Coastin’

Our next club meeting will be the Christmas party at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 3, 2001, at Alfred & Charlie’s, 815 S. New Hope Rd, Gastonia.

Newsletter Updates: Contact John Price at 704-867-2669,  at coastineditor@yahoo.com, or by mail at 681 Niblick Dr Gastonia NC 28054

 

It’s almost here, the once a year …

                           GCC Christmas Party!  Monday December 3, 2001

             Time:  7:00 pm   Place: Alfred & Charlie’s

                                                                      

   Special Invitees:  New and wayward members!  If you haven’t been able to participate recently in club rides or meetings, please take

           this opportunity to see your friends, or to make new ones.

                         If the babysitter doesn’t work out, then bring the kids.  Your friends want

                         to see you!

                                  Wear your holiday colors as Alfred will have the main dining area

                          decorated for Christmas with a special meal planned for the club.

    

                                          Food: Steak or Grilled Chicken entrée

                               2 sides, beverage, dessert, gratuity:  $20

 

                          Please contact Paula Weant by Saturday, December 1st,  at 704-865-6193 so we

                          can give Alfred an approximate head count.  Thank you.

Text Box: Ride Leaders Selected At the November meeting, members volunteered to lead each of our four organized rides annual rides as follows: Challenge to Succeed, Sunday, April 14, 2002: Troy Bush & Margot Rott Dog Days, Sunday, July 14, 2002: Jack Moore Press on Regardless, Sunday, October 13, 2002: Chuck Richardson Polar Bear: Sunday, January 12, 2003 (or Wednesday, January 1st, 2003?): Reese Wilson Question: Does anyone else think Polar Bear 2003 should be scheduled for January 1st, instead of the 2nd Sunday in January? Let myself or Reese Wilson know what you think at the Christmas party. –John Price, editor. Text Box: Don’t forget … Renew Your Club Dues Now! It’s that time of the year again. Club memberships expire every December 31st, so dues are payable by January 1st. Don’t delay your renewal. Pay by check or cash at our club meetings or mail it to GCC, PO Box 122, Lowell NC 28098. $10 individual, $15 household. Special note for those that joined in the last half of 2001 – please check your mailing label, as it lists your expiration date. Your membership may already be good through the end of 2002!

Text Box: Officer Elections At the November club meeting, the following individuals were approved (volunteered) for officer duties for 2002: President: Jack Moore (phone @ Cycling&Fitness) Vice-president: Jim Weant (jpweant@msn.com) Treasurer: Melissa Magee (mambike@aol.com) Newsletter: John Price (coastineditor@yahoo.com)                   Ride & Run Schedule

  

 Sunday (ride) 1:30pm, Forest View High School, routes available of 25, 30, 40 &                                                                                                             50 miles.

Tuesday & Thursday (run) 6:00pm,

                      Food Lion (next to Ashbrook High )

              South New Hope Rd,

             Gastonia, 6 miles with shorter options

 

Race & Event Results

 

Duke Liver Center Half Ironman:  Jordan Lake, NC 09/30/01 8:00, 437 participants

16th overall Eric Emerson Gastonia, NC 24th in swim: 27:45; 14th in bike:  2:36:03; 29th in run: 1:35:44

overall time: 4:39:32

 

155th overall Chris Baucom Gastonia, NC 151st in swim: 34:38; 79th in bike: 2:47:11;  277th in run: 2:05:48;                

overall time:  5:27:36

 

165th overall Barry Lee Gastonia, NC 258th in swim: 38:01; 149th in bike: 2:56:11; 189th in run: 1:56:14:

overall time: 5:30:24

 

Cycle North Carolina:  October 6-13, 2001.  This was a 7-day event from Mt. Airy to Elizabeth City.  50-80 miles per day, 450 miles total.  Completing the ride were Dorothy & Ed Keene from our club.  Nice going!  For information on the 2002 ride, see www.cyclenorthcarolina.org . 

 

Bridge & Trestle: Oct. 27, 2001 – 17 Mile run from Damascus, VA, to the top of White Top Mountain - participants :  Melissa Magee, Ralph Rutledge, Troy Bush, Margot Rott, Ronald Hutchins, Suzanne Clemmer, Jim Weant, & Paula Weant.

Special congratulations to Margot and Ralph - their longest run.

Spencer Mountain 10-Mile Run: Nov 17- Ranlo, NC ~ participants :  Suzanne Clemmer, Ronald Hutchins, Chris Baucom, Mike Harrison, Chuck Richardson, Melissa Magee, Ralph Rutledge, Reese Wilson, Hal Angel, Jim Weant, & Paula Weant.

