News

Schedule
Normal Tuesday/Thursday practice at 4:20 at Live Oak. No “Formal” meeting on Wednesday at lunch (star testing) but if you need a copy of race info, or have other business, stop by and have lunch. I’ll be showing a cycling race, like paris roubaix or flanders or something. Race Sunday!

Heat and Focus
Sunday was a little bit crash happy for us coaches to be happy. I suspect most of the crashes were a focus issue influenced by the heat. When it is hot (especially for the first heat wave of the year) you must prepare and be careful. Be sure to be drinking extra water all day this week. Pay extra attention when riding and be sure to stay within your limits, especially at the end of practice.

Race #4
It’s here! Race #4 on Sunday at the same location as race #2. Race packet to come out this week.

Training Tip: Chains and cogs

Worn Chain

Worn Cassete

This has been a bit of an issue lately. There are only a few parts of bikes that wear out: brake pads, chains, cassette cogs, and chainrings should be checked regularly. Here’s how to check a chain:People say chains “stretch” over time. Not exactly true, but what does happen is close; the pins and rollers wear in one direction and the pins end up further apart due to wear. A picture:

All you need to check this is a ruler. Apply a little bit of pressure on the pedals and measure the part of the chain above the chain stay. Align the “0″ on the ruler with the center of one pin. Count 24 pins later. This should line up exactly on the “12″ inch mark. If it is within 1/16 of an inch you are cool. If it is over 1/16 of an inch off you need to replace your chain. If it is over 1/8 of an inch off…

A worn chain hits the sprockets in the wrong spots, causing the teeth to wear fast. Picture of the comparison:

The darker cog behind is new, the lighter one in front is very worn and will not work with a new chain.

A new chain on the front cog will skip and slip. You need to replace both the chain and the cassette in this case. Chains are easy to replace. Measure them once a month or so. If you do this, your cassettes will last through many chains.

Schedule
Normal after-school practices Tuesday and Thursday, 4:20 live oak park. Sunday at 10am at the campanile. Optional trip to the track on Saturday morning.

Track
About that trip to the velodrome (Located in Hellyer park in south San Jose): The beginner session starts at 8:30, but if we have any size of a group we should be there by 8am. For riders 18 and under, there is no fee to rent a bike, nor is there a fee to participate. There is a per-car parking fee charged by the county (if any parents or coaches wish to go, it is $5 to rent a bike and $5 to ride). What you need: Helmet, Shoes, Pedals, Riding Clothes (team kit), Water, Snack and Sunscreen. I need to know by Friday if 1) You are going and can take someone else or 2) You want to go and need a ride. No experience is necessary, and it is a blast.

Trail Work
JMP trail work day on Saturday, April 25th. Mark it down! Be there! Its fun! You get hours for CAS or community service! I like exclamation points!

Make-up Time Trial
If you missed the 2nd time trial, which there were many who did, then you have a chance to get a time this Thursday. Please, no repeats for those who got a time a couple of weeks ago.

Training Tip: Managing Failure
I came across this, and thought it was a great read. Marvin is an awesome guy. Read it!