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Masters Cycling
Masters Athlete and Masters-Athlete.com are the best places to stay up-to-date on Masters Cycling. At Masters Athlete, it is our goal to provide the very best coverage of the sports you still play.
In this section, you'll get the latest news, results, event listings, trend stories, equipment reviews, personality stories and much more about Masters Cycling.
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A Christmas gift idea for the Masters athlete in your life
BY SEAN CALLAHAN
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Dec. 14, 2009) -- I got an email from Sandy Scott the other day. He's the 2007 AMS Comeback Masters Athlete of the Year. He won the award in recognition of his amazing return to bicycle racing after he broke his neck in a bike accident. Now, Sandy, who lives in Florida, has written a book about his ordeal. It's called "From Broken Neck to Broken Records: A Masters Cyclist's Guide to Winning." After the accident, Sandy has won 11 different Florida state cycling championships. Along the way he has shattered numerous state time trial records in his age group. In addition to telling Sandy's remarkable story, the book also covers training, nutrition and other aspects of racing. . . . keep reading...>>
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On the road again
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (June 29, 2009) -- Some of the best Masters racers are gathered in Louisville, Ky., right now for the USA Cycling Masters National Championships. Earlier today (Monday, June 29) about 300 riders competed for eight different age-group national titles in the road race. (On Tuesday three more national titles will be decided in the men's 35-39, 40-44 and 45-49 age groups). Here's a summary of the race from USA Cycling... . . . keep reading...>>
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You race what you eat
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (June 22, 2009) -- Since writing my three part article on time trial racing, I competed in the U.S. Cycling Federation Florida state time trial championships. Although I won my division by a minute and 50 seconds and set a new personal record for 20K, I failed to practice what I preached and I want to discuss that. In my article, I dealt with the pre-race meal indicating that it should be consumed at least three hours prior to the event. I further mentioned that my meal has evolved to being simply a Clif Bar, banana, and a glass of water. Although I used to consume a glass of orange juice, I found that it stayed on my stomach too long. . . . keep reading...>>
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Levels
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (June 4, 2009) -- I have always been intrigued by the phenomenon of levels in sports. My mission is not to write about the obvious levels in sports such as those demonstrated by the likes of Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps, but to expound on the subject in relation to how levels tend to bring us personally back to our own sports reality, and facing that reality, how we should respond. My first conscious awareness of this subject was when I was an avid tennis player in the early 70s. I played almost daily at a tennis club in Forest Hills, N.Y. The club champion and runner-up were doubles partners and they would thrash any doubles team who had the audacity to challenge their prowess. They were the local club tennis "studs," and most of us coveted their skills. They entered a doubles tournament in New York City, and I was looking forward to watching others than myself fall victim to their incredible skills. I was astounded as I watched them get soundly defeated by another team certainly well above their "A" player status. Levels! . . . keep reading...>>
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Clean and showered
By Lisa Menninger
LISA MENNINGER'S BLOG (April 20, 2009) -- Showergate: Seriously? They can't possibly be serious. Of all the potential schemes to discredit 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, this surely takes the proverbial cake in pettiness, immaturity and flat out stupidity. I was speechless when I heard this tale. A little background. Lance returned from a training ride in while in France on March 17. Standing at his door was a lone man, claiming to be from France's anti-doping agency, AFLD. While there is nothing unusual about the repeated testing of Armstrong (this test numbered 24 since his return to pro cycling last September), it was the conditions that seemed odd. This man was alone. That is not typical. He also requested a hair sample as well as urine and blood. Naturally, Lance wanted to be sure this man was who he said he was. He and Johan Bruyneel (the Astana team director) wanted to verify. . . . keep reading...>>
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Racing a Cycling Time Trial, Part 3
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (April 9, 2009) -- You have completed a thorough warm up, and it is 10 minutes until your start time. Earlier, you have checked to make sure that the start times are going as scheduled. Prior to getting to your place in line, put your bicycle in the gear with which you will start the race. I typically start in 53-14 assuming no wind and a flat roadway at the starting line. If you start in too low a gear, you will spin out too quickly leading to unnecessary early shifting. If you start in too high a gear, your legs will be forced to make a harder effort than needed to efficiently get off the line. You need to try this in practice to find your own best starting gear and then consider start conditions. Some of the variables include an up or down slope, tailwind, fast, sharp turn just off the line, ramp start, holder or foot-down start. . . . keep reading...>>
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Racing a Cycling Time Trial, Part 2
