Alameda Runners – Get After It!

BART has unanimously voted to permanently end the bike blackout during weekday commute hours in the morning and afternoon.

Starting three months ago, cyclists were welcomed to bring bikes on BART trains at all times – it was a five-month pilot program by BART management.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The policy officially takes effect Dec. 1, but since a six-month test of allowing bicycles on all trains at all times is in progress, the unrestricted access policy is already in effect.

Public comments Thursday on the proposed change drew mostly supporters, many of them members of bicycle advocacy groups or BART committees that have worked on the issue. The only public opposition came from Antonette Bryant, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, which represents station agents and train operat0rs.

Read the rest of the post after the jump! Read more… »

The East Bay Bicycle Coalition (EBBC) continues to do a great job promoting bike advocacy throughout the San Francisco East Bay.

For anyone interested, they are promoting classroom and on-road skills classes that are great for both novice and advanced riders.

EBBC hosts these events throughout the San Francisco East Bay, but here are details for the upcoming Alameda classes:

Day 1: Classroom Workshop Schedule:

Thursday, November 14th, 2013
6pm-8pm
Alameda Fire Department Conference Center
431 Stardust Place
Building 522 on Alameda Point
Register for this Alameda class

This session is not part of the Bike Traffic School program.

Attend this class and receive a free reflective vest!

Saturday, November 16th, 2013
10am-noon
Mastick Senior Center, Room D
1155 Santa Clara Ave
Register for this Alameda class

Day 2: Road Class Schedule:
Nothing in Alameda – you’ll have to head to Fremont:

Sunday, November 10th, 2013
noon-5:30pm
Centerville Community Center
3355 Country Dr.
Register for this Fremont class

It’s amazing that the Bike Alameda and EBBC are working to ensure riders in Alameda are being as safe as possible when riding. A two-class seminar can help riders become more comfortable with riding on the road safely – and with many drivers blissfully unaware of people on two wheels, these classes could help you avoid potentially dangerous situations.

Alameda is one of the top 291 most bike-friendly cities in the United States, receiving a bronze status, according to The League of American Bicyclists.

Each city is ranked based on the five following criteria: “creating safe and convenient places to ride; providing education for new and less experienced  cyclists; creating a strong bike culture; ensuring safe roads for biking; and planning for bicycling as a safe and viable transportation option.”

This is a great award for a city that is clearly dedicated to helping people get around town by bike – and receiving recognition should be a good honor for the city.

I’ve ridden a bike in a lot of areas in the country, and believe Northern California has some of the most scenic roads to enjoy. The San Francisco Bay Area has plenty of great places to ride, with quite a few scenic locations within 60 minutes to Alameda.

Even when I get caught behind a draw bridge going up, it’s still such a unique situation to stumble across on your daily bike commute:

I occasionally have trouble with an overly aggressive driver that doesn’t want to give me room on the road, but riding around Alameda is still one of the more enjoyable locations to be on two wheels.

It was just a few years ago when the Alameda Police Department was criticized for being too aggressive with traffic enforcement. Fast forward a few years, and now some people say the APD isn’t enforcing traffic violations harshly enough – I think it is fine, as officers certainly are looking for people disrespecting cyclists.  (Also keep in mind, people on bikes not following the rules are often stopped for traffic violations.)

Bye-bye, Euskatel-Euskadi.

The Basque cycling squad, with its bright orange jerseys and largely Spanish roster over the years, is pulling the plug on a successful 20-year run.

Team Euskatel-Euskadi rider getting after it.

I grew up watching pro cycling and seeing the Spaniards in their orange jerseys light up mountain stages was inspirational.

It’s a shame to see Euskatel shutter after 20 years – the poor economy in Spain caused a long-time sponsor to consolidate spending.  There was last-minute hope that F1 driving superstar Fernando Alonso, a longtime cycling supporter, would invest millions to save Euskatel. Expect to see an Alonso-backed team sometime in mid-2014, if all goes according to plan.

