I really don’t like the word blog.

Particularly in social settings. I don’t like using it to describe what I do.

Here in Australia, we use a lot of slang words for describing things. One that we use for the toilet or going to the toilet – is the bog.

This can be challenging. Sometimes confusing–especially in a noisy bar or restaurant. I sometimes find myself frantically trying to clarify what I just said when the reaction on the recipients face is one of shock and horror.

“No, I said a BLOG! I write a blog – on the internet… oh never mind”

Another challenge of writing a blog online journal as opposed to a website is presenting previously written content to new readers.

Although I’ve had an awesome bunch of people reading my blog since day one, which has kept me motivated – I’ve seen a significant spike in my traffic over the past few weeks and it’s consistently growing. This is very humbling and mostly thanks to really nice humans like Wade at Cycling Tips and Jesper from Training For Cyclists referring readers over to me – among others.

Whilst I’m studying hard for my new job, I’ll take this opportunity to present seven of my old school favourite posts to you new peeps. I hope you enjoy.

• 11 Mistakes Cyclists Should Avoid – Besides coffee, one of the simple pleasures of riding on Saturday mornings is observing what some of the new cyclists wear out riding. Just last week I passed a guy who’d pulled his bib knicks over his flannel t-shirt. His seat was too high, no socks on and was wearing sneakers. He looked like a Romain wrestler in pre-season mode. Please wear socks… please.

• 8 Cycling Tips for Newbies – From this post, if there’s one thing to take away, carry food and spares on every ride (tube and pump). The amount of people I see walking their bikes home with a flat tyre is staggering. $50 Taxi rides home aren’t fun either. Just think of all the spare tubes you could buy with that money.

• If I Owned a Bike Shop – The internet is here to stay so why fight it. Flow with it. Do what you can and add value to your customers where you can. There’s no point getting all bitter at people shopping online.

• How to Sell Your Bike – With a little imagination and creativity there’s money to be made selling bikes. The problem with some people is that we take the safe road. We do what everyone else is doing. That’s okay if your goal is to blend in and mediocrity is acceptable to you.

• How to Cook Poached Eggs – Okay this was one of my first posts. I’m so embarrassed by this post that I have to share it. I’m a glutton for punishment. Cyclists need poached eggs goddamit!!

• Change your Rear Wheel Fast – Whether in a race or on a training ride, getting that rear wheel in and out can be frustrating for the beginner. Here’s a tip for doing it like a pro’.

• The Importance of Good Lights – It’s rolling into winter here in Australia which means a lot of early morning night riding. I just spend over $400 on lights for my bike. A lot? Read this post and then make your own mind up.

I hope you enjoy these over the next few days whilst I cram plenty of anatomy and surgery study into my brain for my new job. I’m also moving house this week so I’ll be back on Friday with another update.

Until then, safe riding.

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Photo Credit. Nice guy Jamie from Cycle Sport News.

If you’re reading this I have good news for you. Probably not.

In cycling, when someone refers to their head falling off, they’re usually talking about a temporary or complete lack of motivation to ride. It’s very common for cyclists to lose motivation for various reasons.

• Over training
• Poor diet
• Lack of sleep
• Dehydration

I’ve also written about this before – When training becomes a chore.

You may think these above mentioned are all isolated to physical repercussions but that’s not the case. They all have profound psychological effects on your motivation to train.

Recovery is more important than the training itself

For years I’d arrive home after a quality training session and think all my work was done. In a lot of ways I was wrong. My training was only just starting. Food, water, rest – all so very important. Setting yourself up for a good day tomorrow is crucial for the competitive cyclist.

If you wake up tired and dehydrated – the chances of you not rolling out of bed are a lot higher.

Training today is one thing but have you put any thought into tomorrow. You’ve just stomped out 150km on the bike but what are you going to do now? Do you skimp on the recovery drink and head down the pub with the lads?

It’s what you do right now – post ride that will determine how you go tomorrow.

There’s no point training well today, If you’ve totally ruined yourself for tomorrow – and so on. Improving performance as a cyclist is all about consistency over longer periods of time.

I would also add two massive factors to heads falling off:-

• Lack of preparation
• Lack of goals

Goal setting is so important. You need to pick a race, an event, whatever – something you can set your sites on in the future. That will go a long way to keeping you motivated.

By preparation I mean knowing what you’re going to eat for dinner, afternoon snacks, making time to clean your bike and making sure all your clothing is washed. If not taken care of, these are all factors that’ll contribute to you just taking a day off the bike. We all know that leads to two days, then three and so on.

