Mindy Mylrea's Super Cycle DVD

Mindy guides you through a mix and match workout experience complete with amazing imagery specific to the road you're on. A wild bonus section completes the DVD, allowing you to change the workout every time you ride. This workout is intended for Advanced fitness levels but can be modified to fit your needs. Released in March 2006
Customer Review: Still looking for a good cycling workout
I just wanted a cd to get me through a cycling workout, this one is so corney, I could not take it! Mindy treats you like a child, and the music is terrible! Waste of money.
Customer Review: Spin Bike DVD
This is a very well-done DVD. The workout is well-explained. Technically, it is very good. However, the background music is too loud which makes it very difficult to hear the instructional parts of the DVD. It is the only bad aspect of the DVD, but it is quite a negative feature. If I had a choice of this one and one without loud background music, I would choose the other one.

My days of running for pleasure and exercise ended when I moved to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. I had been living in the relatively flat Willamette River Valley where there were miles of level bark running trails. Now in the Gorge, I encountered rocky, steep trails that were torture to my hips and knees. It was time to find a replacement for running.

The Gorge of the Columbia River is a recreation mecca that's especially attractive to mountain bike riders and windsurfers. Swimming doesn't appeal to me, so I decided to check out mountain biking. In the end, that was among the best decisions I've made, but I began with caution. For one thing, I didn't know if my interest would last. That's why I started by getting a low-end bike (that had some serious weight problems) It was a clunker, looking back on it now. I also held back on investing in some of the biking 'gear'. It's not that I'm cheap - it's just that much of it seemed to be for hip-ness instead of usefulness.

However, after using a few of the items, I understood that while the gear might make you look 'cool', it also really does help you function better. Here are 7 of my favorite pieces that I didn't think I'd care about (back in my post- runner/pre-biker days) and now I wouldn't dream of being without.

1. Padded shorts. If you mountain bike, road bike, or both, make the investment in having these. Purely and simply, your ride will be more comfortable.

2. Well-vented helmet. You've got to buy a helmet anyway, right? If you don't wear one you're crazy. Spend the extra bucks to get one made of the super-strong material that affords lots of vents to help keep you from over- heating. And in the case of helmets, you get what you pay for: the higher-end helmets are easier to adjust for a better fit.

3. Pedals and shoes with cleats (clipless). After a bit of a learning curve on how to release quickly and be able to lock-in going up hill, clipless becomes as automatic as shifting gears. You especially notice the benefits when you're road-biking; you're gaining on the entire stroke instead of only the downward push.

4. Hydration pack (a backpack with a water-bladder - Camelbak brand is an example). My first one was a gift, or I might never have tried one. Now I love having 100 ounces of water easily available, instead of that goofy move where you have to reach down and get the water bottle out of the rack, lift your head to drink - losing sight of the trail, and then fumbling the water bottle back into the rack. No wonder I hardly ever drank enough during rides and ended up slightly dehydrated every time. I also appreciate that the pack holds my keys, cell phone, energy bar, and rain jacket.

A suggestion: You'll still want to keep a full water bottle on your bike. It's good defense against dogs that chase you. Get good at your aim and you can land a squirt without missing a stroke. It's very satisfying, and the dog will run away.

5. Safety goggles - yellow. Of course, you should have protection for your eyes, but I wondered about the necessity of yellow or orange lenses. Seemed like poser- gear when I began to see them around. Then I used a pair. What difference in visibility! The yellow lenses really do brighten up shady trails and they help you a lot during overcast or lower-light times of day.

6. Half-finger gloves. The palms are padded, so that feels nice on long rides. The best part is what they do for you on wipe-outs, which are bound to happen. I've gotten lots of scraped knees, but my hands always come out feeling fine.

7. The Bike. Once I realized that biking was not only a great alternative to running for the sake of my joints, but it was more fun in general, I gave the clunker away. Then I invested in a good bike - lightweight frame and components, with suspension. It's a pure delight to ride on a well-made machine.

