News

Weekly Schedule
Same as last week.  JV/V Spin Tuesday, Run Thursday.  Frosh/Soph Run Tuesday, Spin Thursday.  Everyone meet at the Campanile at 10am.

Registration
League registration is now open.  Go to http://norcalmtb.org/register/rider and follow the instructions.  You get a discount if you also register for all of the races at this time, but race registration is not mandatory at this time.  I recommend registering now, so if something goes wrong we can help to fix it.  If you need assistance in paying for registration dues, let me know, so I can arrange things with the league.

Ride Gear
At this time of year, the weather can change in a hurry.  Therefore, everyone should be carrying appropriate clothing for cold weather.  If you are without arm and knee covering, and a jacket or vest of sorts, we may need to send you home for safety concerns.  Sunday’s ride started in the warm sun and ended in a drizzle.   To help out, I will have the donated clothing at the team office at practice on Tuesday and Thursday.  So come on by either before or after and get what you need.

CCCX Race
The first CCCX Race of the year is Saturday Feb 14th.  Usually the promoter uses the almost exactly the same course for the high school race as this one.  Email me if you would want to race.  Indicate if you need a ride or can give a ride.  Lets do a little better with this one than the last.

Trail work
Two upcoming trail work days are Feb 7th in San Francisco, and Feb 28th in Joaquin Miller in Oakland.  I would like to have some riders volunteering at each, especially at JMP.  Let me know if you can make either of these dates.  I reserve the right to harass people if there aren’t enough volunteers.  This work is important.

Santa Cruz/Marin Practice
We don’t have much single track in the east bay, so we some times have to pack up and travel to get some epic riding.  I have planned such a field trip for Feb 8th.  What I need to know is: Can you drive people and bikes?  (obviously this is a question for parents and coaches).  and Do you have a preference of Marin or SC?

Training Tip: Illness
This has two parts: I get sick, and I am sick.

Everyone has heard the anti-activity crowd talk about how they know this person who exercises all the time and they always get sick and why work out if you just get sick? (btw pet peeve: the plural of example is not proof) The problem is: they’re right.  People who train and work hard are more likely to catch colds and the like.  The reason is that your body is very vulnerable in the couple of hours after a hard workout.  Most of your energy is going towards repairing damage done from the workout, which leaves your immune system weakened.  What you should do is be fastidious about washing your hands, and practicing good hygiene.  If you can avoid people who are sick in the time after workouts you should do so.

This is a repeat from last year, but I have had to answer this question a couple of times already. I have a cold.  Should I ride?  Do the neck test:

Symptoms above the neck?  Ok to train lightly.  Symptoms below the neck?  Stop and recover.   The long answer is there exist opportunistic viruses and bacteria.  These are often found in conjunction with p. rhinovirus (common cold) and other low level infections.  The more serious infective agents can be forced into the pulmonary arteries by hard training and cause endocarditis or cardiomyopathy, both take about a year to recover from at best, are fatal at worst.  So not every cold means you need to stop, but you need to be honest with yourself.  Do I have some sniffles and a sore throat and I should ride?  Or do I have a cough and some junk deeper in my chest and should stay off the bike?  If you have questions, please ask.

Weekly Schedule
Standard weekly schedule: Tuesday spin and Thursday run for Juniors   and Seniors.  Tuesday run and Thursday spin for Freshmen and   Sophomores.  Meet at the track at 4:20 for the run, meet at 4:05 at   Ironworks for spin. All riders meet at the Campanile on Sunday at 10   for team ride.

Rain Policy
The rule is: if it is raining steady 1hr before the ride, the ride is   canceled.  I will try to post quickly to the list in case of any doubt   or debate.  Rain does not cancel a run or spin practice.

Rides to spin
In the past we have informally coordinated rides to spin class.  This   year it hasn’t worked so far, so I am encouraging riders to make sure   that they have rides for themselves.  There is a group riding from   school leaving at 3:45 each day.  If you need to use the list to ask   for a ride, or offer a ride, please feel free to do so.

Email or website
The news and alerts are going to be posted on the website,   bhscycling.org, along with the training calendar.  I would like some   feedback on if these news emails should keep being sent out, or if I   should only post to the website.

Licenses
Stay with me here, as this gets confusing.  Due to liability and   insurance, most races require riders to have a license with that   governing body.  What can be confusing is how many organizations there
are.  Our riders will have the opportunity to do 3 kinds of races: *Norcal HS league races: License needed from norcal league.    Registration info will be coming out soon.
*USCF races: Races like the US Cup races and Sea Otter require   registering with USA Cycling, and having the appropriate license.    Also, if you are planning on racing on the road or the track, a USCF   license is needed.
*Independent races: CCCX, TBF and many of the local mountain bike   races are independent, and have slightly higher registration fees per   race to cover for insurance coverage.

The point is, a majority of our riders will only need to register with
the league.  However, if you are planning on racing outside the
league, you may need an additional license.

TBF race
The first “warm-up” race of the year (non-HS league) is Sunday the   25th.  This is happening on the Folsom lake, Granite Bay course.    There has been some interest, but I need to know by Friday if you are   planning on racing.  If there is enough interest, we can send a coach   or two down and make it a team event.  This does not cancel the Sunday   team ride.  Website is here.