This post is designed to remind you there are a lot of mental factors in play here. Be mindful of that – it’s not just all about the hill repeats and sprint efforts.

I’ll leave you with some pictures and a cool race report from the Marysville Ride in Victoria on the weekend. Who would have thought Jarrod was such a good writer.

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In any new activity we seek to learn, there’s four phases of learning that take place before true competence is achieved.

The Phases are:-

1. Phase I – Unconscious Incompetence
2. Phase II – Conscious Incompetence
3. Phase III – Conscious Competence
4. Phase IV – Unconscious Competence

If we relate that to cycling – specifically – bunch riding or solo training, there’s a certain amount of repetition needed between phase’s one and four before you’re can competently stay upright on the bike.

An example of these phases in cycling terms might be:-

1. Phase I – First bunch ride ever, sit off the back of the bunch, where do they go? How fast? Don’t crash into anyone.
2. Phase II – A few bunch rides done, people yelling at me because I’m all over the place. Need to stay off my brakes etc.
3. Phase III – Rolling turns at the front with the big boys now, make sure I don’t pull too hard or surge and annoy people.
4. Phase IV – Rolling turns, braking steady, calling out potential dangers, thinking about food and the holidays COFFEEE! (thanks @blackthugcat)

Which brings me closer to my point.

In Melbourne, we have a road along the coast called Beach Road. It’s roughly thirty kilometers in length and a fantastic ride along the coast. Cyclists frequent this ride in their thousands on weekends. It seems every two minutes a bunch of twenty – fifty riders comes past.

There’s been some recent discussion amongst local councils to ban parking along this road on weekends – I suppose to reduce incidents involving parked cars and cyclists.

This week, Bayside council rejected this idea, I discovered after reading Wades post.

From the Bayside Leader article, I found the following statement interesting:-

“Sandringham Hospital emergency department director Dr James Taylor said the hospital treated about 200 cycling accident victims each year, with about 20 per cent of serious crashes caused by hitting parked cars or open doors”

That’s a lot of people crashing into parked cars.

My first thought was – If you’re riding solo and you hit a parked car – you need to ask the paramedic for a mirror – and take a good hard look at yourself.

After thinking about it from a beginners perspective though, I figured that the environment is quite hostile for beginner cyclists and most are completely oblivious to all of the dangers that we’re exposed to.

I take for granted the 1-2 metre gap I leave between me and every parked car I pass.

I do this subconsciously.

This is from years of consciously leaving enough room for a door to suddenly fling open. I’m always prepared for the unexpected by leaving this gap.

I follow cyclists regularly who pass parked cars so closely, they almost tap the side mirror on the way through. What happens if someone suddenly opens a door whilst they’re hooting along at 40k/hr?

Just yesterday I watched as an ambulance carted off a cyclist on Beach Road. She left a surprisingly large pool of blood on the road and although I didn’t witness the crash, there was a parked car at the scene.

My three tips for reducing this risk.

1. Always look for humans inside a parked car. Chances are they’ll get out at some stage. Leave a large gap – Always.
2. When riding in bunches, don’t be scared to use your voice. This is very important. Warn others of parked cars.
3. Always ride with your head up and forward. Fixing brakes or playing with your speedo should not be done in the bunch.

If you do these three things regularly, you will definitely spend less time in the emergency ward of your local hospital.

Safe riding this weekend.

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Or in denial.

And I’m not talking about the river in Egypt.

I’ve heard them all. Now when I hear this stuff, I smirk with glee because I know what the outcome will be. Once this sport sinks it’s claws in – you become one.

All cyclists are liars and here’s my top three cycling lies.

Feel free to add your lie’s in the comments section.

1. Beginners Lie

” I’ll buy a bike, but I’m NEVER wearing that tight pink clothing…“

I’ll be the first to admit. WTF is it with our clothing? Someone needs to revolutionize our cycling attire.

When Marco Pantani rocked up to the 1998  Tour De France in bright pink lycra – I seriously considered badminton.

That said, everyone ends up in some version of lycra eventually.

Newbies start off in denial, making bold statements about wearing rugby shorts and sneakers. After a couple of rides and the saddle sores start developing on their scrote’, consideration moves to “I’ll just get some cycling shorts”

It’s at about the three week point they realize the shirt flapping around in the wind is unsustainable, the sneakers simply aren’t giving enough pull in the upward pedal stroke and the snowboarding helmet just looks silly.

