Des Moines Cycle Club Blog

THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO GET ONE OF THESE

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:23:11 +0000

IT’S FREE WITH YOUR PAID 2010 MEMBERSHIP

Monday night’s Wine & Cheese Gala will be your first opportunity of the year to pickup your 2010 Des Moines Cycle Club Member Packs including your 2010 membership card and your licence plate frame to clearly show everyone that you are a member of the DMCC.

Our first Wine and Cheese Gala of 2010 is at BikeWorld 6600 Douglas the 1st of March, between the hours of 5 and 7 P.M. Everyone is welcome for free food, special club member discounts, fine wine and a chance to meet other club members and staff.

Not a Des Moines Cycle Club Member? We’ll have staff on site to assist you in becoming a member for the 2010 season and make sure you qualify for the special discounts for this night only and pickup your Member Pack.

BikeWorld will be offering special discounts to all DMCC members for this special night. 15% off regular priced in-stock clothes and accessories and 10% off regular priced in-stock bicycles. Come in and stock up on all the equipment you’ll need for your 2010 riding season including the DMCC’s Tour the Raccoon June 12th and 13th.

A Wine and Cheese Gala at a bike shop? Don’t worry, dress is come as you are.

Keep up to the minute with fellow members of the Des Moines Cycle Club via Twitter @DMCycleClub

Des Moines Cycle Club’s Winter Training Part II

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:35:21 +0000

I had a lot of comments and questions about my recommendations about keeping your fitness level up over the winter. Winter has hit us hard the last few weeks, combine that with the fact that we’re in the middle of the holiday season, making right now the ideal time to get into a set workout routine.

We all have different goals so you need to do a little research into what your indoor training should or should not be. But there are some basic “rules” all of us need to incorporate into our winter fitness routines.

LSD – Long Slow Distance. Over the past several years this golden rule of off-season training has come under question. This is the practice of keeping most of your winter rides, whether indoors or out, at a lower intensity, specifically in the aerobic zone. The latest research I’ve seen still supports this training practice in most cases. The real advantage of training in this zone is that it teaches your body to burn fat for energy more efficiently versus your store of quick burn sugars. That’s why most people refer to it as the “fat burning zone”. The advantage to training your body to burn fat isn’t just the obvious. Yes, this time of year most of us are watching our weight. The real benefit to this level of training is when you start riding outdoors in the spring, your body will use the more abundant stores of fat to power your ride versus the less available sugars.

Training in this lower zone takes a lot more discipline than you might think. The simplest way to keep in the aerobic zone is to watch your breathing. A good LSD workout would look like this. Warm up for about 10 minutes just easy spinning. After your warm-up begin an 8 minute interval starting out hard. When your breathing becomes very fast and shallow (hard to talk), start to back off until your breathing is long and deeper (easy to talk). Your RPM’s should be in the 80 to 90 range. With a little practice you’ll be able to get right into this zone without thinking. After 8 minutes slow petal for 2 minutes then repeat 3 more times. For this workout, keep in this lower intensity zone, yes you can go faster but you’re training your body to burn fat. Do this workout twice a week through the winter.

Hammer Away – LSD training is very important but you also need to extend your system. That breathing sensation that I told you to recognize, when you first start to breath short shallow breaths, is your lactate threshold. That’s when your body is producing more lactic acid than it can expel so your metabolism speeds up to try to get rid of it. This zone is called anaerobic. You can mark this event on your heart rate monitor to be very accurate. We want to do most of our heavy anaerobic training in the spring and summer but we don’t want to totally ignore it in the off-season. If you’re doing 2 aerobic training sessions per week you want to add 1 or 2 anaerobic sessions for the perfect training week. An anaerobic workout always involves short intervals, for example, start out with your normal 10 minute warm-up and this time get really warmed up. Begin a series of 1 minute intervals with 1 minute rest between each. Pedal fast and hard, around 95 to 100 RPM is about right. I’d start out doing about 12 of these 1 minute intervals, as the weeks go by add 1 or 2 each week. You’re training your body to pedal fast, training your heart to be more efficient, move lactic acid out faster and increase lung capacity. All good stuff!

