I’ve done some looking around for some training guides. I’ve gotten books out of the library and read them, but everything is soooo complicated. It’s like I’m training to go to the moon, not ride my bike 100 miles. I know it’s a long way, but I am a work at home mom and need something simple to get me prepared for this journey.

I recently found the Century Training Guide. It’s an ebook, so I ordered it and it came right to my computer (which I love). This training guide is very thorough, but it’s very simple.

He starts out the guide by telling you what a century is and then goes into the equipment you’ll need and how to prepare for the ride ~ the right clothes, bike equipments as well as a fantastic bike kit list ~ which I found invaluable.

He then gets into the training. He offers some high tech ways to train as well as some lower tech ways to do the same thing, which I really like because I don’t really want to spend a lot of money on high tech devices. (Well that’s not really true, I’d love to spend them money on them, but it’s not in the budget right now!)

He shows you not only training on your bike, but also weight training to get well rounded fitness and strength. I think this is really important, because I think my big foot issue last year was partially due to only working out on the bike, and not stretching/working other parts of my body. (Hoping to avoid the foot thing this year).

The on bike training is very thorough, but not too confusing. He breaks things up into “zones” which can be measured by heart rate (or perceived exertion if you don’t have a heart rate monitor). Each zone has a certain purpose and you workout in each zone on specific days for specific times. This allows your body to stretch its limits, but also have time to recover ~ which is really important.

I really like how the training is really easy to understand and it feels like something I could actually DO! What I REALLY like is at the end of the book he offers 3 workout charts. He lays out which zone you should be working out, for how long and when ~ but for 3 different fitness levels. So even if you are a super beginner (like I’m going to be after a super lazy winter) this century training will work for you as well.

After the training section he goes into nutrition ~ which is huge to make it through 100 miles on your bike. He lays out a very sound nutrition plan ~ to use through training as well as the day of your ride.  He also includes an entire section on vegetarian nutrition ~ while I’m not a vegetarian, I thought it was an excellent addition to the book.

All in all this century training guide is very thorough, but what I like best is it is simple enough as not to be so overwhelming I just put it away. This is  century training I can do! Which is great, because then I might actually do it. If you’re looking for a straight forward guide to learn how to train for a century I highly recommend it.

I rode my bike for a few days with no computer, but I like to “know” stuff!! Especially how far and fast I’m going on my bike. Since it was early in this cycling experiment I just grabbed a cheap bike computer from Walmart. I got the Bell Bike computer F20.

Let me just say a few things about bike computers and cycling. As with just about ANYTHING in cycling you can spend a lot of money on a bike computer. However, as a beginner, and a long distance cycling wannabe it really isn’t necessary at this point.  What is important is to figure out what features you want in your bike computer and then make sure the one you get has those features.

For me I wanted to know how fast I was going, how far I had gone, and calories expended would be great too.  The Bell Bike Computer f20 had all those things, and it was cheap.  The Bell bike computer I got is not a wireless computer,  which means you have to place sensors on your bike tires, and that’s what sends the information back to the computer. My husband nicely wrapped the wires up the fork and wrapped them in black tape and I haven’t had any problems with it at all.

The first thing you’ll want to do when you get it home, after you’ve got the wiring all connected is program your computer. To tell how far and fast you’re going it needs to know the size of your tires. It also asks you for information like body weight and age so it can figure out the calories I assume.  Programming the computer is really easy. It’s just a matter of hitting the left and right buttons on the computer and clicking until you get to the right number.

Once you have it all set up you just attach it to your bike ~ it comes with zip ties to attach all the pieces provided, and then get on your bike and ride.

The one problem with this Bell bike computer, and it’s not really a problem anymore, is the instruction manual is incorrect. It tells you to reset your trip counter to press and hold down both buttons for 3 seconds. This actually deletes all the information and you have to reprogram the whole thing. (This did NOT make my husband very happy lol), although it really only takes a couple seconds to reprogram, but we were standing on our bikes getting ready to pedal off when he tried to reset my trip counter.  (Maybe at some point he’ll figure out to just leave my stuff alone because I had already figured out you just press and hold the LEFT button for three seconds to reset any information you want reset).

You can reset all the information, including the trip meter, how long you were riding, and your calories, all the while leaving your odometer in tact. I like the odometer because I can clearly see my miles add up day after day. (Even though we’ve accidentally cleared it a couple times now)

One other feature the Bell bike computer has, which I haven’t used much as of yet, is it has a back light. This would be great if you were riding at night. You would still be able to see your computer. I haven’t had the chance to ride after dark as of yet, but winter is coming.