This is where the credit card gets a hammering. If you’re at that stage in the life-cycle of cycling denial, you need to go shopping. Here’s four great online bike shops that I use.

• Total Cycling
• Pro Bike Kit
• Wiggle (my fav)
• Chain Reaction Cycles

2. Beginners Lie

” I’ll get a bike but I’m NEVER shaving my legs…”

Chris Hoys sexy pins

This one is the all time classic. Nine out of ten new male cyclists to the sport will utter these words at some stage during the early days.

Everyone folds eventually. Everyone ends up shaving their pins.

One great example is a good friend of mine. He’s an ex football player (St Kilda), hard as nails and your typical Aussie’ mans man. At first he used to rib me about wearing lycra/spandex and riding a bike. Now he’s a 400km per week cyclist and loves it.

I gave him 4 weeks before he started shaving his legs. He folded eventually – now his pins are sleeker and shinier than mine.

If you’re riding in the bunches and starting to get serious, it’s only a matter of time before the peer pressure takes affect.

Why do cyclists shave their legs? Common answers are:

• Shaven legs assist Tour riders (or multi-day event cyclists) with massage. Much easier with shaven legs. True.
• Traditional – it’s part of the sport and has been for years. Majority rules. True.
• Speed – It’s a common myth that you go faster. This is garbage. Tell that to a golf ball and it’s dimples. False.
• Road Rash – Another myth is it helps with wound healing after crashing. Hmm.. My arms always healed equally as fast as my legs after all my crashes. I don’t shave my arms and to assume you only lose skin off your legs in a crash is ridiculous.  False.
• Vanity – It looks good!! Every male cyclists with bulging veins an muscles wants to show them off. True.

I would say tradition, vanity and peer pressure are all the main reasons for shaving our pins.

3. Intermediate or Advanced Lie

” I’m not doing much training at all…”

Usually spoken by an opponent just before a big race.

As in any social setting, small talk is rife. A common question to ask another cyclist at the start line or simply when you have nothing to talk about is – ” So… doing much training? ”

Almost always, the answer will be about 40% less than what they’re actually doing. They’ll complain about the kids and excess work at the office but the truth is – they’re out doing hill repeats four times a week, sprint efforts and sneaky 5 hour rides on Saturday mornings.

If you’re trying to beat your best mate in that next big race, how are you gonna do that if you’re both training together all week.

You need to get in what we call sneaky km’s.

Get out two hours earlier than him and knock out a snappy 50km. Then meet up at your usual time and when he arrives – yawn and stretch like you’ve just rolled out of bed.

When he asks why you’re sweating, explain that you only just had a shower or you’re nervous about him ripping your legs off. Play on his ego. We men lap that stuff up.

This is a legitimate tactic for achieving success and one that I’ve used regularly. Feel free to use it.

What classic lie’s and statements of denial have you heard?

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Photo credit doublejeopardy

Cycling has such a steep learning curve for the novice cyclist.

You’ll need to know about equipment, racing, training, etiquette in the bunch rides and where to ride. Maintenance, what to buy and what not to buy etc etc.

Then there’s getting to know what licenses you need to race, overcoming the fear of racing because you’re unsure of what it takes.

So much to learn, but part of the attraction is that depth to it. I’m still learning on a daily basis, many years down the track.

Rest assured, once this sport sinks it’s teeth in there’s no going back. Very few people I know truly hang up the bike and move on from it.

So to keep you coming back for more, I written my top 8 tips for new cyclists

1. Don’t get the best of everything – Your first bike and equipment should be middle of the road. You don’t need the best. For example, some of the best cyclists I know still race on Shimano Ultegra rather than Dura-ace. It’s cheaper to buy initially and when parts wear out, it’s cheap to replace. The same goes for equipment, work out what you like first. You don’t want to buy an expensive road bike, only to find out that mountain biking is much more fun.
2. Bunch riding – Bunch riding is probably one of the most exciting things you’ll do in the sport. It’s a great way to meet new people and then slag them off for beating you to the cafe. Two ways to find bunch rides in your area.

