“Your need as an endurance athlete isn’t so much to slow down a blur of motion around you as to slow down any sense of urgency or anxiety in your gut.  Internal turbulence can be as disruptive and energy-sapping to a distance-runner’s performance as chaotic external forces like blitzing defensive linemen can be to a quarterback’s. It’s not just a matter of good pacing, but of finding the kind of inner calm that allows the highest possible level of both physical and emotional energy efficiency.”

Ed Ayres
Endurance and Sustainability Blog

1) Drinking Coffee = Hydration

Although once thought to have a diuretic effect, current research indicates coffee (in amounts normally consumed) hydrates as well as water over a 24-hour period. That is, after drinking coffee, you may urinate sooner, but you will not urinate more than you consume. Therefore, coffee counts towards your water intake. U.S. Army research on caffeine and hydration confirms coffee is an acceptable source of fluids for athletes, even during exercise in the heat.

2) Caffeine Enhances Athletic Performance

Caffeine is documented to boost athletic power and endurance, so you can exercise harder and longer. Caffeine has a direct metabolic effect on muscle to improve endurance. In biological terms, caffeine helps muscle burn fat as the energy source, instead of glycogen (a carbohydrate). This difference in type of fuel used simply boosts endurance.

3) Caffeine increases mental alertness & focus

Caffeine is quickly assimilated into the brain, and affects many kinds of neurons (brain cells) in a positive way. Studies continue to show that caffeine can increase mental focus and concentration. This can be an essential edge in endurance competition. The ability to remain focused on your form and function and stay alert to the conditions and other competitors around you can be the difference between success and failure.

4) Don’t let your caffeine tolerance get too high

Save the boost for when you need it. The more you consume, the more your body gets used to it and stops responding the same way. This is called attenuation – same dose of caffeine, less effect. The best way to achieve optimal effect is to limit consumption to about 300 mg per day and consume it once a day just before the time you need it. So if you have an event or training in the afternoon, skip the morning cup and have some coffee before your athletic effort instead.

5) Coffee is brimming with antioxidants

This is where coffee beats out sodas and pills. Endurance exercise causes oxidative stress in the body which creates free-radicals. Antioxidants reduce free-radicals in the body. Good, cleanly roasted and brewed organic coffee contains polyphenols such as flavan-3-ols (monomers and procyanidins), hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonols and anthocyanidins. These compounds all have antioxidative effects. Coffee contains roughly 800-900 mg of antioxodants per serving. This amount is on par or even greater than the amounts found in other known powerhouse foods like red grapes, dark chocolate, dates, berries and even green tea.

6)  Use the proper amount of coffee for the most benefits

As a general rule, coffee has about 150 mg of caffeine in a medium mug. A general health rule is to limit daily consumption from all sources to about 300 mg per day. Too much caffeine can be negative, with symptoms like anxiety, sleep disturbances, digestive problems, muscle twitching, and heart palpitations. But not everybody experiences these symptoms in the same way. The ability to metabolize caffeine is a genetic predisposition. So if your body naturally handles it well, drink up…it’s good for you!

BioWheels has selected some phenomenal coffee for you to add to your endurance nutrition regimen…Enjoy!

The bicycle, believe it or not, has historically been the vehicle of not only people trying to get from one place to another, but also one of societal change. With the advent of the mass production of the bicycle, individuals have enjoyed for years the same freedoms we feel today on two wheels. Cyclists championed the development of our original roadway system. The emancipation of women concurred with their use of the bicycle to empower their organization of protest. Professional sports was first challenged by the racially oppressed in 1862 with Marshall “Major” Taylor causing the greatest equality argument of his time, this was a first step toward the Civil rights movement. Today the world over, the bicycle continues to shape our planet by empowering people of developing nations to travel without the need for expensive oil-based fuel. You get the idea. Now how do YOU fit into the grand scheme of societal change?

Riding a bike:
· Is physically healthy and sets an example of health for others in our society
· Is good for the local and international environment by reducing the impact of carbon-based fuel use
· Reduces automobile traffic and congestion
· Brings people together for common happiness and enjoyment

It is this final point that we can personally use to affect our world on the local level.

