The Bike Shop News and Features

I’ve been in a riding slump lately. Trained all winter indoors on the trainers with friends and customers, only to burn out early this spring. After work, the time I usually go out and hammer on the road bike for an hour or two, I just wanted to go home and dive into the hammock or read in front of the television. All that winter training to the Coach Troy and Carmichael tapes shot to hell. I have been in these ruts before but aside from an 18-month hiatus a few years ago with a neck injury I was always able to pull out of them and get back in the saddle. But this one has lasted thru the end of the summer. It had me worried. I had been gaining weight, losing enthusiasm for the bike itself, and just generally feeling bad. Then an incident with one of my neighbors pushed me in a new direction.

My wife and I have a couple of 1 year-old Labrador Retrievers. They are sisters named Abby and Alice. We keep them in a fenced section of our yard and let them out in the evening to give them some exercise. I never liked the idea of keeping dogs in a pen but as pups they discovered the joy of climbing on the neighbors cars and even on the roof of an underground house below us so it became a necessity. Recently they discovered the joy all Labs are naturally drawn to, they discovered swimming. Each evening they made their way to our neighbors’ fishpond for a dip. This was unfortunately followed by a trip to the same neighbors front porch and flower garden, which soon became decorated with muddy lab paw-prints. So after some nasty phone messages and an unpleasant note in the front door we decided we could no longer let the girls have the run of the neighborhood. Since our work schedule doesn’t give us much free time (We both work in the Bike Shop 6 days a week) we were at a loss as to how to give our girls enough exercise. Then it came to me. I have a friend who is the mountain bike coach at Cumberland College. I have seen him on the trails for years with his dog, a Boxer. He said she loved to go with him and he rarely rode without her. After 10 years on the road bike I had all but stopped going mountain biking. I found the time to get geared up and travel to the trail was just too much when I could hop on my road bike right in the shops parking lot and knock out 20 miles with my buddies. But since I wasn’t doing that anyway I figured I may as well give the mountain bike another chance. After all I had gotten into cycling in the Mountain bike explosion of the early nineties and at that time loved it enough that I quit my job in the insurance industry to open a shop. Maybe I could find that feeling I had lost so long ago. My last mountain bike had been a Giant NRS dual suspension. It was a fantastic bike that really rode like a dream. I sold it because I really disliked having such a fine machine collecting dust. I checked into getting one just like it from Giant, but the new models weren’t due out for a few months and the current models had already sold out. So I bought one of the bikes I had in the shop, a Trek Fuel 90 dual suspension. On the first ride I was happy with the bike as it handled well and the suspension worked great. With that problem solved it was time to take the dogs out and see what would happen.

I initially had a few misgivings about it. The girls were really excitable and had so much energy I could see them running straight into the woods never to be seen again. Would they stay on the trail? Would they run off and leave me in the dust, or could they even keep up with a mountain bike? Would they chase every squirrel and chipmunk they seen? How would they react to other bikers, hikers, walkers and dogs? I decided to take them to the local state park and give it a trial run on some of the flat trails. There were very few trail users in the park and the area was very flat with simple 1-mile loops back to the parking lot. On the first pedal stroke the dogs were running just in front of me. Staying on the trail with only an occasional jaunt into the brush followed immediately by them picking the trail back up directly in front or behind me. They seemed to instantly realize they were supposed to stay with me. Or more likely, they just wanted to stay with me as I never called them or corrected them. If we came to a fork in the trail and one of them started down the wrong way I would simply say “This way girl” and they would correct themselves as if they were waiting for me to correct them. When we first came upon some other bikers they wanted to run with them in the other direction, but a couple of calls and they were right back with me. Our first encounter with another dog had about the same result. They approached the strange dog barking and curious, but as soon as I pedaled by them they were right back on my wheel. It seems they were more interested in running with daddy than in sniffing out new friends. This made me feel pretty good about the whole thing.

With the 5-mile test run a complete success I took my tired but happy pups home. Next was the real test. The Laurel Lake trail.