• Contact Cycling Australia and they will point you in the right direct for your state.
• another option is Bunch Ride Finder

1. Train very hard – NOT! – It takes at least 5 years to become an excellent racing cyclist. There are no shortcuts so why rush it? Think about your longevity in the sport and just enjoy cycling. Improvements in fitness will come over time. Find some bunch rides, learn from the pro’s, read your books and watch how others do it. Don’t smash yourself into oblivion every time you get on the bike.
2. Clothing – Buy knicks with a good chamois. Only buy bib-knicks. Use chamois cream when riding to avoid saddle sores – trust me you don’t want your gooch getting all funky. Wear gloves in case you come off the bike. There’s nothing worse than skin off you hands.
3. Riding locations – Stay away from main roads or roads with heavy traffic – There are alternatives and drivers hate us enough as it is. Stay in groups and use lights at all times of poor light.
4. Local Bike Shops – Build a good relationship with your local bike shop. I’ve had a problem with LBS’s for a while but you’ll need them for maintenance on your bike and spares. It’s good to get discount but once you get all friendly, don’t expect any decent level of customer service.
5. Racing – Don’t be scared to dip your toes in the racing scene. You don’t need to be flying like Lance or Cadel to race. In fact getting dropped and coming back for more next week is part of the fun and the process of improving. Start in the lower grades and just learn the tactics.
6. Maintenance on your bike – Learning the basics – how to change a flat whilst training, keeping you bike oiled and clean, minor adjustments, truing a buckled wheel. Buy a basic toolkit.
7. Take food on your rides – ALWAYS take a muesli bar or some sort of food on your rides. You don’t want to bonk out on the road hours away from home. Either that or take a wallet and some money.
8. Take spares riding – A spare tube or two and a pump is essential. It’ll be an expensive taxi ride home otherwise.

There are loads more tips that I’m thinking of as I write but I’ll save them for another post.

Are there any you can think of?

Photo credit MarkDM

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]]> http://www.cyclingmaven.com/8-cycling-tips-for-newbies/feed/ 4 http://www.cyclingmaven.com/im-back-with-my-top-10-track-tips/ http://www.cyclingmaven.com/im-back-with-my-top-10-track-tips/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:48:42 +0000 Mark Ferguson http://www.cyclingmaven.com/?p=632

CM at the 2009 Melbourne to Warrnambool - in the house of pain! Photo thanks to Jarrod at JXP Photography.

Well – finally I’m home after the cycling events at the 2009 World Masters Games and UCI World Track Masters in Sydney.

Two weeks of track racing and lots of pain. I capped that off by completing the 265km – Melbourne to Warrnabool held on Saturday. Thanks to some smooth talking by a friend, I reluctantly agreed to enter the race. At the time it seemed like such a good idea coming off two weeks of track racing – I’d be flying!

Well I wasn’t. I was tired. The Warny hammered that nail home when the gun sounded at the start – head down, bum up at 50-60k/hr for the first 60km of the race just trying to hold the wheel in front. A loooong day in the saddle.

So this would explain my absence from the blog over the past couple of weeks. A conscious decision I have to admit. I’m repeatedly told I spread myself too thin, trying to juggle far too much so the decision was made to focus on the racing – a fat lot of good that did me.

You can teach an old dog new tricks however. My experience on the velodrome is fairly limited compared to the road so watching these old Pro’s from around the world tinker away on their bikes, it was hard not to pick up new tips and tricks.

I’ve listed a few things I learned from the games and some great observations that may help you progress your skills on the track.

