9. A final word of Encouragment

 

 

Fellow riders,

 

Firstly, congratulations on taking part in the 2009 Around the Bay. As someone who loves the sport it is amazing to think of over 14,000 cyclists taking on this great challenge.

After all the training you have been doing, I understand that some of you may want to put away the bike for a while. Others will be on a high after the Ride and wanting to take their cycling to the next level. Here are a few tips to assist those riders;

Get on the Bike
How much do you need to ride to get better? For a recreational rider looking to improve performance, 7-10 hours a week on the bike combining endurance, speedwork and easy recovery sessions will help you to reach your potential. Think “time” rather than distance because 20km into a headwind is a lot different to 20km with a gale behind you.

Get off the Bike
Strengthening your core and the muscles of your legs and torso is vital when seeking to increase your cycling intensity and cannot be fully achieved “on the bike”. You don’t need to rush out and get a gym membership. I recommend developing a routine of body-weight exercises including squats, lunges, push-ups and abdominal exercises that challenge your strength, balance and co-ordination. Increases in body strength developed “off the bike” will allow you to challenge your body further “on the bike”.

The Energy Equation
Diet is the starting point to drive performance. Always plan your food intake before the ride.
When riding, a rule of thumb is one gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per hour. For example if you weigh 80kg and you plan to ride for 5 hours, you should plan to consume 400g of carbohydrate. So stock up on those Winners energy bars and gels.

Use your Community
The Around the Bay demonstrates one of the great things about cycling – it is a community sport. Tap into this to improve your performance. Ask other riders how they got better. Ride with a different peloton. Go online and check out the cycling forums. Join a club! You’ll be amazed at how much you improve by listening to others.

Ride with Me
For Bicycle Victoria members, Winners bars are giving you the opportunity to win the chance to join me on a ride around the Bellarine Peninsula. For more information go to www.winnersbars.com

Be on the look out for Winner bar revitalize sites in Queenscliff and Mordialloc on Around the Bay in a Day 2009!

 

Good Luck and Good riding,

Cadel Evans

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cadel and his partners at Winners Sports Nutrition will be providing Winners-Cadel's Mountain Mix energy bars for all competitors in the Around the Bay in a Day. For more information and special product offers www.winnersbars.com