Tabla de contenidos para Issue 5 2022 en Bicycling

BICYCLING MEMBER PAM ELROD AGE: 69 HOMETOWN: CHELMSFORD, MASSACHUSETTS OCCUPATION: RETIRED EVERY DAY IS A GOOD DAY. SOLO OR GROUP RIDE? I ride alone. I’m not into competing or trying to keep up. I just want to be able to stop and enjoy the beauty of the world. MY RELATIONSHIP WITH RIDING Cycling has been like the siren’s call to me—I keep coming back to it. I appreciate the ride now more than ever. I MISS MY… White Peugeot PX-10. My parents gave it to me in 1972. It had a beautiful English leather saddle that formed to my hindquarters over the next 30 years. I was finally forced to let it go in 2015 after I became too busy to maintain and ride it. GREATEST GEAR I prefer Continental…

I don’t drink a lot, and I try not to tie drinking directly to my riding or racing. I might have a postride beer or a glass of wine with dinner on occasion, but it’s not something I center my rides or the cycling events I attend around. And speaking of alcohol use and cycling, it’s important that we also acknowledge and respect people’s sobriety. Having many sober friends, I try to make sure I create space for them when planning rides or postride activities.…

Tired of getting soaked on your commute or group ride? Invest in some fenders. In a recent member-exclusive video, test editor Dan Chabanov explained how fenders keep water and road grime from spraying you and ruining your ride. Even if your bike doesn’t have dedicated fender mounts—which is often the case with road race bikes and some gravel bikes—guards like the SKS Raceblade Pros can attach directly to your bike, Chabanov said. Want to keep your friends dry, too? Buy a few buddy flaps, which are extensions you can add to the fenders.…

BICYCLING MEMBER BHARAT CHANDRA AGE: 48 HOMETOWN: SARASOTA, FLORIDA OCCUPATION: CLARINETIST YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOU PLAY TODAY. HOW CYCLING CHANGED MY LIFE After buying a bike a year ago, I learned that I loved the feeling of freedom and sheer speed of riding. I saw parts of my city in a way I never had before and felt healthier, too. I happily stopped drinking for several months and even shed 15 pounds—the easiest “diet” ever. FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE I remember football coach Bill Parcells would only give the quarterback one or two pointers when retaking the field. Why? Because, “Otherwise they’ll spin around and fall down.” That’s kept me from trying to do too much too fast. THE RIDE OF MY DREAMS A good friend of mine,…

CHAINS KMC’s e-bike chains are a durable, dependable favorite. TIRES Schwalbe and Continental tires are both found on some higherend utility e-bikes and are great upgrade brands for your first replacement set. BRAKE PADS If you want more durability, try e-bike-specific replacement pads from Galfer or Kool-Stop, which feature compounds that wear more slowly and manage heat better.…

“[Humans] go out into the void spaces of the world for various reasons. Some are actuated simply by a love of adventure, some have the keen thirst for scientific knowledge, and others again are drawn away from the trodden paths by the ‘lure of little voices,’ the mysterious fascination of the unknown…”—Sir Ernest Shackleton The year 2019 meant massive change in my life. A new job, a new city, a new home and on my own for the first time in as long as I could remember. Somewhere along the way I had lost track of what was actually important in life, what made me tick, of who I was as an almost 32-year-old human in this world. Even the way I rode a bike had changed dramatically. Feeling somewhat…

ANYONE WHO HAS EVER STRADDLED A BICYCLE HAS FELT IT—THE DELIGHT THAT COMES WITH RIDING AWAY FROM THE DRAB MOORINGS OF EVERYDAY LIFE, THE JOY OF MOTION, THE SPLENDOR OF ROLLING PAST TREES AND RIVERS AND LAKES. We all need to get away sometimes, and Iohan Gueorguiev got, arguably, more escape time than perhaps any other cyclist on earth. The endearing, soft-spoken star of his own wildly popular YouTube channel, See the World, Iohan spent most of six years—2014 to 2020—tracing a circuitous path south from the frozen hinterlands of the Canadian Arctic toward, but never quite reaching, the southern tip of Argentina. Calling himself the Bike Wanderer, he slithered over ice roads in the Arctic on a fat bike whose frame bags were laden with camping and camera gear.…

Specialized’s Affordable Torch 1.0 Shoes Look Fancy and Fit Comfortably TESTED: SPECIALIZED’S TORCH 1.0 ROAD SHOE $120 | 6 Colors | Sizes 36 to 49 (no half sizes) | 590g (pair, size 42) | Nylon sole with 3-bolt cleat | Boa L6 dial and Velcro strap With the Torch 1.0, Specialized dispels a widely held assumption that reasonably priced clipless road shoes need to be basic, black, and bulky. Here, we have a $120 road shoe with the sleek lines of a higher-end model, available in six attractive colors. The closure on this shoe is a combination of a micro-adjustable Boa dial and a single Velcro strap at the front. The nylon-composite sole has a vent/drain hole in the toebox and rubberized gripper on the heel, and accepts threebolt road…

