Six Steps to Achieve Your Cycling Goals

Six Steps to Achieve Your Cycling Goals

ByJames Herrera

Whether you want to keep up with a faster group, finish your first century, or stand at the top of a podium, it all starts with a goal and a plan

When you’re new to cycling, the secret to improvement is simple: Ride your bike…a lot. Then rest, and do it again and again. If you have friends who ride, join them. Once you’ve gained some experience, you need to pay a little more attention to detail: Do more group outings, go harder, step out of your comfort zone more often. At some point, however, you’re going to hit a fitness plateau. It’s easy to be moderately good at something, but it takes lots of focused work to truly reach your potential. This is where the goal-setting disconnect begins.

One of the greatest obstacles I’ve seen athletes encounter during my 25 years of coaching is the gap between what they claim they want to achieve and what they’re willing to do to succeed. People come to me all the time with the desire to improve their performance, but then they’ll skip training rides, make poor nutrition choices, and skimp on sleep. In other words, their actions are not consistent with their goals.

To take your riding to the next level, every detail matters. All the catchy motivational quotes in the world mean nothing if you’re not willing to cover the appropriate bases. Things like coaching, smart training, nutrition, recovery, stress management, and motivation form the foundation of improved performance. While that all might sound intimidating, to get started you simply need to ask yourself, “What level of success do I want to attain, and how bad do I want it?” Then create a plan to go out and get it, one step (or pedal stroke) at a time. Here’s how.

Six Steps to Success
1. Identify Your Goal
Then have a heart-to-heart with yourself about how realistic it is, given your motivation and life situation. (Think you want to tackle your first all-day mountain bike race the weekend before your wedding? Think again.)

2. Make a Plan
Plot your strategy—and identify the intermediate steps you’ll cover along the way. Don’t be shy about seeking guidance from a coach or trusted advisor.

3. Tell the World
Make your goal public: Write it, tweet it, share it with your family and friends.

4. Track Your Progress
Keep a training journal. If you’re missing the mark, having a record to look back on can help you figure out why. Do an 8- to 10-minute time trial every couple of weeks to gauge your improvement.

5. Be Present
If you focus on the process, the positive outcomes will happen. For example, you might strive to ride hills a certain number of times a week, or log eight hours of sleep a night, or finish a half century the month before your 100-mile ride.

6. Put in the Effort
Get out there and do the work, or take a rest when your plan calls for a recovery day. Stick to the plan and success will follow.

In honor of Martin Luther King

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pictured: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. riding his bike on Fire Island, September 2, 1967.

Winter Cycling

Yesteryear “GIVES BACK”

We are very proud to announce the donation of 2 Saris Cycle Aid Stations to the City of New Bedford. In an effort to promote more cycling in the city, these custom made work stations will be strategically placed. One will be near the entrance to Wing’s Court in downtown and the other near the visitors center at Fort Taber in the south end. It was unanimously agreed that these are the 2 highest cyclist traffic areas in the city. The downtown/Purchase street area has many students from Umass and Fort Taber is a gathering spot for walkers and cyclists both.

Each one of these workstations are built to order and are available in 12 colors. They come equipped with 8 heavy duty tools which are the most commonly used in home repair. Tire levers, pliers, adjustable wrench, torx, phillips and standard screwdrivers make up the set. They are affixed to the workstation with stainless steel cables and are only able to reach the bicycle that is to be serviced. These stands are in use in most major cities throughout the United States and are virtually tamper proof.

In coordination with The New Bedford Bicycle Committee, Mayor Jon Mitchell along with Sarah Clermont who is with Mass in Motion, this whole project was the mastermind of Kim Camara, owner of Yesteryear Cyclery. ” I felt it would be a great idea for both residents and visitors to the city to have a way to fix a minor problem ‘on the fly’ without the need of a service call.” Each workstation has an ID plate with a “QR” code that can be scanned by any smart phone and recieve instant repair tips. Also affixed to the main tubes is a stainless steel plate which states, “Are you in over your head ??? Give us a call.” with the phone number of the bike shop. We will gladly give over the phone advice and tips or arrange for free pickup and transport to the store to better resolve the problem if the need be so.

Look for these workstations and feel free to use them !!!

Cycling weight Loss Success Stories

http://m.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/nutrition-weight-loss/5-cycling-weight-loss-successes?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-Bicycling-_-Content-Story-_-weight-loss-success

New Workstation

Check out the newest addition to our “entourage” of high tech tools at Yesteryear. This is the latest in work stations from EVT ( Efficient Velo Tools ) from Portland Oregon. This company manufactures nothing but precision bicycle repair equipment totally in the US of A. All products are hand machined and finished to exact standards.

This “zero-gravity” work-stand is so radical !!! You simply wheel the bike up to the receptor claw, clamp the seat post snugly and turn the crank to release the internally counterweight which controls the elevation of the bicycle and VOILA … your bike magically rises to work height with no effort on the mechanics part. Turning the bicycle over for under bottom bracket work if effortless also thanks to the offset camber of the work claw. Totally thought out and designed… THANKS TO EVT for making our job easier. We have installed the first of three workstations right inside the service entrance at the shop so all incoming repair work can be assessed quickly & more accurately.

Common down and let us give your bike a FREE safety evaluation and a “ride” on the new work stand. Your bike will feel like you took it to Disney world and bought it a ticket to an “E” ride !!!!!