Here we share stories of Cycle U athletes as well as testimonials, enjoy!
Athlete Spotlight - Jadine Riley
Jadine Riley, part of Team Group Health, is now in her seventh season of racing. She races road and cyclocross but has also been known to dabble in mountain bike and track racing. “I love cycling so much that usually I try to do a little bit of everything! My goal is to keep cycling fun, and the variety has always worked for me – each discipline is like a different sport as they all require different skills and types of fitness”, she says. However, this year, things have changed….
“Every year I set goals that allow me to focus on making incremental improvements in a new area – improving in time trials, improving my performance at hillier races, being able to be competitive at National level races. I had a great season in 2007 and was close to achieving some major goals, but after talking with my coach, Kristi Berg, we decided to something a little different to help me achieve a new breakthrough and so this year I have focused on just road. We adjusted my training program so that I built a strong base this winter, where in past years I would take a break after the cyclocross season ended. And it has proven to be a great approach – I am having a lot of fun out there!”. Indeed, she is having a breakthrough year, currently leading the Washington State Best All-Around Rider competition after winning the State Stage and Circuit Race championships, finishing 8th in the Tour of California’s Women’s Criterium and in the top third of the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minnesota, both races being part of the National Racing Calendar.
Jadine attributes much of the success to the growing strength of the women’s peloton and her team, as well as to the structured training approach put in place by CycleU. “Over the last few years the local women’s field has grown a lot in terms of both strength and depth – fitness and teamwork are both critical to be successful. I am fortunate enough to ride with a strong team locally that works really well together – both in terms of our race performances and in terms of developing new riders and continuing to grow the local peloton. Racing successfully in the Cat 1-2 field is also highly dependent on taking a very deliberate & focused approach to training throughout the year: CycleU has been instrumental in helping me balance that with my busy work schedule”.
Athlete Spotlight - Dave Salo
Hi Craig,
This cross season has been unbelievably good for me! Looking back I have to say that the boot camp in August made all the difference.
I signed up because I wanted a change of pace from the road and a focus for the fall. In the end, what I got from that was six weeks of working the kinks out: a focused training plan, relevant workouts, instruction on how to efficiently transition on and off the bike, and an environment to stress my body, mind, and equipment to the breaking point before it happened in a race.
I remember very clearly how disappointed I was to show up to camp one night feeling good and ready for a hard workout only to have my crank arm fall off during the warm-up! I got some good one legged work in that night and learned that you have to double check that everything is tight on the cross bike. Needless to say I now carry a variety of spare bolts in my race bag. After the first couple of races in the season I saw a lot of people sidelined for the same reason. I'm glad it happened to me in practice and not on race day!!
Same goes for the aches and pains that come along with running and carrying your bike. My back was sore during the training season not the racing season. My achilles was irritated before it mattered and while it still had a chance to heal and get strong. I was mentally prepared to give it my all when I rolled up to the line for the first race.
I came into the season with a few goals: have fun racing cross--which is more of a given than a goal considering the pain and agony that go with it, get on the podium at some point, remain injury free, and do as well as possible in the series. At this point in the season I'm happy to say that I've been free of injury, been on the podium a couple of times---I even picked up the silver medal at the CX State Championships in Bremerton!!--am sitting sixth overall in the series and already looking forward to next year.
Throughout the season I've noticed all the other boot campers continue to rock it out there every weekend. The cross community is great and this program really underscored that. There were lots of us from many different teams, or no team at all, riding together and having fun. It's been great to develop those connections with everyone this season and see so many friendly faces out at the races. If you have a pre-registration list for Boot Camp '08 make sure you mark me down for a spot!
The thing I love the most about racing bikes, and particularly racing cross, is that it's one of the few things in life that you can train for, practice, do everyday, and then test your preperation every weekend. It's healthy, positive, grounding, and very rewarding.
Thanks for doing what you do....there are lots of us out there who appreciate it.
Dave.
Post Script: David had a phenomenal second cross season with regularly being in the top 5 in the races and finishing 5th overall in the Seattle Cyclocross series besting over 200 guys in his racing category. David has upgraded and next season will challenge the Category 3's in the upper levels.
Athlete Spotlight - Eric Buckmaster
Eric Buckmaster came to Cycle University for coaching in March 2007. He was working out on his own, had lost a lot of weight, and wanted some guidance in reaching his goal of the one-day STP, while maintaining a running and weight-lifting plan. It didn’t take Coach Tammy long to realize that Eric Buckmaster had a lot more in him than a one-day STP.