AGENDA SHOULD YOU MIX RIDING WITH DRINKING ALCOHOL? Drinking alcohol isn’t a prerequisite for riding a bike, yet booze plays a sizable part in cycling culture. You may know bikers who swear by postride beers in the trailhead parking lot. And in the early days of the Tour de France, riders even spiked their water bottles with a brandy shot. Here’s the chaser: If you’re looking to improve your cycling performance, drinking alcohol doesn’t seem to bring any health benefits, says Tamanna Singh, MD, codirector of the Sports Cardiology Center at the Cleveland Clinic. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it dehydrates you—especially after a long, hard ride, when your body is already short on fluids, Singh says. In response to dehydration, your heart pumps harder and faster than it…

It’s easy to lose track of all the perks that come with your Bicycling membership, like exclusive training tips and tools, gear-testing opportunities, and deals from brands cyclists love. Here’s what you might have missed lately. (Not a member? Head to bicycling.com/joinnow.) THE BIKE Q&A Members frequently fire off gear questions to senior test editor—and resident bike nerd—Matt Phillips. He tackled this topic in one of the latest weekly member newsletters. Q: I usually ride for leisure, but now I want to get into more fitness riding. I’m a 59-year-old woman, and I’m looking for a bike that’s light-weight for storage or travel but also to use for endurance rides. My plan is to visit some bike shops to see what fits my needs and my $1,000 budget. A: My best advice…

1 IS VERMONT’S KINGDOM TRAILS BROKEN? Landowners have begun denying access to one of America’s premier trail systems. And they don’t want to talk about it. 2 THE ONLY 5 WEIGHT MACHINES YOU NEED (PLUS 3 YOU SHOULD AVOID) The gym can be an overwhelming and intimidating experience, so we tell you the only pieces of equipment cyclists need. 3 AGE-RELATED MUSCLE LOSS AND SARCOPENIA ARE COMMON—BUT YOU CAN PREVENT THEM Learn what you can do to protect your muscles and your strength. 4 EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CYCLING TO WORK Fourteen seasoned bike commuters share their best tips and essential gear. 5 THE BEST CYCLING TOURS TO ADD TO YOUR BUCKET LIST Plan your next vacation around our favorite destination tours in cities, parks, and countrysides across the world. ALREADY A PRINT…

BICYCLING COACH DAVID LIPSCOMB Muscle cramps can put, well, a cramp in your training. I know from experience. In the 1990s, after a successful Black Belt career in the martial arts, I began training exclusively for cycling events. I was in excellent shape, yet frequently got calf and inner thigh cramps—those rapid, painful contractions or muscle overtightening that can last from minutes to hours—early in preparation for the racing season. While cramps are usually temporary, they can cause significant pain and even momentary immobility in the affected muscles—most commonly in the quads, glutes, and calves. I knew I had to use the right training program, nutrition, and trial and error to develop a plan. Thanks to the following winning strategies, I’ve been cramp-free for decades: KEEP RECORDS OF YOUR RIDES.…

Every mile. Every meter. Every watt. Every bit of play, propulsion, and progress you make on your bike begins with pedaling. Which is why riders have been fixated on pedaling since inventors first attached cranks to wheels (and later to drivetrains). How fast (or slow) should we pedal? How can we make our pedal stroke stronger? How can we pedal so efficiently that we can ride forever (or at least a very, very long way)? We’ve pored through the research and called in experts who have been studying, investigating, teaching, and applying pedaling technique and biomechanics for decades to shed light on your most pressing pedaling questions. IS THERE A PERFECT PEDAL STROKE? There is and there isn’t. Twenty or 30 years ago, editors of this magazine would have told…

THE EXPERT JACK BARUTH Jack Baruth is a former professional BMX racer, bike store owner, and cycling coach. He’s worked with young riders since 1991 and counts national and world champions among his former students. He currently spends most of his riding time with his son, John, a 13-year-old downhill mountain biker and BMX rider with multiple wins in different categories and a few Strava times that rival the very top rank of adults at Snowshoe Bike Park in Snowshoe, West Virginia, and Trestle Bike Park in Winter Park, Colorado, among others. IN THIS ALWAYS-CONNECTED, ONLINE  gaming, TikTok-centric world, it’s no longer a given that kids are excited about bicycles. Luckily, parents have plenty of reasons to get excited on their behalf. According to a study published in the International…