cycling sprint training

We've just returned from the sports camp in Vendee. We cycled between 3 and 4 hours every day and we practised sprints. I was in good shape.
There are a few methods to practise cycling sprint training. The best one is of course taking part in races such as criteriums but there are other things which you can practice. For example, find ten road signs which are not too much away from each other and make ten 200 metres sprints. You can also find a road where is not too much traffic and sprint for 200 metres. Then go back and return the same way and relax. Make 10 such repetitions. One more good exercise is riding behind a motorbike or a car and trying to overtake it. Also repeat this task 10 times.

pedalling frequency, what is the best pedalling frequncy

Pedalling frequency is the number of times you turn your cranks per minute. It is said that the best pedalling frequency is 90, however it depends on individual characteristcs of a cyclist. There are some cyclists like for example Bert Grabsh whose pedalling frequncy is only 50 or less. So you must see what pedalling frequency you feel most comfortable with. Mine is about 70.

how to cycle in the snow

I was born in Poland so the snow isn't anything new for me. I began cycling almost twenty years ago and each winter I had deal with snow. How to cycle in the snow? There a few things I would suggest. First of all avoid cycling on the main roads. Try to choose the roads where there are not many cars so it's less dangorous and you won't pay a fine. Last winter at Christmas Eve I had to pay a fine as I was cycling on the motorway. Secondly avoid cycling on the road bike. when there is snow it's more comfortable and less dangorous if you cycle on the mountain bike. Next you can buy special tyres which are better than usual ones. And the last thing, riding on the snow is great fun and probably you will fall a few times, but don't worry cause these crashes won't be dangerous. Snow is rather soft :) So, how to cycle in the snow? Choose the right gear, balance your body and have a good fun!

how to cycle in the snow in Poland

how to start cycling training after a break

The first training after a break might seem difficult but if you stick to some simple tips it might not be that bad.
1. First cycling training after a break shouldn't be too long. 30 kms seems enough.
2. Don't push hard gear to avoid injuries.
3. Eat good breakfast Your body needs more calories after a break.
4. Don't ride too fast. Admire the landscape. The first training after a break should be enjoyable.
5. In the first week after a break don't ride a lot. Your body must get used to the workload.

Święta we Francji w Pavilly

Już czuć Świąteczną atmosferę. Całe nasze miasteczko jest fajnie udekorowane. Szkoda tylko, że od trzech dni nonstop leje :(. Dzisiaj 100km. Wróciłem nieco zmęczony, trochę na głodzie, cały trening w ulewie i w siłnym wietrze. Nie bedę narzekał. Bywało gorzej.

za Agnieszką widać nasz domek

Christmas in France in Pavilly in 2011

You can already feel the Chrismas atmosphere in France. Next to my house there are a lot of winter and Christmas decorations (see the photos above). Apart from that today 100kms. I came tired because the conditions were terrible. There was a gale force wind and it rained all the time. It's already been raining for three days here.

how to gain muscle in your legs

If you want gain muscle in your legs you have to follow these rules.
1. Do legs workout either at home or in the gym. Here is a link to the nice set of exercises http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQQEHeZQKPA&feature=fvsr
2. Eat food containing a lot of protein. For example tuna contains 20% of protein.
3. Drink protein shakes.
4. Remember that if you want to gain two kg of muscles you have to eat more than 140 grams of protein a day.
5. Apply some exercises during your bike rides. Find a hill about 1km long and 7% steep and push hard gear like 53/17. It depends on your level. repeat it from 5 to 15 times.
6. Don't go to bed hungry but also don't eat an apple pie before you go to sleep. Drink a protein shake insteas.
7. Don't skip meals.

Véranda Rideau-U becomes Continental as La Pomme Marseille renews

I want to share this article with you as I am a team memeber.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/veranda-rideau-u-becomes-continental-as-la-pomme-marseille-renews

cycling problems: kne injury, Achilles tendon injury, broken collar bone, etc.