Tammy says that her biggest challenge with Eric has been finding his fatigue threshold, “This guy absorbed all the work I prescribed, and then some! Not many people put in 14-hour training weeks for the goal of completing an organized endurance ride”. Since signing on with Cycle U, Eric has completed 13 endurance events; from century rides, to a solo one-day STP, to running races, to triathlons. While Eric’s last comment to his coach was “You’ve created a monster! My goal was STP”, Tammy says all credit goes back to Eric, “He follows the plan (well, for the most part), when he deviates from the plan he communicates it to me so I can make appropriate adjustments, and he gives me the feedback I need to dial his training in for optimal performance in the events that are most important to him. He is, in a nutshell, the ideal client: open, communicative, motivated, driven, and always keeps me smiling with his honest and sarcastic observations about life as an amateur athlete”.
Eric has this to say about his lifestyle change, “I am down from 287 lbs to about 220. I still have a ways to go but the weight loss is now a result of a very active lifestyle. I try to eat healthy but enjoy a good burger now and then. I find that my energy level during the day is really high compared to people I work with. My moods are pretty stable, Yea I get angry but it passes. I really enjoy looking for the next challenge and training for it. It's a great feeling being this strong.”
Thank you Eric for doing Cycle U proud!!
To track Eric’s achievements, and provide a little extra motivation, visit his blog at http://buckmaster-swimbikerun.blogspot.com/
Testimonials
Dan here,
I believe the adjustments you made to my bike fit are working out.
I’ve put in about 250 miles. A couple of 40+ mile rides with hills and the rest of the rides about 20 miles.
I sense that I’m getting a little more power when climbing—it just feels better when I’m turning the pedals. (Even if it’s a placebo effect—who cares? Hills are more than half how you feel about them).
I like the new foot beds and the shimming in my shoes because adding them improved the fit if nothing else.
I believe it was worth it to work with you to fine tune my fit. Thank you!
Dan J
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Craig,
Thank you again so much for the great session of education and bike fitting
today. You were very informative and helpful. It was just the kind of information
I have been seeking and needing, like the better way to pedal and the proper adjustments
for the bike, and the reasons why. I am very much looking forward to working into
the new adjustments and practicing the better pedaling methods, and I will let you
know in several weeks how things progress.
Your service and help is so invaluable
to us regular cyclists out here, and I do want you to know how much I appreciate
your work and efforts.
Please put me on Cycle U.’s email list for announcements
and such, and especially the details regarding the cyclocross boot camp in August.
Take care, and I’ll talk with you soon.
Thom De Buys
Law Office of Thomas H. De Buys
P.S. I ve gotta tell you, the fit you did and the new pedaling style has already made
a great improvement in my riding. The difference really is amazing. I rode my bike
yesterday and today for a short while, and I also rode potential new road bikes
both days for several hours comparing the differences in them, and I had the bike
shop put your settings on the bikes I tried out to the extent possible, and it made
a huge difference! I’ve got a lot of practice ahead of me as far as the pedaling
goes, but I now have something to work on, which makes riding more fun for me. And
the shims for my cleats are truly working very well. It’s amazing what a difference
they have made with the alignment of my legs, knees, ankles and feet. It makes pedaling
so much easier.
Thanks again for your help.
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Craig and Adrian,
Just in case you look for catchy examples to describe the benefits of training at CycleU, here's one for you. You know that I have consistently done the indoor TTs all winter long this year, doing most of them twice. I figured it was just a good way to get my heart rate up every once in a while during the winter. Well, yesterday was the first real TT of the year (Jack Frost, down in Vancouver, WA) I set a PR on the course by one minute and nine seconds, beating my time from 2003. I went out hard and was able to keep it there.
I'm not sure this ALL derived from efforts on the computrainer, or at least not from MY efforts (Martin's big gear selection on the tandem helped too, I think). But a winter of practice of starting hard and keeping the effort high and consistent could not have hurt. So thanks for being there on those dark nights with a great training opportunity--and see you on Thursday for more!
