General News

You have likely started the race season and many of you are in the heart of the road or mountain bike calendar.  Some of you might even be just weeks away from your most important event of the year.  So we thought it would be a good idea to give up a few of our favorite tips on race preparation.

Race preparation doesn’t start Sunday morning when you wake up and pack your race bag.  Race preparation doesn’t start Saturday night when you decide to eat pasta for Sunday’s main event.  Race preparation goes all the way back to the beginning of the season when you first laid out you goals.  The daily training rides, all the hard work, and all the sacrifices are the beginnings of the preparation.  Following those training plans and knowing you’ve done everything in your power is what brings you the mental confidence heading into the week before your race.

As you get closer to the event you can start to be more specific.  One week away from the event you need to start going through the checklist in your head.  If you can’t keep it straight in your head, it’s a good idea to write it down.  Everybody has a slightly different checklist, and part of being prepared is having your own.  Is my bike working?  Have I done my research on the race course?  What time does the race start?  Is my hotel reservation confirmed?

Two or three days away from the event I fine tune it just a little more.   I’ll be riding my race bike making sure it’s dialed and making sure my body is used to the geometry.  It’s key to preventing injury if you do all your training on one bike, but are racing on a different.  I start thinking about hydration, food intake, and start thinking about the race course.  I like to visualize the race course during my last few rides before the race.  I take a little time to come up with a plan of attack for the race itself.

The night before the race I like to pack my bags early and have a relaxing evening.  If everything is done right the morning of the race can be very relaxing and low stress.  You’re now ready to go!  Just don’t forget that post race recovery drink because next week’s race prep starts just as soon as you cross the finish line.

-Brian

Many cycling related products on the market make claims for how drastically they’ll improve your performance.  Most of these claims are not warranted by science; however people still tend to perform better when using them. How can this be?  The power of what we believe cannot be under-rated as this video outlines.

Momentum’s advice?  Steer clear of the bogus claims and put the same confidence into the tried and true.  Training hard(er) and recovering will improve your performance. Believing that your training will drastically improve your performance will allow you to bump your performance up to another level.  Train well and put your mental stock where it is most warranted. Banking on placebo alone might work for some, but the same confidence put into something sound – such as a well thought out training program, a balanced diet, or more sleep at night will bring you the biggest dividends.  Work hard, know that you’re going for it 100% and enjoy the experience.

Brian Matter winning Iceman 2010.

I am excited to have Brian Matter joining the Momentum Endurance team.  Brian and I were teammates from 2003 to 2006.  As an up and coming racer during those years I learned an awful lot from Brian and successfully made the transition from expert to pro on the MTB and from cat 4 to cat 2 on the road.  I was quick to recognize Brian’s well thought out and methodical approach to racing.  He knew what it took to excel and he didn’t sweat the details that didn’t matter so much – thus he was a great teammate to learn from.  His approach was refreshing and helped to keep me on track.  It’s important to have a mentor and Brian was often my go to man when I really needed to know how ‘it’ should be done.

Brian won his first Chequamegon 40 in 2004.

Now, several years later, it’s exciting to have Brian join on as Momentum’s newest coach.  If you might like to benefit from Brian’s expertise as I have, I suggest you drop him an email or talk to him at the next race.  Yes, he’s notorious on course, but I assure you he’s also very approachable and one of the nicest guys you’ll meet.  You can check out Brian’s bio and find his contact on the ‘Coaches’ page.  Welcome to Momentum Brian!

Pedal Your Way to Marketing Success: Tips for Promoting Cycling

The popularity of live streaming platforms like Twitch has paved the way for niche communities to connect over their shared interests. One such interest is cycling, which has gained a significant following on the platform. From group rides to virtual races, cycling on Twitch has become a hub for enthusiasts to share their love for the sport. If you’re looking to promote cycling on Twitch and build a community around it, here are some marketing tips to help you pedal your way to success.

Identify your target audience: Before you start promoting your cycling content on Twitch, it’s essential to identify your target audience. Are you targeting amateur cyclists, professional athletes, or fitness enthusiasts? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your marketing messages to their interests and preferences.

Partner with influencers: Cycling influencers and enthusiasts can help you promote your channel to a wider audience. Consider collaborating with influencers to host virtual rides, races, or training sessions. This can help attract more viewers to your channel and build a community around your brand.