After a day of rest I loaded Abby and Alice into the truck for the 18-mile drive to Laurel Lake. The lake trail is a 16-mile out and back that follows the contour of Laurel Lake. Its about 50% flat pee-gravel with the other 50% slightly more challenging rocks, roots and short climbs and descents. It’s a great beginner to intermediate trail depending on the speed you want to ride it. Fantastic scenery and perfect trail conditions year round make it my all time local favorite. On the trip to the lake the dogs were so excited they could hardly keep from jumping over the side of the truck. (Actually Abby, the not so smart sister did jump out and was hanging by her leash till I could get the vehicle stopped and put her back in, luckily no injuries). When we got there the girls were a bundle of puppy dog energy. Running around the empty parking lot in eager anticipation of the ride I had to get dressed fast so they wouldn’t start without me. When they heard me click into my pedals it was a mad dash for the trail. I again felt the fear of lost dogs come over me, but no sooner had I gotten into the woods than I seen them up the trail, stopped, looking back to see where daddy was. They were waiting for me. Just like my mountain bike rides of old when I was easily dropped by everyone in the group, now I was being dropped by my pups. But this time I wasn’t holding anyone up. The girls didn’t want to go harder, they just wanted to go with me. It was a feeling I have never had in cycling. They were enjoying everything about the trip as long as I was there, no matter the speed. The feeling that I was holding up the pack or raining on someone’s day off just wasn’t there.

When we would ride by a section of the trail close to the lake I would stop to give the girls some rest (O.K. I was giving myself some rest). Abby and Alice would look at me as if asking permission for something. “Go ahead babies”, and they were diving into the lake for a drink and a short swim. They only seemed to want to stay a moment and then they were back on the trail in front of me waiting for the “click” of my pedals to tell them its time to run.

Later in the ride as the dogs were getting tired and I was in the lead it was nice to actually be in front and have to stop for a moment while they caught up. And when they did, they didn’t seem disappointed that they had held me up, or complain that the pace was too fast. They were as happy to see me as if they had just started the ride. If only people could act this way, feel this way, myself included. Imagine, no pressure, no egos, nobody caring what the pace is or who is in the lead, or off the back. Just being happy to be on the trail, with someone you care about, having a blast.

Its been 2 weeks since I started riding with my dogs and I have only gone 1 day in that time without a mountain bike ride. I am looking forward to my ride today the way I once looked forward to my road bike hammer sessions. I get the feeling I will soon find my form and get some more road miles in with my racing buddies. But the credit will go to my training partners, my riding partners, Abby and Alice. Its funny, every fear I had about riding with my dogs vanished on the first couple of rides. And every hope I had about how it would go came true. The girls love it as much if not more than I do. They behave perfectly with the exception of an occasional quick stop in the middle of the trail in front of me for no apparent reason. (I think they sense one of those squirrels near and forget about the 230 pound beast on wheels right behind them). If you have a dog I would encourage you to give trail riding a try. Dogs love exercise and spending time with their owners. It may turn out to be the perfect symbiotic relationship. I know in my case, I seem to have found the perfect mountain biking partners.

    I have been seeing this bumper sticker on a few vehicles lately. I recently even saw the same sign on a lawn. The thing that gets me is that many of the people driving the cars with this sticker don't look like weight loss success stories. I am not familiar with the product they are obviously selling, and so I will make no further judgements of them.
    I have no such signage on my vehicle, but I will gladly sell you a guaranteed weight loss system. I can't say that it's better or worse than the mysterious "Ask me how..." system, but I can absolutely guarantee its success; if not, I will quadruple your money back.
    This system has been approved by Doctors and is endorsed by every medical community in existence. It has been practiced for thousands of years and has a staggering success rate. It is available to you through this exclusive offer and if you buy now, I will include a free quality of life upgrade at no additional charge. But that's not all... You will also get absolutely free, a daily energy increase that is guaranteed to improve the performance of any task or chore.