The team closing unfortunately means a full squad of riders, team mechanics, and other employees are largely going to be out of a job. Team Sky picked up Spanish climber Mikel Nieve and will be an important part of Chris Froome’s 2014 Tour de France squad. Expect other riders to join a ProTour team, retire, ride neo-pro, or not have a team for next season.

Read more:

VeloNews – Cycling loses something special with demise of Euskatel
Cyclingnews – Euskatel-Euskadi: an idea as much as a team

I am a fan of organic and natural foods.  I am also a triathlete with a lousy metabolism for endurance sports.  My body does not seem to be able to digest most foods and gels when it goes into endurance mode.  That is a nice way of saying I often get sick or bonk when I do endurance events.  I subconsciously know that I will get sick when I eat something, so I always avoid eating.

Skout Natural sent me a complete set of their products for review a few months ago and I just could not bring myself to write about them.  Every time I looked at the label, I felt that I should be in a Berkeley coffee shop drinking chai tea while writing the review on an Apple computer.  If you are wondering, I am at home drinking Starbucks coffee while typing on a Linux computer.  Sometimes, we need to shed our preconceived notions and move on.

Full review after the jump:  Read more… »

Team Cannondale rider Ted King doesn’t have a contract for next season yet, with teams filling up rosters from an increased pool of talented riders to choose from.

Here is what he recently told Cycling News:

“I’m still in the contract hunt. It’s a tough year. It’s nice to see things like [Formula 1 star Fernando] Alonso coming in and salvaging a team, but there’s a lot of talk of a few teams folding and a lot of teams shrinking. So that certainly puts a lot of people out on the market.”

It’s true that King will face a larger amount of other riders seeking contracts in the ProTour peloton, but he’s a very good domestique when working for others. For both Team Liquigas and now Cannondale, King has done a great job working on the front of the peloton, namely working for Peter Sagan.

Poor King crashed during stage 1 of the 2013 Tour de France, and then was time cut from the stage 4 team time trial when he missed the cut by a mere five seconds. Even worse, his family just landed in France to follow his first crack at the biggest cycling race of the year.

(Image Courtesy: Team Cannondale)

Why run a half marathon?

Half marathons successfully transitioned from obscure running event to new popular running craze for casual athletes across the United States.

Here is what Wade Morehead, Houston Marathon Committee executive director, told Competitor:

“The half-marathon is a great achievement that requires preparation and training. [They are a] great way to get race experience as you build toward your first marathon or to run in between marathons to stay in shape and enjoy what race day offers.”

Besides less physical and mental dedication than a full marathon, many runners find half marathons to be ideal because there is less time commitments required. No longer, slow runs of 20+ miles, 4:00 hours of run time, which also means increasing mileage is easier.

Many experienced runners don’t taper for a half marathon, while beginners do have a few things to think about before race day.

Most beginner half marathon training plans call for runners to log three to four runs, averaging 20-25 miles per week, and run a half marathon safely.  Nutrition is a lot easier for a half marathon, because runners don’t empty our glycogen reserves and need to follow strict diets and nutritional plans.

There is a great demand for half marathon races, with more than 30 new half marathons making their debut in 2012, and that number could increase in the future.

Don’t forget an added bonus to half marathons: The atmosphere at half marathons tends to be more festive and jovial among the casual runners. Even when nervous about running a half marathon, there is less stress than full marathons and other events which require additional training.

A couple of weeks ago, we did an article about 110% Play Harder. I never heard of them but after editing the article, I was looking for my checkbook to try some of their products. They were kind enough to send us a pair of compression socks to review. I tried them out for a recovery run a few days after a 70.3 triathlon. It was love at first sight! I have link to their web site here so I won’t go into the advertised details. I will tell you what I think about them.  I love them.

They are an engineering marvel. When you pull the socks out of the pack, they look like a pair of high socks or stockings. (We are athletes, we don’t care what couch potatoes call our gear.)

When you pull the socks on, they form fit to your legs and feet without feeling tight. I can’t figure out how they do it but I am impressed.

