Time on a Bike, with Friends, Raising Money for Causes by Bike Ambassador Mel Levin

 In last year’s blog, I wrote of how the pandemic isolation and subsequent cancellation of events allowed me to find joy in simply riding a bike, rather than “training.”

This year, I’m happy to say that event riding is B A C K, and I love to do events that are fundraisers for illnesses/institutions I care about. I’ve already done the MS ride, just last weekend, and last year’s lessons were applied to my choice to ride the shorter (34 mile) ride rather than the longer (78 mile) ride because of thunderstorms expected to be in the area before my projected finish time.

The older I get, the more important it is to listen to my body, to give it recovery when needed, and to avoid dangerous conditions like riding in a thunderstorm! Less visibility to automobile drivers! Slicker roads! In years past, I’d have felt compelled to ride the ride I signed up for, but last year’s reminder of the joy in riding a bike, allowed me to step back, to nurse my sore foot (sore from a recent distance trail run), and to ride with my OUTspokin’ teammates. All of them had either initially chosen the shorter ride or stepped down from the 78 to the 34, following my lead of “safety first.” The day couldn’t have been more perfect, and I later learned from a friend of the 20-minute downpour and wet last ten miles. A good decision, a safe decision, had been made. Additionally, I was able to ride a strong pace I was proud of...a strong 34-miler was better than a crappy 78 on that particular day.

On the upcoming Courage Classic, held out of Copper Mountain, I am the team captain for RadioActive, a team of Pediatric Radiology docs and friends/colleagues. The ride has always been a two-day event benefitting Children’s Hospital Colorado, canceled last year due to COVID and shortened to one day only for 2021. I aim to ride the 78-miler over three mountain passes and a mountain that day (the same route as the famed Copper Triangle). I also aim to change my plan if weather is bad, to be an inspiring team captain for my friends and colleagues, and to enjoy the day, whatever happens.

Time on a bike, with friends, raising money for causes I care about, that’s where you’ll find me as long as I’m fit and able.

5 Things to Do If You Come Up on an Injury by Bike Ambassador Tom Stott

Injury. Is there any scarier word for the endurance athlete? Over the years as a cyclist and runner, I’ve personally worked through a number of injuries, and I’ve helped people rehabilitate from countless proximal hamstring strains, piriformis irritations, iliotibial band restrictions, and thoracic & cervical spine pains. It’s a nightmare-turned-reality situation that can surface, seemingly, out of nowhere. Whether it’s at the ankle, knee, hip, lower back, shoulder, or neck, an inflammatory process can derail our training plans and send us spiraling down a hole of depression.

After more than an entire year of social distancing, safety precautions, and solo workouts, many of you are likely carrying some momentum behind you. Maybe you even feel fit! Then, like a sock full of quarters, you wake up one day to the reality that you can’t put your foot on the ground without extreme pain in your arch. *cue the really sad trombone slide whistle* For the unforeseeable future, your life is going to look vastly different. The hours you spend training and producing pleasure-enhancing brain chemicals will seem like an unfillable void in your life. Here’s what you should do if you find yourself in a spot of bother.

1) Talk to your close friends. If you can meet them up for a walk, do that. If you are not ambulatory at the moment, meet them up for tacos. The point is that, when injuries arise, we often crawl into seclusion. While time for reflection is an important part of the process, communication and human contact are pivotal for our psyche. SPECIAL ATTENTION to all of you men out there, as we’re historically terrible at conveying our feelings and both asking for and accepting help.

2) Plan what you want to do coming back from your injury. While this might seem a little frustrating at first, setting your sights on what you want to do is as important as setting a goal for a race. Focusing forward on the positive sets the intent for healing and will help ground your (temporarily less-active) brain.

3) Do something on your life checklist that you never get to do because you’re always busy training. Frame some inspirational posters and put them up in your training space. Paint an accent wall or put up a decorative stencil in the room where you do most of your relaxing. Clean out a part of your closet or dresser and organize your training gear, so that you’ll be more efficient when you get ready to head out the door in the future. Find a way to be beautifully productive. 

4) Breathe and accept the situation for what it is. Can you still be pissed off? Ab-so-freakin-lutely! Should you dwell in self-pity and sorrow for more than a finite amount of time (depending how how quickly you process things)? Most definitely not. Adding stress about being stressed that you can’t do the thing that helps destress you will only cause you more… well… stress. Instead, try to alleviate your frustrations through outlets that work for you.

5) Nail the mental piece to training your body. As endurance athletes, the physical body is what we nail when executing a training plan. The mental side of things? That discipline can usually use at least a little bit of work. While you may not be able to satisfy your craving for those delicious endurance endorphins, you can still provide your self with some love. One of the most self-rewarding human experiences occurs when you show gratitude and appreciation toward others. Take a moment to handwrite a letter to a friend, a training partner, a mentor, or a coach. Express how they helped you grow, either as an individual, as an athlete, or both! I’ll leave it up to you as to whether or not you want to send it. ;) Looking for something more passive in nature? Help soothe your autonomic nervous system and relax your reptilian brain with some guided meditation. Hop on Amazon Prime or YouTube and find a 20-minute routine that will provide a backbone for you to temporarily “check out.”

In my 20+ years of working with endurance athletes, I have yet to meet one that hasn’t had to overcome adversity in the form of a comeback from injury. From my experience, if all rehabilitation methods & recovery strategies are equal, the biggest separator that determines how fast an athlete bounces back easier/smoother/faster is the resilience of the individual’s mind. Find something from the list above that peaks your interest and start there. Build that bridge to recovery!