CM’s Top 10 Track Tips

1. Know thyself - Are you a sprinter or a pursuit rider? Generally a medal winning sprinter isn’t going to be a medal winning pursuit rider and visa versa. There are very few exceptions to this rule.
2. Specialize – In theme with point one – get down to the track and experiment with what you are physiologically good at and train hard at it. I’ve realized I can’t pursuit to save my life. I can sprint however, so I’ll focus on training for sprint related events in future.
3. Stick to your strengths – I’m a firm believer that focusing on your strengths, rather than your weaknesses is a better strategy to success. If you’re physiologically build to sprint fast, why waste your time working on being a better pursuiter, only to achieve mediocrity in that field. If you’re naturally a fast sprinter – train hard, push weights, sprint sprint sprint! Become remarkable at the sprint and leave the pursuit to people who are built for it.
4. Simon Sprinter – So you can sprint hey? Try your luck at events such as the ‘kilo’, kieren, sprint and team sprint to name a few. Success in the sprint involves a natural ability to use explosive bursts of speed to leave your opponent behind. Don’t be fooled into a false sense of security though – the sprint is VERY tactical and just because you’re quick, doesn’t guarantee you’ll be wearing gold.
5. Peter Pursuiter – If you can ride very fast for long periods of time, you’re probably a good pursuit rider. Pursuit riders tend not to be the fastest in the final of a bike race, but I have seen exceptions to this rule over the years. Pursuit riders often dominate events such as the points score, 4000m pursuit, faster scratch races and the madison.
6. Gearing - If you’re gonna spend time at the track or want to get into track racing, gearing is an important factor. Track bikes are fixed gear, one gear to rule them all. Don’t be scared though as changing gearing is very simple and usually takes a couple of minutes. Track riders will often change their gear ratios’ several times throughout a night of track racing, depending on what event they’re competing in.
7. Overlapping Wheels – Just incase you didn’t know, there are no brakes on track bikes. This makes racing in scratch or points scores a little hairy sometimes. A common mistake riders make is overlapping their front wheel with the rear wheel of the rider in front. This is bad – very bad. If that rider suddenly decides to go up the embankment, chances are she’ll take out your front wheel – causing you to crash. The best place to be for new track riders is slightly behind and to the right. That way you’ve got somewhere to go if things get edgy.
8. Clean Tyres – Dust accumulation on the tyres can cause you to slip down the embankment at slower speeds. To avoid this, I observed one of the old pro’s wiping his tyres with a rag dampened with metholated spirits. He cleaned his tyres prior to every race and the alcohol evaporated immediately leaving the tyres in pristine condition.
9. Pre – race warm up – Track racing tends to be very high intensity. Therefore leaving yourself enough time warm up on the rollers pre- race is essential. This is where planning and preparation come into play. I’ve learned the hard way too many times –  rolling out onto the track with no warm up, only to find myself out the ass within three laps.
10. Road Fitness DOES NOT transfer to the track – This was my biggest learn this winter. Just because you’ve been doing big road miles doesn’t mean you’re going to win races on the Velodrome. I went from winning races on the road to having my ass handed to me on the track. Old fat men with beer bellies rode me off their wheel on the track and yet couldn’t hold my wheel on the road.

There is so much to track racing and the learning curve is massive for the new starter. Track racing is more about leg speed than road racing and time spent on the track is the only way to get better at it.

Track racing is a science in many ways also. Temperature, barometric pressure and weather conditions heavily influence times in the Time Trial events – even on an indoor track. Then there’s the angles of the banking and the best lines to take through the corners.

Track racing is increasing in popularity and I recommend that you try it out in your local area. Most velodromes hire out track bikes for as little as $5 a night. Track riding is often done in groups during the week, after work hours so call your local cycling authority and find out some more information.

Take action and no-one will bite you – we all start somewhere.

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The new Rolls

Road cycling can be an incredibly demanding sport on your time.

It’s common to spend 2 or more hours everyday sitting in the saddle. Serious cyclists can spend up to 9 hours training when building an endurance base for the coming race season.

Contrast this against sports such as running and swimming, where a 2 hour session is considered lengthy. I know first hand – I did an Ironman triathlon event in 2007 and 3 hour runs were my longest. A big difference compared to the bike where I’d spend up to 7 hours pushing the pedals.

Saddle sores can result from these long miles on the bike and I want to emphasise how important it is to avoid them. They can ruin your whole season and leave you taking long breaks from the bike.

What are saddle sores?

Warning - the following may induce dry-reaching.

Saddle sores are little boils or pussy blisters that form under the skin, and for men, usually between the scrotum and the anus. This area is called the Perineum.

They generally form right in the crevice where your inner thighs meet the perineum, depending on where you position yourself on the saddle.

Longer rides seem to be the biggest risk factor and they often don’t cause too much discomfort until you’re back on the bike the next day. That’s when the pain sets in.

When that occurs, we tend to shift our weight to the other side of the saddle which causes one to develop on the other side.

Rash and other skin ailments sometimes form on the inner thighs and buttocks but they aren’t to be mistaken with saddle sores. This is generally caused by stitching on the chamois.

Geez im glad that bit’s over.

What causes them?

Contrary to popular belief, saddle sores are caused by friction and not pressure.

This would explain why hard saddles work well with a good quality padded chamois in your knicks. Padded saddles can work well with older nicks with less padding, but you can see the relationship here. Friction is what you want to avoid.

Other causes can be from poor hygiene or saddle fit – never wear knicks twice without washing! This is very important and something that I religiously adibe by. I personally soak my knicks in Napisan before washing after every ride.

Seat height can also be a factor. If the seat is too high, the hips start rocking in order to push the pedals, which in turn causes friction.

Buy a good Saddle

Isn’t it amazing how little importance or thought we put into researching a good saddle. Yet it’s such an important factor in cycling. It can make or break you.

