New Facebook Page

We’ll be shutting down the Facebook group and migrating everyone to the new Facebook Page. This has been long overdue, but we hope you’ll find it much more useful. You can use the wall to find a last minute ride, hear about events and discounts, and connect with other members. Head on over to https://www.facebook.com/BoulderCyclingClub and click like to get started. We’ll be shutting down the Facebook group at the end of the year so be sure to stay connected.

Survey

We want your feedback as we come together and make decisions about the club. Please take a few minutes and fill out our survey. Provide your name and you’ll be entered to win a free club jersey and one year free membership.

Online Survey

Contest

Increase your chances of winning the jersey and membership by liking us on Facebook. Tweet about us and earn another chance. Fill out the survey above (be sure to provide your name) and earn another entry. Earn more entries by inviting others to enter the contest. The more you share the better your chances of winning. One lucky winner will get a free club jersey and one year of membership for the club. Contest entry form is below.

Communication

If you remember nothing else, remember this, communication is paramount.  Nearly everything that helps reduce risk on a group ride can be traced back to communication. It is almost impossible to over communicate with other cyclists while riding in a group. As communication goes up, risk comes down. Vocal communication is often the most effective way to communicate with other riders as well as cars and pedestrians. Tell the other riders in your group your intentions and let them know if you have a mechanical problem and need to stop.

Let us know if it is your first time riding in a group. It can be a little intimidating, but we’ve all been there. No one will look down at you, but we will know to give you a little extra space and keep an eye out for you.

Hand Signals

Cyclists often use hand signals to indicate slowing/stopping, turns and road hazards. People have their own ways to indicate hazards and some will point out every manhole cover while others only point out potholes that are large enough to swallow a Buick. If it can cause someone to lose control, it’s worth pointing out. The closer you are riding to others, the more important this becomes. However, the catch 22 of hand signals is it requires you to take a hand off your handlebars, which can increase stopping distance or decrease your level of control while rolling over rougher patches of pavement. If you are breaking hard (something to be avoided in general, see below) don’t signal it with your hands, get those vocal chords vibrating and yell out “slowing” or “stopping”. Hazards can be pointed at, but some people will wave to the left behind their back. This usually means there is something unusual in the road ahead like a trash bin or a long patch of gravel. If someone in front of you points up, there is probably a low hanging branch.

Passing

On bike baths it is courteous to let pedestrians know you are about to pass them. Give them as much room as you can and  plenty of warning (3 seconds or more),  and slow down while you pass. It’s a ride, not a race. Add 1 additional second of warning for each adult in the group you are passing and 2 seconds for every child or dog in the group. Reduce your speed another 10% for each additional adult and 30% for each child.  It is also helpful to include the number cyclists in your group, like “8, on your left” or “group on your left”. Watch out for oncoming bikes passing pedestrians.

When passing bikes, always pass on the left, and announce yourself to the rider in front of you. If the road isn’t clear behind you on the left, don’t pass. You may lose some momentum, but it’s better than getting taken out by a car or another bike that is looking to pass you. Check over your right shoulder to make sure you don’t cut off the person you just passed. When you are checking behind you, hold your line. It is a natural tendency to drift left when looking over your left shoulder and vice versa. If for some reason, you must pass someone on the right side, be extremely vocal about it. If someone is passing you, hold your line or move to the right if you can do so safely. It’s best for a group to pass other riders one at a time, single file. A little patience is sometimes required, but again, it’s better than being taken out by a car. Avoid passing while going around sharp corners.

If you don’t know the route, don’t pass the ride leader. Some groups consider it poor form to continuously pass a person on the downhills and then get passed by the same person on the uphill. Others don’t care.

Drafting & Two Abreast

The Boulder Cycling Club rules say to keep 1 foot distance for every 1 mph over 10 mph.  If you are in a group ride that allows closer riding, again, the key here is communication. When in doubt, give yourself more space. Sometimes the only communication the rider in front of you will give is they stop pedaling or their back brake starts to close. It is true that the closer you are to rider in front of you, the more benefit you will get from drafting. You don’t, however, need to be a few inches away from the wheel in front of you to draft. Triathlon rules indicate a 7 meter draft zone because you can benefit from being even 2 bike lengths behind.It takes a while to get to know the cyclists you are riding with and it takes skill and predictability to safely ride really close together. Newer riders should keep a minimum of half a bike length. This puts your eyes in a great alignment to watch the rider’s feet and back brake at the same time. Also, using aero bars in a group is a big no-no, save them for your solo rides where they really shine.

