Friday, February 26, 2010

Back to Back Race Camps!

We are headed back east for two race camps. Why us? Because we understand what is needed for them to improve their game. We teach (show them vs. tell them) using the best science!

When you attend a race camp, you'll learn not just what to do but why. Each rider gets detailed explanations, illustrated with eye catching science. At the same time they get real-life experiences on the road.

Cycling is not a natural sport. Many think its just in the legs, VO2 max, power, nothing in the arms, hips, spine. The same pessimistic thinking will draw an image its just legs and lungs. Not so! This is more a total body sport than you know!

Weight training, stretching are major disciplines and they are needed provide balance for the body, even a human who rides a bike. But on the same note, being a body builder will hurt you in the mountains. Useless weight i.e. muscle or fat is a handicap. Heavy arms and shoulders add frontal drag and are an disadvantage.

We have watched teams hit the gym too much and add mass to their arms, shoulders and change their fit and get slower. Fitting a bike also includes knowing where the weight is.

It's not just about angles as so many fitting systems suggest!

The body on a bike needs to react in a dynamic fashion. To be able to move-in-and-out of balance i.e. skiing for all circumstances. You have to be supple and if some muscles are too developed, you lose the qualities that are useful.

We see the strong guys wanting to get stronger with saddle low and the large thigh muscles to lift the pedal, raise the knee, but are they really pedaling more efficiently? On the other hand, we see people attempting to get the torso flat only to restrict their pedal action, really working the hamstrings. The results, the hamstrings then oppose the thigh by an undesirable pull on the hip. But they are more aero, but slower! Stretching will do little to help the line of pull of the muscles in question.

We are not in the business to provide a remedy balance or poor bike setups! The two above examples are fact that cycling body development is developed by the quality, mass used continuously in the pedaling game.

The word in media or marketing within bike fitting systems is static vs. dynamic. It should be noted that any (compression, shearing, tension) in a static or dynamic sport - consumes energy!

That is the very reason we used sEMG to record the muscles being ON/OFF. This can't be done by just viewing it with your eye! The eye receives the info after the fact!!!

Many have poor riding skills, because they are locked into a position. They are not supple, because they didn't work nor did they attempt to correct there postures.

They should try to correct their physique concerns by setting their bikes to help. But if they have someone (bike fitter) who compensates, or allows them to use their poor physique on the bike, they should not think they are going have better physiological functioning. They will always have an "Ouch."

The best thing to do is find out what cycling game you want to do and then work on the physiological functioning that goes with that sport. Road is not mtb! Tri is not tt. TT is not track and so on. Too often you see a person put the time in on their choice of cycling. In other words they practice a certain cycling game and then the stiffness from practicing that game exclusively will come. Then the results don't come and they wonder what happen?

Shortening the muscle will cause you to loose the much needed coordination in pedaling. Putting the correct tension on the muscles increases their range of motion and joints. If a muscle group makes a limb move quickly towards an extreme, the CNS calls for the opposing muscle group to slow down the movement in order to avoid torn fibers. It seems that the CNS has more sense than many of the ideas on fitting?

So the trick is to keep the neuro-muscular spindles from sending the signal to the opposing muscle group to contract, slowing the leg motion. Opposing muscle contraction defeats the goal of the exercise.

The advantage of a high saddle is you get a superior ergonomic return. On the same note, the spinal column is in a better zone to resist the strains of cycling. Too bad so many think the plumb line idea works and they have sore backs! A hard way to learn, nor better if you do learn?

You might have all the willpower in the world. You might have all the physical strength, with your muscles being firm and daydreams in your head of winning. But without the true rhythm in your legs you are not going to see a paycheck.

What you might know at the local level needs to be refined at the elite level. There is a lot to develop an efficient pedal stroke. How and why the bike is set up for the best handling and efficiency.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

What? Muscles on like lights in a room?

Most people vary in the shape and size of their morphology. That includes their volume! Meaning their positions in all sports are going to have different styles. This is really true for the many situations of cycling i.e. road, mtb, tt, tri, track, etc...

