave your legs or not that’s up to you but you will be taken more seriously. If you have long, thick, black hair then please just do it anyway!

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Cycle Racing Categories Explained

When you enter your first race you are automatically a 4th Category rider, otherwise known as a 4th Cat.

Roughly speaking you get 10 points for a win down to 1 point for 10th place (roughly).

If you get 10 points in a season (1st Dec to 30 Nov) then you become a 3rd Cat.

Once you’re a 3rd Cat you can never go back down to 4th Cat (i.e. a life of misery begins here). Therefore you can can score no points in a season yet remain a 3rdCat.

Each time you get promoted your points are wiped clean and you start at zero but you can go up as many categories as you like each season.

To go from 3rd to 2nd Cat you need 40 points. To keep your 2nd Cat licence you need 25 points each season (but remember you are now racing against 2nd Cats

To go from 2nd to 1st you need 200 points and then to get to Elite (the top level) you need more than you’ll remember right now.

Now go and do some training and email us if you want to find our where your nearest race is for this weekend!

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18/09/12 Cycle Racing , Cycle Training , Nutrition

Man Up To Avoid Cramp

Great tweet from @MTFU_training: Cramp: It’s just your bodies way of reminding you to train harder for next time. #mtfu

This isn’t as tongue in cheek as it initially seems.

Possible explanations of cramp include:

Dehydration
Loss of electrolytes (sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium etc)
Not stretching enough
Not warming up enough
Muscle imbalance causing one muscle to do too much work

Having said that, one definite reason hasn’t been found.

We agree with our tweeting friend – if you try to ride harder than your body wants to go then sometimes it’s just gonna say “enough” and cramp is when it’s reached that point!! Train harder, train longer, train more (i.e. man up!) and your body is going to find things easier and may well cramp us less often !!

Thanks Man Up

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17/09/12 Cycle Racing , Cycle Training , Sportives

Iron Man

Now, first of all, please for one minute don’t start thinking we’re triathlon fans. We promise you will never ever see us even dare to offer advice on how to swim through seaweed, wetsuit reviews or “how to stick/paint your race number to your arm” tutorials.

The reason the title is such is because we were watching a family member of the team compete (and complete) his first Ironman distance Triathlon yesterday.

For the hardcore cyclist who has never looked up what that means it is a 2.4 mile swim in the Thames, a 112 mile cycle and to top it off the small matter of running a marathon. This isn’t over a week by the way it’s only bloody non-stop.

He did it in 12 hours 3 minutes and the bike ride was at an average speed of 19 mph! This guy is an ex-smoker, has just had a baby (well his wife had the baby), in his late forties and had an acl operation on his knee a couple of years back. Oh and he won’t mind us telling you that he was a few too many pounds the wrong side of Pavarotti when he started cycling too!

They started in the dark and they were handing out head torches to some of the finishers – that’s a long day!

How did he do it?

He made a decision, made a plan, committed himself and his passion and guts got him round.

Be Inspired

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08/09/12 Cycle Racing

Tour Of Britain

What better a way to find out more about road racing than watching Wiggo and Cav in the www.tourofbritain.com starts tomorrow in Ipswich:-)

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07/09/12 Cycle Racing , Cycle Training

CycloPark Wednesday Evening Training Sessions

New cycle facility CycloPark in Gravesend, Kent is running race training evenings through the winter months on Wednesday evenings from 7.00pm onwards. The sessions will be run by British Cycling Coaches and will cover race drills and use various training methods. All are welcome and riders will be split into ability/age groups.

If you don’t fancy riding in the dark this winter then please take advantage of this brand new facility and the use of the floodlights on the circuit.

The session is priced at £5.00 per rider.

Cyclopark Pavilion, Watling Street, Gravesend Kent DA11 7NP

01474 567145

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01/09/12 Cycle Racing , Introduction To Cycle Racing

Introduction To Cycle Racing

Types Of Road Racing And Track Racing

If like us you have been inspired by Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and the Sky boys at the Tour de France or Team GB have blown your mind on the road and in the velodrome at the Olympics then you might well be up for your first race. First off, don’t be nervous, although that last sportive you did may not have been a race you could well surprise yourself! The best advice we can give is “have a go” and sooner rather later so read on!

Road Racing

Road Racing is where everyone starts as a group (or bunch or main field or peloton) and literally the first rider across the line at the other end (could be 20 miles up to 180 miles!) is the winner! How simple is that! You may have seen Cav (Mark Cavendish) in the Tour de France sprinting against a huge bunch of riders in the final 200 metres to win the stage – that’s a road race. Simples. Don’t worry you can click on the word road racing or on the tab at the top left for much more info. We want to help you not put you off!

Just to distinguish, Time Trialling is riding on your own against the clock. Riders start one at a time and they ride as fast as they can over a courses of varying distances from 10 miles up to 24 hours! There is one time trial that’s even longer (you had better be sitting down here); some nutcase even holds the record for time trialling from Lands End to John O’Groats!! Each time you go back to a course you can try to beat your ‘PB’ or personal best.

What now?

So if you fancy yourself as a bit of a Cav or Lizzie Armistead click on Cycle Racing. Don’t worry if you’re a bit nervous, the most important thing is that you just have a go and have fun yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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