The socks are comfortable.

The ice sleeve is built in much the same way as the sock but it is a bit thicker and sits lower than the sock and has openings at the heel and toe sections.

It is lower than the sock so you can have the ice packing hanging out over the top of the sleeve without the ice touching your skin.

The heel opening is for convenience when inserting the ice pack around the ankle and foot.

The toe opening is a bit uncomfortable until you figure out how to adjust the opening around your toes. It is there to assist in placing the ice around the feet and toes.

The ice packs come in sheets with little cubes for the ice. The sheets are shipped dry. They have to be soaked before they can be frozen. This is another marvel of modern science. Why doesn’t the water come back out after they are soaked?

The ice sheets come with instructions about trimming for use. I don’t recommend trimming the sheets until after you have tried them a few times. When you add water to the sheets, they swell up in height while contracting the length and width.

The socks are very comfortable for running. Compressions socks and working out can be a unique situation that is worthy of a separate discussion. It feels great to add the sleeve and ice right after running. I prefer a shower and compression afterward. For me the level of comfort is increased dramatically after a shower. For the recovery run, I wore the sleeves and ice for the commute home. The ice packs did not shift while I was walking and felt great while I was driving home. After a long bike ride, I wrapped my legs with the ice packs and lied down for a little while. The feeling on my legs while lying down was fantastic. After the ice melted, I removed the sleeves and ice packs and wore the socks around town. I went out to get my laundry and see a show while wearing my snazzy socks. See above picture.

These socks are really nice.  As soon as my wife stops complaining about my lost Maui Jim sunglasses, I am going to buy the shorts or kinickers to match the socks.

I am often asked about tapering for a big event.  I don’t usually taper because I don’t do many “A” events that I peak for.  I usually do events that are within my standard training zones so I can push it hard for one day, take a rest day then get back to normal.  I can usually do a half marathon or an international distance triathlon on a day’s notice.  Anything longer will require training and a training plan.  Some people can run a mile on a day’s notice  and need a plan for a longer distance.  Other people can run 50 miles on a day’s notice.  It is up to you how you should train and what you need to train for.

Let me start out by saying “Tapering is hard!”.  There is a reason that I don’t usually taper, it is easy to mess things up while tapering.  You can probably do a Google search any distance event taper training and find at least 5 different ways to taper for the event.  It is not a bad idea to read a few different articles then plan your taper from there.  I will explain my taper and reasons here.  When you ask yourself these questions, you should give yourself honest answers.  Sometimes, we give ourselves politically correct answers but that is not really the goal.

A.      You will need to ask yourself what are your goals?  My goals for a half ironman are listed below:
1.       Cross the finish line healthy in less than 7 hours.  I said I did not care about the time but I had a massage scheduled for 7 hours after the start.
2.       Set a personal record (PR) on the bike.
3.       Show up to the start line healthy.
4.       Run the whole course.
5.       Look good on the run.
6.       Finish in less than 6:30.
7.       Ideal would be to finish in less than 6 hours but not likely.

B.      Look at your schedule
1.       Events are supposed to be fun.
2.       Live your life.
3.       Will it make you happy to skip a day out sailing to save 1 minute on a marathon?
4.       Will a day out sailing one week before the marathon be the difference between finishing and a DNF?

C.      What type of racer are you?
1.       Speed
2.       Endurance

Comments for A – Do you notice how I have finish healthy is number 1 but starting healthy is number 3?  I must have told myself that exercising for 7 hours will heal any injuries that I start with.  In my case, I was recovering from a run injury so I trained more for the bike than the run.  Looking back on this list, after I finished the event, I can say that my number one goal was to finish any way possible.  But that was not my goal when started tapering.  I tapered to list.  I did not bother add swimming to the list because I knew that I could and would do a sub 40 minute swim.  It should have been on the list.