    There are side effects though. Nearly all people who try this product experience longer lives which result in paying more taxes. Also, there is the often embarrassing occurrence of being able to outwork and outplay your family and friends. These side effects are experienced by nearly 100% of the product users. But, don't let that stop you. Call now and join the weight loss plan that has worked for everyone that has correctly used it.
    Since I trust each and every one of you who are going to use my plan, I will go ahead and lay it out for you. Just don't forget to mail me your check for $25.
    The plan is this. First check with your doctor. Second, begin a daily routine of proper diet and exercise. Now, there is a catch. Actually it is more like a formula. You don't have to avoid carbohydrates. You don't have to add protein. You don't have to eat lots of grapefruit. Here is the key to this amazing new (actually very old) weight loss plan. Now, think about this for a moment and tell me if it doesn't make sense. Burn more calories than you take in. Period. End of discussion.

    No tricks. No gimmicks. No shakes to buy. No Chromium Picolinate supplements to take. No Richard Simmons Deal-a-Meal to shuffle. Burn more calories than you consume. You will lose weight. It really is that simple.
    I have been to gatherings of people and heard the discussions of the so-called Mayo diet. It's the one that stresses the wonderful weight reducing values of grapefruit. The evils of carbohydrates. The bad rap that fat has gotten. I went to the Mayo Clinic web site and they have an article that disclaims this diet and stresses that it has nothing to do with them and is totally unhealthy. Any diet that says you should lose weight by cutting out carbs or focusing on any single dietary staple is leading you down a path of disappointment.
    You can alter your diet in many like fashions and see a quick weight loss. A friend of my mothers has recently lost a few pounds on some like diet and believes they are living proof it works. No exercise increase. No calorie counting. And the weight comes off. And it will. To a point and for a while. Until your body discovers the deception and makes adjustments so that it stores more of what it's getting less of. This is where the weight loss stops and starts to rise again, usually higher than before. This is part of your body's defense against famine. Even though you are getting plenty of food, you aren't getting all combinations of nutrients and your system knows this.
    How about those Slim-Fast plans, do they work? Here is the surprising answer. Yes they do. If you do what they say. The basic idea is the same one I just sold you for $25 (which I am confident you already mailed before finishing my article). They say drink this shake for breakfast and one for lunch followed by a sensible dinner. The shake contains approximately 30% of most vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Then you are supposed to eat a well balanced healthy meal for dinner. The plan they recommend is not shakes only, but coupled with exercise (to burn those shakes, dinner, and a few grams of fat calories, which your body has stored). If you stick with this plan and buy the shakes, you will lose weight. Or you can use my plan, replacing those shakes with a small but complete breakfast and lunch and save a lot of money.

    So again, here is the bottom line. If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you take in the same amount of calories as you use, you will stay at your current weight. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. Will it happen fast? Surprisingly it will. You can lose quite a bit of weight the first couple of weeks of this plan. Just don't take it off too fast or too slow. These are sure signs of doing too much or too little. You don't want to lose more than a couple pounds a week or else it will become harder to lose later as your body adjusts to the new routine.
    Many people also talk about losing weight around their midsection or thighs or some other part of their body. The bad news is there is no such thing as spot reducing. If you want to lose fat around your midsection, you will have to lose it all over your body as well.
    Tom Bowden is a local Physical Therapist and expert runner and cyclist. He uses a great analogy to explain spot reducing. Tom says to look at melting snow in a parking lot. There are areas where the snow is piled up from plowing and areas where the snow is very thin. When the sun begins to melt the snow away (or exercise melts the fat away), it happens in equal amounts over the entire area, not more where the snow is deeper. A few days later, the snow is nearly gone and all areas are less deep with snow, but the places where it was piled up are still deeper than the rest. It is the same with our bodies. Crunches and sit-ups will help firm the muscles in our abdomen, but they will not reduce the fat around our gut only. You will have to work on the whole parking lot to clear up the problem areas.
    There are many other ways to fine-tune this program. Hundreds of little suggestions like eating 5 or more smaller meals per day instead of 3 larger ones to help pick up your metabolism. Or, working is some strength training to increase muscles, which burn more calories throughout the day. These are all compliments to the secret formula you just sent me $25 for, but don't forget the basics. Any questions or comments are welcome. I am not a doctor, but play one when my son scrapes his knee. I have a Ph.D. in weight loss trial and error.