Colorado law allows for two abreast in bike lanes (if you are actually in the bike lane), on bike paths and when you are not impeding the flow of traffic. 3 or 4 abreast can be done if you are have a very wide shoulder, but is generally best avoided. Regardless, use common sense and tuck into single file when a car is passing the group. If you find yourself having to fall into single file because there are a lot cars, just stay in single file. There are already enough malicious drivers out there that will intentionally try to run you off the road. Let’s do our best to not piss anyone off and create any more of them. It’s better to pick a different route than to pick a fight with a 3000 lb vehicle traveling at 55 mph. When going around blind corners, ride single file. Colorado Department of Transportation has put together the Bike Ped Manual for all laws specific to cycling in Colorado.

Braking & Hazards

Don’t slam on the brakes unless it is a true emergency. Road hazards (even prairie dogs) are not a true emergency. Nor do they warrant a hard swerve when riding closely in a group. Stand up in your pedals and ride it out. If you can, pull up slightly and lean back as your front wheel goes over the furry creature, then shift your weight forward as your back wheel rolls over the sucker. Remember, our urban development has killed or scared off most of the prairie dogs’ natural predators. Most likely they will scurry out of the way before you hit them anyways. Again, communicate with others as much as possible and pay attention to avoid these hazards.

It’s ok to feather your brakes to reduce your speed. Coasting is better than braking, but it tends to have a yo-yo effect on the riders behind you.  It’s best to soft pedal and sit up a little higher to let the air resistance slow you down, assuming that is enough to keep a safe distance from the wheel in front of you. Aim for smooth, steady and predictable. On the same note, while riding alone, practice drinking from your water bottle while riding. There is a natural tendency to drift while doing this.

If the group is approaching a red light, announce “slowing” to make sure riders behind you know you are reducing your speed. The light may change before you get to it or you may have to come to a complete stop.  If you are coming to a stop sign, announce “stopping” since you have to come to a complete stop anyways. After a complete stop with an unclip, watch out for riders zig zagging while they try to clip back in and get up to speed. There are a few ways to avoid being that zig zagger:

• Practice clipping in without looking down and while holding your line
• Shift down to a much lower gear before you come to a stop.
• Don’t try to track-stand when stopped with other riders, I don’t care how good you think you are

 Really Big Groups

Centuries and charity rides can often start with really large groups (50-2000 riders). Ideally, you don’t want to have this as your very first experience riding in a group. It best to start out on a group ride of less than 30 people, but if you do find yourself  riding with 300 of your closest friends, don’t worry, you’ll be ok. All of the above still applies and… you guessed it, communication is your best tool.

Most likely these rides will be organized and supported with aid stations and will require registration. Check with the organizer’s rules and ask if the roads will be open to traffic. Most likely, they will be unless it is a really big event. For rides with more than 500 people, you’ll probably be assigned into a wave of 50-100 others. This keeps things more manageable for the organizers and is generally more enjoyable and safer for the riders. Remember it’s a ride, not a race. You can push yourself hard, but it’s not worth getting yourself or others hurt. You are most vulnerable during the first 5-8 miles or until the group starts to spread out a little. Riding 4-6 abreast in the beginning is common, but might be illegal depending on other traffic. If you find yourself 6 abreast, change your speed to get out the situation to give yourself more room. It’s not worth it.

If there are aid stations, you’ll be expected stop and get off your bike before approaching the tables. If you decide to skip that station, keep your distance and slow down just like you would if you are passing pedestrians, because you are.

Cycling is a lot of fun and you are more visible to motorists in a group than riding solo. However, group riding can have its own risks. Communicate with the rest of your group and it should be smooth sailing for your first group ride.

From left to right "Dane Paulsen, Neil Paulsen, Tom Danielson and Malcolm Fraser"

Bacaro recently continued its tradition of supporting the cycling community by hosting an invitation only reception for Garmin-Cervelo’s victorious Tour De France team. Amongst those representing GC were Tom Danielson ( top US cyclist 9th and only 8 mins behind winner Cadel Evans after over 86 hours of cycling), Daniel Lloyd from Bournemouth, England and the team’s General Manager, Jonathan Vaughters. All are involved in the US Pro Cycling Challenge – Danielson was training on Super Flagstaff this past week.

The catered reception was held in perfect weather on the 2nd floor patio over looking Pearl Street. Many leaders of the local cycling community were present, together with Channel 9 news. Danielson, who lives here in Boulder, was kind enough to volunteer that “I am familiar with Boulder Cycling Club and support the work that you do”.

“Bacaro was pleased to have members of the Boulder Cycling Club come and lend their support at our event honoring the Garmin-Cervélo Tour de France team,” said Fabio Flagiello, Bácaro’s executive chef and organizer of the event.
Great job Fabio!

At rides and club gatherings we often get asked the following questions:

• Was the ride fun? Scenic? Hard?
• How well was the event organized?
• How was the food and what did they stock at the aid stations?
• Was it a good ride for beginners?
• Will you do it again next year?
• Was the entry fee worth it?
• Is it for a good cause?

