 Be prepared. That's a great motto to follow, and being an Eagle Scout myself, one I try to embody. This is especially true when it comes to riding and racing. One of my greatest motivators is simply that I don't want to have to end my ride or race early. We all have finite training time and I personally don't want to squander that time away with an issue that could be fixed. Additionally, I don't want to have to make that call for help or beckon a mini-van Uber.
For riding, I have some essentials that I carry in an old patch kit box. The idea of using an old patch kit box was passed onto me many, many years ago. I'm thinking it was my friend and teammate Matt Yarnis who had been in the sport for a few years before I had the pleasure of meeting him. He had quite a few good tricks and tips. I know some of my fellow masters riders will recognize the distinctive green color of the box pictured. In my little patch kit box, I'll keep money, a patch kit (I know...who does that anymore?), self-stick patches, a valve extender for deep dish rims, a Presta to Schrader adapter, and a quick link (make sure it's for the correct number of gears). I used to keep change in there, but not too many vending machines are less than a dollar now. The ring you see is a rubber band that comes wrapped around a new tube. I use it to keep the box closed, although I'm probably due for a new box. The money is good for those gas station stops that have a minimum for credit card purchases, but also good for a tire boot. See July 19 TOTW. You might be thinking, "who uses tubes anymore, let alone patch them?" Well, if you want to keep your ride rolling, it's worth it. And it's nice to have that extra security after you've installed your spare tube and now have 20 miles to ride home with no spare. Do be careful if you are attempting to use some sort of compressed air to fill up your tube with the Presta to Schrader adapter. With the volume of air that comes out it's very easy to blow off your tire and and can be extremely dangerous. For me the adapter just gives me another option when someone offers you a floor pump that is not designed for Schrader. True story: I was changing a flat in 40 degree rain and someone actually came out of their house and brought me a floor pump. Really sped things up! I find it super handy to be able to grab this little box each and every time I ride. No, I don't carry it with me when I race, but the same kit goes with me for road, gravel, mountain bike, whatever. This little box along with my multi-tool goes in one pocket, and my tube, levers, and inflation are in another pocket. I know there are fancier solutions out there, but it's light, easy, and has worked for years. What do you use to carry your stash? Leave a comment below. Until next time, Be Prepared! Coach Brian
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The cool down, also known as the warm down in some circles, has long been a practice in many sports, particularly endurance sports. I know it was always impressed upon me by my mentors, teammates, coaches, and pre-Interwebs literature. It has been a consistent component of my rides and races that I almost always practiced barring some extenuating circumstances.
As a coach, I also encourage all of my athletes to incorporate a cool down into their rides, races, and events, and I build one into all of the workouts that I prescribed. It always "just made sense" to let our bodies gently come down from all of the physiological implications of a hard effort, first and foremost, our high heart rates. And of course we all heard many of the other reasons such as flush out the toxins, take care of the excess lactate that is produced, help calm our guts, and generally get us ready for recovery and the next workout. This is a very succinct article that explains the merits of cooling down: http://www.nsmi.org.uk/articles/injury-prevention/cooling-down.html And here's one from British Cycling, who certainly has had some success with their athletes: www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/article/izn20140115-Intermediate-Warming-Up-and-Cooling-Down-0 OK, so there's two sources indicating that the cool down is beneficial. But Dylan Johnson, who has a large library of YouTube videos, took a dive into this topic. Dylan certainly does his research and cites his sources. I like his take-aways on this one. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mckoAAinGDU What I didn't hear are any significant negative aspects of a cool down, and I believe you would be hard pressed to find research supporting this notion. Perhaps one could argue that it's a bad use of time, but that's a stretch in my opinion. I will continue to cool down on my own rides, as well as prescribe it as a coach. Stepping off your bike as you're gasping for air and your heart is in your throat just doesn't seem like a good idea. On a less extreme side of things, I personally use the cool down to reflect on the ride or race as well as get my thoughts together for when I am done. I'll plan out my recovery strategy for the day and make sure I'm setting myself up for the most successful way to finish up my day. This article from USA Cycling sums it up nicely and points out some other benefits: https://usacycling.org/article/why-every-ride-and-race-should-end-with-a-cool-down So while there's not a lot of hard science behind it all, it's worth experimenting for yourself. Do you regularly cool down? If so, for how long? Or no cool down for you? Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear what you have to say! Cheers, Coach Brian There's not many people who have ridden a bike, from the youngest kid on their first bike to the most seasoned veteran, who hasn't dealt with a dirty, greasy, and possible noisy chain. Although some bike builders have experimented with a belt drive (quiet, clean, no lube required, lasts a long time but requires an internally geared hub to have gears), the chain drive bicycle is obviously far more common. I've certainly gotten less fastidious with my chain care over the years compared to my bachelor days, but I will run it through my chain cleaner and scrub it the best I can before a race or "when it looks like it needs it." While deep down I have always known this, there's more research showing that this is not a great approach and that I probably should be paying a bit more attention to my drivetrain. One of my wonderful clients, Eric, keyed me into this podcast by Dave Schell: https://www.kaizenendurance.coach/podcast/episode/4c33eee0/chain-lube-myth-busting-with-adam-kerin-of-zero-friction-cycling You may know Dave from his TrainingPeaks Podcasts as well. And I also came across this one from Dylan Johnson: https://youtu.be/Z8Hoi3Fs3Qc That really drives the point home. Eric is always willing to try new things and experiment, and went ahead and ordered a pre-waxed chain. Instead of me telling his story, he offered up to be the guest blogger for the week. Here's his tale: Wax It If You Got It The thought of chain wax seemed like more work than it was worth. Would the potential for less friction during a ride and less wear on parts be worth the deep cleaning of the chains, bathing them in hot wax, and the ongoing maintenance? I was not sold as it sounded like margin gains for a lot of effort, but I kept hearing it is clean; really really clean. I live in a condo and reducing the risk of smearing grease and grime had me intrigued because I seem to have this natural ability to get chain grease on stuff. My existing chain was near the end of its life so I ordered a pre waxed chain (see link below) to avoid the initial setup steps of cleaning a brand new chain. I removed the old chain and before installing the new pre-waxed chain I cleaned off my cassette and chain rings with some Muk Off degreaser. The waxed chain exceeded my expectations. A quick wipe with Xtri Bike Wipes post ride and it was like new. A few weeks of riding and the chain was still surprisingly clean. To extend the time between re-waxing I apply some Slica super secret (link below) which is wax based and a good for touch ups between full waxing. After month of riding I took the chain off and did my first waxing in the small crock pot I bought from amazon. I would likely get the slightly larger one but this still works fine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P2LEE0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The longest part of the waxing process was stringing the chain on the swisher which I bought with my wax but an old spoke or hanger can be bent into one. Once the chain is on the swisher, you then just put the chain on top of the wax and turn the pot to low. An hour later the chain was ready. Just swish it around and take it out to dry. I hung it dry overnight and put it back on the bike after loosening it little. I leave the wax in pot so it ready for the next chain as you can reuse it for a while before refreshing the wax, which is great for saving on wax and excellent for being lazy. At this point I am a full wax convert, so for my new bike I took the next step and cleaned the new factory waxed chain using a few baths in mineral spirits and a final clean in denatured alcohol. https://moltenspeedwax.com/pages/clean-your-chain and/or Zero Friction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3CxiZqItGw I found cleaning a new chain easier than I thought. Note: a used chain is much harder to fully clean due to build up (or so I hear). I am not sure if it makes me any faster (BJL Coaching does that for me anyway), but the ride is smooth, the chain stays clean, and components will longer. Eric A. For those interested here are some links I found useful: Zero Friction is the best site I found for all things wax and chain lube. https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au They also have a YouTube channel and episode 4 cover waxing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IptWWQP_MdA&t=32s YBN pre waxed Chain and master links: https://moltenspeedwax.com/collections/ybn-chains Molton Speed Wax https://moltenspeedwax.com/collections/molten-speed-wax Swisher Tool and chain pliers https://moltenspeedwax.com/collections/tools-miscellaneous Micro Fiber Towels: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BR5CY3D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 Super Silca waxed based chain lube for quick touch ups: https://silca.cc/products/silca-super-secret-chain-lube Back to B.L.
