Hopefully you are all well under way with training and are making plans to participate in Gearman’s Training Ride. In the meantime, this weekend offers a great opportunity for joining a group ride for 50, 62 or 100 miles.

The Charles River Wheelmen’s spring century rolls out Sunday morning from Wakefield High School and heads into the Merrimack Valley, Northeast Mass. and Southern N.H. There is an arrowed route with maps and cue sheets as well as rest stops with water and food along the way. Entry fee is $20 and the ride is open to nonmembers. For more information check out the CRW web site at www.crw.org

In addition to training, the spring century provides a chance for informal recruiting and marketing. How’s that you say? Well, I’m asking all NEC riders to consider wearing their Tour de Cure jersey from last year. I plan on being there and will be similarly attired. No hard sell, but I’ll be packing brochures in my jersey pocket if anyone asks about the ride.

I hope to see you on the road Sunday.

Tim Wilson

I live in Canaan, NY and work in Stockbridge & Lenox so if there is anyone out here in the Berks looking for advice or someone to ride with please get in touch with me.  You can find me on FB in the NEC group or look me up – Tara Swinchatt.  Anyone not in the Berks feel free to look me up as well, I’m happy to talk about how much I love the ride, how you ought to find as many hills to ride as you can or how crazy all the other people on the ride are . . .

Happy training and fundraising to all.

April Fools’ Day has come and gone and that means New England Classic riders need to get down to business. There are almost 24 million people in this country with diabetes counting on us to get serious about raising the funds that will help improve their lives and find a cure for the disease they battle every day.

It looks like here in New England we can actually put aside those plans for building an ark and tune up the bike. Get on the road and start training folks. It’s now less than 100 days – 99 to be exact – before we roll out of Chomerics on Day 1 of the NEC. A well-trained butt is a happy butt so we need you to get yours on the bike so it’s merrily riding along with us in July.

As for fund raising, the sooner you get started the sooner you’ll have raised well more than the minimum.  It’s all about just asking. Whether it’s in person, by phone, in a letter or email, you need to take that first step of asking people if they would like to help defeat an insidious disease afflicting their neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. That’s no exaggeration. Almost 8 percent of the U.S. population or about 1 in 13 people have diabetes.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t be shy. Make your fund-raising efforts something everyone will want to be a part of. Maybe this time of year you can give out jelly beans to everyone who contributes. And when they say, “But diabetes and candy don’t seem to mix,” simply explain that the NEC is “a sweet ride to beat diabetes”. At the same time you’re reminding them that the simple pleasure of a sweet treat that they take for granted isn’t such a simple matter for people with diabetes.

Now don’t finish reading this and make the mistake of telling your self that July is still a long way off. It’s really not. With your training and fund-raising it pays to build momentum early. No ride is too short because every mile in the saddle makes a difference.  No contribution is too small because every dollar makes a difference.

See you on the road.

6-time NEC 550 Participant

You’ve registered for the NEC. NOW WHAT?? You tell yourself “it’s four months away, no problem; I’ll start to train in June. I can ride a bike 550 miles in seven days. No big deal.” Why not? After all you’ve been riding a bike since you were a kid. THINK AGAIN!!! If you want to ride the seven day NEC, you need to train.

That means riding……..a LOT.

WHY TRAIN?

Training is critical to any long distance bike ride. This is not a ride to your grandmother’s house. Training prepares you for being in the saddle for several hours and many miles at one time. By training in all kinds of weather, you’ll be prepared for the changing New England weather – rain, wind, heat. You’ll be prepared for the long hills and mountain passes….. New England is NOT flat! You’ll enjoy the tour and the camaraderie of fellow cyclists when you’re prepared for the miles that lie ahead.

WHY TRAIN NOW?

You need to build a base so that by the middle to end of May you will be ready and able to ramp up the distance. There are no shortcuts to putting in base miles. You simply have to ride, ride, ride and ride some more. By the end of base training you should be able to ride one third to one half of the longest day of the NEC (approximately 50 miles).

You should be prepared to ride 70 -75 miles on back to back days at least 3 weeks prior to the first day of the NEC. This takes time to build up to. As soon as possible begin your training; slowly. You should consider short rides during the week and longer rides on the weekends. Start with 15-20 miles per day, 3- 4 times per week and increase your mileage by about 15% – 20% each week. To give your body a chance to recover, you should take time to rest every 4 – 5 days.

You are training for endurance. Therefore the weekly long rides are the most important aspect of your training. The long rides train your muscles and cardiovascular system as well as your digestive system.