I've been a cyclists form many years and have also encountered a lot of problems. I will try to share with you the most common ones.
1. knee injury
2. Achilles tendon injury
3. broken collarbone
4. cuts and bruises
5. crash
6. puncture
7. overtraining/fatigue syndrome
8. mononucleose
9. asthma
10. lack of magnesium, ferrum
This is a mixture of the most common bike problems. I've put not only health problems but also the mechanic ones. If you have encountered some other common problems please write a comment or send an email.

winter training for cyclists

There are a few rules to follow if you want to be in good shape for the next cycling season.
1. Train hard and relax as well.
2. After a hard season don't ride a bike for a week or eaven three. It depends on the season you've had.
3. Try to develop the muscles that you neglected during the cycling season. Go to the gym or swimming pool twice a week.
4. Replace your road bike with a mountain bike or a cyclocross bike. You will have fun and miss your road bike.
5. A month before a season begins, on Sundays (the best day because most races take place on Sundays) make a workout which resembles a race. At the end of your traing ride for half an hour behind a motorbike (it has to be your friend who knows how to do it).
6. A month before a season starts, once a week implement a specific workout like climbing or practising sprints.
7. Avoid injuries.
8. Eat well. Give your body enough proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and vitamins. Eat a lot of organic products, fruit and vegetables.
9. Try not neglect your sleep.
10. Don't drink too much alcohol. The day after is lost.

how to change bike gears

The problem of changing gears depends on the group that you have. Shimano, campagnolo and sram work differently, but if you get on the bike after one hour of cycling you will master the problem of moving your gears either up or down. More complex is a problem of adjusting your gears to the road conditions and your natural capacity. Some people claim that the best pedaling frequency is 90 but I cannot agree. If you like pedaling not to quickly don't change that. There are some cyclists whose pedaling frequency is 60 or less. One of them was Serhei Honczar and he was one of the best time trialists. Another one is Bert Grabsh and he also used to be a world time trial champion. On the other hand we have Armstrong who moved his legs in very high frequency. So there is no rule.

bike maintenance

I have a few pieces of advice for all cyclists
1. Always clean your bike after the training. If you don't do it you bike will be overused much more quickly.
2. Change your chain regularly, after about 3000kms.
3. Put some bike oil into your chain and clean your chain until it's almost dry.
4. Don't ride your best bike in the winter. Buy another one much cheaper only for the winter. I would advise a cyclocross bike.
5. Always take a bike bladder and a pump if you go cycling. You won't damage your wheels.
These are only a few tips but if you follow them you will save time and money

how to choose a bike

It's not an easy topic. I'll concentrate on some general things. First of all you must think what kind of roads you want to ride on. If you want to ride in the forest, choose a mountain bike, if you want to ride on roads choose a road bike. The next thing is what kind of frame to choose. If I were you and have just started riding a bike, I would choose an alluminium frame, because it's much stronger than carbon and much cheaper. The next thing is how much money to invest, And once again, if I started riding a bike I wouldn't pay more than 1000 euros. However if you know that cycling is a thing that you love (like me) I would invest more money, however you can find good bicycles for 1000 euros. I won't go into details if shimano, sram or campagnolo is better. If you start riding a bike, for sure you will meet other cyclists. You will be able to talk to them and after3/4 months of regular training you will see that you will be able to notice what kind of brand to choose.

cycling camp

One may think that cycling is an individual sport but that's not totally true. Without a team Armstrong would have never won tour de France. Cycling camps also help you, apart from developing your form, to have good relationship with other team members. You won't find a better time to make friends than during a cycling camp. We always lough, help each other during training, we share rooms with different cyclists and get to know each other better. Of course it's also easier to motivate yourself when you ride in a bigger group and that is why you may do the things you would never do alone.

my team on the cycling camp ithe Norman Alps

cycling and alcohol

Can alcohol help you increase your performance? Some people claim that some beer and a glass of wine a day may help you ride faster but it's not true. People who claim it are afraid to admit that they want to drink just for pleasure. In my opinion a glass of wine won't destroy your career. It won't prevent you from achieving success either but certainly it won't help you to increase your speed by 5km/h. So if you you to drink a glass of wine do it but don't be afraid to admit that it's delicious rather than "Let's take some vitamine B12".

Team Veranda Rideau U

Now it's official. A new tem has been created and I have a chance to be a pert of this project. Team Veranda Rideau U is a continental team and consists of 12 cyclists. In the next few days I will try to present the team and our races program.

cycling nutrition

People often ask me what to eat before a race or trainnig. I would say, don't change your diet abruptly. If you like some snacks don't give them up all. I will tell you what I do before my usual training. Generally I eat an hour before I start cycling. I eat some bread with jam and butter and a croissant with a cup of coffee. Sometimes instead of a croissant I eat a bowl of cereal. Then I ride for three hours. (it's important to eat during the training however if you are fit enough you won't need anything. I don't know any professional cyclists who eat before they reach 100kms). When I come back I drink a protein shake and then a usual lunch, some meat, potatoes or rice and salad. At about 4/5 o'clock I have a cup of coffee and a few biscuits. For supper some ham, cheesee, bread and butter without to many sweet things. However when I have a race the day before I eat lots of pasta and I try to eat pasta three hours before a race starts too. During a race I always eat. It's something different. You ride faster, you are more stressed and that is why you need more energy so I always take some energy bars with me. And don't forget drinking. Take some isotonic drinks. They will help you to keep strength throughout the race.

