The following is my personal ride schedule for the remainder of the season:

Sep 9 - Northglenn-Hudson-Keenesburg (80 mi)
Sep 16 - Copper Triangle (78 mi)
Sep 23 - Deer Creek-High Grade-City View (58 mi)

After this we will start pulling our mileage back.

For those of you who missed the Golden Gate Canyon ride or turned at Guy Hill be glad you did. Several of us went on only to find thick fog, bone chilling cold, and even sleet on the back side of Wondervu. But, as I say, "what doesn't kill you only maims and cripples you."

If you are wondering when we put our bikes up for the winter - we don't. We can ride all year round except usually in February when it is so cold that the ice doesn't clear from the roads or paths. I personally don't ride below 40 deg for the same ice concern. If you ski every weekend then try to get some indoor cycling during the week. Muscles are specific. So even though skiing will keep you fit it is training your legs to very different stressors.

The heart of our Fall/Winter rides is the Show & Go. We start from the same location on Saturdays and Sunday from November on. It is the ride leader that sets the course that day depending upon wind, ice, and other road conditions. There is a group that does fixed gear riding up around Erie. And, I like to take my cyclocross bike out on the Highline Canal Trail. Because of the unpredictable weather it is best to just show up. If we don't ride we'll usually grab coffee someplace.

ENDURANCE: the question I'm always asked is what to work on this time of year. My answer is always endurance. Sorry I can't make it more complex for you. The fact is that most people don't get the 3500-4000 miles in per season that we aim for. They try to make up for it with intervals, hard hill climbs, and sprints. But they still get dropped an hour into the ride. So, in spite of the short-intense, training bandwagon so many have jumped on, we do short- intense efforts - several times during a long ride.

So close your eyes and tap the heels of your cycling shoes together three times and repeat "there's no substitute for time in the saddle", "there's no substitute for time in the saddle", "there's no substitute for time in the saddle"... See Dorothy, you've always had the ability to go long distances on the bike - you just had to learn the proper technique in your own time.

Several people have expressed disappointment that I was planning to cancel the seminars. They would like an opportunity to have a dialogue on the discussion topics rather than just a presentation. So I shall let the market decide. By the next newsletter I will have some seminar dates scheduled and registration listed in the online store. If we get enough people to make it worthwhile then we'll have the seminars.

I will also do the same thing with the Core Fitness clinics. It was pointed out to me that not all people ski on the weekends. This one is a little tougher because we have to have enough people AND there has to be space at the YMCA or another venue. Even though I'm Red Cross certified I won't hold the clinics without having an AED and other CPR certified people nearby.

Dan and I will start our weight training next month at the Littleton Family YMCA. If you want to learn our routine please schedule a session with me. Forget everything you learned about body building/sculpting for lower body. Low rep, high-weight training promotes muscular hypertrophy but not the endurance we are looking for. Not only do we need strength but we need it 4-6 hours at a time. Three or five sets of 8-12 reps doesn't do much for us.

Finally, if you start indoor cycling, work on smooth pedaling technique, or "pedaling in circles", and on increasing your cadence. Even during simulated climbs keep your cadence at 70-80 rpm instead of the extreme resistance the spin instructors want you at. The "hard" pedaling will only put excess stress on your leg joints and build large thigh/calf muscles. Take a look at the legs on a lot of hardcore spin instructors and decide if you want yours that size or not. Again, we are looking for muscular endurance and long, lean muscles.

As you change your activity level you should also change your food consumption. If you were doing both long RMCC rides every weekend and eating like a horse you will need to adjust when you drop to the Show & Go rides or skiing. Also, you might want to error a little on the underweight side before going into the Nov/Dec holidays.

Most of you know that I have a culinary degree, love food and wine, and detest diets of any sort. My mantra is "portion control." Instead of that 16 oz T- bone have a 6 oz, bacon-wrapped filet mignon. But don't have one every night. A Tbs of Hollandaise on your asparagus isn't going to expand your thighs by two inches.

Four diet "Big Gulps" and a bag of "Baked Lays Chips" is not watching your weight. Excess carbohydrate is will fatten you up regardless of the low fat content. So eat higher-quality and really yummy food in smaller portions. Stop grazing at your desk (Mountain Man is Satan).

I'm going to fight to establish the second Midlife Cycling pillar of Fitness, Food, and Travel by writing more about food and wine in the newsletter.

Last week I picked up a Red Bicyclette 2003 Merlot for $9 If for nothing else than the bottle. It actually turned out to be a pretty nice wine for the price.

Others who know me well know that my passion is Red Bordeaux. But I can't afford the popular ones so I'm always looking for good ones under $15 which are few and far between. However, the are there and we'll discuss them another time. Let's stick with single varietals this week.

I have a friend from South Africa. The KVW Pinotage and Shiraz are good wines for a good price. As always, "good" is a relative term depending upon your own taste preference. For me a good wine is an old world wine with earthiness and good balance between acid and sweet. I also don't want the tannins to be too prominent. These are hard to find because most wines are consumed within 2 years of harvest.

Some other South African wines I like, in ascending order of cost, come from Kanonkop and Roodeberg. Give them a try sometime. You'll find them about the same taste, but with less oak, than Australian wines.

White Zinfandel is the devil's nectar. But it's popularity ended up saving the zinfandel vineyards. Red Zinfandel is a mid-palette wine that I think is more interesting than Merlot. However, you either get a good one or a bad one. Not many in between. Some good ones are the Woodbridge Zinfandel, and my favorite, any of those from Seghesio.

Email me with any of your recommendations.

Nothing new in the product area this week.

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