Many of us find ourselves underhydrated that leads to a lowered performance and decreased cycling enjoyment. Elete is a simple, easy, economical way to add the necessary minerals back into our system as we work hard on enjoying our cycling experience, be it recreational, fitness, or competitive. Whether you ski, mountain bike, run, fish, play tennis, soccer, basketball, swim…well you get the picture, check out the reviews and see what people are saying about the Pure Electrolyte Add-In.

Currently Elete is available at The Hub Bicycle Company is Webster Groves, MO.

Don’t wait until you are depleted!!!

Enjoy Your Ride

This past winter we had multiple indoor sessions with the club. Now that winter’s over we’re under the assumption you can ride outside all the time. We know we’re not that lucky. Here’s a review for a great indoor alternative:

One Sunday afternoon I finally ripped through the shrinkwrap on this training DVD with measurable skepticism. Race Day. Right. I have spun many times (at the Alpine Shop) to Troy Jacobson and the Spinerval riders. While the workouts are challenging; the music is less than appealing. Coach Troy’s cheery, ambitious and constant encouragement is a rider’s only motivation. This was my point of comparison for Race Day.

As I sat on my couch, laptop in, well, my lap as I worked. I was expecting to let the DVD run in the background, but soon I found myself pulled to edge of the couch cushion. After navigating the opening menu (and skipping the intro) I went straight to the race. There was no music. Only a camera strapped to Robbie Ventura’s bars. He’s miked up and talks through the entire race. It’s an absolute must-see if you want to know what crit racing is like. He gives great tips on how and when to move up.

Toward the end of the race portion, though, you can tell his oxygen deficit is adding up as his explanation goes severely downhill (not literally). The end is flat out confusing and NOT GOOD if you want tips on finishing a crit well. As a viewer, you want your guy, Robbie, to finish well. I hate to be a spoiler, but he doesn’t win.

To fully confess, I never executed the workout suggested by the dials and numbers on the screen that are intended to direct your effort level. I found it much more interesting to ride the race and not pay attention to those distracting things. There’s so much going on already.

My biggest disappointment? There’s only ONE race. Granted, Robbie does a great job making you feel like you’re part of the day: pre-race course survey, warm-up, post-race interviews and other snippets (of the women’s race, too). All in all, I highly recommend watching it and training to it. Heck, I might even dust it off tomorrow and DO the workout if my ride gets rained out.

tags:dvd&bullspinning&bulltraining&bullvideo

All this talk about Chrome and I had to do a review of a product I’ve tried and know well. I have loved few clothing items like I love these pants. I don’t see myself from behind and quietly fear how they bunch up just above my tail bone, but that aside, I absolutely love the chamois time I put in with these suckers (”chamois time is training time” they say). Once I rolled my bike into my office, in my full race kit. My boss curiously asked me if it was necessary to wear the full-on bike-gear get-up just to ride into work. I paused and thought lovingly of my chrome pants. It also occurred to me what a roadie snob I’ve become (blame that on Carrie!).

So, the short answer to my boss’s question is “no”, but it sure is a lot more comfortable. And thanks to Chrome, it’s a little less obvious you’re in “full-on bike-gear”. The chamois is thick enough to be useful, without that bulky discomfort in places you’d rather not have when you’re off the bike. Soft, squishy, stretchy, comfy and damn-straight utilitarian. Enough pockets to make commuting easier, and in theory, stylish. And, oh yeah, expensive. But that’s all relative…it’s more of an investment.

I justified it knowing they’d be my ONLY commuting pants. And, one and half years later, they’re still my only pair (but you can’t even tell). Every time I go to the Trek Store, though, I check out the pair that’s sure to be one of my next justified commuting expenses.

tags:chrome&bullcommuting

In the spirit of more cool, hipster, mainstream products here’s another company churning out stuff I’d like to spend too much money on. And in a fashion (no pun intended) I can admire–they recycle!

“FREITAG products are made from original recycled materials – used truck tarps, used car seat belts, used air bags and used bicycle inner tubes. Because the materials are tough, the products are too. Because we’re Swiss, our quality standards are too. And because it is made from an original piece of tarp, every single FREITAG product has its own, individual design.”

If you know of any marginally bike-related products you think more people ought to know about, email me. By the same token, if you’ve purchased any of these products and would like to review it/them, I’d also like to hear/write about it. So, yeah, let me know about that, too.

tags:bike schwag&bullfreitag&bullmessenger bags

Some of you have heard me going on about “embrocation,” but I’ve gotta say on this point, I think the euros are on to something. Henceforth, you’re going to see me rubbing my legs down with something before and maybe even after most every race or hard training effort as part of my resolution to take better care of my legs.

At Jingle Cross, a friend let me use a bit of his Sports Balm and at Cross Natz I bought a jar of Qoleum Extra Hot. Both of these products stay on like nobody’s business. In fact, I can guarantee after you get over the shock of not having that dead feeling during the ‘cross start because there was already plenty of blood to your muscles, you’ll get a whole new level of sensory experience in the shower. It gets so hot in the presence of warm moisture that you’ll think flames are licking up your legs. But once you ascertain there is no smoke, you can actually get kind of a rush as you use breathing techniques to control your impulse to leap out screaming. I realize this isn’t much of a sales pitch, but I’m a total fan. Is that too much information?

On a recent ride in the dark - 21 degrees F, 17 mph wind - about 1/2 teaspoon of Qoleum on each leg under Pearl Izumi Amphibs, I was post toasty from the tips of my toes to the ends of my fingers. Legs muscles were loose and felt good. From my perspective, if the cost of feeling great in Nebraska’s sub-freezing temps is simply an opportunity to practice pain management for 5 or 10 minutes, you can count me in. The real benefit of embrocation seems to be that the stimulation of the nerves increases blood flow to the target area. Consequently, your muscles have more oxygen to work with and feel better. All that being said, I’m going to be trying various products and will review them here. Maybe extra hot is overkill. I don’t know yet, but the embrocation makers have got a new consumer. What are your favorite products?

Don’t be a sissy, ride your bike.

• Qoleum’s web site
• Sports Balm
• “Belgium Knee Warmers” from BKW blog
• BKW’s embrocation related posts

tags:product