    If you have read this column before, you are probably familiar with the basic health theme. I have talked about my father's heart attack in the past and how cycling has helped his recovery. But recently, I read an article in Bicycling magazine by Joe Kita entitled BraveHeart and I wanted to take this opportunity to share it with you.
   They carried him out in a black body bag, just like in the movies. Only this wasn't Hollywood, and he wasn't an actor. He was my father.
   The coroner said it was a heart attack; nothing anyone could do. Age 61, recently retired. It is an unfortunate script that is played out every day in little square houses all over town. At least he didn't suffer, the coroner said, because it happened while he slept.
Cyclist Photo

   I'm sorry, but there was nothing anyone could do. In the months that followed, those last four words echoed in my mind like the bugle over Arlington. Part of it was anger at watching my father carried out like a sack of early morning trash. Part of it was remorse at never getting the chance to say goodbye or thanks, and really mean it. And part of it was simple selfish terror -- the midnight sound of the thick zipper closing over me -- as it this, too, were my genetic destiny.
   It was this fear that finally pushed me into a doctor's office a year later for a complete physical exam. There the physician mentioned something that instantly made me stop feeling sorry and scared, something so simple yet profound that I couldn't believe I hadn't realized it sooner. He said, "your heart is a muscle just like any other, you can beef it up, or you can let it get scrawny and weak. You have that power."
   It is these four words that echo in my mind as I peddle my bike along Pennsylvania farm roads in the early mornings while others my age are content in their slippers. There is something that can be done so you and I don't have to join the hundreds of thousands of men and women each year whose lives are ended by heart attacks.
   While cyclists often focus on crank -- crushing quads or showy calves, all you have to do is realized, as I did, that the heart is not some mysterious, beating organ, but rather pure, powerhouse muscle. Such a subtle shift in perception will help you understand it better and enable you to target it with specific aerobic exercises. Besides better cycling performance, you will enjoy improved fitness, health, longevity, and overall well-being.
   "When you hold a human heart in your hand, it feels like a piece of filet mignon," says Michael Crawford, M.D., chief of cardiology at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. "Only it's hollow, so it gives a little more when you squeeze it. But it's basically just muscle."
   The heart responds to exercise the same way ordinary muscle does. Just as your chest expands with repeated bench presses, your heart grows with prolonged aerobic exercise. In fact, according to Dr. Crawford, a well-trained heart can be about 30% to 40% larger than a normal one. And, since it's so big, it can pump about 50% more blood with every beat.
   These adaptations to exercise result in an ideal medical condition known as "athletes heart." It is why pros such as Lance Armstrong, and other elite riders have, big, powerful pumps that fueled their superior performance. But while you may never be able to challenge professionals in the Tour de France or climb like a mountain goat, you may be able to rival their hearts.
   "You can demonstrate significant changes in heart size in four to six weeks," says Dr. Crawford, who has been studying the phenomenon of athletes hearts for nearly three decades. "This doesn't mean that if you trained for four to six weeks you'd have the same heart capacity as someone who has been riding for 10 years, but measurable changes will happen, even if you're a couch potato."
   There are three specific beneficial changes that occur in your heart with consistent aerobic conditioning. (1) Your heart will grow bigger. Typically, the heart weights approximately 300 grams and is about the size of your fist. With the proper type of exercise, however, it can become slightly heavier and grow to the equivalent of almost two fists. (This is different from an enlarged heart, which results from inflammation and is weak and diseased.)
   "Because the heart is a hollow organ, there are two ways to make it bigger," says Dr. Crawford. "One would be to just put more blood into it, stretching it as if you were blowing up a balloon. The other would be to actually grow more meat. What happens in the athletes heart is that it does both. It holds more blood, and there's actually more tissue there. It's just like when you pump iron and your biceps get bigger. The muscle grows as the biceps do, plus they dilate so it can hold more blood."
   (2) Your heart will pump more blood with every beat. To envision how this happens, think of a bicycle pump. Now picture a high capacity floor pump. If you pump both with equal force, which one is going to shoot more air into your tire?
   That's right, the big one. The same thing happens with an athletes heart. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't pump anymore forcefully. Rather, it's larger chambers simply hold and subsequently eject more, just like the heavy-duty floor pump.
   (3) Your heart will slow down. Since it's pumping out more blood with every contraction, the athletes heart does not need to beat as often, especially when its owner is sleeping, resting, or cleaning her bike. According to Paul D. Thompson, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, the average American has a resting heart rate of 66 to 72 beats per minute. (Take yours now by laying a couple of fingers alongside your Adams Apple for 10 seconds as you quietly read this, them multiply the result by six.)
   By comparison, well-trained endurance athletes have pulse rates of around 40 when they awaken. Reportedly, five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurains' resting heart rate was a mind boggling 28, which is probably as close as you can get to the living dead.
   Without a doubt, an athletes heart is well-suited for elite level performance, but how is it beneficial to overall health, and, most important, is it worth the sweat of ordinary riders like you and me? To answer this question, consider the experience of some monkeys who, in one ingenious study, had their heart rates controlled by pace makers. Some were programmed for slower than normal pulse rates, and others were set for escalated ones. Interestingly, the apes in the first group developed less arteriosclerosis (thickening and hardening of the arteries) over time than those in the second group.