Eric and I pre-ride a mountain bike course in dry but dusty conditions just this past weekend. I was showing him the loop so he was behind me most of the time riding through my dust. We got done with the 6 mile loop and I looked at his chain...SHINY. And then he said, "watch this," and ran his fingers on the chain. No grease at all. So this is all very intriguing to me. At the very least, I'll do a better job keeping my chain clean and using some high quality lube. But maybe I'll but out that old crock pot and go for the full wax! Thanks again, Eric! Cheers, Coach Brian  What can you get for a dollar these days? Not much, but it can save your ride if you tear your tire.
If you've been in the sport long enough, you've probably been on a ride where you or someone else gets a slice in their tire. Even if they're running tubeless with sealant, sometimes it's too large to get sealed. And while the tubeless tire plugs are awesome, sometimes it's not pluggable, too. Time to put in a new tube, but first we must bandage up that cut. Commonly known as a "tire boot", the idea is to take something and line the inside of the tire where the gash is located so that the fresh tube isn't exposed to the road or trail, which would inevitably lead to another burst tube. Many decades ago I had read in some cycling magazine about using a dollar (or any paper money) to act as a tire boot. While you can also use bar or gel wrappers, duct tape, or bits of trash you find on the side of the road (I actually did this with a buddy a long time ago), a bill works great. There are also official tire boots you can purchase, which are certainly not a bad idea to have in your pack. But if you don't, chances are you have a couple of dollars stashed in your tool kit or seat pack for those emergency stops at the gas station that doesn't take credit cards for purchases less than $10. And if you don't have some bills in there, make that happen. After you have access to the inside of the tire and the old tube (if applicable) has been removed AND you've swept the inside of the tire to make sure there's not other sharp debris in there, it's time to put in the boot. I've read about wrapping the bill around the tube, but I've always just lined the tire where the gash is located. I will usually fold it so it's at least two-ply for more protection. Making sure the boot doesn't move while installing the new tube, I carefully then reinstall the tire completely. Look to see that you haven't pinched then tube by squeezing the bead together inside the rim (you shouldn't see any tube sticking out) and then CAREFULLY and SLOWLY re-inflate your tire to 20-30 psi. Take a look to insure the tube isn't poking out of the cut and then re-inflate to riding pressure, reinstall your wheel, check your brakes, and you're off! I've had to use tire boots more than once, and it's always interesting to me what they look like when you pull them out. Yes, remove and discard the tire as riding with a cut in your tire, even booted, is not a great way to continue and can be dangerous.. I remember using a five dollar bill once and I had many miles to go. When I removed it after the ride, it was super compressed and really smooth from being jammed in there with the 120 psi we used to run back in the day. The five bucks went back in my pack and I was ready for the next adventure! Have any tips or tricks? Shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment below. Keep on riding! Coach Brian Your shorts legs...a great place to store food and trash!While personally I’ve tried to get away from gels, blocks, and bars as much as possible, those fast acting, easily accessible foods are sometimes the best solution for me. This is particularly true in a very hard training ride or a race. I’ve always been a fan of putting several of my gels just up my short leg. You can also leave just the tab of the gel poking out for an easy grab. I find this location faster to grab than reaching in my jersey pocket. It also frees up space in your pockets for other foods or supplies during the longer events.
Our short legs are also great places to store trash until you can dispose of it properly. Do take care to fold the wrapper kind of flat or it can poke you in the leg, which is less than enjoyable. Have a tip of your own? I’d love to hear about it! Post a comment below or send me an e-mail. Coach Brian |
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Coach B.L.Coach B.L. is the head coach at BJL Coaching and an avid racer and cycling enthusiast himself. Archives
August 2024
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