The weekly long rides should simulate the NEC as much as possible. This means hills, LOTS of hills; long hills, short steep hills, long steep hills, gently rolling hills and long gentle climbs. The NEC has rest stops about every 15 – 20 miles. During your training rides, stop approximately every 15 – 20 miles to rest and refuel your “gas tank” as though you were already riding the NEC. Be sure to eat and drink. This is NOT optional.

In addition to training on your bicycle, you should consider weight training either in the gym or at home. Bicycling requires the use of nearly every muscle in your body. In particular are the “core” (abdomen and back), trapezius (upper back and neck) muscles. The core and neck muscles are what hold you upright on the bike for many hours at a time. Consider doing stability ball crunches, oblique crunches, planks, hanging leg raises. For more ideas on core exercises/training, Google “core exercises” or “core workouts”. Train your legs with leg presses, squats, walking lunges, leg curls, etc.

The NEC 150 riders should consider training similarly, with less emphasis on the hills. The primary focus will be on endurance and being able to ride back-to-back days of approximately 60- 70 miles each day.

[admin note: Nancy's Training Tips are available as a downloadable PDF and on the 2010 Itinerary page (see menu bar above left)]

This is the running commentary in my head every time I go out for a ride.

I LOLed.

YOUR BUTT BELONGS HERE

In February your heart belonged to your valentine. Well, it’s March now and regardless of how you fared romantically your butt belongs with us — on a bike that is — in July, riding to raise funds for the American Diabetes Association.

The 2010 New England Classic rolls out in just 4-1/2 months, just 19 weeks or just 132 days depending on how you choose to count. But no matter how you count it’s closer than you think. And if you haven’t registered to ride yet it’s way too close. What are you waiting for? Spring?? Spring doesn’t really exist in New England. So if you are already sick of winter do your psyche some good and pretend it’s already summer.

What does that mean? That means the NEC is just around the corner and you better get your butt in gear, get registered, start fund-raising and at least think about training!

Don’t believe me? I’ll tell you what. Go down to Parker-Hannifin Chomerics at 77 Dragon Court in Woburn at 1 p.m. Saturday and tell me you don’t see a bunch of cyclists talking about this great ride around New England they are doing to support the American Diabetes Association. There’s no surer sign of summer than a gathering of the NEC Caravan of Crazies.

See you there at the Rider Roundup.

Where else can you get such an iron-clad guarantee?

Register today.

Punxsutawney Phil

OK, you varmints, it’s time to crawl out of your hole and get with the program. That’s right, it’s Groundhog Day and I’m back – again – to harass, remind, haunt, plead, implore, beg or whatever else it takes to get you to register for the American Diabetes Association’s 2010 New England Classic.

This year’s tour is shaping up to be the best ever. We’ve already hit the 60-rider mark and are aiming for all-time highs in riders and fund-raising. But we need you to make this happen. If you’re a veteran rider, don’t make like that petulant Punxsutawney character hunkered down on Gobbler’s Knob waiting for spring. Sub-freezing temperatures are absolutely perfect for registering as a rider in the New England Classic. You don’t have to leave the house or even get out of your PJs.

Just go to http://main.diabetes.org/nectourdecure and sign up. Right now! There’s no time like the present to start raising funds for the ADA. In fact, you should take the same approach to fund-raising and training – early and often.

Day One is just 23 weeks from this Saturday and soon you’ll hear more about our annual Rider Roundup on March 6, where you can trade stories from past years, make plans for this year and meet new riders. We’ve got four weeks until the Roundup and I say we should celebrate it with a century – that’s right 100 riders registered. What did you think I was suggesting, a 100-mile training ride? Not yet. But I just may celebrate with a ride to the Roundup if we hit 100 riders.

That’s right. You know I’m talking to you. The one who waits until April or even May to register for the New England Classic.

We’ll have none of that this year. You said you wanted your seven-day NEC. Well you got it. The NEC is alive and well and it’s time for us to make a statement that the 2010 NEC will be bigger and better than ever. And to make that happen, I’m issuing a challenge to all you veterans out there.

Thanksgiving is just two weeks away and to show you are thankful for the experience that is the NEC I’m calling on all of you to sign on the dotted line before you reach for a single drumstick and stuff yourself with stuffing. Before Tom Turkey walks the Green Mile I want to see 50, that’s right five-oh, 50, riders registered for the NEC.

There are no excuses. You know you will be there in July so stand up, sign up and be counted in November. And now is the time to corral those friends who have always talked about wanting to try the NEC with you. Don’t let the Caravan of Crazies pull out of Woburn without them this year! This will be a tour that’s not to be missed.

So pull out your plastic, grab the mouse and click register. It’s easy as pumpkin pie!

And watch this space because I’ll be watching for you.