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (April 8, 2009) -- It is the day before a time trial race at which you plan to compete. I suggest that you prepare a checklist of the things you wish to bring with you that can be printed out and used every time you race. Check off each item prior to leaving home, so you have no surprises the next morning. Some of the things that I bring in addition to the obvious are: Extra wheels so that I don't need to struggle with tire/wheel issues when I should be warming up or thinking about the race, spray adhesive (I use Duro All-Purpose or Elmer's Craft Bond spray adhesives) for affixing the racing number to my jersey (numbers that are pinned tend to flap in the breeze which is distracting and not aerodynamic), a tool kit with everything I might need for minor repairs, a pump, a bike stand on which to prop my bicycle, pre-race meal items and energy gel(s) and bars, sun block, water and/or other fluids, etc. . . . keep reading...>>
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Racing a Cycling Time Trial, Part 1
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (April 6, 2009) -- WARNING: The information you are about to read will make you a faster time trial racer. If you are a cyclist who likes to race simply to participate, if you enjoy paying money to race with no hope of winning, or if racing is just a social event for you, this article may or may not be of interest to you. Prior to giving up on the article however, please read at least the next paragraph for a different perspective by Dave Viney, an elite-class time trial competitor. If, however, you are a hard core racer (or want to be) who comes to win and believes as I do that the only winner in a race is the guy on the top step of the podium, and that the other two guys on the podium are the first and second losers, then this article will definitely be of interest to you. . . . keep reading...>>
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Peaking for cyclists
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (March 30, 2009) -- You have followed the principles of periodization unlike the rolleurs and middle of the pack riders the ones who train the same all year and consequently either do not improve or perhaps get worse. After your last racing season, you recharged your batteries by engaging in less intense rides, and, perhaps, you did some cross training in another sport. You then went through a strength building phase where you built up your base mileage and perhaps incorporated weight training into your regimen. It is now two (2) months from the event in which you want to excel. Perhaps it's a local race or it might be your state championships or the U.S. Nationals. It is time to sharpen your base through the process of peaking. The deeper the base, the more responsive the body will be to intense interval training and other peaking techniques. . . . keep reading...>>
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BMX Masters
BMX is the cycling equivalent of snowboarding. It's a rebel's version of cycling, and it has a reputation of appealing to kids. But both sports have been staged at the Olympics, and both sports have more Masters competitors than you might think. At the third-annual USA Cycling BMX National Championships, which were held in Desoto, Texas, near Dallas, there were several Masters age groups being contested. In the men's 30+ (for standard 20" bikes), Shawn Diprete of Brockton, Mass., won the category. For Masters men, John Purse of Spring, Texas, was the winner. In the cruiser class (24"), here are the age-group winners: . . . keep reading...>>
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Interval training for cyclists
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (March 11, 2009) -- When I was a high school distance runner in the 50s, the sport of track and field was not only seasonal, but the training, unlike today, was also seasonal for the runners. Training would often commence just a couple of weeks prior to the season, and hence without much of a base from which to sharpen. How could one go from no training to running a competitive mile in just a few weeks? It was through intense interval training. Interval training is the quickest and most effective route to successful racing performance, and is ideally commenced after a substantial build up of base mileage. . . . keep reading...>>
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Time trial equipment
By Sandy Scott
SANDY SCOTT'S BLOG (March 5, 2009) -- Start your engines! Let's talk about equipment for competing in a cycling time trial event. If you have never participated in a Senior Games cycling event, you might be surprised to find that it is very competitive with some very serious, talented, dedicated athletes. Here in Florida, for example, I have had the pleasure of competing against four national and two world champions in my five-year age group races. I have competed in events with five Olympic cyclists. Unless you have the genetics of Lance Armstrong (and perhaps even then), at the minimum, you will need the proper equipment to be competitive in a cycling time trial event. . . . keep reading...>>
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Lance, the budding GeezerJock?
By Lisa Menninger
LISA MENNINGER'S BLOG (Feb. 26, 2009) -- Seventh place. Tenth in the prologue time trial. That is where Lance Armstrong finished in the Tour de California, which was the most competitive cycling field we have had on US soil. Ever. Thirty seven year-old Lance, after a three year hiatus from cycling and a quiet first race with a top half finish in Australia at the Tour Down Under, played domestique to Levi Leipheimer and finished seventh in the General Classification. If you have been reading my blogs, you may remember back when Lance announced his return. I spoke of my respect for an athlete whom I believed then and believe now, could do the unthinkable: come back to the sport older and out of practice, and win. . . . keep reading...>>
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