June 2022 Newsletter

Dear Members and Sponsors

From the President:

With the cycling season underway, I am thrilled to see so many riders at our weekly rides. The Monday beginner/social ride has been seeing 10-15 riders and continues to increase.  Thanks so much to Phil K, Doug H, and Rob H for leading and sweeping these rides. My favorite part of the Monday ride is welcoming new riders to our sport and teaching them how to safely ride in a group on the road.

Our Thursday ride continues to grow, thanks to Alex D, who leads the faster group, and endlessly promotes the ride through Facebook.  So far there seems to be 2 groups on the ride, my goal is to add another slightly slower, shorter ride for people to transition from the Monday ride to the more challenging Thursday ride.

This month kicks off our new program of mini workshops with guest speakers.  If there is a topic you would like to see discussed, please reach out to any of the board members, or send us an email at capecodcyclingclub@gmail.com and we will add it to our list. At our June member meeting Kim Pzegeo discussed “Preparing for your big event”.  There has also been some interest in bike maintenance, and tire changing roadside, so look for those topics soon!

Ed Sinofsky C4 Advocacy Update:

I enjoy my advocacy role at C4. I advocate for cycling in general and e-bikes in particular. I was recently appointed to the Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. I was sworn in and everything!

In the last meeting I attended on Zoom two interesting graphics were presented. The first is a simple graphic that shows the increase or decrease of cycling activity last year on the Cape and in Mass towns. Except for Yarmouth and Truro, biking increased substantially on the Cape.

Bicycle Activity in Massachusetts by Town

The next interesting map shows the trails that are in planning on the Cape. Funded projects are marked with a yellow line. You can zoom in and out and explore the areas you are interested in. On the New trails map, you can see we have lots of new trails to look forward to.

On the State Advocacy level there are two bills pending in the Statehouse. They are now near consideration, but I have no idea how it will shake out. For more information see here: bike legislation.

Volunteering for Local Events 

Every year we are presented with the opportunity to volunteer for local organizations.  This can be a great way to show support to some of our members who are participating in events that you don’t do, such as triathlons, or the Falmouth Road Race.  As a thank you for representing the club at qualifying events, we offer kit credits per event.  This is a great way to represent the club and get an updated kit! Follow us on Facebook and watch for our emails for the upcoming events.

From Kim Pzegeo, Marketing Coordinator, Why Recovery Matters? 

As a cyclist, it can be hard to accept when a rest day pops in our calendars, whether we are on a training plan, or it’s raining. Many of us feel useless when we take a day off instead of hitting the road, trail, or path to log in those miles. But recovery is necessary for the body to repair damaged tissues to come back stronger.

What endurance athletes tend to forget is that although cycling can build your cardiovascular endurance, it can also break down your body. Prolonged exercise sessions without rest will only cause tissue damage, which can potentially lead to injuries. Being able to rest between workouts allows the body to improve and become stronger.

Recovery is the most important part of training. Yet so many people go over the top with the training and just don’t recover from it. Their form gets worse, they are fatigued all the time, and their performance may decline, it’s a vicious cycle. Many think they’re doing badly, so they train harder, and this only makes it worse. We want to train smarter, not harder!

What tools can we utilize to promote our recovery from cycling:

• First let’s take a look at passive strategies, or more restful strategies:

• Sleep: 7-9 hours of quality sleep
• Nutrition: daily, post-riding, and during riding
• Psychological
  • Meditation
  • Visualization
  • Breathing tempos & techniques
• Compression
• Take a rest day off the bike

• Active Strategies are often the most effective at reducing muscle damage. Active recovery, or light training has some positive effects, but it can also exacerbate overtraining, injury, or reduce energy. As with most approaches, if it doesn’t seem to be working for you, opt for passive recovery.

• Massage: Foam Roller
• Stretching: static & dynamic
• Hydrotherapy: easiest way → Hot/cold contrast in a shower for equal time
• Active Rest
  • Go for a hike, light ride with your family, or a walk

How do we set ourselves up for success, while taking recovery into account:

• Strategies will need to be different day to day, or week to week based on how much training stress you accumulate, and how much stress you have in your life
• Complete a self-check-in every couple of days. If you notice you are fatigued, tight, lethargic, or don’t want to train, give yourself permission to take some rest, or try one of the strategies listed above
• Sunday is a great day to prep for the week: you could work on breathing techniques to relax your nervous system & recover from the previous week, you can plan your workouts/ rides for the week based around your schedule, you can plan your meals/ recovery nutrition for the week, or you can plan to try something new and exciting in the coming week, like strength, or mobility exercises to build a more resilient body. This can greatly help with managing your time, preventing burnout, and managing your fatigue.

Work + Rest = Success!

2022 Membership is open still!

To become a full paid member and enjoy the benefits of membership, please visit BikeReg to join.  For $30 annually, you are invited to participate in member events, earn kit credit through racing or volunteering, and wear the club exclusive kit.  Please follow the link and sign up today.

https://www.bikereg.com/53348

Club Gear

C4 caps and anniversary visors

The club purchased a small supply of baseball caps and 10th-anniversary visors emblazoned with the C4 logo and artwork. There are still several available for purchase, but numbers are dwindling.

If you haven’t had a chance to buy one yet, head over to the website and take a look. Each item is $15 and can be shipped to you or you can pick up locally on the Cape. http://capecodcycleclub.org/?post_type=product

To contact us:

As always, if you have anything to bring to the club’s attention or would like to discuss any of the items listed above, please contact us via email at capecodcyclingclub@gmail.com. We will either discuss it immediately amongst the board or get it on the agenda for the next meeting depending on the timing.

2022 Member Meetings:  Our next  member meeting will be on Thursday, September 1st 7pm at the Portside Tavern on North St Hyannis (or immediately follow the ride).

Happy riding to you all!

Kim

President