Tour De France 2007 - Prologue London

Tour de France 2001

Tour de France 2003

Lance Armstrong - Time Trial 2005 Tour De France

Lance Armstrong Sestriere Climb 1999

Video: Lance Armstrong Alpe D'Huez 2001

The first of many video posts.

Lance Armstrong riding the Alpe D'Huez in the 2001 Tour De France, including some of his training mixed in.

Why we love cycling

We all love cycling, we love being on the bike, the fresh air, the wind, the speed and of course, the scenery. But we all know how hard it is to get off our buts, get dressed and get on the road... the rest is easy.

When I ride, I always think to myself how much I enjoy being on the bike, pedalling, powering. The only problem i have is getting out of my home and onto the bike. After all the thinking I realised that all i need is a little bit of encouragement, whether it be a photo of somone cycling, a video clip, of even just talking about it. So here's my list of reasons why I enjoy cycling so much, perhaps it can be an encouragement to you to get away from this computer screen and to get back on your trusted bicycle.

• Getting away from the stress of life
• Comraderie
• The Speed
• The wind against your shaved legs
• The weird tan lines
• Knowing you're getting fitter after every ride
• The cool toys and gadgets
• The distance you ride always impresses non-cyclists
• Food tastes so much better after a 100km ride
• You sleep like a baby after a long ride

Any other reasons you can think of?

Training areas

Cycling is one of those sports that requires one to be competant in a number of different areas. You have to have the endurance to comfortably ride 100km, the stregth to sprint at over 55km/hr, the skill to manoevre within a bunch of any number of riders, the mental strength to pedal through the tough times, and the consistancy to keep a tempo up a long hill. All these facets mean different training areas. Here are the most important ones:

1. Distance/Endurance: You need to train for this by doing at least the race distance or more.

2. Speed/Sprints: Interval training is important. Basically go all out for a short birst, recover, repeat.

3. Climbing/Hills: The only way to become a better climber is to climb better by climbing longer and faster.

4. Racing/Group riding: Training in a group or doing practice races is as important as training on your own.

That said, there's no better training than pushing yourself to perform better than you did last time.

Start training properly on your bike

The 10 Biggest Mistakes On Cycling Training And How To Avoid Them.
Cycling Training Mistakes

Cycling-Secrets Offers A Range Of Digital Products Related To Cycling.
Cycling Resources And E-books

Bicycling Training Plans And EBooks To Help Cyclists Train Systematically And Improve Their Ability To Ride. Training Plans Provide Guidance As To How To Plan Rides That Stress Various Cycling Attributes And Build Systematically Throughout The Season.
Cycling Training Plans And Books

This following link might be of help to the young ones starting out with cycling or getting on their first bike.
Learn To Ride A Bike