Understand the difference between these two totally different workouts. On your LSD days stay in the lower zone and this should be a longer ride of around 45 minutes to an hour or longer. On your above Lactate Threshold days go hard and really push yourself. The biggest mistake riders make is riding all of their workouts in basically the same training zone every time they train. Everyone of your workouts should have a specific training goal.

Don’t Ignore the Gym– I’m a firm believer in weight training. This is another area with a lot of misinformation going around. You may have read some statements like, “you don’t use your arms riding a bike” or “too much muscle is just dead weight to a cyclist”. That may have a little truth if you’re a professional cyclist, but unless you really believe Lance is going to call wanting you in the next tour, you’ll get a huge benifit from lifting weights. Do one lower body session and one upper body session per week and you’ve completed your week.

If you’re counting all this up, 2 LSD sessions, 2 above LT interval sessions and go to the gym 2 times per week that’s 6 days per week of training. Of course you have to decide what you’ve got time for and what fitness goals you want to reach. This training schedule will take you to a very high fitness level. You’ll easily tackle Ragbrai next year, ride a century or even get into some competitions if that’s your goal. It’s up to you.

Trainer or roller workouts are some of the most effective training you will do all year. You have total control over the workout, you control intensity, duration, the environment and the location. Done right you’ll greatly increase your fitness and riding skills. Concentrate on your riding form, work on peddling in complete circles, keep your upper body still. If you’re waving back and forth on the bike you’re using too high of a gear and wasting energy. Drink when you’re thirsty, during all of these workouts you should drink a full bottle of water. I’m not a big proponent of energy drinks, and they are not really needed for workouts lasting an hour or less like these, water is fine. Also, keep cool. Have a fan in your training area and use it.

Last advice, use this time of year to get a physical. To get in better shape you’ve got to push your body to a higher level. Never attempt a hard workout without knowing it is capable of handling it.

Oh, by the way, indoor training is a lot more fun if done with friends. Grab your stuff and come join us Thursday nights at 7 PM. Watch www.bikeiowa.com for the latest information about our training locations and times. We’ll start up again after the holidays on January 7th.

Live – Love – Ride

Danny Kruzic

President, Des Moines Cycle Club

USA Cycling Level 3 Coach

DMCC’s Annual Banquet

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:19:42 +0000

Monday December 7th, 2009

The Lodge at Sleepy Hollow, 4051 Dean Avenue, Des Moines, IA

6:00 PM Social Hour
6:45 Dinner
7:30 Club Update and Keynote Speaker

The DMCC Annual Banquet has become a tradition among metro cyclists. It’s the best way to get “up to date” on what’s happening with your club, enjoy some great food and great company. You do not have to be a DMCC member to attend but if you’re not, why not? Bring your friends and get them signed up as 2010 members as well.

We’re very lucky and honored to have Walter Golebiewski as our keynote speaker this year. Walter was born and educated in Poland with a Master’s degree in economics. Back in the 60’s he was a member of the Polish National road racing team. Walter turned his love of cycling into a career becoming a coach. None other than Eddie B asked for Walter’s help with an upstart USA Cycling Team. Walter moved to the states to help coach the USA Olympic Cycling Team from 1984 to 1989 where he coached such notables as Gold Medalist Alexi Grewal, Davis
Phinney, Thurlow Rogers and Ron Kiefel. Mr. Golebiewski is a great story teller, and with his background, he has some stories to tell.

Come join us for a wonderful time about America’s racing past and your Des Moines Cycle Club.

Admission is Free BUT dinner is $18 so RSVP NO LATER THAN NOV. 30th!
By sending your check and Main Dish Choice of (1) Chicken Supreme OR (2) Pasta
Primavera to:

Georgie Pease c/o DMCC
P.O. Box 13258
Des Moines, IA 50310-0258

Do Club Level Cyclists need a winter training program?

admin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:02:32 +0000

How was your summer riding season? Did you set a new personal best or ride in your first Ragbrai? Are you getting a little more serious about this cycling thing? Good for you, but what are you going to do now that it’s too dark to ride after work or when there’s six inches of snow on the ground? It’s a dilemma for all of us who live and ride in Iowa.