In other words! A road bike fit is not the best for mtb, tt, tri, track, etc...

Things might seem immobile but they are very dynamic under the skin i.e. pressures are being transferred to the handlebars, saddle, feet.

Muscles regulate the tension according to the changing situations! Tracking two intersecting lines will not tell you the tone of the muscles.

Muscles are like lights that are turned on in a room! If they are on they burn energy! The trick is to get them to turn on/off as needed. By the way, they burn when they are stretch!

To run! Press the arrow!


A cyclist can only achieve optimum efficiency if their bike is perfectly adapted to their build!

That means you can't expect everyone to have the same moves!

Monday, February 15, 2010

New "FAST" Team In ID! "Escalera" 2 WN's, 2 States!


Don't just be in the ballpark, hit a home run!


There's nothing like pushing yourself to the limit on a bicycle and being the fastest team!

Idaho is know to have the fastest men & women racer's in the sport, in the USA, and even the World!

To cross the finish line first here you need to fully be prepared!

Keep an eye on this team to see how they rate against world-class competitors, using every fit idea on the market!

They are ready to compete!
&
They are ready to WN!


Kai Applequist (Boise's Team Exergy) takes the win (WN) at season opener at Cherry Pie, OR.

Chris Stewart (Boise's Team Exergy) takes crit (WN) in College Station, TX!

Proof is in the pudding or in cherry picking!

Racers, Riders and Enthusiasts,

We, Escalera Racing and team exergy, would like to formally invite you all to The team exergy Presentation pb Escalera Racing The Linen Building Event Center and The Modern Hotel. Monday March 15, 6 30 pm, at The Linen Building in The Linen District of beautiful Downtown Boise, Id.

The night will be filled with excitement! Starting things off with a Sponsor Presentation then The team exergy Presentation. Next team exergy in partnership with ProHelmet.Org will be presenting helmets to Children from our community and The City Light Home for Women and Children. We will be following that up with a live Auction and live music by Poke.

This event will be fun for all ages. There will be a huge variety of items to bid on in the silent and live auction, from restaurants, bike shops, artists, and sponsors. There will be beverages for all to enjoy. Not to mention, a great way to kick off the new 2010 cycling season.

This is not only a way to show your support for team exergy but a way to give as well, as a great portion of the proceeds will be befittingprohelmet.org .

Out of town guests and all friends of team exergy are encouraged to book rooms and stay at The Modern Hotel, for the event and the entire year of 2010, themodernhotel.com using Promo code (exergy) you will recive a significant discount and you will be staying in the sweetest Hotel in the city.

We hope to see you all there.

Remi McManus
Escalera Racing LLC
team exergy
208 371 4003

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Kenda p/b Geargrinder "Selfless"

Think about performing 70 plus race (road/tt) bikes for pros in a week?
It takes a team of truth, precision, and "Myth-busting" science to make it so!
No guess work here!
Eddie of 55nine is part of that team and that is why this team will only use
"The real deal of bike fitting"

Sure they have been approached by other fitting systems, video, led tracking system, but the team knows most of the fit systems are still just using old school constraints i.e. tracking the skin over the joint is only getting you close, it's not precision (compression, shearing, tension.)

The other fitting ideas are being found out!!!

55nine Performance: www.55nine.com
WN Systems www.wobblenaught.com

Be there!

SEE-ME
(Southeast Endurance & Multi-sport Expo): www.charitablesportsproductions.com/see-me

The show is from 2 PM to 7 PM on Saturday Feb 27th located at: 8 Concourse Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30328

55nine Performance &
WN and Georgia Sports Chiropractic booth (no booth numbers). The best time to be there is from 5 PM to 6 PM.


TEAM KENDA p/b GEARGRINDER TEAM DIRECTOR
FRANKIE ANDREU
in
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, February 27th at 55nine booth!
5pm to 6pm

Frankie and Team Kenda Pro Cycling Manager Chad Thompson will be at the booth for a "Meet & Greet."


