cycling Archives - Page 3 of 3

Calling Time on Your Season

While we all hate to admit it, the arrival of the winter solstice and New Year generally means we've been forced inside to the trainer. Sure, there have been some beautiful days here in the northeast and riders have been worming their way out of their couch based hibernation for group rides. But is it really a good idea to jump at the idea of a 50 mile ride in January? What if you're been training in earnest for an entire year? Where do you draw the line? Let's take a look and see when you should call time on the season.

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Tags: Coaching, cycling, Recovery, road|

2012 ProTeam Kits – Part 1

2012 is here, and with the turn of the new year, contracts in the pro ranks renew and riders are free to present their new team kits for the coming season. Let's take a look at some of the team kits that have been revealed thus far:

Astana pro cycling team

Pro Team Astana is sporting a look that is very similar to their kits from last year. There is a lot of pastel/aqua/electric blue paired with bright yellow and white. Of course, these colors intimately mimic the flag of the sponsoring nation. Everyone will know that the team is the brainchild of Alexander Vinokourov, and is designed to fly the colors of (make glorious power of wonderful nation) Kazakstan.

The kit itself would benefit from some darker colors to separate the pastels from one another, but we've become used to seeing this design (it's basically unchanged from last year) so it's not a big deal.

Shrewd in the transfer market, you can look for Vinokourov to be flanked by Janez Brajkovic, Borut Bozic and Roman Kreuziger.

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Tags: cycling, jersey, pro cycling, racing|

Nuances of Route Planning

Mapping a route

Route planning is something every cyclist eventually has to tackle. While the idea of just going out and riding whatever roads strike your fancy that day is exhilarating, sometimes planning a route may be a necessity. Maybe you have a few friends joining you, maybe you have a club ride to plan or maybe you have some training that you need to plan a route for. In any case, planning a good route is more than just putting (virtual) pen to paper, and we're going to explore how to ensure a good plan and a good route.

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Tags: bike, cycling, planning, riding, road|