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Being Honest With Yourself

Exploration Here in the northeast, we've been blessed with about 10 days of "good" weather; "good" being in quotes because good winter weather is essentially anything that isn't snow, ice or hail and temperatures above 38 degrees (the point at which I prefer to sit on the trainer in front of the TV.)  While the sun hasn't shone often and the roads aren't often dry, warmer temperatures create the itch to imbibe fresh air and feel the road slip by under 23mm tires.

Since motivation is high on these rare gems of days, it's only right that we get out, rain or shine.  And let's be honest, when it's 45 degrees and you've HTFUed (Hardened The F*** Up, for the uninitiated, or see rule 5) you're not going to do a 10 mile round trip to the coffee shop and then call it a day.  No, you'll seek out climbs, descents and (if you're anything like the classics lover that I am) dirt and gravel roads.  Basically, the gnarlier and more "Belgian" the route (and the weather) the harder you'll push yourself.

There's only one problem with that line of thinking….

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New Year, BETTER You (Podcast #6)

Training and recovery cyclePerhaps you've seen the oft-repeated “New Year, New You” headline on the cover of Bicycling Magazine. It's so predictable that even Peloton Magazine said “you'll never see this on our cover.”

While you may not be able to completely transform yourself into a new person, you can always improve on what you've got, and that's what today's podcast focuses on; taking your successes from last year and building on them.  What do you want to be?  Stronger?  Faster?  Leaner?  A better hill climber?  All of the above?

While nobody is going to become a “new you” unless you're suddenly reincarnated as a ProTour rider, we can certainly make you a “better you.”  Learn which facets of your body and fitness are trainable, which you're just going to have to live with, how to turn your weaknesses into strengths and how to maximize your strengths.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (21.4MB)

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Quarq Customer Service/Warranty Process

Quarq Cinqo unpacked

UPDATE:

According to Quarq, the electronics pod failure that I experienced was not necessarily weather related; it was more of a "destined to fail" issue.  (After searching the web) It appears that there were a bad batch of electronics pods installed on some units.  Quarq says "There was a flaw in the molding of the electronics pod that caused a stress crack allowing moisture to get in."

Disheartening that something like this slipped through QC initially, but I'm pleased it was a fast turnaround.

Original Article:

Many of you know that I'm a fan of Quarq and their Cinqo power meter.  I was thrilled to hear they had become a division of SRAM and I was excited to see that the new Red group had been built to include an updated Cinqo power meter.  I own a Cinqo power meter and I've been very pleased with it (except for the weird 2450 battery that it takes) for the past year or so.  But one thing I was always hesitant about was the inevitable change in customer service principles that generally accompanies a large scale purchase such as the SRAM/Quarq purchase.  Unfortunately, I recently had to make use of the Quarq warranty process, and fortunately, it is still everything that it has been reported to be.

The Back Story

Here in the northeast, we've been lucky this year: cold and wet weather managed to hold off until late December, making it extremely easy to ride outside and enjoy real, live on-road training as opposed to "illin' with the trainer."  In this case, approximately two weeks ago (on a Sunday) we ventured out for a "classics" ride, taking in the rural dirt and gravel roads of southern Hunterdon county.  And what "classics" ride would be complete without some damp and drizzle?  The rain mostly held off, but we did find our fair share of puddles and grime, and our bikes were well washed off by rain as we drove home.

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My Christmas Gift to My Readers

<align=”right”>Holiday EvoUpdated 12/23/2014:

I just wanted to take a moment to say Merry Christmas to all of my readers and customers.  May your holidays be filled with the joys of family and the gifts of friendship, happiness and cycling (of course.) Since 2015 is fast approaching, and since I've been hard at work releasing new training plans and HIT workouts to help you build your fitness and make you leaner and stronger here's my gift to you: use the code “3togo”, and you'll get 20% off all my training plans, HIT workouts and HIT Skill Packs.  Let me help you make 2015 your strongest year yet and one to remember.  Valid through the end of 2015!

See you in 2015!

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Functional Threshold Power: What Is It and How Do We Train With It?

Functional Threshold Power is better known as FTP.  What is it? What do we do with it?  Why is it so important to my cycling?

Athletes almost always have these questions when they begin training with power.  When an athlete begins their training plans to prepare for next season's goal races, gran fondos and centuries, they need to address this metric.  They're looking for the best and quickest ways to improve their performances, but many seem to be having trouble with the training concepts behind FTP.  Questions have predominated about what it is, why we use it and how we calculate it for a long time.

In this latest edition of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I attempt to dispel some of the myths behind FTP: how we test it, why we need to know it and how we use it.

After the jump, look into functional threshold power a little more and learn how you can use it to enhance your training.

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