This climbing strategy helped me get over climbs of two or more hours in the Alps and New Zealand. I’ve found a way to use it in my classes and really get students to zone inward when their road tilts upward for long periods. It’s not quite what you think!Read more…
Climbing big mountains is a rite of passage for cyclists. Getting you and your bicycle up that hill in defiance of gravity is one of the most difficult aspects of riding a bicycle, but it is also one of the great attractions to cycling. Overcoming the mountain challenges you—it bares your soul; it asks you to perform beyond what you thought was even possible. Over the next few weeks, Tom and I will be giving you our favorite strategies—both physical and mental—to get you and your students over that hump. We’ll be drawing from our own experience climbing long, hard mountains.Read more…
Angela van Baal is an ICA member from the Netherlands who is planning on playing some of the old classic songs first used in the early days of Spinning® for her International Indoor Cycling Day ride this weekend. What a GREAT idea! I decided to put together a list of some of my most favorite classic Spinning songs from back in the day. Use these for your IICD event—or any event that celebrates Spinning!Read more…
Whether you are planning an event for International Indoor Cycling Day on October 21 or not, you’ll want to see how other studios and instructors have created and promoted events so you can do something similar for your next event! And to start planning for something big next year! Read more…
Are you planning an event for International Indoor Cycling Day? How about a specialty theme ride for Halloween? New Years? A fund-raiser in early 2017? Whatever your plans, here is a great idea for getting an energy bar company to sponsor your event! Read more…
Learn how to “keep it real” in spite of being in an environment where other instructors tend to use techniques that are ineffective and possibly unsafe.Read more…
Have you ever taken a class in which the instructor said you were going to do a high-intensity interval effort, but didn’t tell you how long it would be? As a result, you didn’t know how hard you should push for fear that you wouldn’t last the whole time? What was the result? Here are the basic rules for teaching interval sets and reps. Great tips for new instructors or as a brushup for seasoned instructors.Read more…
Tom gives us tips on how to fake your intensity, so your riders don’t know that you’re not pushing as hard. Because sometimes to be the best coach, they just don’t need to know.Read more…
While on location in Kauai filming for a virtual ride with Cycling Fusion, I had Tom Scotto at my beck and call, so I took advantage of this situation and filmed a couple of Ask the Expert videos. In this first one, we discuss when it is appropriate for an instructor to ride at the intensity required of the class and when it’s better to back off. Read more…
I got a chance to take the second signature class of the Equinox Pursuit brand, a threshold-based format of longer intervals. This type of ride is so up my alley! Here is my review of the class I took a few weeks ago at the La Costa Equinox just north of San Diego, California.Read more…