Some bicycle saddles are horrendously uncomfortable. They’re getting lighter and sleeker – due to popular demand of course. Most will buy a sleek, light saddle just because it matches the colour of the bike. Then of course - there’s the weight factor.

MYTH

“If I buy a wafer thin, featherweight, carbon fibre saddle – my bike will look better, I’ll climb faster up hills and win races more often.”

Yes, your bike will look great! You can admire it whilst applying antiseptic cream to your saddle sores on the couch.

With regards to weight – unless your Cadel Evans, or one of the other 8 people in the world that can finish in the front of a grand tour, saving 200 grams on your saddle isn’t going to make a difference to how you perform.

Unless you frequent 20km climbs where a couple of hundred grams may make a difference, a comfortable seat isn’t going to slow you down on those 500m climbs on your local bunch ride.

From experience, when you start putting in the hours on the bike, a good quality saddle will help enormously with comfort and your longevity in the sport.

Buy only quality nicks

Bib-nicks are the way to go. They’re the only way to go.

New riders have an adversity to buying bib knicks because they look dorky or something. I understand this because my girlfriend laughs at me everytime I put them on. She thinks I look like a Romanian wrestler.

The truth is – they’re practical and more comfortable than traditional cycling shorts, and most importantly, they don’t dig into that layer of fat around your stomach, making you feel fatter than you are!

Once you try bib knicks, you won’t go back – seriously. Actually, this would be number 12 in my 11 Mistakes Cyclists Should Avoid list. Bib nicks are more widely accepted.

Chamois is another important factor when purchasing bib knicks. Seamless chamois are the ideal choice and help prevent those abrasive rashes from forming. Spend money on your bib knicks – you’ll thank yourself for it.

This is also another good reason why I mentioned the importance of not wearing underwear underneath your knicks in the 11 mistakes post. The seams of your underwear can cause significant friction and hence rashes and other skin ailments to form.

Use lubricant

Get your mind out of the gutter.

Before I venture out on the bike, I grab my trusty Assos Chamois Creme and smother my perineum area with a thick layer, and then put on the bib knicks. Alternatively, put the bib knicks on and shove a generous serving down there. Lots of people apply this cream directly on the chamois itself – but it comes down to personal preference.

I do this consistently – every ride. It’s the ride you miss, that you’ll form a  sore and it’ll take forever to get rid of it.

I’ve also tried lots of alternatives such as sorbeline cream, Vaseline and other brands of Chamois Cream, with mixed results. I’ve personally settled on the Assos Chamois Creme and have found it to be reliable – I haven’t suffered a saddle sore in years. (Assos aren’t paying me the big buck either – I don’t even get cheap cream)

In closing

It’ll take trial and error to make the necessary adjustments, like regularly washing your knicks and figuring out which cream is best for your crutch. You’ll eventually learn how to prioritise your purchases, with items such as quality  saddles and good quality bib nicks.

Sooner or later, you’ll realise that Mr Romanian Wrestler is much more appealing than Mr William Weeping Wounds.

Good luck and be nice.

Why not do both?

You’ve probably been there -

“just don’t smack it in the bloody trees”

1st hole of eighteen – a crowd has gathered, patiently waiting their turn to tee off. You don’t play often so the nerves set in as you silently coach yourself.

Sure enough, silence fills the air as your ball coasts wildly off to the right – never to be seen again. 1 ball down, 18 holes to go…

I really don’t like golf, but I play it because my friends do. It’s social and a way to catch up – meet people – networking.

A boys club

In business, networking with other humans is important if you want to succeed.

Golf has been a great forum for this. Alternatively, In most capital cities there are organised networking breakfasts and lunch meetings but I’ve found from experience, they’re often awkward and unproductive.

Golf is more informal – traditionally a boys club for the big boys to do handshake deals or at least – build rapport so that when the formal suit and tie is donned, the deal closes with a little less friction.

Networking also increases sales.

It reduces the need to perform such as activities as cold calling, targeted emails – prospecting. In sales, cold calling sucks.

Don’t get me wrong – it works, but there’s a stigma attached. Not only for the customer but for you too. Nobody loves cold calling – and even if you do – nobody likes being the recipient of a cold call. It’s an interruption.

Therefore networking is a good way to revert the ‘cold’ component into ‘warm’ and informal environments such as cycling and golf, provide the best catalyst for these relationships to form.

Cycling revolution

Come on ladies, admit it – watching hubby squeeze into tight lycra is way more fun than checkered pants and polo shirt.