Too many cyclists have great summers enjoying bike riding but do nothing in the winter and loose all of the fitness they gained. And next year they have to start all over again or not start at all. For long term health benefits, it’s important to keep building your fitness, or at least “maintain” your summer gains through the winter and yes, I’m talking about recreational and club riders.

The best way to maintain cycling’s’ health benefits are to formulate a plan, otherwise, known as a fitness routine. You don’t have to tell anyone that you’re on a fitness routine if you’re worried about your image but without some form of structure will you really stay with it? Even with a great plan, the odds are not good that you’ll stay with it, but the odds drop to zero without a plan. As a club rider, there are lots of options to continue enjoying cycling in the winter. And that’s the secret, keep it fun. If you look at your winter routine mostly as a way you can continue your enjoyment of the sport you’ll have a better chance of success. Don’t take it too seriously and you may find that it will provide you with some serious fitness benefits.

First, it’s almost imperative that you get a “resistance trainer”. No that’s not part of the “right wing conspiracy”. It’s a device that attaches to the rear axel of your bike that fulfils two jobs. It holds your real wheel off of the ground so you can ride your bike “in place”, and it adds resistance to the rear wheel so it makes it feel like you’re riding your bike outside. You don’t need some turbo charged, ubber expensive unit. I’ve seen some very good trainers for under $100 and even the cheapies will last for years and I’m sure you can get some pretty good buys on eBay or Craig’s List. You’ll also need to raise the front wheel of your bike when it’s in the trainer to level your bike. There are many inexpensive plastic devices available to do that, but a piece of wood or a book will work just fine. Next is the easy part. You need to sit on your trainer and pedal.

It’s amazing that this “easy part” is the aspect that most of us have the most trouble with. There are hundreds of books, workout tapes, computer programs and dozens of coaches who are ready, willing and able to help. The problem with riding a trainer is it starts out as a lot of fun, but after the first day it becomes the most boring “mind melt” you could imagine. Plus, it hurts. It’s pretty easy to talk yourself out of doing something that’s mind numbing and hurts. It’s no different with treadmills, elliptical machines or even home gyms. You’ll need to find your own motivation. Okay motivation isn’t the right word. You are looking for the “best distraction” unless your ability to concentrate is on a much higher plain than the rest of us. Some riders use MP3 players, some have a TV in front of them, and some ride in complete darkness. It’s a mind game you have to win within yourself. Your goal is to ride 4 times a week for around 40 minutes. That doesn’t sound like a long time, but your trainer is different than riding outside. There are no stop signs or cross walks, no waiting for pedestrians crossing the street, no wind, no rain and no coasting downhill. It is just you and your bike. Forty minutes is plenty to get a great workout and about all your “inner self” will be able to handle.

Next you’ll need a fitness routine. Sure just getting on your trainer and riding for 40 minutes is great and if that’s what you want to do, then do it. But to really maximize your time and focus your goals, a weekly routine is better. There are many books, tapes and website information about setting up your workouts that involve what’s called “intervals”. Intervals are timed periods of when you pedal at a prescribed level of intensity, followed by times of rest. For example, in your 40 minute workout you may do 4 sets of 5 minute intervals with 2 minutes rest in between each set, that’s 26 minutes of work. With a 10 minute warm-up and a few minutes to cool down that will give you a pretty good workout. There are many variations of intervals, some long to build endurance, and some short to build strength. You’ll have to do some research on setting up your intervals. I would recommend a book by local coach Dave Ertl. Dave’s website http://cyclesportcoaching.blogspot.com/ is packed full of training information and his eBook “Indoor Training for Cyclists” is a wealth of information. I personally have grown to rely on DVD’s from Coach Troy Jacobson called Spinerval’s. I’ve got a pretty elaborate setup in my basement for my indoor training with a small TV and DVD player. Spinerval DVD’s are available in many different workouts with short and long options so you can vary your workouts throughout the week. The coach runs the entire workout with several dozen cyclists and he basically acts as a football type coach “encouraging” you all the way through the workout. It works for me, and the time seems to go by faster. I like the group workout feel and the workouts can be very demanding.