Trail Work Days
An important part of being a mountain bike rider and racer is taking   care of the trails and parks you ride in.  Everyone on the team should   make at least one trail work day this year.  They are tons of fun, and   I always enjoy learning about trail building and what makes a good   trail last.  Upcoming trail work days are:

• Jan 24th 10am Tamarancho
• Feb 7th 9am Mt Sutro
• Feb 28th 9am Joaquin Miller

Email me (ASAP for the Tamarancho work day) if you are interested in   participating, or if you have any questions.

Training Tip: Intensity
Intensity is a tough thing to coach.  Some of the riders are always   going too hard, some riders never hard enough.  Furthermore, unless   you have a lot of experience, saying things like “Zone 4″ or “Sub-  lactate” sound completely confusing.  Also, percentages do not always   make sense because 80% of max may be different if we are talking about   a 15 second sprint or a 30 min climb.

The rule of thumb in general:  If this is your first season riding and   racing, you will probably feel like you are getting pushed hard all   the time.  I would encourage you to take this year and work hard, and   make it your goal to continually push your limits and learn how your   body feels at different intensity levels.

If you have a season of racing under your belt, you have something to   go by.  Let’s call it “Race intensity”.  If you can remember what this   feels like, that can be what we call 100%.  This way, during practice,   we can say “climbing meadows at 80% of race pace” and you know that   you are putting in a hard ride, but not as fast as you can possibly   go.  Most of the time coaches will be telling this crowd, the ones   with racing experience, to SLOW DOWN.  If all you ever do is ride in   the 90%-100% range then you will only ever be that fast.  Most of your   ride should be in the 70%-80% range, so that when it is time to go   really hard, your body is ready, not tired.

Coaches will help you out with this–the flip side is that you need to   listen and follow instructions as best as you can when a coach   encourages you to pick up the pace, or to slow it down.

Weekly Schedule
NO SPIN Tuesday.  Due to a coaching situation, everyone is to meet at   the track at 4:20.  Thursday: Freshman and Sophomores to meet at   Ironworks at 4:10.  Be prompt: we must be out at 5 and not a second   late.  Juniors and Seniors meeting at the track at 4:20.  Sunday: If   you are a new rider who did not meet at the team office yesterday, or   if you do not have a race-able mountain bike with clipless pedals you   are meeting at the team office at 10am.  Everyone else, Campanile at   10am.

Spin rules and guidelines
1. I must have a waiver from you.  2. Be in on time and out on time.    3. Wear cycling clothes (shorts and jersey) and your cycling shoes   (spd pedals on bikes, some flat platforms available).  4. Bring   water.  5. We will meet out front.  6. We do not have gym privileges   this year- after spin, plan on going home unless you are a member.  7.   If you need a ride be ready to go at the team office at 3:45.  If you   can give a ride please be ready to pick up kids at the team office at   3:45.  8. If you ride to Ironworks, you must have lights.  9. If you   have a conflict (aka: 7th period) and can’t get to Ironworks at 4:15,   don’t worry, please attend the track workout.

TBF Race
There is a MTB race being held at Granite Bay, Folsom Lake on Sunday   Jan 25th.  This is a not a NorCal HS race, but is being held at a HS   race venue (race #2).  I would like to get a count of people who would   be interested in going to this race.  Email me.  Website: http://www.tbfracing.com/events/mtbkickstart.html

Sponsor orders
I apologize for pricelists not showing up in a timely manner, but they   are starting to come it.  I don’t want to delay the order dates too   much because I don’t want to make people wait too long to get their   stuff.  I have the CrankBros pricelist in my office, and the   Specialized price list is on its way.  I will not email the price   lists, as they are confidential, but if you want to see them, come by   my office.  Also, if you have a question about prices on specific   products, I can answer those questions.

Training Tip:  Food is Fuel
With the start of the training season your body is starting to make   all kinds of adaptations.  One of these adaptations is to boost up   your metabolism to fuel the strength and endurance systems in your   body.  By eating at the right times, you can do your best to maximize   these gains, and have more enjoyable rides.

Ride days: Breakfast is the MOST important meal on these days.  This   major intake of calories will fuel most of your activities.  Best is   to consume a mix of complex carbohydrates (whole wheat, barley, oats,   etc) with a light load of protein and fat.  (protein and fat take more   energy to metabolize, and can cause stomach upset depending on how   long between meal and ride).  Kick your starbucks habit.  Not only is   caffein a diuretic (look it up), but it can cause stomach upset, can   contribute to increased burning of sugars leading to “bonk” and, oh   yeah, its on the banned substances list for the NorCal League.  Carry   food on the ride.  A mix of complex and simple carbohydrates is best.    Eat before you are hungry.

Quick note about breakfast and eating while riding.  If you don’t do   both now, you may feel like you can’t, or that doing so will upset   your stomach.  Hunger and eating habits are challenging to break, but   are trainable.  Start small, and be consistent.  Learning how to eat   early is a major key to success.

Immediately after a ride: Drink some chocolate milk.  Or chocolate   silk, if you’re like me.  It’s relatively cheap (compared to designer   recovery drinks) and contains nearly the perfect amounts of sugar and   protein to help your body make the most of a workout.

Rest of the day (and on off days): with respects to Pollan: Eat food,   Mostly Vegetables.  If you are finding yourself ravenously hungry all   afternoon and evening, you likely did not eat enough breakfast and/or   food on the ride.  Increase calories in these places.  However, don’t   starve yourselves.  You can expect to see a significant increase in   demand for calories over the next month (I one time counted mine and I   was in the 9000-10000 cal/day range at the peak of training and   racing).  Try to keep the sources of calories high quality (about   those chicken sandwiches from Fred’s….)