Mavic have supplied the Pro Peleton with neutral support for years. This includes wheels and sometimes, bicycles, for when riders have mechanical issues or punctures and their team cars are not near them to supply a spare. The video illustrates how crazy their day is at Paris Roubaix, when punctures, falls and crashes are the norm, not the exception. When it comes to riding the yellow bikes, who can forget Jens Voigt riding that baby sized bike to the finish in Le Tour a few seasons back…

Neutral Service is such a fantastic name. That backup when backup fails. After putting up some truly (insert sarcastic voice) inspirational brotips on Friday on my Posterous Page it got me thinking about who my “Neutral Service” would be. That person cannot be favoring any outcome to the situation nor supply the perfect tool for your problem, but they are there to help you get through the situation and back into the running (i.e. Life).

I made a quick list this morning of the people who I believe could supply this service to me if I needed it and fired off an email to each of them to thank them for this strange role they could play in my life. Hopefully, if and when the proverbial hits the fan, they will now be ready. I like keeping people around me on their toes. It brings out the best in them.

I am nursing a bruised patella today, something causing me to focus all my patience to NOT do anything stupid. It`ll be a few days before I am back up to speed and I am already itchy to test it. This is stupid and I have made a line in permanent marker on each of my thumbs to make sure I don’t forget how stupid it would be to “test” it today. Drawing the line in the sand with minor injuries (this one from riding my mountain bike in Tokai and the berm I was riding simply washing away) is a tough one as I want to go out there and train because I am going so well at the moment.

Draw the line and stick to it. I have to keep reminding myself of this. One of the greatest threats any pro athlete has is not injury, but how they behave when injured. Please remind me to revisit this on another day… For today though, consider your Neutral Service and how to draw lines in the sand when it comes to minor injuries….

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Those of you who have been unlucky enough to be coached by me know the value I put on my once a week gym session for you. Whilst not a full body session, its far more of a “core” workout. I place alot of value on lunges, squats, core work and quite alot of stability stuff i.e. one leg at a time.

The reason for this is simple – we do not hop when we bike, or run. Pretty much always (barring extreeeeeeeme desperation) we go ahead, one leg at a time. We also have to learn to keep our core strength statically strong for extended periods of time.

Wobble on your bike? time to do some plank exercises…

There is a pretty good workout here and a great explanation for why we do strength work is simply that, as we get a little older, we tend to get a little weaker, and to stay fresh with the whipper snappers, and able to be in the mix, you need some strength in there too.

A fantastic reason to be in the gym is also to avoid injury. I was fairly injury prone a few years ago, until I started regular work in the gym. Every single one of my disciplines got faster, and I have since, never been injured.

Also, as Crowder says. “A little rippedness never hurt nobody.”

Here is a new one I found today, which after a quick mail to the Muse, has gotten approval for insertion into the program. Hip Flexors, Hammies, Quads, Stability, all in there…

Unfortunately, for the mirror athletes, there are no bicep curls, and no calf raises.

But why only once a week? Ask my athletes about GR/ME/Big Gear Intervals. They are gym, ON the bike. They are included in almost every work-out we do. They DO hurt, but they ARE worth it. I have yet to come across another form of specificity towards ME (Muscular Endurance) that works as well as GR (Gear restriction) intervals…

Want to know more? Drop me a line… raoul [at] urban-ninja.co.za

ciao ciao

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