If you’re interested, you can get information or order from their website at http://www.spinervals.com/. Bottom line is you’ve got to find what works for you, what makes it fun or worthwhile and what fits your goals and lifestyle. But, spend the time and the investment in your health to make it work, and make if fun for you. When the sun finally comes out next spring you’ll be fit, trim, looking good, and riding like never before.

One last point, you need to watch your weight very closely this time of year! It is absolutely the biggest problem I have in training all year long. For some reason by body knows that the season is over and its time to start storing fat for winter. I’m not eating more, and, I’m still riding outside as much as I can, hitting the gym and my trainer on a regular plan. But almost overnight I gain 10 pounds or more. I have to drastically cut my calories and watch what I eat right now more than any other time of year. If I let the 10 pounds stick and I hit Thanksgiving and Christmas carrying that weight it’ll balloon from there. And the energy it takes to loose 15 to 20 pounds in the spring takes its toll and that effort is better spent on other fitness goals. If you’ve got any questions please let me know, I’d be happy to help you get started. Of course, don’t start any fitness plan without first checking with your doctor.

Live – Love – Ride

Danny Kruzic

President, Des Moines Cycle Club USA Cycling Certified Level 3 Coach

Book Review – ROADIE the Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:46:28 +0000

“A bike race is like a chess game, a boxing match, and a stampede disguised as a sport, encompassed by a lifestyle, and surrounded by a community on a never-ending road trip to the brink of bankruptcy.

OK, Letting me review books is probably not a smart move, but I’m in the middle of a book that I just have to tell you about. Especially if you’ve got a wife, husband, family members or friends who just don’t understand why you ride your bike. ROADIE by Jamie Smith is an introduction to racing a bike but it’s much more, even if you never intent to race.

The author really understands the sacrifices, the commitment, the pain and the obsessive drive that it takes for a cyclist to achieve their goals in this sport. He hold no punches but tells it like it is with a sense of humor. It’s a good read for someone in your life to understand why you spend so many hours on your bike.

I found my copy at Barnes & Nobles, but it’s available just about everywhere.

Danny

Let’s Party in our Pajama’s

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:34:50 +0000

The Des Moines Cycle Club is proud to announce a new annual event celebrating fitness, family fun and community involvement. Introducing the DMCC Pajama Party featuring a short, early evening, bike ride through downtown Des Moines, progressing around Grey’s Lake just south of downtown and back to where it started on East 3^rd. The ride is a simple joyride to celebrate the exhilaration of riding a bike. But that’s just part of the DMCC Pajama Party.

In conjunction with the “East Coast” events running Saturday in the Des Moines East Village, the DMCC Pajama Party opens at 6:30 PM in a huge “urban” parking lot setting on East 3rd Street between East Locust and East Walnut. Food vendors and bike related booths will offer pre-ride refreshments. The Pajama Party Ride starts on East 3rd at 7:30 PM and slowly rides six miles through downtown Des Moines for about one hour.

The ride ends back where it started on East 3rd Avenue where your $5 donation allows you to enter something really new and fun for Des Moines, The DMCC Pajama Party. The party continues with the announcement of the Best Lighted Bike contest and the Best Pajama’s contest, both winners will be awarded prizes from local retailers. Following all of those important announcements will be a brief welcome from your friends at the Des Moines Cycle Club and local dignitaries. After all the official announcements, everyone can get out their chairs, throw out your blankets, or simply sit on your bike and watch the only real bike classic, Breaking Away on a huge screen produced by Des Moines video expects DHG. The movie will get underway around 9:00 PM.