 

Editor’s request:  If you’ve participated in any events, runs, walks, rides, please communicate these to me at 704-867-2669, by e-mail at coastineditor@yahoo.com, or by mail to John Price 681 Niblick Dr Gastonia NC 28054.  Even if you don’t have a time to report, others like to hear about your participation in and opinions of various events.

 

Upcoming Events

 

Jingle Bell Run / Walk through McAdenville - Tuesday, December 4th at 6:30pm

                                                 Don’t Miss Out on This!

Our annual Jingle Bell Run / Walk will be held on Tuesday, December 5th, at 6:30pm. The rain date will be Thursday, December 6th. We'll meet at the Food Lion on Wilkinson Blvd. in Cramerton at 6:15 and start at 6:30. The distance is approximately 3 (slow) miles. McAdenville supplies the lights, we supply the noise. Come on out, join the fun and don't forget your jingle bells!

 
Polar Bear Ride, Gaston County Cyclists, January 13, 2002; 50 miles (40 mile option)

Forest View High School, 5545 Union Rd, Gastonia, NC

Time:  registration 12:30,  start 1:15  (see flyer elsewhere in newsletter for additional information)

 

Upcoming Running Events (courtesy of Paula Weant)

Dec 2 – Arby’s Reindeer Romp 5K - Asheville, NC - www.lungnc.org

Dec 2 - Raleigh, NC - Raleigh Marathon & Half-marathon - 919 266 2444

Dec. 8 - Cleveland, NC - West Rowan YMCA Santa Run - 5K - 704 278 1610

Dec. 8 - Winston-Salem, NC - Reindeer Romp 5K - 800 892 5662

Dec. 15 - Kannapolis, NC - Sleigh Run 8K - 704 939 9622 ext 18

Dec. 15 - Kiawah Island, SC ~ Kiawah Island Marathon, Half-marathon & 5K (843) 768-2780.

Dec 29 - Mocksville, NC - Davie Family YMCA 5K Resolution Run - 336 751 9622

 

The Duke Blue Devil - A Full Iron Distance Triathlon
Swim: 2.4 Miles - Bike: 112 Miles - Run: 26.2 Miles

DATE: Saturday, September 14, 2002 , for more information, see www.dukebluedevil.org (after Dec.1, 2001)

The Blue Devil Triathlon is North Carolina’s first Ironman class triathlon.  Awesome!

 
Club Jerseys For Sale - Maybe

Have you seen the fabulous orange, black, & white jerseys worn by many of the Gaston County Cyclists?  Maybe you’d like to have one for yourself.  Last Spring, Matt Derstine organized the purchase of these jerseys for the club.  If there’s sufficient interest, we will place another order for this same jersey sometime in March.  We will need a minimum of 12 jerseys, in men’s sizes only.  The cost will be approximately $55.  If you might possibly be interested, it’s imperative you let Matt or myself know.  You don’t have to commit to ordering now, but we need a contact list to see if there is sufficient interest.   E-mail Matt with your name and phone at mkderstine@yahoo.com, or contact  John Price at 704-867-2669, e-mail:  coastineditor@yahoo.com.

Afghan cyclists on the road again

By VeloNews Interactive  Copyright Reuters 2001

This report filed November 26, 2001

Afghan cycling enthusiasts, forced off their bikes by the Taliban, are back in the saddle.

About 20 cyclists in full gear staged their first race in five years from the capital, Kabul, on Sunday after the city fell to forces of the Northern Alliance. Braving a potholed road that crosses the heavily mined former front line, they traveled 40 km (25 miles) north to the town of Charikar at the base of the Panjsher valley.

The Taliban had outlawed public sports events in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic law that also obliged men to wear beards and women to leave their homes only in the company of a male relative and shrouded in a full-length burqa veil.

"During Taliban times we weren't allowed to do sports, it was very difficult. Now with freedom we can do what we want, so we are organizing this race," Mahmood Azani, of Afghanistan's Olympic Committee, told Reuters television.

He said the race had been staged in honor of the late Ahmed Shah Masood, the Northern Alliance's legendary commander, who was killed in a bomb attack two days before the September 11 hijacked airliner assaults on the U.S.

Text Box: Kindness & Generosity Since we’re all in the Christmas spirit, I’d like to tell about our Sunday ride on November 11th. We started out in a group of about 10 riders, but only about four miles into the ride, Sam Jenkins’ bike suffered a “mechanical,” forcing him to call it quits immediately. Reese Wilson volunteered to ride back to Forest View High, get his van, and give Sam a ride back to his car. Over the last few years of riding with the club, I’ve been a recipient of much goodwill while out on the road, either with help of a flat tire, or a friendly wheel to follow when the going got tough. This is a special thanks to Reese for that particular Sunday’s efforts, and to everyone in the bike club for the many acts of kindness and encouragement we’ve shown each other over the years. Copyright Reuters 2001

 

 

Periodization

(How to Get Better by Training Less)

by John Price

Back in the fall of 1998 fellow GCC club member Tim Knight was excited about a new training regimen he had discovered.  The strategy known as “Periodization,” was outlined in a new book authored by Joe Friel called The Cyclist’s Training Bible .  Having glanced at the chapter headings, I dismissed the book as a rehash of cliches and old ideas.  Tim had as his main goals for 1999 two major century rides in the North Carolina mountains – the Assault on Mt Mitchell in May  and Bridge to Bridge in September.  Although he didn’t train as much as I did in 1999, he rode very well in both those rides, beating me easily in each.  I dismissed the difference in our performances as purely a matter of natural ability.

