SRAM Torpedo Hub on Display

The SRAM Torpedo is a hub that switches from single speed to fixed gear mode with just seven turns of a screw.  Pretty sweet!

It's featured on Swobo's Crosby, an aluminum frame, carbon fork, cyclocross tired rig.  It has a flat top tube and the cables on top so you can shoulder it through the mud or on your way up to your apartment. Excellent choice for an all-around bike.

Riding singlespeed and/or fixed is an awesome workout. It forces you to become one with the bike and also can make a two hour bike ride as effective as a three or four hour one.  It's a great time-management tool. Their simplicity is also a big selling point.

Podcast - Soul Triathlete

Click Here to Listen. 

I take listeners with me on a ride through the Texas countryside and talk about why you really train. Is it to race? Or have you fallen in love with training and don't race that much?

As requested, I also talk about how I dropped weight and got ripped. Ripped is a relative term, but I am 36 years old and weigh exactly the same as when I was captain of my varsity swim team at age 17. Not bad!

Listen in and enjoy the sounds of nature and cars occasionally roaring by. It's good stuff. :)

SHOWNOTES!

• Halfway throught the Ride of Truth, riding single-speed.
• Heat index was 132 degrees!
• What is a "soul triathlete" and are you one?
• Check out Everymantri.com and BikePornGallery.com.
• The bandana trick to stay cool and prevent sunburn.
• You can't train for triathlons and care about what other people think.
• How to scrub your tires for glass while riding.
• Skin Sake sponsorship. Used it on today's ride. Great stuff!
• Dates look like cockroaches, taste like gold. Great endurance fuel.
• How I got back down to the same weight and size as I was in high school. And ripped!
• Tomatoes reduce sunburn by 30%.
• The best strategy for making time to work out.
• Rich Roll rocks.

Click Here to Listen

The worst part of road rash...

Is when you roll over on it in the middle of the night.

You get all nice and settled in on one side and drift off. You roll
over onto what feels like angry, mechanized bees. Bees pissed off
about you, Hitler, calculus, and cheap crap from China.

We have a new sponsor for Zentri - Skin Sake, which doubles as healing
cream for road rash. It is working nicely. Lucky that the same week I
leave half my hide on a hot Texas highway, they are here to help. You
can find their link on the right. -->

Smile through the pain! Smile through the pain! Smile through the pain!

Sent from my iPhone.

Observations on motivation

When I coach triathletes, I don't give them the usual plans. That's
because there is no usual triathlete. I have them tell me what
motivates them and then build a plan around that.

People are more inclined to work harder when they enjoy it. In fact,
it's best if they don't see it as work at all.

For example, a client may say that they don't enjoy hill repeats so
much. Instead, a hard and fast workout they are more inclined
(incline, get it?) is fast negative splits. I give them that instead
because they will go harder and get the real workout they needed.

When you look at your plan, don't just read what's on the paper. If
it says to do an easy bike ride, that really means you could ride with
friends, go mountain biking, or just sight seeing.

You should take the effort level asked and then apply it to how YOU
want to do that sport.

The world is littered with athletic burnouts. I've been one myself.
Using the same equipment in the same location for an extended period
of time is a formula for quitting. You have to mix things up and ask
yourself how you really want to do it today.

Some great alternatives to the norm:

Trail running - go to your local mountain bike trails and run them.
Mountain biking - feels organic and improves bike handling skills.
Swim with different people - get a guest pass and swim at a different pool.

If you're not motivated, you don't give a solid effort. Be mindful and
pay attention when working out, identify what makes you go really hard
and feel fulfilled, and do more of that. And remember that it could
change over time.

A Bike Wreck Deconsructed

I had a sweet wipeout this weekend, essentially hitting a bump, going
airborne, and then using the left side of my body as a skid pad and
ending up in the middle of the street.

Every wreck is different, but I thought I'd post the events that led
up to mine so maybe you can avoid what happened to me.

1. Increase in volume. Whenever you do more biking than usual, you
drop your guard because you are trying to fit more in. Be vigilant
for accidents when pushing your limits. I was trying to get in 20
hours of training that week; a personal record.

2. Repairing bar tape with too much electrical tape. A quick fix for
repairing bar tape that is coming loose is to wrap it with electrical
tape. Problem is, electrical tape is very smooth, even slick when it
gets wet.

3. Humidity and sweat. Summer training leads to sweat-soaked hands,
making it impossible to hold on to slick handlebars. When I hit that
bump, the bars literally flew out of my hands. I had no chance of
holding on.

4. Obstructed vision. I was wearing sunglasses I hadn't worn in a long
time. Now I remember why: that model gets caked in sweat and it's like
wearing double cataracts. I never saw that bump coming. I'm throwing
them out.

5. Don't forget to get the heck out of the road. I've seen countless
bike wrecks where the individual just sits there and picks his/her
butt while cars keep coming. Get out of the road! Save yourself
first, then drag your bike and gear to the shoulder as soon as it is
safe.

I'm taking my bike to the shop for them to wrap my handlebars properly
to minimize the chance of this happening again. If you can't do
something right, find somebody who can! I also busted a bunch of
spokes and building wheels is way out of my league.