If you’re not familiar with Breaking Away it’s a wonderful family movie from 1979 starring Dennis Christopher and Dennis Quaid. Breaking Away takes place in Bloomington, Indiana, one of the bigger college towns in America. It concerns the rivalry between the rich, snobbish college kids and the local townies (called cutters). The story follows the cutters as they try to prove to the college kids that they are real human beings, not outcasts. As one of the cutters is a champion bike rider, the climax of the film comes down to the Little 500 Bike Race.

The DMCC Pajama Party “ride” is free to the public. Admission to the Pajama Party Event is a $5 donation with $1 of your donation going to The Partnership for a Drug Free Iowa. Your admission donation will also include many extras from your Des Moines Cycle Club, the movie and access to all of the food and equipment vendors.

Des Moines Cycle Club’s Pajama Party

Saturday, August 29^th, 2009

6:30 PM Gates Open ($5 donation to enter)

7:30 PM Pajama Party Ride launches from East 3^rd St. (Ride is free to the public)

8:30 PM Ride ends back at the Start / Finish on East 3^rd (Grab your chairs, blankets etc.)

8:40 PM Welcome from the DMCC and local dignitaries inside the Pajama Party.

9:00 PM Approximate start of the award winning family movie Breaking Away.

The DMCC Pajama Party is brought to you by The Des Moines Cycle Club, The Downtown YMCA, Koch Brothers, BikeWorld, Dee Zee Inc, The Des Moines Bike Collective and The Partnership for a Drug Free Iowa.

Thanks to Everyone for a Great Tour the Raccoon

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:44:20 +0000

For our first attempt at a major cycling event I have to say a job well done to everyone. We had a great crowd for the inaugural event and that’s what’s most gratifying. Sure we’ve learned a lot, and we’ll make some changes for next year but nothing major.

To see the latest photo’s of the event visit www.dmcycleclub.com

Thanks everyone,

Danny

Things are starting to get interesting!

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:26:10 +0000

As the Tour the Raccoon gets a little closer and the weather is finally warming up, not to mention that the gale force winds are calming down, registrations are really picking up. There is only ten more days to pre-register for the inaugural ride and three weeks to finalize preparations and training.

Yes you can register after June 1^st. We will be accepting “same day” registrations at Waukee Cycling from 6 to 10 AM Saturday morning but if you wait you’ll have to pack everything in your vehicle, drive to Waukee, park your vehicle for the night, stand in line to register then start your ride. If you pre-register, you can drop your bags off at any Des Moines Bike World anytime the week before the ride, get up Saturday morning, eat a nice breakfast and begin your ride right from your own driveway.

To Register go to www.dmcycleclub.com

Your $50 on-line registration fee not only goes to support the Des Moines Cycle Club but look at all the stuff you get.

Printed 09 Tour the Raccoon Luggage Tag to mark your bag
Printed 09 Tour the Raccoon Backpack to carry all your extras
Printed 09 Tour the Raccoon t-shirt
Bag transportation from any Des Moines Bike World to the campground in Jefferson.
Or Bag transportation from Waukee Cycling to the campground in Jefferson the day of the ride start.
Designated camping at the Jefferson High School
Free showers (bring a towel)
$10 on-line discount to join the Des Moines Cycle Club
Special addition route map and “things to do” brochure
Many “in the bag” discount coupons and samples from ride sponsors and area businesses.

* Luggage tags, Backpacks and t-shirts are guaranteed for all who pre-register on-line. These items are “while supplies last” for those who register the day of the ride.

Ride’N Green to the Farmer’s Market Now from 2 Locations

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:08:26 +0000

Ride’n GREEN to the Farmer’s Market is a weekly Saturday ride with a group starting in Clive and in Ankeny. Both rides will start promptly at 8:00 A.M. and ride the great Central Iowa Trail System where possible to downtown Des Moines to the very popular Farmer’s Market. The Clive ride will start from the Clive Aquatic Center parking lot at 1801 N.W. 114th St. The Ankeny ride starts from Kyle’s Bikes at 1840 S.W. White Birch Circle in Ankeny.