I personally like my Bell Bike Computer very much. That doesn’t mean I don’t get online and dream about getting a Garmin that tells me my cadence and a plethora of other information I have no idea what to do with ~ but for now the basics work, and I’m working them!!

The world of cycling can be very confusing. There’s so much to understand and comprehend ~ it’s not just about get on a bike and ride anymore. There’s fit, and sizing, and road bike, and mountain bike or fitness bike or hybrid bike. If you’re planning to do organized rides for charity or race it’s definitely not just about riding your bike anymore ~ it’s about training.

All of these things can be confusing enough on their own ~ but when you mix in the fact that just about everyone has an opinion on the subject, and generally there can be a wide range of varience in those opinions it can get a little overwhelming.

When I get overwhelmed ~ I get books. That’s just who I am. Yesterday I picked up a couple new bike books, one of which I couldn’t put down last night and want to tell you about today.

Complete Bike Book

The Complete Bike Book is a pretty cool book. It’s almost a coffee table book ~ the illustrations and photography are gorgeous, but there is a TON of information in this book.  If you are a newbie cyclist and want to get some information in your head to get things straightened out this book is great. It is not an in depth book on any one subject, but gives you excellent concise information on just about everything you would want to know about cycling.

Cycling History

It starts off with a brief history of cycling, as well as bicycles themselves. It moves from there to all the basics of getting started cycling. This includes buying a bike ~ this 2 page spread offers information on which type of bike you should get depending on your goals and biking aspirations, as well as information about different seats, all the elements on the bike. What I particularly liked about the buying a bike section is the concise chart that outlines how to choose the right frame size. This chart offers easy to read and understand information on a variety of different formats used when looking at frame size ~ which is something I was totally confused about, now I’m quite a bit more and clear and have a decent idea of what I’m looking for. This is very helpful when looking on places like Craigslist.

Getting Started

From there it moves on through other topics related to getting started, like riding skills, how to teach kids to ride a bike, riding on the road, and off road and more.

Anatomy of a Bike

From there it got even more interesting for me. I’ve been trying to figure out the differences between all the different kinds of bikes, all the geometry etc. This book has a 2 page layout for each different type/style of bike that explains the differences in very easy to understand language. I’m finally feeling like I’m understanding the basic concepts of cycling.

Improve Your Cycling Skills

From there it moves more toward how to be a better cyclist, providing information on adjusting positions, braking and changing gears, how to corner on flats as well as hairpin turns, and so much more technique related stuff. It was a lot of information. I was glad I had looked at it as today I found I was dealing with turns and some of the information I had read last night came in very handy. These topics are all covered for not only road riding but off road riding as well.

Health and Training

The next section of the Complete Bike Book is health and fitness. This is where I got pretty excited. I’ve been looking for a training program that was easy enough for even a beginner like me to understand. That’s exactly what I found in this book. A basic program that’s outlined in easy to understand language, and looks like something I can even accomplish. There is also and intermediate and advanced training program outlined.

Competitive Cycling

The next section is all about competitive cycling. Here it goes into information about all different aspects of competitive cycling, including road racing skills, triathlon skills, competing on road, and off and much more.  Like I said, this is not a thorough training manual for any one thing, but will give you a nice overview of all the topics so you can get a handle on if it’s something you might be interested in or not.

Bike Maintenance

The next section is very handy ~ and well written. It is the Maintaining your bike section. This section provides brief, but thorough instructions to walk you through most all the bike maintenance you will need to know. It starts off by discussing the tools you will need, and goes on from the very simple, how to clean your bike to adjusting cables and servicing open bearing hub and everything in between. The bike maintenance pages alone are well worth the price of the book.

I’d say The Complete Bike Book lives up to its name in the fact it gives you a little bit of information about just about everything you need to cycle these days. If you’re looking for more in depth information on any given topic this probably isn’t the right book, but if you just need basic information to get you to a point where you understand what everyone else is talking about ~ this is it!

I did quite a bit of research looking at different bike trailers seeing what others had to say about them, and comparing price.  I am still on a tight budget, so yes, I would have loved to have a Burley Bike trailer I simply can’t afford it right now (another thing to add to the Christmas list.).

I finally decided on the InStep Quick n EZ trailer. It retails at about $119.  There is a cheaper InStep Bike trailer, the Take 2, but the reviews on that one were quite poor.

The In Step Quick and Easy Bike trailer claims you don’t need any tools to put it together, and can be done in only a few minutes. I was a little bit skeptical, but here’s our experience.

We easily got it in the trunk, and got it home. YAY ~ that’s a good sign for being able to take it with us. This is what it looked like sitting in the living room beckoning me to put it together with no tools, and no help from hubby.