That bright pink lycra makes you want to hold his hand and stroll down the street.

Okay – maybe that’s not entirely true, but I do empathise with you – it’s not exactly the most attractive look.

That said, more people are getting into cycling than ever before and not surprisingly - most are middle aged and older men. Carbon fiber bikes are expensive and it’s not the sixteen year old school kids buying them.

Cycling is fast becoming the sport of choice for corporate executives.

I see these guys everywhere on Saturday mornings. Stomping past me huffing and puffing on the new $10k Steed, decked out to the max with all the new and expensive equipment.

Sometimes with undies on under their nicks, helmet on backwards and jersey tucked in. All common mistakes new cyclists sometimes make.

Cycling is social

I didn’t understand coffee before I started riding. It tasted like shit.

Now I drink 3 strong latte’s everyday and fancy myself as one of Melbourne finest coffee critiques. Okay – not quite, but I’m hooked.

This caffeine phenomenon is common – cycling and coffee go really well together. Very few cyclists end a Saturday morning bunch ride without the ceremonial cafe latte. Accompanied by banter about who won the sprint or who’s getting stronger.

And then there’s the riding. Early morning bunch rides are proliferating throughout most capital cities and large towns. Cyclists can chat comfortably with friends whilst riding and it’s a great way to meet new people with similar interests.

I’ve personally relocated to Melbourne with my partner and within a year – made some fantastic new friendships - just through cycling.

If your focus is business networking, rather than personal or cardiovascular gains – you won’t find more CEO’s, professionals, politicians and medical practitioners in any other sport.  There are some big players getting around in bright pink lycra.

Make the transition

So if you’re hearing what I’m saying, frustrated with tradition ways of meeting new people – be a little unconventional.

Get yourself some wheels and dip your toes in the world of cycling. Ring the local bike shop, ask them where the beginners group rides are – and just rock up. It’s as simple as that.

No you don’t have to do 4 weeks of riding and get fit before showing up! (if I had a dollar…)

Just show up. Get amongst it – no-one will bite you.

And if that isn’t enough – the sport is almost equally expensive as golf but twice as good for the cardiovascular system.

As a cyclist, serving 8 years in the Royal Australian Navy did my head in. There’s only so far you can ride on a warship, especially in rough swell.

I learnt valuable lessons though and one that stuck with me was a from a hard nosed Lieutenant Commander (Boss) who would harp on about the “4 P’s”.

1. Preparation
2. Prevents
3. Poor
4. Performance

In retrospect, on a warship, preparation can mean the difference between life and death. There’s enough explosives on board to revert most large cities to rubble.

Couple that with a huge hunk of metal crashing through waves so big – I couldn’t do them justice here – and you’ve got a pretty hairy situation 24/7.

Meet Rob

On Sunday I was pleasantly reminded of the “4P’s” rule whilst tapping out a 200km+ ride with one of Australian Cyclings great personalities – Rob Crowe.

Rob is a dual Australian Champion, two time Olympian (Barcelona and Athens Paralympic Gold Medalist) and former World Masters Champion.

Besides the impressive credentials, Rob has a unique and refreshing presence in the cycling bunch.  He’s a well respected natural born leader – in a nurturing sort of way – the kind of guy everyone likes.

There was 40+ of the best cyclists in Victoria who met up at 7am for Rob’s pre-arranged group ride. Before setting off, Rob addressed the group and when he spoke – everyone listened.

He outlined what was to be expected for the day. The distance, terrain, how fast we were going to ride, traffic. He covered all bases – I’ve never seen such open communication prior to a bunch ride. It was fantastic.

Preparing for punctures

It was raining, so Rob asked the group to inspect their tyres for glass lodged in the rubber. Everyone – including the high brow elite riders – started spinning their wheels, looking closely and removing foreign matter from the tyres.

This was done to reduce time spent repairing punctures. The intention was to stop the whole group when a puncture occurred.

The part that impressed me was several riders removed tiny fragments of glass from their tyres. What if they hadn’t checked? How far down the road would they have travelled before puncturing?

Preparation meant more riding – less time getting our hands dirty.

What to look for

In this picture of my front wheel, there’s all sorts of goodies lodged in my tyre – a puncture, and inevitable frustration waiting to happen. If you look closely, there is tiny fragments of glass that’s been picked up and is slowly making its way through the tyre.

on closer inspection, there's glass lodged in there

Glass can cause an instant puncture, but what most cyclist don’t realise – it can also lodge in the tyre and slowly work its way through to the tube. This can happen over hours or even days of riding. That’s why it’s important to inspect your tyres on a regular basis.

