3 Stretches to prevent Lower Back Pain
Carson City’s Luke Wold of Wold Fitness shares three stretches to prevent lower back pain from cycling.
P.S. I already teased Luke that he wouldn’t have as much lower back pain if he didn’t ride a 1990 Trek Singletrack! Those old machines are brutal…
Wow! What a week full of events, and what a great turn out! I’m going to need a few days to recover.
Flat Tire Clinic at Comma Coffee
On Thursday, Dan Turner from the Bicycle Authority did a flat tire clinic at the Comma Coffee courtyard. The outdoor setting, warm spring evening, and raised stage made this a fun event. This hands on clinic allowed students to pop and patch tubes.
Team Wonderbike
We had our Bike to Work Week party on Friday night at the Firkin and Fox. We started setting up a little before 5 PM, and then people started rolling in. New Belgium’s Team Wonderbike was there to greet the party goers, where many a rider pledged to drive less and ride more. Jen and Cody provided plenty of New Belgium swag for the pledges. Just around the corner, Fat Tire Ale and Mighty Arrow Pale Ale were being served. I believe I had the honor of the first and last glass of Mighty Arrow!
Hick’ry Switch
The raffle ticket station was hopping! Everyone wanted to win the two cruiser bikes. I wish I could’ve been like Oprah and given everyone a bike, but there were only two. Mel and Teri were the lucky winners of the night. Thanks to your generous contributions, we raised a lot of money for Muscle Powered to further bicycle advocacy in Carson City. Luckily, many of you won some other great prizes and drank a few delicious beers along with your donation!
Amanda – Injuries sustained on last week’s Full Moon ride
A big thanks to the three musical acts that performed. Hick’ry Switch, a few members from Anouaze Beat, and James Wilsey kept the crowd entertained until after dark. A very eclectic selection of music for sure!
Chris and Leslie
Jeff Potter, Jason and Tasha
Mel wins a bike!
Keith demonstrating wheelies on the Ute
Who would’ve thought you could ride a wheelie on a utility bike? Leave it to Keith to teach us how! The Kona Ute was a party favorite that night. A few people took a ride on the back, and Scott R even got shuttled down to the Carson Nugget at the end of the evening.
Kristy, James, and John
Another special thanks to Jim and John at the Firkin. The back parking lot was the perfect spot for our event. Thanks for helping to make it such a nice evening!
Me and the boy
Brent, Scott R, and Sandie
Dropping Scott R off at the Nugget on the way home
We had one day to get caught up on the chores at home, and then my family joined other riders for the Bike Habitat’s 2009 Tour of Carson and BBQ. The ride was a 28 mile loop around the outskirts of Carson City, beginning and ending at the Bike Habitat. To celebrate the Bike Habitat’s 2nd Anniversary, there was a tasty BBQ waiting for all the riders when they returned. Congratulations on your Anniversary, Denis, and thank you for all your support during Bike Month!
Tour of Carson pre-ride
My Stoker
Jodi
Views of the mountains above Carson Valley
Once again, Keith Conrad setup a sports drink stop on King Street for us. It was getting hot when we rolled up, and the cold drinks gave us the energy we needed to make it back to the Bike Habitat. Thanks, Keith!
Chatting somewhere north of town
28 Miles on Tandem!
I volunteered to ride sweep at this year’s Tour of Carson, but as it turned out, I would’ve been back there anyway! My son and I rode the juggernaut of all bicycles, our KHS tandem. I wasn’t able to get the slicks on the fat rims, so I put the lightest mountain tires I could find on it. Charlie and I made it though, flying down the descents and crawling up the climbs. We were both excited to complete the whole course. It was Charlie’s longest ride ever, and my longest ride of the year!
Post Ride BBQ at the Bike Habitat!
Stay tuned for Jeff Potter’s Corporate Challenge results. We have lots of exciting data to share with everyone, and the results may surprise you. I was shocked!
Once again, thank you to all Bike to Work Week participants, planners, organizers, and sponsors. It was the biggest bike event Carson City has ever seen, and we all made it happen.
Also, don’t forget that the Bike Habitat is doing two more bicycle clinics on the remaining two Tuesday’s in May. See you there!
As we near the end of Bike to Work Week, I’m amazed at the turnout and the enthusiasm everyone has! As of Wednesday’s night’s reporting, there have been over 600 trips made by bicycle, and over 2,000 miles ridden! And there are still two days to go. This was not something I expected to happen, and I’m blown away. You all deserve a party!
Ride your Bike to the Firkin and Fox Friday night!
It just so happens that we have a party lined up for all you bicycle commuters down at the Firkin and Fox on Friday night, May 15th. Head on down after work, and we’ll get the party started when you arrive (5 PM ish!) There will be plenty of refreshments, activities, and entertainment. We even have many prizes to give away from the generous Bike to Work Week sponsors:
Grand Prize: 2 Cruiser bikes from Bicycle Authority, donated by Muscle Powered.
