Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of articles and blogs about adding years to your life, and to be honest most of the advice is downright obvious: Don’t smoke, reduce stress, drink alcohol in moderation, eat better and exercise more. That’s all wonderful advice for the general population, but it got me thinking about our …
I have talked before about proper group ride etiquette and skills that make you a welcome rider in the group, but there are more advanced skills you can utilize to drop your new riding mates on race-like group rides, and also drop your competitors in races. I want to emphasize these tactics are meant to be practiced at …
Yesterday – April 14 – was the CTS’s 17th birthday! Each year I make sure to take note of April 14 and use the occasion to reflect on the path CTS has traveled and contemplate the landscape ahead. This year I have been particularly thinking about “The Why”. Finding or reaffirming your purpose – individually …
I’ve been thinking a lot about longevity this week, probably because of the sudden passing of iconic American cyclist Steve Tilford. I met Tilly when we were juniors, raced with him on several US National Team trips, and was his teammate on the Wheaties Schwinn team. Long after most of my generation of pros …
There are two common maxims regarding sports nutrition for events: Don’t try anything new on race day, and find the foods and drinks that work best for you. Those are good starting points, but when you spend months training for a goal event it behooves you to put more thought into developing your race …
This week I came across an article in the New York Times about the University of Connecticut women’s basketball program, and it caught my attention because it highlights a subject my coaches and I have been shouting from the rooftops for years: Fitness First! The UConn Huskies are 34-0 this season with only …
I’ve been a cyclist for more than 40 years and the longer I ride the more I realize there are some truths that are simply inescapable. If you’re a cyclist you’ve undoubtedly experienced most, if not all, of these: 1. Flats Happen in Threes I don’t know why but I swear it’s true. Actually, I …
“Calories cannot create fitness.” That’s what I heard as I was passing by the office of CTS Premier Coach Jason Koop. Later in the day I asked him what he meant, and he replied that one of his athletes had jumped into a half-Ironman on a whim, well before he was prepared for that …
Recently I’ve had the opportunity to ride and talk with a number of athletes who aren’t performing at the level they would like to be. Their stories were all a bit different but boiled down to life getting out of balance, eating and drinking habits changing for the worse, and exercising less. There is …
This is a period of the year when athletes have a lot of motivation to train, but don’t always have great weather for outdoor training. Fortunately, you can accomplish a great deal with targeted indoor cycling workouts, often in a fraction of the time – and with a fraction of the clothing – compared to outdoor …