Comments for B – I had a 5 day weekend the week before the event.  I could have been taking it easy to help me arrive at the race in peak condition but I did not.  I was out riding my bike all over Northern California during the long weekend.  I decided that riding my bike around the week before my “A” race would cause me to not meet goal number 2.  To me, having fun for a few extra days was worth risking goal number 2.

Comments for C – My goal is to complete races so I can go into a race pretty well rested.  People who plan on speed are rested when they do slower workouts for similar durations as peak training.

Now that we have examined ourselves and understand our goals and schedules, we can think about tapering.  Typical taper time is 1-3 weeks.  For a really big race like a marathon or half iron man triathlon, I like to taper for two weeks.  I could taper for 3 weeks and handle it physically but I don’t think I could take it mentally.  It is really hard to slow down after you have trained for 4-12 months preparing for an event.  I cycle my training in 3 week cycles where I build for 2 weeks, back off for a week the repeat.  Because of this, I average my workout time for the last 3 weeks before taper then cut back on the average going into the event.  For example:

For an average of 10 hours training per week, I would train
8 hours per week 3 weeks before the event
6 hours per week 2 weeks before the event
4 hours per week 1  week before the event

It is not a good idea to work on speed or strength during the taper phase.  The reason for tapering it to arrive at the start line healthy and ready to race.

I have not been writing much lately so I was a bit surprised when a set of Pyle PSWB4BL Waterproof Neckband MP3 Player and Headphones for Swimming, Water Sports showed up on my desk for review.  I happen to be training for a triathlon and swimming every morning is part of my training routine.  I have a love-hate relationship with MP3 players designed for swimmers.  I love listening to music when I swim.  I hate the fact that all swim music players have problems.

The Pyle is one of the cheaper swim MP3 players around but it seems to have the fewest problems.  I like the plastic neckband, headphones and player all in one unit.  When I use other models with a clip-on MP3 player headphone cord, I have a lot of problems.  The plastic head piece is great.  It works under the band for my goggles.

The Pyle has to be the simplest MP3 player on the market.  I plugged it into a Linux computer, a window opened and I did the old drag and drop from a music library to the device.  No muss, no fuss… just drag and drop.

The player has an on/off button, a volume button and a forward/reverse button.  that is it, 3 buttons.  I am swimming.  When I swim, my arms are too busy to be playing around with buttons.

Here are some details from the Pyle web page with my notes under the Pyle stats:

4-GB Memory Storage
You can hold an obscene amount of music on 4-gb
High-Fidelity Sound Reproduction
I don’t notice if something has high fidelity when it is on MP3 format
Supports MP3 and WMA Music Formats
I put both onto the device with no problems.  I did not try OGG files
USB 2.0 Compatible For High-Speed File Transfer
I tried 4 different operating systems and it worked on all of them
Rechargeable Battery Provides Up To 10 Hours of Play
I have about 5 hours on the battery with no problems
Includes 6 Pairs of Earbuds (3 Sizes for Water & 3 for Land Use)
It is a good thing there are options.  I wear a medium in the left ear and a large in the right
Waterproof Rating IPX-8 For Submersion Up To 1 Meter (3.3 Feet)
So far so good.  I do knock the ear piece out, every now and then
Technical Specs
I don’t know much about the technical specs but I do know that you should rip all of your songs in the same bit rate.  the higher bit rate the better.  If you rip at different bit rates, your volume will vary and you will either blow your ears out or the music will dim.
Distortion: <0.1%
Lithium Battery: 190 mAh
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >70 dB
MP3 Bite Rate: 8kbps ~ 320kbps
WMA Bite Rate: 32kbps ~ 192kbps
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz
Earphone Output Power: 5mW + 5mW
Operating Temperature: 41°F – 104°F (-5°C – 50°C)
Sold as : Unit

Final thoughts:  I like the Pyle MP3 player.  I usually lose the sound in one ear after about 30 minutes for one reason or another.  I don’t let it bother me and continue to swim.  I suppose I could keep it going for a whole swim if I tried but it is not worth the effort for me.  I am happy that I can do flip turns and push off the wall as hard as I can without the ear buds coming out.