   "Every time your heart beats, it carries turbulence much like a rushing river," explains Dr. Thompson, who is also Director of Preventive Cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "Heart turbulence in the coronary arteries creates eddy currents, flow differentials and eventually maybe even arteriosclerosis. If you have arteriosclerosis, then these arteries are like rubber hoses left out in the sun. Subject them to too much turbulence, and they can crack. This causes bleeding, clotting, and eventually a heart attack."
   "I think a slow heart rate is absolutely beneficial for health," he adds. "In fact, there are about nine studies showing that people with the slowest heart rates live the longest."
   Possessing an athletes heart can even extend your life in a more straightforward way. Greg Lemond, who won the Tour de France three times, was shot in the torso on a hunting trip in 1987. Like the proverbial Bible in a soldier's chest pocket, his meatier tissue may have prevented some of the shotgun pellets from rupturing his heart.
   Beyond these advantages, a well-developed heart can also aid recovery if you ever fall victim to a serious accident or disease. Sandy Beal, M.D., who operated on Lemond and oversaw his rehabilitation, suggests that his comeback probably wouldn't have been as swift or as complete had he not been so fit. "Without question, someone who is very healthy will tolerate an injury much better and, therefore, have less of a chance of problems and complications in the hospital," Dr. Beal says. "It probably contributed to his progressing and healing promptly."
   So, developing an athletes heart is kind of like buying life insurance. And the required premium is regular installments of aerobic exercise. "This goes back to the basic physiology I talked about earlier," says Dr. Crawford. "For the heart to perform better, it has to bet bigger, which means more blood must be sent back to it. You do this by moving the limbs to milk the veins of blood, push it back to the heart, thereby, augment circulation."
   According to doctors Crawford and Thompson, the sports that do this best, and consequently produce the finest athletes hearts are endurance cycling along with the cyclists favorite cross training activities: rowing and cross-country skiing. Each of these activities recruits many different muscle groups, ranging from those in the upper and lower body for rowing and skiing, to the large leg and buttocks muscles in cycling.
   Unlike exercises such as weight lifting, where you're squeezing blood out to a specific working muscle but not encouraging much return, these activities create a veritable Indy 500 of blood flow in your body. Although any aerobic exercise will enhance circulation and benefit the heart, those that work a larger portion of the body achieve the most results in the shortest time.
   Another reason cycling, rowing and cross-country skiing are so good for the heart is that they are non-impact sports that can be done for long periods. "These athletes have such great hearts because they're able to train the most," adds Dr. Thompson. "You can train five hours a day on a bicycle, but there's no runner alive who can spend five hours a day running. It would beat the heck out of your joints."

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