Bike Australia

We’re lucky that the peak of summer coincides with a huge down turn of time at work. Long days, the hot sun, roads with less cars as school is out and the masses flee to the beach. Our holiday period and beyond is a great time to get out on the bike and start the new year fresh – and even start as a new you. If something has been eating at you in 2017, or for longer, let 2018 be your fresh slate. Ride out that emotion, start a new agenda, and set yourself some challenges to keep yourself on the bike this year. Riding bikes makes people happy. As a side benefit, it can also make you pretty fit and healthy. In 2018 I’m setting myself the challenge to ride…

GIRO DELLA DONNA CYCLOCROSS How do you describe cyclocross? Fast? Cool? Intense? Fun? Colourful? Quirky? It is all of those things and more. The Giro Della Donna event expanded with a cyclocross race in Warburton for the 2017 edition. And the course designers left the standard practices at home as the course included a backyard and trip through a house. With sausage sandwich hand ups, lots of heckling, dismounts and remounts in a highly suburban backyard setting, and more quirky Melbourne cyclocross groupies than you could shake a cowbell at, the Giro Della Donna ‘cross event guaranteed one thing above all else - good fun. The Focus-Attaquer Team were out in force, with Australian cyclocross champion Peta Mullens putting her new Mares to task to win the women’s race, while her team mate…

Eddy Merckx said it best: “Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” However, is this really enough? Whether to just ride or follow a structured training program has long perplexed recreational and competitive cyclists alike, and while structured training plans are more and more available (from outfits like Training Peaks and Today’s Plan), and the tools to measure progress (like power meters and GPS units) are cheaper, riding ‘on feel’ has a lot to recommend it. Intervals have a bunch of advantages: they can push you far beyond your comfort zone into new dimensions of pain and suffering, with the equivalent gains in fitness and power. They allow you to train specific energy systems, dedicating your rides to stressing different parts…

PROS OFTEN TALK ABOUT ‘DOING RECO’ OR ‘RECOVERING HARD’, BUT WHAT EXACTLY ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? Recovery is when you make gains, and is at least as important as the training you do for increasing your fitness. This is because your body makes its adaptations not when you train, but when you rest following a period of training (say, three days). Here’s Bike’s top tips on recovering right for the best fitness gains. 1. SCHEDULE REST DAYS Most athletes have one or two, or even three recovery days a week. A recovery day will take the form of total rest (no riding) or active recovery, such as a gentle ride, a walk or hike, a swim, or even an easy jog. The golden rule of the recovery day is to TAKE IT EASY! A…

Summer is the best time to visit Tassie, and while the island is full of incredible cycling spots filled with natural beauty and punctuated by breathtaking climbs, Launceston (or Lonnie, to locals) holds a special place in our hearts at Bike. Training near Richie Porte’s homeground, you’ll be able to take in miles and miles of peaceful, scenic country roads, the immense mountain bike playground at Blue Derby, and head out to the magnificent switchbacks of Jacob’s Ladder, lying 60 kilometres east of Lonnie in Ben Lomond National Park. While Launceston has amazing cycling to offer in all directions, Jacob’s Ladder is an absolute must-ride, with a 15-kilometre ascent on winding, at times exposed gravel roads to 1,400m. Drive to Ben Lomond National Park, or ride the full distance for…

STUFF ON OUR TOP TUBES // Training zones // Sweat // Mud // Energy Drink Sludge // “No Garmin No Rules” // “Pin It” written on in texta // GU shot // Profanity // Comically long cue sheets // Sparklers 8 Fun Ways to Cross-Train Take a powder day! Gear editor Mike Yozell cross-country skis for the fitness benefits - and it gives you a reason to be stoked about snow, so you’re not just glumly riding the trainer. Prefer to stay indoors? Try rock climbing. “It’s like scary yoga,” says associate digital editor Lydia Tanner. Video producer Pat Heine agrees: “Climbing gives me flexibility plus mad core strength.” Or chase the kids around at any family function. “They will test your endurance,” says creative director Jesse Southerland. Make time to Zen…