Our goal is for website visitors to have a resource of collected thoughts and impressions of cycling events across Colorado and even out of state/country events. A longer term goal is to provide a fairly comprehensive list of rides and races in Colorado at the beginning of the season and allow you all to interact with each other to see who is thinking about signing up for the event and possibly find training partners.

Submit Your Report

As I mentioned, we need your stories and your experiences. Here’s how to submit them for inclusion.

1. Create an account and sign in.
2. Go to “Posts”, then “Add New”
3. Write your story. Include photos, your time, pros & cons and anything else you want to include. See editorial guidelines below.
4. Submit for approval.
5. One of our editors will review your submission and post it on the blog.  Just remember we’re all volunteers here so it may take a 5-8 days before you see your report posted. 

Editorial Guidelines

All Ride & Race Reports must be at least 200 words long and not to exceed 3000 words. An ideal length is about 500-600 words. Reports are limited to organized/supported rides (sorry, we won’t be publishing your epic weekend ride with couple of  friends just yet).  Only reports written by a cyclist participating in the event may be submitted; please do not submit a story about a friend who rode or include stories about an event you heard about. This is a family site, please no profanity, vulgar language, bigoted remarks and stuff like that.

It’s ok to make constructive criticisms and it is ok to write a negative review of an event.  Overtly negative reviews will require the author to confirm the intention of tone and we may contact the event organizer to allow them to respond to your story before we publish it. Reviews with personal attacks of fellow cyclists, event organizers, event sponsors or volunteers will be rejected and the author will be asked to edit before re-submitting. On the flip side, please no shameless marketing. Race & Ride organizers are allowed to submit reports under the following conditions: 1) You identify yourself as an organizer and 2) You actually rode in your own event.

Unless specifically asked to be excluded, content of your Ride Report may be used elsewhere on the site, in the club newsletter, Facebook, Twitter or other 3rd party sites. We will not share or sell any of your contact info though. That’s just rude. These guidelines are subject to change and the editors reserve the right to request changes and reject reports at their discretion. This just means there may be some questionable content that we can’t think of at the moment.

The long awaited Valmont Bike Park in Boulder opened today. We have some photos and videos for you to enjoy. Congrats to BMA, IMBA, and the City of Boulder on a job well done. There’s a terrain park, single track trails, and a cyclocross course. Plus a whole lot more. The new Valmont Bike Park is really and truly for all skill levels and all features are labeled using a XS-XL scale. This allows for progression, but also to help reduce the chance of someone accidentally getting in over their head.

Pictures

Videos

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDs0SSVzjlU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkETgUbohBU

The sun is out, spring is here and that means the ride season we wait for all year long has finally begun.

Today I had the great gift of welcoming spring as I rode my first ride of the season. When I look back on the day 10 years ago when I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I would never imagined that I would had the ability to climb toward Jamestown like I did today.That is the thing about this disease. There is so much more that people living with Parkinson’s can do to live well, to ride longer and to have a better life than they had first imagined.On May 22, the Road to Victory Bicycle Classic (R2V) [Link: http://www.road2victory.com/home/] will take place in Boulder. This ride is an event close to my heart because many people with Parkinson’s will join us on the road. Some do a short victory lap, some make it to the wonderful breakfast in Niwot and others go the distance, to Jamestown and back. They are all inspirations to me and to others in this ride.
Through the generosity of riders on the road at R2V, Copper, RAGBRAI and many other rides, the Davis Phinney Foundation has been able to touch tens of thousands of people with the message that living well with Parkinson’s is possible.

We know we are making a difference in the lives of these people and their families. Just last year we had over 5,000 people attend or be part of one of our programs.

But we can’t do this alone.

For 2011, the Davis Phinney Foundation aims to double the amount of people touched by our message through books, symposia and webinars. That’s 20,000 people.

To do this, we need your help.

Turn your Road 2 Victory ride [Link to: http://www.davisphinneyfoundation.kintera.org/Road2Victory] into a pledge ride and raise money and awareness that will truly make a difference. With every dollar you raise, we can reach one more person with the information they need to exercise, eat well and potentially even slow the progression of their disease.

If each rider at R2V brings $100 in pledges, the Davis Phinney Foundation will be able to support a webinar, potentially reaching thousands of people with the information they need to live well with this disease. And it won’t stop there. The more we raise, the more we can inform and inspire people with Parkinson’s to live well today.

Thank you for all you can do to make a difference.

See you on the road,

Davis

You are invited to the following event:
2011 Road to Victory Bicycle Classic

Date:
Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 7:30 AM (MT)

Location:
2880 Wilderness Place
Boulder Colorado

Can you attend this event? Respond Here

For more information click here.

