For all all of you in Arizona we are so fortune for the weather we have had over the new year. The weather does not get any better than this and allows us to ride year around.
On new years eve and new years day I went on 2 of my favorite bike rides in Tucson, AZ.
On the 31st I worked in morning at my mortgage office helping people with their refinances to help homeowners take advantaged of the low interest rates we are now seeing as a result of the economic condition. Then skipped out for a bike ride and a couple of loops around Saguaro Monument East. The temp was perfect; in the mid 70’s with no wind.
On news years day Michael Malisewski and I did one of my favorite rides and one of Tucson’s best kept secret the ride to Marsh Station which for us about a 65 mile ride. What a great ride. We left around 8:30 am and there were NO cars on the road. The ride is cool because it parallels the train track. There are some sections were you can race the train on your bike. We ran into two trains this morning which makes for a fun ride.
Just a quick report from the island of Nevis, where I’m spending the holidays both relaxing, training, and volunteering with the St. Kitts and Nevis cycling federation. Many of you have offered donations to the program, and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. Please keep them coming or get in touch with me to find out more (ESPNOlympian@aol.com). We had over twenty youths come ride with us last week, and it was the biggest group yet. Good things are happening!
For those of you who are seasoned riders, I’ve got to put in a plug for the training here. Nevis, which is the smaller island of the St. Kitts and Nevis Caribbean nation, has one paved road that encircles the entire island. It’s about 23 miles around. Uphill both ways. Or so it feels! The wind here is fierce, and the steep, volcanic topography make for some excellent climbing terrain. Steep rollers, blustery headwinds, and hot Caribbean sun/humidity are a foce to be reconed with—and well worth the effort. While there are a few stretches of potholes, the majority of the single lane road is good. After you master riding on the left-hand side of the road and become accustomed to the monkeys, goats, sheep, donkeys, and crabs that skitter across the road, Nevis may just be the best kept strength-training secret. And the volcanic hot springs in the center of town? Not a bad way to rejuvenate the muscles post-climb. If you’d like to test your strength here, come on down!
National Road Race Championships on June 20th, 2009
Or, if you’re into triathlon and open water swimming…
March 15 Carino Health Olympic Distance and Sprint Triathlon
March 29 Cross Channel Nevis to St.Kitts 2 mile Swim
Early November (TBA) Off road triathlon
For more information, check out www.neviscycleclub.com.
Wishing you all a happy holidays from the heart of Nevis,
My name is Kathryn Bertine, and I’m a pro cyclist living and training in Tucson…only I happen to be in the Caribbean at the moment. How I got here is a bit of a long story, but here’s the condensed version: Two years ago, ESPN hired me to write about my two-year attempt to make it to the Beijing Olympics. Alas, I didn’t make it. But here’s the cool part; I didn’t exactly fail. The experiences along the way made for an incredible journey, with unbelievable races, people, and nations all playing huge parts in my quest.
Halfway through my Olympic attempt, I was given dual citizenship with the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis in order to help the country build a prominent future in cycling. While I’m still racing toward my own dreams of 2012, I’m finally in a position to start giving back to the country that helped me so much in my quest. I’m currently on the island of Nevis. What an incredible experience cycling here. for starters, the island has one paved road all the way around measuring just over 20 miles. The hills are killer. The winds are killerer. I can’t begin to tell you how fascinating it is to watch out for monkeys, donkeys, goats, and crabs…all of which love to dart into the road without notice. Ok, crabs don’t dart. They scuttle. They’re not so startling. Except for the fact that, dude, there’s a crab in the road. We don’t see that much in Tucson. Cooler still are the people, all 10,000 of them on Nevis. There are less than twenty in the cycling club, but we’re changing that every day. One goal is to build an inter-Caribbean women’s UCI team, so the islands can get better world wide recognition. I was fortunate enough to race in the World Champs in Varese, Italy this year. Someday, there will be more of us, which is why the other goal of my volunteering down here is much more grassroots. The Nevis Cycling Club and I are trying to get as many kids into cycling as possible.
The Jan 1, 2009Vol 38/No. 1 issue of VeloNews is worth reading. On page 62 there is an age time-line of Lance Armstrong’s career starting at age 7 when he received his first Schwinn Mag Scrambler bike. His success story is pretty impressive.
There is also a great article on Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer.
The 2009 cycling season will be an interesting one thanks to Lance Armstong.
Extreme Endurance is 100% natural athletic dietary supplement clinically proven to:
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Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak was taking Extreme Endurance when he won his gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
Ride-Strong will be giving away a FREE bottle of Extreme Endurance to a lucky ready. Simple comment on this post below and will be picking someone on Saturday December 13, 2008. Make sure you check back to the post so if you are the lucky winner you can contact Ride-Strong with you mailing address.
Many times cyclist get stick in a plateau or want to know how to improve their cycling. It is the tiny changes you make that can lead to huge breakthroughs and results in your cycling.
I stumbled upon an Anthony Robbins video that applies to all aspects of life and can be applied to cycling and training.
Watch the video below on how “Tiny Changes Could Mean Huge Results” in your cycling.
What small changes could you make that could lead to huge results in your life and cycling? Below is a list of 10 small changes that can lead to huge results:
Or so it feels! The wind here is fierce, and the steep, volcanic topography make for some excellent climbing terrain. Steep rollers, blustery headwinds, and hot Caribbean sun/humidity are a foce to be reconed with—and well worth the effort. While there are a few stretches of potholes, the majority of the single lane road is good. After you master riding on the left-hand side of the road and become accustomed to the monkeys, goats, sheep, donkeys, and crabs that skitter across the road, Nevis may just be the best kept strength-training secret. And the volcanic hot springs in the center of town? Not a bad way to rejuvenate the muscles post-climb. If you’d like to test your strength here, come on down!