Ride’n GREEN to the Farmer’s Market is ridden at a relaxed pace so everyone can have a good time. If you’re new to cycling or training for a future goal like the Tour the Raccoon, this is a great ride for you. Both rides are around 25 total miles, so please be properly equipped. This is a fairly loose structured ride without support or sag. We do plan to have a ride leader each week but if an official ride leader is not on site please take the initiative and make sure everyone starts together.

We will park our bikes in and around the Polk County building. There are lots of trees, fences, and benches, so bring a lock. The groups will decide how long they want to stay at the market, then meet and ride back. It’s up to you how long you want to stay, you are free to ride back on your own at any time.

Riding your bike to the market will be great exercise, you’ll get a little sun, and meet other riders in the area. If you’re new to Des Moines or new to cycling, Ride’n GREEN is a good way to get started. You’ll also feel great about doing the ride GREEN. Be sure to wear your DMCC member backpack to safely transport all of your purchases on the return trip.

This ride is for all cyclists. It’s not required that you be a Des Moines Cycle Club member, but it is encouraged. To join the Des Moines Cycle Club, or to get information about our other activities, visit our website at www.dmcycleclub.com.

What’s Happening In Jefferson?

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:00:04 +0000

It’s no coincidence that the Tour the Raccoon is on the weekend of June 13^th and 14^th; it’s the same weekend as the Jefferson Bell Tower Festival.

Just look at this list of what’s happening all day and into the night on Saturday at the festival!

Register for the Tour the Raccoon today at http://www.dmcycleclub.com/

6:30 a.m. Fireman’s Breakfast (Jefferson Fire Station – E. Washington Street)

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Information Booth Open (in front of RadioShack)

8:00 a.m. Ding Dong Dash – 5K & 1-Mile Run, 2-Mile Walk (Greene County Community Center)

8:00 a.m. Show & Shine Car Registration (People’s Bank & Trust)

9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Mahanay Bell Tower Open

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Kids’ Olympics (SW Corner of Square)

9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Booth Exhibits (Courthouse Square)

10:00 a.m. Show & Shine Motorcycle Registration (People’s Bank & Trust)

10:00 a.m. Motorcycle Poker Run Registration (People’s Bank & Trust)

10:00 a.m. RVP 1875 Historical Tour

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Bell Tower Festival PARADE (starts at JS High School, travels north on Chestnut to Lincolnway)

11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Show & Shine Car Show

12:00 p.m. Sand/Mud Volleyball Tournament begins (Empty lot 2 blocks north of the Bell Tower)

12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Art Show (Milwaukee Depot)

12:30 p.m. 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament (Russell Park)

12:30 p.m. Elks Hamburger Feed (Elks Lodge, 103 W. Harrison)

12:30 p.m. Antique Tractor Show (Home State Bank Parking Lot)

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Isiserettes Drill & Drum Corps (Lincolnway, in front of Courthouse)

1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Flower Show (Presbyterian Church)

1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Alex’s Lemonade Stand (Outside of Presbyterian Church)

1:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. Beverage Garden Open (N. 200 Block of Wilson)

1:30 p.m. Nail Driving Contest (Men’s, Women’s & Kid’s Divisions

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Text Messaging Contest (SW Corner of Square)

2:00 p.m. Saw (Crosscut) Contest (1 or 2 man)

2:30 p.m. Bucksaw Contest (Men’s & Women’s Division)

3:00 p.m. Spelling Bee (Greene County Community Center)

3:30 p.m. RVP 1875 Historical Tools Demonstration

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Wine Tasting (Lawns of Limburg House Bed & Breakfast and Russ & De Johnson – 303 & 305 W. Lincolnway)

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Sun Watch (Lincolnway, by HyVee Drugstore)

5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Spaghetti Supper (Methodist Church)

5:00 p.m. Bill Riley Talent Show (Plaza Stage)

6:00 p.m. Moto Cross Racing (Greene County Fairgrounds)

7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Battle of the Bands

9:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. Bob Pace Band (Beverage Garden Stage)

Dusk Starwatch (Licolnway by HyVee DrugStore)