Then year 2000 came and went, and I realized that I had been riding regularly since 1996, and was stuck in a rut.  Training was still enjoyable, but wasn’t yielding tangible or measurable improvements.  Something needed to change.

First to mind came the old school philosophy - distance one day, sprinting one day, intervals another day, perhaps climbing another day, with the occasional mid-week group ride and/or race thrown in on weekends.  Unfortunately, I knew that with my abilities, I would be totally wrecked after only one or two weeks of such a tortuous schedule.

So reluctantly I turned back to Friel’s book mentioned earlier.  On closer examination I found several things to which I could relate, such as an observation that progress seems to halt after only 8-12 weeks of doing the same thing.  Also, certain workouts demand high quality efforts to be beneficial, and recovery beforehand is essential to get good results.  Additionally, Friel also describes over-training – a phenomenon I had experienced frequently.  Over-training happens when you’ve ridden a lot without adequate recovery – and just when you feel your hard work should be making you better, you find yourself getting worse.

                Particularly beneficial is Friel’s explanation of how to “peak” for a major event.  Following his guidelines, I do this over a three week period.  Week #1 is a recovery week (easy riding), followed by two weeks of reduced volume, but with special emphasis on brief, high-end, anaerobic efforts.

If you’ve read this far, hopefully you’re asking the question, “how does Periodization work?”  For an authoritative discussion, you should read books by either Joe Friel or perhaps Chris Carmichael (Lance’s coach who has adopted Friel’s methodology.)  But here’s a brief description of how it works for me. 

Step One:  Set Priorities and Goals

As Tim did back in 1999, I also set the Mitchell and Bridge century mountain rides (May and September) as my two main targets for 2001.  I intended to be at my very best for these two events.  Also important was a 6 event time trial series, a June century ride called Blood, Sweat, & Gears, and the July 4th ride in Polk County. 

Step Two:  Make A Plan  “It Wasn’t Raining When Noah Built the Ark” …

Friel writes a whole book on how to do this, I can’t cover it in this article.  But basically, Periodization involves dividing your training year into phases.  During each phase a particular skill will be emphasized the most.  Friel names these as endurance, strength, speed, muscular-endurance, power, and speed-endurance.  Each phase is then divided into periods.  For me, a period is only 3 weeks long.  During the first 2 weeks, the volume and/or intensity is built up, then during the third week everything is cut back to allow for recovery.  I need more frequent recovery periods than other riders. 

Also, following his guidelines, I developed a five-month weight lifting plan for October to March, using his recommendations for different emphases and planned recovery weeks.

Step Three:  Implementing the Plan

Flexibility is essential here.  Unexpected things happen - family crises, sicknesses, work problems – that will force changes in your plan.  Also, you’ll probably find it necessary to take unplanned recovery periods occasionally.  But it’s important to remain confident that your overall plan will work – give it a chance!

Step Four:  Measure the Results

So at the end of my training year (10/00 – 9/01), I found that I’d actually ridden 1000 miles less than in the previous three years.  How were my results?

Successes:  May: 10 mile time trial, set new personal record by 1 ½ minutes.  Assault on Mt. Mitchell, got under 6 ½ hours and beat previous best time by 7 minutes. 

July:  Fabulous 4th Ride, stayed with front pack for 60 minutes, twice as long as my four previous attempts. 

September:  Bettered my Bridge to Bridge personal record by 3 minutes, and felt real good the whole ride (except when Margot Rott flew by me on the last hill).  10 mile time trial, improved on personal best again by another 23 seconds.

Failures:  April, Challenge to Succeed & July, Dog Days, Neither of these rides were in peak periods, and I took quite a thrashing from the other participants in the process of getting dropped.

June, July, & August time trials:  these were also in off-peak times, and my times shot up.  I really thought my overall plan wasn’t working, but was pleased by September’s results.

                One Last Thought:  When employing Periodization, it’s important to realize you’re not going to improve your performance every day, year round.  By adding specificity to your riding, you will improve your planned peak rides, but may sometimes have to “go it alone” instead of “following the pack.”