how to lose weight cycling

If you want to lose wait you have to cycle regularly. I am a professional cyclist and I've got some knowledge about it. If you ride 3/4 times a week abou 2/3 hours a day I would say that it is raelly hard to put on weight. If you still can't lose weight get up late at about nine o'clock. Then start a training at about 12 o'clock. Ride for three hours. by the time you take a shower you there will be already five o'clock and the time to eat the last dish of a day. This way you will skip ten different unnencessary snacks.

cycling speed training

There are a few methods which will help you to increase your speed. The best one is of course taking part in races such as criteriums but there are other things which you can practice. For example, find ten road signs which are not too much away from each other and make ten 200 metres sprints. You can also find a road where is not too much traffic and sprint for 200 metres. Then go back and return the same way and relax. Make 10 such repetitions. One more good exercise is riding behind a motorbike or a car and trying to overtake it. Also repeat this task 10 times.

endurance bike training

If you have a good races programe in the season the best idea to increase your endurance is to ride a lot a few weeks before the races start. It dependes also on your goals, age, sex, weather conditions and your present level of fitness. If your races are for example 100kms long I would suggest to start doing endurance programe 2 months before the races start riding 3 or 4 times a week and in the first two weeks not exceeding 50 kms a day. Next two weeks you can ride maximum 75kms a day and one monthe before your first race starts you can begin 100kms workouts. Remember that if you want to improve your cycling fitness you have to have a plan and each training should have a goal. So I would start with two endurance bike trainings a week, riding staedily for about 50 kms without many abrupt accelerations. Other two days I would devote to improving your strength and speed. One week before the race don't get tired too much and don't do any long trainings or exhausting workouts. Remember to relax and have a rest before workouts. It's also very important if you want to be the next Lance Armstrong.

mountain bike races

One of the best form of season preparations is mountain biking and mountain bike races. If you are tired of road cycling after a long season, mountain biking gives you a superb opportunity to practise your favourite sport in a different way. You can train your endurance speed and strength, however you must be careful. Today I've fallen down. Fortunately nothing serious happened but it might have been worse.

bike position

 

Yesterday we were on "a school trip" in a cyfac factory to adjust our bike position. I must tell you that they made a good job. They measured my legs, arms, chest in hundreds of different ways to make the optimal position. Hopefully it's not much different from the one I had before but I hope that these few adjustments will help me to cycle faster. If it doesn't fit I don't have to worry about because they have already prepared a standard frame for me just in case I don't feel the new one. In total we will have five different frames apparently the most expensive in the peleton. I took a few photos in the factory so that you can see.

cycle lanes

Is it a good idea to ride on a cycle lane? From my experience I know that if you're a professional cyclist it is not possible to cycle 100kms on a cycle lane. There are a few reasons. The first one is the condition of thm. I'm Polish and in my country cycling roads are horrible. They are dirty with lots of holes. Now I live in France and cycling lanes are better but they are only in big cities. The next reason is the speed. It is difficult to ride 30 or 40 km/h on a very narrow cycle lane. And the last reason is the number of amateur cyclists and families using them for short excursions. Cyclists are not welcome on them because it is easy to get hurt or hurt somebody. Of course if you want to ride slowly or you have just finished your workout use cycle lanes.

cycling and health

There is no doubt that cycling is beneficial for your health. It develops all the muscles in your body. You also develop you heart and lungs. Regular riding a bike gives you imediate results. Even after a few trainings you can see that you are able to ride faster. I may go further and say that cycling is better than running. Higher speed gives you more chances to admire beautiful landscapes. Of course you have to pay attention because to much cycling can provoke some injuries especially knee injuries so don't exagerate.

cycling knee injury

I've experienced lots of knee injuries. There is nothing worse for a cyclist than to sit at home not being able to cycle because of a knee problem especially one that appeared because of a work load and not of a crash. If you have some knee ache my advice is to stop riding for a few days even two weeks. If it doesn't help visit a doctor and start a therapy.

How to climb better

A lot of cyclists think that to climb better you have to be born in the mountains but that's not true. Of course people who are born in the mountains have an advantage but you can do some exercises which imitate the mountains. The most popular one is to climb one hill a couple of times. For example I often climb a hill which is about one km in length. I repeat it from ten to twenty times. I can tell you, after this training I'm exhausted.