Misc. bike goodies from the Bike Habitat
4 Free oil change coupons from Capitol Automotive
3 $20 gift cards from Fleet Feet Sports
1 day kayak rental from The Sporting Rage
2 $20 gift cards from Firkin & Fox
1 lunch for 2 at Z-Bistro
2 $20 gift cards from Red’s Old 395 Grill
1 Gift Certificate from 702 Skate Shop
Misc. bike goodies from New Belgium Brewing
Raffle Tickets are 1 for $2, or 6 – $10, and the proceeds go to support Muscle Powered. The drawing will be held at the Firkin and Fox Bike to Work Week Party on the evening of May 15th. You MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN, so come on down! Visit the Muscle Powered tent to purchase your raffle tickets.
New Belgium Beer. Mmmmmm…..
Featured beers of the night will be Fat Tire Ale and Mighty Arrow Pale Ale from New Belgium Brewing. In addition to the beer, New Belgium’s Team Wonderbike will be on hand to get you to pledge to CONTINUE to keep riding your bike more. Partial sales from Mighty Arrow Pale Ale will go to support Muscle Powered, and you will get a raffle ticket for every Mighty Arrow you purchase! New Belgium will also have a few goodies to give out.
On your mark, get set, SLLLLOOOOOWWWW! Count on participating in a slow drag or two. Line up the bikes, and head for the finish line. Last one across the line WINS! No track stands, and no putting a foot down.
I’m also excited to announce that we have two musical guests lined up for the party.
These musicians have all donated their time, so look for the tip jar during the performances!
Support Muscle Powered!
And finally, if you’ve enjoyed May’s Bike Month events, please consider joining Muscle Powered. Established in 1997, Muscle Powered is a community group dedicated to making Nevada’s capital city a better community for bicycling and walking through advocacy, education, and promotion of bike-and-pedestrian-friendly roadways, and bike-and-pedestrian-friendly development and redevelopment. Muscle Powered gets most of its work done by volunteering, but unfortunately, there are administration costs for us to operate effectively. These costs are covered by your memberships fees and donations. In addition to showing support for our goals, membership automatically covers you under our insurance policy, allowing you to participate in Muscle Powered sponsored activities including bike rides and walks.
Muscle Powered Yearly Membership:
We’ll have Muscle Powered memberships forms at the party, and there is also a form available for download on the Muscle Powered resources page HERE. Thank you for your support!
Bike to Work Week begins! Here’s a look at what’s going on today:
Here’s a summary of what’s coming up for May’s Bike Month. Please check the Bike Carson Calendar Page for further details. Please be aware that times could change, so it’s best to check the calendar for the latest updates before heading out. We’ll also post final details the day before the events.
April 22nd
May 4th
May 5th
May 6th
May 7th
May 8th
May 9th
May 10th
May 11th
May 12th
May 13th
May 14th
May 15th
May 16th
May 17th
May 19th
May 26th
As cyclists, we’re naturally focused on our legs. A ride can be gauged on how your legs feel, and it’s your legs that usually feel it the most after a hard ride. It isn’t surprising that most of us neglect the other muscle groups in our body.
I have tendinitis in my right shoulder, so not only did I ignore upper body exercises, I avoided them on purpose to avoid pain. As you can imagine, this resulted in an underdeveloped upper body. Last year I visited the physical therapist, and he turned me on to a whole bunch of exercises to strengthen my shoulder. I discovered that the exercise actually made my shoulder feel better, not worse. I also noticed that my bike handling skills improved as I got stronger.
I started looking around for more exercises, preferably something I could do without buying extra equipment that would clutter up the house. I heard a few people mention the One Hundred Push Ups website, and decided to check it out.
The program begins with an initial test, so you can see where to start out. I was only able to do a humbling 9 or 10 until exhaustion set in! Not only that, I was really sore after the next day. It looked like a promising program, so I decided to give it a go anyhow. The first week starts off pretty easy, with only 5 or 6 push ups per set. Five sets will give you 25-30 push ups total for the day, and you only do the program 3 days a week.
I’ve been doing the program for about three months, and I’m proud to say I can now do 50 consecutive push ups, the sets have increased to eight, and I’m doing around 170 push ups in a day. I started to see changes in my upper body after only a month. And like I mentioned, my bike handling skills have improved. My upper body can handle the bumpy terrain easier. This is important to me since I like to run a rigid fork on my single speed. Sprinting, climbing, turning, bunny hopping, throwing the bike around, etc. have all improved. This has kept me inspired to keep with the program and shoot for one hundred consecutive push ups!
One of the things that sold me on the program was the introduction. For one, they’re free, and you can do them anywhere. Secondly, they hit so many muscle groups. Here’s an excerpt from the site:
Push ups are one of the basic and most common exercises for the human body. Push ups are not only great for your chest, but do a tremendous job of defining your abs, triceps, shoulders and torso.
Push ups can be performed no matter where you are, and best of all, they are completely free – no expensive equipment or annual gym fees required! If you’re looking to develop a great chest and shoulders, you could do much worse than follow along with the hundred push ups plan. Your core strength will also go through the roof too!
There were a couple weeks where I slacked off, and only did 2 days a week. I noticed that I was able to maintain my fitness, but I didn’t improve. Improvement only came when I stuck to 3 days per week. It’s also interesting to note that my belly is shrinking, but I’m actually gaining a little weight. Thankfully the weight is in muscle, and I can use the muscles on the climb.
So if you’re looking to improve your upper body strength and bike handling, go check out One Hundred Push Ups!