-Martha
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Hi Craig,
This is Scott from the '99 & '00 TNT Tour de Tucson group. I just wanted to send a thank you to say how grateful I am to have had the chance to ride with you for those two years. You are definitely an inspiration and positive influence for people both on and off the bike. I'm still riding a pretty good amount and some of my close friends from growing up have even picked up the sport. But most of all, my wife and I had a great year on our tandem. We picked one up for our 1 year anniversary, a couple of years ago, and this year we did the STP on our tandem and also the MS150. Having never done endurance sports like these, my wife surprised me. She had a blast and the only complaint and problem she had the whole weekend of the STP is when she got to the finish line and they were all out of hamburgers. Your training and tips from back in the day helped me to get us there, both safely and happily.
Well, I just wanted to pass on this note to say thanks for getting me hooked on such a great sport . I'm still stuck in it and my wife and I are very happy and healthy from it.
Hope all is well.
Scott
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Craig, it's high time I told you what I've been telling my friends, including experienced riders,: Your Bike Skills classes and Training Zones Tests have been a tremendous value and comprised a BIG step in my enjoyment and progression in cycling. Not only did they prepare me for linking up with some high performance group rides, and riding safely in them, but gave me insight as to how to use my solo time and group rides to prepare for my 2006 goals. Many thanks to you and Karen...great climbing drills!...I look forward to working with and Cycle U in 2006.
Dutch S
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Craig, Thanks for your email. I really appreciated the time you spent with me. You asked good questions, tried to figure out where my head was at and also zoned in on some very appropriate skills that I do need to have in my “automatic” repertoire. I think that you also did a great job of being pretty clear about why the turning and emergency stop techniques you showed me were important. You explained and modeled what you expected, and you gave me immediate feedback. The practice time was helpful, and the fact you cycled alongside me, watching what I was doing was really great.
Tracy M.
Principal Eastgate Elementary School
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Craig –
I just wanted to thank you for the excellent clinic last night. I was still pretty much in the dark about cornering after Road 101, but like you said last week, I would pick it up by the end of the 201 class. You were right! By the end of class I finally started to feel like I was getting it, and then I just wanted to keep riding lap after lap after lap! Now I can’t WAIT to go out and practice in the drops, which really made me uneasy before. Cornering on descents has been a big issue for me ever since I crashed on a downhill several years ago. Thanks to you and Adrian’s help, I think I’m going to have a lot more confidence!
Thanks again.
Ann D
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Perfect. Thanks. Your coaching in regards to doing RAMROD worked perfectly. I did the 70 mile approach at 75% of usual pace then moved up the heart rate for the climbs. Finished the climbs in fine shape. Ran into a dear friend at the last rest stop in real trouble and carried her until the Mud Lake turn-off and then absolutely hammered the last miles, as fresh as if just finishing a 30 mile warm-up. Finished w/a huge grin! Left some juice on the table but perfect when considering the intent was a conservative first attempt at the event.
Jeff
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Craig, I had an unbelievable race last night! It was the Moose Run TT (10 miles) that we do every month. I came in 2nd place in Sport Division, just missed 1st by 12 seconds and placed 3rd overall out of 10. I have always been at the back of the pack until now. My time was 30' 32" which is 3" 10' faster than last May and 1' 40" faster than my personal best at the end of the season last year. My Avg. HR = 163 and max = 171! I am still amazed at all of this. The new bike and training is really paying off.
Jane
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Craig, We met at a skills clinic a few years ago when I was riding with the huskies. You taught us many valuable lessons that I have had the privilege to pass on to others and I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time with all of us. Since then, I have improved and upgraded from a Cat 5 newbie to a Cat 2 in just a few seasons and I have you to thank for your encouraging words and training techniques. I currently race for WellsFargo.Com in the L.A. Area, so keep an eye out for me! Thank you again.
Jordan E.
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Dear Coach Craig, I want to express my gratitude & appreciation for your unwavering commitment in helping me in my quest to be a better cyclist. From our first meeting in 1998, you have been there to help me through good times and bad. With your expert training programs, I was able to complete my first one-day double century and to this day continue to cycle confidently in many other challenging events. Your patience and guidance have been instrumental in helping me overcome frustrations and fears, as well as aiding me in my recovery from injuries. Your ability to communicate your acquired knowledge continually encourages me to pursue my love of cycling. To me, you are the best. As I look down the road, I look forward to experiencing many more years of your expertise, coaching, and, of course, friendship!
DiAnn B.