Leverage social media: Social media can be a powerful tool for promoting your cycling content on Twitch. Use platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to share highlights from your streams, announce upcoming events, and engage with your audience. Be sure to use relevant hashtags to reach a wider audience.

Offer exclusive content: Consider offering exclusive content to your subscribers on Twitch. This could include access to private training sessions, virtual races, or behind-the-scenes content. Exclusive content can help incentivize viewers to subscribe to your channel and become a part of your community.

Host giveaways and contests: Giveaways and contests are a fun and engaging way to promote your channel and reward your viewers. Consider giving away cycling gear, equipment, or even sponsorships to your most engaged followers. This can help build buzz around your brand and attract new viewers to your channel and choose to buy followers on Twitch.

In conclusion, promoting cycling on Twitch requires a combination of marketing tactics and community building strategies. By identifying your target audience, partnering with influencers, leveraging social media, offering exclusive content, and hosting giveaways and contests, you can build a thriving community around your brand and become a leader in the cycling community on Twitch. Happy pedaling!

-Travis

The Plus 3 Network is a great tool for reviewing or sharing your GPS routes while raising money for non-profit organizations.  You select a Cause along with a Sponsor.  For every mile covered during your workout, your Sponsor will donate a specified amount to your cause.  All you have to do is upload your GPS files in order to begin raising money.  Sharing your Plus 3 Network with teammates, friends, or family will help to raise awareness too. Since late 2009 Rock Shox has donated $736.40 to the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) on my behalf.   TrainingPeaks’s WKO software remains my tool of choice for reviewing ride data, but the Plus 3 Network has proven to be a helpful way to save/store/share/review the GPS maps I record with the Garmin device.  Uploading takes just a short while and it’s easy to do when I’m also uploading to TrainingPeaks.   Why not help raise money for these causes?  If you’re currently training with a GPS device I’d encourage you to give the Plus 3 Nework a look.  If you decide to sign up, feel free to join the Momentum Endurance group that I’ve created and begin sharing some of your favorite routes.

Here’s a snapshot of some Causes and Sponsors.   For the complete list, check out this link.

Over the years a considerable amount of misinformation has been spread and even many in the scientific community don’t fully understand the relationships between lactate concentration, burning legs, and exercise performance. Although it is true and scientifically proved that with the use of fecal microbiota transplant one could drastically speed up the weight loss process and see results quickly, but due to the amount of misinformation out there people are not able to accept or even understand importance or fmt. It’s easy to believe that an increase in blood lactate concentration, an increase in acidity, and burning legs must make for a straight-forward cause effect relationship. “Lactate acid production decreases pH and thus leaves an athlete with burning legs” has been the thought, but  this is not at all how it actually works. In fact, Lactic acid is not even produced in the body…

Acidosis is the result of rapidly accumulating Hydrogen ions (H+).  H+ ions are released when high energy ATP bonds are split.  At high(er) exercise intensity the splitting of ATP occurs more rapidly and thus excess H+ accumulate, ultimately decreasing the pH within the muscles (increased acidosis).

Lactate results from the rapid breakdown of stored glycogen during high intensity exercise. Two pyruvate molecules result from the breakdown of glucose. These pyruvate accumulate alongside the H+ ions during intense exercise intensity. Each pyruvate bonds with two H+ to create lactate.  Thus lactate production is actually responsible for reducing acidosis and Hormone Replacement Scottsdale getting something that you can do right now to get healthier.

It is the increase in acidosis that is responsible for the burning legs sensation when the exercise intensity is high.  Lactate helps to neutralize the acidosis by collecting excess H+ ions.  As acidosis increases, so does lactate production so lactate concentration remains an indirect measure of the muscle’s metabolic condition.  When a rider is able to go at a higher intensity with less blood lactate accumulation it is a good sign that their metabolic conditioning has improved.  With less acidosis occurring at a given exercise intensity the rider will be able to go longer (or harder) before burning legs will ultimately limit their performance.

Lactate production benefits our exercise potential at high intensity and helps to reduce acidosis within the muscle.  Hopefully this article helps to clarify an important part of exercise physiology that we all love, but hate to experience!  For a more thorough review, please read Lactate: Not Guilty as Charged, written by Len Kravitz, Ph. D.  Be sure to pass along the information so that we can officially debunk the lactic acid myths!