With the regular season winding down here in the Pacific Northwest, we here at Muddbunnies Riding, start planning for the next! With the Muddbunnies Race Team 2014 application coming out in the near future I thought the article below would get some of you amped up on training towards a goal next season.
There is no better time then Fall to set some goals for yourself next season, whether its a climb you want to clean; a local race you want to be competitive in; or a multi-day endurance event that you simply want to survive.
What are your cycling goals for 2014? Tell us your goals on Facebook and be entered to win a jersey to sport on your training days!
Below article is from the Women’s Cycling Newsletter
Reasons to Train
The Challenge of Improvement. All of us like challenges, especially when we can see improvement that’s commensurate with the effort we put in. That’s why training on the bike (as opposed to “just ridingâ€) is so exciting. When you make the decision to go from occasional rides to a regular schedule, you’ll experience big fitness gains. Add one more step — a modest increase in intensity once or twice a week — and you’ll bump up your performance another notch.
The Ability to Ride Like an Athlete. Increased fitness means you don’t have to merely sit on the bike and plod along. The greater your strength, power and endurance, the more you can ride with the verve and style of an athlete. Get out of the saddle and jam over small hills. Sprint for county line signs. Outrun a snarling canine attacker and laugh in his doggy face. Take on long, tough hills that used to reduce you to a gasping wreck — and top the summit with a smile.
Build your fitness and you’ll feel like LeBron (who loves to cycle, himself!) on two wheels.
The Fun of Going Fast. Bicycles, scientists tell us, represent the perfect marriage of a machine with the human body. We bipeds on bikes can go faster and cover the miles with less effort than with any other method of human locomotion.
Think of the bike not as a device for transportation but rather as a machine for creating fun — zooming around corners, flattening hills, dropping your buddies. When you’re fit, you can use this remarkable invention to its fullest.
The Fitness to Go the Distance. Among the most popular cycling events these days are weekend charity rides and weeklong cross-state rides. Many riders dream of doing a transcontinental — riding across the United States (or Australia, Canada or Europe).
The Cultivation of Riding Skills. When you build fitness, bike-handling ability comes as part of the package. Remember that old saying about practice making perfect? It’s true when it comes to riding a bike like you were born to it.
Gaining fitness requires you to get on the road — and that’s where you’ll also accumulate the experience necessary to feel connected to the bike.
And Don’t Forget Those Buffed Legs! Vanity may not be the purest of motives for getting fit, but so what? Cycling strips the excess fat off your legs and torso. It tones your quads until they look like they’ll rip through the skin. But best of all is what happens inside where you can’t see it — better cardiovascular fitness, an improved cholesterol profile, more stamina for daily activities, and the post-ride calm of a Zen master.
Now that’s something to be vain about!
The Muddbunnies encourage and welcome female riders of all experience and skill levels to join them in getting down and dirty. Come on, ride like a girl!