Kathryn Mosely has written extensively on subjects related to cycling and fitness. She contributes to News from Acer Bike, the best on-line biking information resource. Be sure to see all of Kathryn's articles at: http://www.acerbike.com/arch/

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Edge 288 Recumbent Exercise Bike

Fitness Quest Edge 288r Recumbent Bike has a digital display and motorized tension control to change resistance levels! Sit back, relax and enjoy your workout with a comfortable back rest and quiet operation. Check out the Fitness Quest Edge Recumbent Bike: Friction-free magnetic resistance provides a smooth and quiet ride; Motorized tension control allows you to change resistance levels for enhanced workouts; Fitness computer tracks time, speed, distance, hand pulse, resistance and approx. calories burned; Sturdy tubular steel frame; Built-in hand pulse sensors; Large cushioned seat with back support offers added comfort; Oversized pedals for comfort include one-touch adjustable straps; Front wheels for easy portability; 250-lb. capacity. Order Today! Please Note: This is a Heavy / Bulky item. $20.00 for heavy / bulky shipping and handling will be charged in addition to regular shipping and handling. Fitness Quest Edge 288r Recumbent Bike

If you've just begun cycling and possibly discovered a new passion, you may be tempted to ride your bike at every given opportunity. It's easy to assume that the more you ride, the faster and stronger you'll get but this is a common mistake that ignores one of the most important parts of any training schedule -- recovery. It is in resting and recovery, and the correct nutritional support, that your progress is made -- allowing your body to rebuild it self just that little bit stronger each time.

At the end of a long ride you may want to sit down and do little or nothing for the rest of the day. This is a fine idea but your training isn't completely over until you've attended to your bodies needs so that it can replace and replenish its depleted supplies. It is vital to replace carbohydrates and proteins for effective recovery and to maximize the effectiveness of your training. This should be done within half an hour of finishing your ride.

Complex carbohydrates will replenish the glycogen stores in your muscles and protein will assist your body in repairing muscle tissue while also maximizing your muscles ability to store glycogen. Glycogen is the primary source of energy for the muscles. In strenuous exercise your body will be burning glycogen for around the first hour and a half to two hours -- at the end of training or racing these supplies must be replenished and an intake of complex carbohydrates within half an hour of training is the way to do it. It is recommended to eat 30-90 grams of carbohydrate and 10-30 grams of protein to maximize your body's recovery.

As well as rebuilding your body and replacing its depleted supplies nutritionally, it is vital to have a sensible training program that includes recovery time. Over-training occurs when you continue to push your body without allowing it to properly recover. Essentially over-training means that you wear down your muscles and organs with strenuous use and then fail to give them the time or the nutrients it needs to recover. It generally starts with a general soreness in the muscles and a constant feeling of tiredness. During you will feel a certain amount of soreness and fatigue, but if your training schedule is well balanced you should be able to recover enough between rides so that you performance can improve a little bit each time. If you still feel sore from your last ride when you start a new one you may want to look into reducing the intensity, duration, or frequency of your rides.

If you continue to over train you begin to see a steady deterioration of your performance, and may experience mood swings as your hormone levels are disrupted. You also put yourself at a much greater risk of injury, as your muscles will lose a lot of their flexibility and suppleness. Your day-to-day lifestyle also has an effect on over-training. If you are under a lot of stress, or not sleeping well due to other reasons, then you may experience over-training at a much lower level of exertion than you normally would.

If you're training effectively you should see a steady development of your strength and endurance. To do this it is vital that you understand the importance of both nutritional support following strenuous exercise and the need to let your body recover properly between training sessions. Recording each session and your recovery with training software will give you the ability to develop the most effective program for yourself.

Matt McCullough has been instrumental in establishing the cycling resource site Cycling-Secrets.com. Cycling-Secrets provide resources and information to cyclists of all levels and provides free software to help you track your rides, health and progress. Cycling-Secrets also supports a number of bicycle centred charities.

http://www.cycling-secrets.com - free cycling software and resources

http://monroe15.wordpress.com/ - Matt's Cycling Blog

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