Cyclodam

Just in case you've been asleep or missed the previous notices on the many social platforms in the past couple of months, Cyclodam blog has a new home. Check out the blog and new website here: www.cyclodam.com

 

Hope you'll keep following us in our new location. You can of course also keep up with us on facebook or twitter.

 

:)

Giant Australia's new campaign aims at sponsoring 30 lucky 'real'/every- day cyclists. From a marketing perspective, this will be nothing but a Giant word-of-mouth win! It is after all, the every-day riders that are visible to hundreds, and those that we turn to as peers for product and brand recommendations. I guess this is how you make sponsorship social.

If you're a cyclist and an aussie and have a thing for new bikes and other freebies, check out the website for more info.

Reebok this week, opens its doors to the first dedicated CrossFit centre in Amsterdam. The philosophy already introduced to us by fellow Cyclodammer, Thomas, CrossFit is set to be one of the biggest sporting trends of 2012 and beyond.

Get a free trial at the Reebok Crossfit studio by registering on their website, and get stronger in 2012!

Looking around my bedroom this morning, it occurred to me that not even a year has passed and things have changed significantly. This time last year, there wouldn’t have been a pilates mat in sight, let alone an expensive pair of trainers, cycling shoes and countless amounts of lycra! When I first considered buying a bike; I knew I was investing a lot of money and taking a risk, but a larger part of me thought it would probably end up sitting in the garage collecting cob-webs, not kilometers!

But how wrong I was. It has to be one of the best investments I’ve made to date. Not only do I feel fitter and healthier (we’re almost in December and I haven’t yet had a cold and my asthma is surprisingly good), but I’ve made a wealth of fantastic friends, have a training and race plan for 2012 (!) and my passion for Cycling has changed just about every aspect of my life, from who I socialize with, what 80% of my conversations are about (sorry to my non-cycling friends about that one!), where I book a holiday and how can I get my bike there, right down to what I want for my career.Ok, some of you may say I’m obsessed, I’d just say I’m passionate!

On Saturday, 4 brave winter Cyclodammers hit the road at a reasonable time of 11am to beat the cold (and guarantee if we stopped for a warm drink and something to eat that somewhere would be open!), and headed North across the Ij, for a 50km ridee through the ‘Waterlands’, a connection of villages with more dikes than roads. It’s here that I first fell in love with being on the bike and a great appreciation for the Dutch countryside. The views along this route are stunning. Quaint cobbled villages with small Dutch fishing houses (or 'Stolpboerderijen' as they’re apparently named - square houses with a pyramidal roofs), long wide tow-paths with KMs of water meeting the horizon on one side, and farmland scattered in cows, sheep and birds/ducks the other. Saturday happened to be one of the most stunning winter days so far this year and yet again I fell in love with being on the bike again.

It’s one of those routes that is fast if you want it to be, but given my off-season 25kmph rule, it’s also one that you can be at peace with your surroundings and happy to take it in at a leisurely pace (well ok, I wasn’t agreeing with this statement a number of months back when we got caught in 30kmph winds!).  If this happens to be my last long ride in Holland for 2011, then I’m certainly not complaining and can’t wait to get back out there with fellow members of Cyclodam in the Spring.  

..thankfully we've come a long way since then!

I can't believe it's that time already. Time that is, to announce the Cyclodam Christmas Party! And I can't say I'm not a little excited.

We've come a long way in the past 6 months, and 2012 is only set to be bigger and better (which we hope to be announcing very soon). And, it wouldn't be a true celebration if it wasn't with the members who have made us what we are today. 

So, dust off your santa suit, put on your drinking cap and join us for some festive celebrations on Saturday December 10th. Details of the evening and venue will be annoucnced shortly - but in the meantime make sure you RSVP to stay up to date with the plans.

Oh, and if you haven't previously joined us for a ride or a social, why not make this your first? We're always happy to meet new members!

The days are getting colder, it's dark by 5pm, and a few of our crew are finding their bodies worn down as they finish off a big year of riding and/or triathlon. What's happening? We're heading into the off season!

The Science behind having an Off Season

I'm the first to admit: I've trained with an old-school coach and find it difficult adapting to these crazy, new aged notions of having an "off season". My years in Australia consisted of cross country /marathon season, followed by triathlon season. But I have read a lot of books & articles, listened to a lot of podcasts, and done a lot of training in a more "new school" manner this year - and I'm coming around!

We need to give our bodies time to rest and recover. Our bodies have been working really hard all year. Many training programs recommend a three weeks hard/one week recovery approach - and it's during the week of recovery that our bodies are able to adapt to the training we have done, recharge, and make those tremendous leaps forward in our fitness.

Similarly, taking a few weeks off at the end of the season allows our bodies and minds to have a break from the rigour and stress of training. Our bodies recover. Our minds are refreshed. And we are ready to hit the next season hard.

Plus it's Cold!!!

Yeah, it's clearly the Aussie writing this one. It is getting much, much colder. I even heard it might snow! And riding in snow would require a whole new skill set...

So let's not get cold & miserable riding outside. While you're taking time off - enjoy the warmth!

So what are Cyclodam's off season plans?

1. Some easier rides

We will still be posting a number of rides, but many will include an easy spin option. If you still want to hammer it, go for it! But easy options are definitely there. Maybe a good time to bring along newbies, introduce your friends to road cycling ... ?

2. Finding ways to deal with winter

Cycling in the dead of winter sounds pretty miserable to this Aussie - and the ice factor makes it seem a bit dangerous. So we're looking at other ways to stay fit - including Thomas' introduction to crossfit - a resistance programme which cuts down time needs for training, but gets serious results. Come along to that one!

3. Enjoying time off

A week or two of not cycling may do you more good than you might think. So in that busy Christmas - New Year period, don't stress if you can't fit training in. If you're going skiing or snowboarding - enjoy! Go enjoy après ski instead of tying yourself to the gym.

4. Socials!

Finally, we want to do something really important: celebrate the successes of 2011. Cyclodam has grown from a relatively ad hoc cycling meetup group, to a cohesive team, growing in strength. Let's celebrate that with an end of season/Christmas social event! Details will follow:)

Saturday's post-ride inspiration from the legend that is Eddie Merckx
 

 

Winter. It's cold. It's wet. It's dark. Lots of cyclist use the winter to start their off-season training and I would like to use this opportunity to introduce you to CrossFit. If you spend hours in the gym, you should spend them effectively. 

CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program. The ultimate goal of Crossfit is to maximize work potential across broad time and modal domains using constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement. Instead of repeating the same exercises over and over, CrossFit exposes you to different fields of fitness. Instead of endless hours doing the same exercises, you will be exposed to short, but high intensity work outs. Instead of doing exercises for isolated movements, you will be exposed to full body movements. CrossFit improves your strengths by curing your weaknesses 

I'm planning an Introduction to CrossFit for you. I'll cover the basics of CrossFit before we move on to three of the nine key exercises. We'll finish off with a workout of constantly varied, high-intensity and functional movements.

• What is CrossFit? (CrossFit Journal)
• CrossFit Exercises  

If you have questions, please let me know.

Thomas