Even if you are trying to lose weight by cycling, it’s important to keep the fire stoked by replenishing carbs while out on a ride. We’ll write more on the advantages of caloric intake during a workout in the near future. Just remember, it’s vital to drink plenty of plain water to enhance absorption. According to Winston Sauber, BCC member and Expert Coach with Carmichael Training Systems, “If you wash gel down with a sports drink, you may make your gut hypertonic which will draw water into your gut via diffusion and osmosis. This leads to cramps and bloating and loss of appetite”. Here is an easy, 100% natural and as organic as you can get, recipe to make your own energy gel.

Homemade Energy Gel Recipe

3/4 cup of Organic Brown Rice Syrup
1/2 cup of Organic Agave Nectar
1/2 cup of Raw Honey
1 Organic Banana
1/2 tsp of Sea Salt (fine grain)

Peel & puree banana in a food processor or blender with the agave. The banana will not puree very well if you put it in alone, the agave is thin enough to act as a liquid and will help smooth it out. Stir the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl. You can put it all in the food processor at once, but it may seem really thin initially since the blending process will add little air bubbles into the mix. If you do it, don’t worry, it will thicken considerably as it settles.

The salt and the banana can be skipped if you want. I add it in because I sweat out a lot of salt (gross, I know) and the banana adds both extra flavor and potassium (32mg per oz of gel). If you skip out on the banana, the gel doesn’t need to be refrigerated and will keep almost indefinitely. If you mix in the banana, I recommend keeping it cold until you depart on your ride and using it up within 7-10 days. It may keep longer than that, but I wouldn’t push it.

Nutritional Breakdown

This combination gives a good blend of different types of carbs each with a different glycemic index. Read more about glycemic index and why it’s important. I’ve never had this stuff analyzed by a lab so these figures are approximate. This batch makes 1.75 cups of gel which is 14 oz.

The agave contains 60 calories & 16g of carbs per tablespoon, which equals 480 calories & 128g carbs per batch.
The honey also contains 60 calories, but 17g of carbs per tablespoon. 480 cal & 136g carbs per batch.
The brown rice syrup contains 75 calories & 18g of carbs per tablespoon. 900 cal & 216g carbs per batch.
A banana contains about 121 calories & 31g of carbs.

Totals per batch = 1981 calories & 511g carbs.
Of course, you’re not going to consume nearly that much on a ride, so here it is per ounce.
Each ounce contains 141.5 calories & 36.4g carbs & 32 mg of potassium. As a comparison, a PowerBar Raspberry Cream Energy Gel is 1.44oz and contains 110 calories & 27g of carbs & 20mg potassium.

Storage & Usage

Most bike shops will sell a variety of gel flasks for easy dispensing mid-ride. I use the 3oz GoToobs. They aren’t specifically made for this purpose, but they work great and are easy to clean. They are a more expensive than the 5 oz Hammer Gel Flasks, but the GoToobs work better to get the last couple drops out and seem like they will hold up better in the long run since they are made of food grade silicone instead of plastic.

Cost Savings

One of the best deals on pre-packaged gel is the gel of the month at REI for $0.79 each. All of the ingredients in this homemade energy gel recipe are easily available right here in Boulder. Whole Foods has everything you need (so does Sunflower or Vitamin Cottage). A jar of organic brown rice syrup will set you back about $5.50 and I can get two batches per jar. Honey and Agave are about $3 per pound in the bulk aisle. 1/2 cup of honey or agave is about .4 lbs. The cost of the banana is almost negligible, but we’ll round up our figures to cover it.

The per batch costs is about $5.50. That equates to $0.39 per oz.. That’s half the price of the pre-packaged stuff on super duper sale. If you compare it to full retail it’s about 1/3 of the cost. This recipe is also 100% organic. Well, technically, honey and salt can’t be certified as organic because there is no soil involved. The environmental cost savings is significant too since you don’t have the little foil packets to throw away each time.

Try it out and let us know what you think. I’ll keep experimenting with different flavors and let you know how it goes. I’m also planning to experiment making my own sports drink mix, recovery drink mix and a caffeinated version of the gel.

Jerseys will be available for pick up at club rides after May 22. Contact donald [at] bouldercyclingclub.org to arrange for pick-up other than club rides.

There are two distances available: 40 miles and 60 miles. Both head North out of town and make a loop up near Lyons. See the route description with elevation profiles.

Boulder Cycling Club members will receive a $15 discount on the ride. If you are already a current member, read the instructions on how to get your discount. Use your password we sent you when you first joined for the members only section of the site. Lost your password?

If you would like to join or renew, you can register online and we’ll send you a password so you can access the instructions. A year long membership is $25. This benefit almost pays for itself.

Register before April 1st and receive a Road to Victory T-Shirt. See event site for details.

Be sure to thank the Road to Victory sponsors for helping out with the event and for supporting such a great cause!

Register for Road 2 Victory 2011.