I love my girls. They’re so cool to hang out with and I enjoy watching them grow up. So… what should I do so I can watch them more often? Teach them how to work on bikes. That’s right… I’m training my girls to be r0ck-star bike mechanics. Here’s proof:
I love those two little girls.
I’m not really big into testing, and never have kept track of a lot of data regarding my training or physical well-being, so being tested like I was last week was definitely a change of pace. Andrew Smith (@ajsendurance on Twitter), conducted the test for me, and by the conversations that we had regarding the results, really seems to know his stuff. Here’s the run-down of how the test went down and my results:
The way the test works is by gauging the volume of air/carbon dioxide that I’m using, finding out where I burn fat vs. calories throughout my workout, and setting those HR zones, accordingly. Then, the HR zones are integrated into a workout that can burn fat and calories and increase the VO2 levels that I’m putting out. Pretty cool, huh?
Here’s the numbers that I have from the reports:
Heart Rates/Zones:
VO2:
I don’t fully understand all of that information yet, but it’s a good starting point for the little bit of training that I will attempt to do this year. I highly recommend having a test like this done for anyone who wants to work on their personal fitness… especially for those wanting to accomplish something specific on the bike. Just from this one test, I can already see how having an endurance coach like Andrew could increase your results exponentially. Try it out for yourself and see…
I’m not going to make this a training-based blog, like a lot of friends of mine do, however, I may write from time to time about how my riding is coming along and how the VO2 tests progress.
In my constant quest for excellence and in hopes of crushing my bike shop competition, I thought I’d ask anyone who checks this blog out… what do YOU look for in a bike shop? What is your hierarchy of needs? Do you demand a high level of customer service? Is the repair area most important to you? What about product selection?
What’s important to you? What makes you want to come back to your shop of choice? Please let me know by leaving a comment on this post. Thanks a ton!
I don’t know what in the heck has gotten into me lately. I’ve ridden my bike several times in the last few weeks… If you recall, one of my earlier posts was all about how I hate winter riding and training in the garage on the rollers and such. I still haven’t done that. I’m actually braving the cold and getting out there and doing it.
I posted some snow pictures from the last few days, too. Our weather has been extremely weird lately. This does not make for good training weather, however… that is what I need to motivate me sometimes. I won’t ride in the partially-miserable stuff, but when it snows or gets stupid-cold is when I like to get out there. Sometimes I do it, if for nothing else, than just to say I did it.
This feels a lot like unintentional training. I really haven’t made an effort to officially “train” for anything over the past few years, primarily because I have been busy with work and family, and can rarely make it to the races on weekends. Most of my riding has consisted of leading group rides. I think I only did around 5 “fast” rides in 2009, and the Roswell Criterium counted as two fast rides, since I raced two different categories. So, more and more riding is creeping in, including some fixed-gear stuff to get my spin back before the season starts.
I got involved with Andrew Smith, an endurance coach from Lifetime Fitness in Woodstock, GA, a few weeks ago. He came into the shop to pick up a few things and to tell us about the Team Kenda Pro Cycling p/b GearGrinder event at Lifetime on the 28th (which we have since gotten involved with). We talked a bit about the training and the facilities that are available at Lifetime, and our conversation progressed to the point where he invited me to do some VO2 Max Testing this Thursday at the gym. Now, it’s definitely sounding a lot more like training…
I don’t know what to expect, in regards to this testing. I think it will be good to have the test performed, just to see where I’m at, physically, before the season starts. Later in the season, I’ll go back and have the test done again, and see where my levels are at. I think that testing like this, and developing that referral system between the gym and us, will be good for our customers. Together, we will have a much wider range of services to offer our customers/clients, which is yet another extension of how our shop’s customer service level eclipses so many other bike shops in the Metro Atlanta area. Can’t hurt, right?
I’ll post pictures and a report of the testing after I finish it on Thursday. Can’t wait! The coffee pot is almost empty, so I’m going to bed. Thanks for reading.
PROBIKEWRENCH 