Tyre maintenance on the fly

I’m sure you’ve ridden over broken glass at some stage on the road or footpaths. It’s unavoidable sometimes and you always come out the other side hoping for the best.

If you’re too lazy to stop, one quick way to remove any glass collected on the tyres is to use your bidon. Best described in the following video.

Preparation, Prevents, Poor, Performace. This is true before the big race, the job interview, meeting the in-laws and just about any application in life. The challenge is to apply these principals on a consistent basis to your daily activities – not just your cycling.

Good luck and remember – Be Nice.

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The shorts need no introduction and obviously no spare tube or pump

There’s some classic mistakes people make when they first get into the sport of cycling.

Stuff that’s really funny to the seasoned veteran and things that are downright dangerous.

Learning the etiquette and unwritten rules of cycling is just part of the journey. This is true not just in cycling, but in any new endeavour we take on in life. Mistakes are a good thing. That’s how you learn.

In order to recognise them as mistakes however, you need someone like me to tell you – and that’s really hard. Most people won’t. They’ll just giggle behind your back at your expense.

It’s things like blowing your nose on the napkin at a restaurant, or putting your big goofy feet in the back of my chair at the cinema – it’s all very uncool and more often annoying.

So to fast track the intermediate or beginner cyclist through kool school, I’ve put together the following list of things you should do and things you shouldn’t do in cycling.

Should Do

1. wear socks – no socks and cycling shoes is immensely uncool. High socks are better. White, low calf is wicked sick.
2. wash your helmet regularly – crusty, salty sweat marks on your helmet straps is disgusting. Wash your helmet in soapy hot water once a week.
3. take food on your rides – muesli bars are convenient.  ‘hitting the wall’ is very unpleasant. The same applies to taking water.
4. take a spare tube and a pump on your rides – your first $57 taxi ride home will be the last time you leave home without spares… I promise you.
5. use your voice - yell out to pedestrians, traffic and other cyclists. Let them know you exist. It’s better than turning grandma pedestrian into a bike rack.
6. mount a bell – although mildly uncool, this is a legal requirement. In the absence of one, see rule 5 and use it generously.
7. oil your chain – grease up all moving parts often, especially in winter. Constant squeaking and creaking on your bike will crack me if we ride together.
8. thank traffic – waving to a truck driver who safely passes you will do wonders for the cycling community. Thank people when they are courteous and nice with a wave.

Shouldn’t Do

1. wear undies under your cycling nicks – very common newbie mistake and very uncool. Especially if they’re grandma undies or a G-String. You need help.
2. ride at 40km/hr – everywhere – enjoy your cycling. During training, even pro’ cyclists spend most of their time riding between 28 – 35 km/hr.
3. overlap wheels – In group rides when the pace is on, it’s easy to overlap your front wheel with someone’s back wheel. This is a disaster waiting to happen for beginners.
4. use triathlon bars in a bunch rides – bunch rides tend to be stop, start and twitchy. You need to be near the brakes in case of an emergency stop etc. I’ve spoken about this.
5. ‘efforts’ on footpaths – Woman with prams, children and the elderly like to walk on footpaths. Doing your 45km/hr efforts on the footpath is going to end in tears. If you’re one of these people – please stop doing it. I’ve seen some terrible stuff happen over the years and even heard of pedestrians getting killed.
6. ride 2 abreast in a single lane of traffic – Be courteous to other traffic and ride single file until it becomes dual lane. I cringe when I see riders doing this.
7. run red lights – I’ve done this – many times, so I even feel guilty telling you not to. The bunch rides tend to enhance this sort of poor behavior. It’s a strange thing that happens in a cyclists mind, when you’re in pain – the bunch is tearing along at 60km/hr and the adrenalin is flowing. It gives us cyclists a really bad name and we should all make an effort to behave.
8. tuck your jersey into your nicks – this is something my dad would do. You can’t even get away with this even if you’re middle aged. It’s grotesque.
9. helmets – yes wear one – but please put it on the right way. Check and then check again.
10. leave stock reflectors on wheels – can anybody spot the newbie! how cute, he’s got reflectors on his wheels. Nuff said.
11. wear ankle high socks – for girls this is fine, Guys – you shave your legs. I think that’s enough in the S.N.A.G department. Leave the ankle high socks for your lady friend.

I could go on and on, but I need to save something for future posts. If you have any tips of your own, feel free to share them.

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