Getting it out of the box was just about the hardest part! It took some doing, but Hanna and I finally wrangled all the pieces out of the box.

Within 5 minutes we had the thing almost completely put together. It was up and looking good.

At this point we popped the wheels on. They are sent deflated so we weren’t quite ready to go. The next step was actually getting the trailer attached to my bike.

This includes getting it out the door. Hmm… maybe I shouldn’t have put the wheels on inside. Well it comes with quick release wheels and they are just that. With the pull of  a lever you can pull them right off. No problem. We fit out the door quite nicely without the wheels on.

If I had a bike that had a quick release rear wheel this really WOULD have been a no tools job, however, I do not. AND to make matters worse the nut holding my back wheel to the bike was so tight I could not get it off. Halt the project, no bike ride tonight I guess.

Hubby got home, and untightened the nut, we quite easily slid the coupler onto the bolt and tightened the nut right back up.

Because the trailer attaches this way I think it will fit for almost any bike, any style you can think of, so that is definitely a bonus. If you have more than one bike you will be using with this trailer you can get an additional coupler for just a couple bucks, then it will be easy on easy off for whatever bike you choose.

The next morning we set out on our first ride. I was pretty nervous about pulling this trailer with my daughter inside. I have 1/2 mile of gravel to get to the road, and I’m still a little nervous about falling over while on the gravel, and I really don’t want to take her down with me. This trailer has a special spring where the bike and trailer attaches, so even if you lay your bike down the trailer will remain upright. (much relief there).

We decided to take it for a spin this morning and see how it went. Hanna got her helmet on, grabbed some snacks, a drink, a baby and of course the portable dvd player and was ready to rock and roll.

When I started going I was pretty nervous it was going to feel like a lot of extra weight back there. However, it didn’t, even on the gravel. Granted once we got to the road it was like buttah! I was really impressed. We ended up going for a little over 5 miles and there were times I had to look back to make sure she was still there.

This is definitely a first impression review ~ we’ve only just put it together and ridden with it once. Overall I’d say I’m pretty happy with it thus far. I will definitely come back and update as we put some more miles on this trailer and let you know how it’s holding up.

Think this is the trailer for you? Read more reviews and grab it from Amazon cheaper than I got it.

Get me a nametag and call me dork.

Here’s my problem(s):

• My bike does not have holes in it for a water bottle holder

• My balance sucks so much I would fall over trying to get the water bottle out of the holder

• The idea of tipping my head back to get water to come out of the bottle causes me a good deal of panic.

I have been riding for the last week without any hydration whatsoever. It hasn’t been such a big deal thus far because I haven’t gone very far. Yesterday though I went far enough that I was pissed I didn’t have any water with me.  In fact, when I got to my goal destination (the Chikaskia River) yesterday I was starting to think grabbing a drink from it might be a good idea (NOT).

So I pondered my options and it became glaringly obvious that my only option was to get a water backpack to tend to my hydration needs.

I’m seeing a trend in biking ~ you can pay $20 dollars for something or you can pay $200 for just about the same thing.  Since I’m still on “cycling probation” from my husband I went with the $20 Walmart option.  There was one choice at Walmart when it came to a water backpack, and it was Bell. It seems Bell is THE walmart cycling brand, so I’m hoping that Bell makes quality products since it looks like a lot of my cycling stuff is going to be from Walmart for a while.

Bell Back 50 Hydration Backpack

The Bell water backpack has some nice features for such an inexpensive item. Here’s a few things I like about it:

• long tube so I can route it a number of ways

• the hole is large enough to add ice

• can hold a lot of water (1.5 liters)

• There’s a nice place to hold my mp3 player

• There’s space to hold my cell and a camera

Today was the first day I used the new water backpack. It was nice to be able to have water with me. It was also nice to have a place for my mp3 player as well as my camera. I have been wanting to bring my camera with me on my ride, but have had no way to carry it.

The tube is long enough to easily reach my mouth. I did have some problems getting the water to come through the tube for the first minute ~ but I did finally figure it out.

The tube also has a way to close it ~ which I suggest you use, as it will spill all over your LAP as you are riding if you don’t close the tube (yes, that is advice from experience).

I definitely felt much better after my ride having been able to hydrate throughout (even though it was a pretty short ride today).

I recommend the water backpack if . . .

you don’t care about being a cycling dork

you have trouble moving around on your bike without falling off

you don’t have a place for water bottles and/or don’t want to drill holes in your bike

All in all I’m pretty pleased about my new hydration system.  I’ll let you know as time goes on if my thoughts on this change ~ but for now I’m giving it a big thumbs up.