The End of the Season - Sticky

Wednesday, November 28, 2015

Well gang, the end of the season is here. As I write this, it's a beautiful calm bright sunny fall day; hard to believe that the forecast is calling for blowing snow and plummeting temperatures in just a few hours. We've had historically high participation levels the last two seasons and on behalf of the rest of the executive I want to thank you all for making the FOG rides so special.

The season was not without it's challenges. It's always been difficult to meet the needs of such a diverse group of riders. In the past this has lead to conflicts and groups leaving FOG. FOG has a lot of strengths, but two areas of weakness are an entry path for newer riders to join the rides and at the opposite end something to meet the needs of stronger riders so they don't lose interest and drift away. Those are areas where we have not done well, but as a result are areas of great opportunity. Alas, our efforts this summer did not always go smoothly. The end of the season is a good time to take a step back and reflect and think about what might work better. More on this in the next couple of days.

The end of the season is also a good time to take a SHORT break off the bike. Fitness is a balance between work and recovery. After a long season of riding a break can be very beneficial, even critical especially as our bodies age. But don't completely stop being active, lest you risk taking two steps forward in the summer and three back over the winter. Cycling is non weight bearing and can lead to a loss of bone mass. Even if cycling is your primary sport, now is a great time to engage in some other activities as cross-training. There's a series of articles about the Off-Season beginning here.

Some would rather endure a pubic flogging than ride the trainer, but the trainer can offer advantages too as the days get cold and daylight is in short supply. One area where the trainer is particularly good is with shorter more intense efforts. There's abundant evidence that as we get older it's even more important to throw some more intense efforts in there. The added bonus is that it's a lot more time efficient than long slow rides too. More here.

The FOG AGM is on Sunday November 29th. Don't forget to RSVP. Details here.