Sunday, February 07, 2010

Do you know where this is?


The area you want to focus on is outlined in green!













If you don't you?
Ouch!

Even if you are off a small degree!
There is very little room in judgement on the subject.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Luca Damiani's "fund raiser" for Macon, GA.

Think it's easy to put a team together given the times & the lack of support?



This isn't NASCAR! It's cycling!


There is very little support and very few step up to the plate and give money to teams. You have to come up with ways to fund a team.



WN recieved a nasty email about the effort of the team or doing a fund raiser? They didn't even had the "guts" to post their name? I guess they are well known and don't want to be viewed as a "snake."

Funny "nasty" little sport, people want a race but don't care to support it, only dis on it?


I guess it would also be viewed wrong to rent a parking lot for a football game ro raise money for any cycling team.


God forbid, a cycling team raising money by fund raising!


Ever hear of a "Black Tie Fund Raiser." Even the Pro US Ski Team does fund raising.


You will have some ass doing a "He Ha."



Luca Damiani's season at risk over visa issue



Team launches 'FREE LUCA' fundraiser

Italian Luca Damiani's debut season with the Kenda team was at risk after he was denied a traveler's visa to enter the United States of America by the US Consulate in Milan, Italy on Tuesday. Damiani was expected to arrive in Stateside this month to begin his road racing season with team Kenda Pro Cycling presented by Gear Grinder in Macon, GA. WN is going to be there!

"The problem is the paperwork and now the team wants to have the athletes visa ready in time for the end of February," Damiani said. "This is a problem because it will cost more to have it done quickly. If everything is going OK, I should have my visa in time for the Macon, GA. training camp."

The US Consulate denied him the visa citing him as a possible immigration risk, according to Kenda Pro Cycling Team owner Chad Thompson. Chad informed WN that Damiani is taken care of at this time.

"Our attorney asked Luca to apply for a B1-B2, since we are not paying him a salary, instead of a P1 Visa that is a corporate," Thomson said. "They denied him because he does not have a stable paycheck or job in Italy nor own a home in Italy. So, the US Consulate officer thought he was an immigration risk.

Chad Thompson hired 'visa specialist' Michael Hoops of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP Attorneys at Law to complete the paper work for a P1 Visa for athletes and entertainers on Damiani's behalf. Costs of the P1 Visa reach as high as $3000 USD.

"Since he wasn't getting paid he opted to apply for a B1-B2 Visa and now that he's not getting that one he is getting a P1 Visa." Thompson said. "The P1 is in process we are confident it will be ready and he will be at camp on February 26. We've already purchased his flight tickets."

WN will have a staff of 4 on hand to take care of all the riders.

Damiani recently completed his European cyclo-cross season with the Italian National Team at the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships held in Tabor, Czech Republic.

Kenda Pro Cycling and MATTEO Studios have designed a 'FREE LUCA' t-shirt for sale on the Kenda Pro Cycling team website for $25 dollars. The proceeds will go toward the cost of Damiani's P1-Visa.

The 'FREE LUCA' T-shirts can be purchased at http://www.infernoracing.org/


Damiani is a long-time member of the Italian National Cyclo-Cross team. In 2008 he joined the US-based team Colavita-Sutter Home in a two-year contract before joining Kenda Pro Cycling in 2010. Damiani is best known for winning the CSC Invitation Criterium in 2008.

Voluntary!





Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school - Einstein





Skeletal muscle


Attached to the skeleton or connective tissue via tendons. It is under "voluntary control" but can tire quickly. Between the origin and insertion of a muscle is the muscle belly; muscles can have multiple origins, insertions and bellies.

Skeletal muscle is able to contract, respond to stimulation from the nervous system and hormones, stretch beyond its normal resting length i.e. bad bike fit and recoil back to its original resting length.


This is done under the great effort of conscious control of the brain.


You can't fake it! You earn it!