To expand on the significance of common happiness and enjoyment while riding, we at BioWheels propose the following riding philosophy to spread happiness and enjoyment while riding a bicycle (these are adapted from the teachings of a guy some called the Buddha):

WHILE RIDING A BICYCLE…

• LOVE:  An intention and capacity to offer joy and happiness while riding a bicycle. We LOVE our bikes. We LOVE each other. We LOVE our planet! Smile. Share your joy and happiness and just be… here… now… while riding a bicycle!
• COMPASSION: The intention and capacity to relieve and transform suffering and to lighten sorrows, while riding a bicycle. You are transforming your personal suffering by relieving your stress and being good to your body.  At the same time you are relieving the stress on the planet. How noble an act! Lighten the sorrows of those we share the road with, namely automobile drivers by being COMPASSIONATE to the fellow human beings behind the wheel of that car trying to pass you as you ride. This applies to other riders and users of the outdoors. If you were them, how would you feel? What would the right thing to do be in that situation? Just try to identify with the human-ness of each other, respectfully, while riding a bicycle.
• JOY: True love, while riding a bicycle always brings joy to us and to those we love. Wave to the motorist with a smile in your heart as they pass you. Say a kind word as you ride with each other, or pass another rider or hiker on the trail, or someone walking along the roadside. This joy that you have is infectious and will encourage others to be kind to you, while riding a bicycle.
• EQUANIMITY: The wisdom of equality. Nonattachment, nondiscrimination, even-mindedness and “letting go” while riding a bicycle. This is the toughest one of all for us in our country. Our society has emphasized individuality to the point of isolation and arrogance. Your “right” to be where you are on your bike is actually EQUAL, yes, EQUAL to the person in the car on the road or sharing the trail with you while riding a bicycle. There is, in actuality, an enormous world with enough space for all of us. We get in to trouble when we try to “claim” that space and time as “ours” and “not theirs” at certain moments in time. Sometimes we feel certain rules of the road and the trail, brought into effect by our elected government for the safety of ALL people, do not apply to us while riding a bicycle. Mutual compassion and respect can then disappear. Be aware. This division is where a good bit of mutual frustration develops. Try to keep this EQUANIMITY in mind when you go out for your ride. Dissolve the division on your end. Let go of your assumptions of superiority and self-importance. We are all interconnected, do not discriminate yourself from other two-wheeled brethren, those in cars or those on foot.  Be an example while riding a bicycle. Obey the law; share the road and trail, and BE NICE while riding a bicycle.

If we all can just try to remember some of these points while riding a bicycle, we can earn the respect of our non-riding peers instead of demanding it. We will make our area a better place to live through an example of what health and happiness can accomplish. We can make our planet breath a little easier by reducing pollution and making more people smile. We can share our knowledge with those new to riding in a respectful, open, atmosphere of improvement and encouragement. With these goals in mind, all rules of our group rides will be based in this riding philosophy.

ENJOY YOUR RIDE!

These days, as cycling parents, we start ‘em young. We have new bike designs available that make it easier for kids to learn and to go places with less effort than when we were young ones. Nothing gives a child a better head-start on cycling than a Skuut Balance Bike. It’s like playing Mozart in the baby nursery. Learning balance is the key to riding a real bike, the pedaling comes much easier later. These “bikes” have started many in this new generation pedaling without training wheels well before their forth birthdays!

If your kid is already pedaling, then as a cyclist yourself, you owe it to your child to provide a bicycle that is nimble and easy to handle. You wouldn’t ride a bike that out-weighs you, right?!? Why should a child be expected to. That’s why BioWheels features Jamis Kids Bikes. These are high-tech aluminum frames, with alloy rims and many of the same quality components found on adult bikes. Jamis sweats the details for each model… “Every Jamis kids’ bike uses size-specific items at every contact point, with grips, saddles and cranks that are scaled appropriately for each frame size to maximize comfort and control.”

Come by to see the full line-up at BioWheels.

Get your kid ready to roll

Commute by Bike.com is a site you should check on a regular basis. This site is loaded with useful content and news regarding commuting & living without a car. Since discovering the site I have been visiting on a daily basis!

Blue Competition Cycles offers a lifetime warranty on all their frames.  Check out their full line of road, TT, cyclocross and mountain bikes at http://rideblue.com/

BioWheels can fit you to the bike, and then we’ll give you free tune-ups for as long as you own the bike!

Because it hadn’t been released yet, it was difficult to decide, but after taking one look at the bike on Blue’s website the decision was made! The Axino simply screams “race” with its compact geometry, BB30, sleek internal cabling, and downright badass looks. A frame weight of 995g doesn’t make the decision too difficult either. When the frame arrived at my door, I knew that I had made the right choice, and carefully tucked it in bed with me that night.

The first pedal stroke I took on our first journey on the road together, I seemed to move forward with ease. The Axino is undoubtedly fast, and after only a few rides I can already tell you that this is my favorite bike I have ever owned. It’s speed, stiffness, and comfort make it absolutely perfect. Adding to this perfection is the fact that the geometry “fits me to a tee.” My old bike left me a bit stretched out, but with the Axino it feels as though I’m on a custom frame!
As I get more rides in over the next few months, but more importantly take it out for racing, I will post a detailed review about the bike.

Blue is beginning to make a much bigger name for themselves in the U.S. cycling scene, and with this frame along with its fair pricing, it’s sure to be a huge success!

Michael Robinson
mrobinsoncycling.wordpress.com

Now, we’ll let Jon do the talking…