Best Advice I Ever Received: Bike Ambassador Blog Post

Best Advice I Ever Received  - by Bike Ambassador Jen Lorenz

I was recently asked about the best advice I received as a new rider. I received a ton of good advice as a new rider ranging from do not wear underwear with your bike shorts to getting a proper bike fit. I now share both pieces of advice with any new rider I meet.  This post reminds me to heed my own advice.

Last summer I purchased a new road bike. I thought I could directly transfer my measurements from my old road bike to my new road bike.  The bikes are completely different brands with completely different geometry.   

After the initial shine and awe of riding a new bike wore off, I started dreading riding my fancy new road bike. I could not figure out what it was about my new bike that I did not like. It was obviously different from my tried-and-true old bike. My old bike was familiar. It was like a limb, and we fit together perfectly.  I convinced myself that riding my new bike would involve an adjustment period. I still needed to get to know my new bike and bond with my new bike- I just needed to give it a chance.

Fast forward 6 months, and I was considering selling my new bike. We were not bonding.  Every ride felt slow and sluggish. When I got off my new bike my knees and back hurt and I felt old.  I do not like things that make me feel old. But, that was the key. As I complained to my husband about how my knees hurt and my back ached, inspiration struck- or, maybe common sense finally kicked in.  If I felt slow and sluggish and my knees hurt, maybe my seat was too low.  My husband is no bike fit expert, but he is pretty smart.  His unaided eye immediately recognized that my seat was in fact too low. If the seat was too low, it was likely other things were off, too. A quick trip to my local bike shop and sage bike fit expert could remedy my problems and save my relationship with my new bike.  Like I had been told years ago - A good bike fit is essential for every single bike in the quiver. My favorite bike fitters are at C3 in Golden - https://c3bikeshop.com

C3 Bike Shop Address:

16035 Table Mountain Parkway

Golden, CO 80403

C3 Phone Number

720-598-5950

Spreading the Bike Gospel

Co-captains Megan & Erin

Inspiring people to use their bikes for racing and commuting…

We are the Bike Ambassadors: a team of men and women cyclists passionate about racing, riding, and commuting.  Our goal is to spread the bike gospel by sharing our lessons and adventures in racing and commuting in the hopes that we get others riding, commuting, and driving less! 

Our mantra is #RIDEMOREDRIVELESS, and we hope to make it yours, too. We want to help other men and women learn how and where to start. What bike to buy?  What to wear?  What route to take?  How to change flat tires and perform basic bike maintenance? Follow along our team and we will teach you.

What does it mean to be a bike ambassador?

Here is what Megan Hottman, founder and co-captain of the team says: 

Mel and Erin enjoying a ride together. They met some 20 years ago, in Washington DC, and have been friends ever since!

Bike Ambassador Gerry escorting his daughter to work.

Being a bike ambassador means to welcome everyone into the cycling community and family. Everyone. It means to show people how the bike makes your life better—to lead by example—so that they may be intrigued enough to ask, “How can I get into that?” Guide them.

It means to help and to coach newer riders with equipment selection, tips and tricks to make riding more enjoyable, and showing them safe routes to ride. It means to demonstrate lawful and conscious riding behavior to other road users so that they feel at ease near cyclists and are motivated to share the road with cyclists.  Similarly, it means riding courteously on bike trails and bike paths so that other users like pedestrians and runners, families, and small children see cyclists as allies and friends.

Being a bike ambassador means every time you put your leg over the top tube of a bike, you consciously choose to embody the best of cycling and to show it to the rest of the world—to everyone you encounter. This means when wearing a bike helmet into a coffee shop or store, you greet people with a friendly “hello” so they will be left with a positive association with you as a cyclist, and therefore, cyclists in general.

 It means saying “on your left” or using your bell. It means not speeding on congested speed-limit paths. It means waving to motorists and acknowledging their friendly gesture, like letting you proceed first. It means a head nod or wave to other cyclists.

Our gravel and cold-weather racer, Christopher.

Being a bike ambassador means you go out into this world showing it the incredible and contagious virtues of cycling! This is what our team strives to do daily when we are out on our bikes or talking about cycling.

This year, our team is made up of eight women and six men, mostly based in Colorado, who ride all kinds of bikes—road, mountain, fat tire, e-bikes, and even cargo bikes—and participate in various disciplines including cyclo-cross, road, mountain, and gravel rides. In the past, we have even had members who raced in track cycling at a local velodrome. Nine members of our team will be riding at FoCo Fondo on July 25th.

We come from all walks of life, vary in age, and occupation. We have one retiree on our team. Some race, some use their bikes exclusively for commuting. Even if our Bike Ambassadors use their bikes for different purposes, they all have one thing in common: their passion for cycling.

Melissa is our cargo-bike expert !

Ben Boncella represents our team in Raleigh, North Carolina. He recently moved there from Colorado and loves to run and road bike.

Jen Lorenz has not always been a bike rider but is one of our long-standing members. She has been on the team since 2012 when it was known as TheCyclist-Lawyer team.  When Jen moved to Colorado with her husband from the Midwest in 2006, she did not even own a bike. At that time, she vowed that she would never be one of those people riding a bike on the side of the road wearing Spandex. That is until her husband started riding bikes with friends and having a really good time. Jen wanted in on the fun. Her husband bought her a pink bubble gum Trek bike off the Internet. After a trip to Italy for a bike vacation, Jen was hooked.  She then raced Tri for a Cure and loved the bike portion of the race.  Jen met up with Megan at the pillars of Lookout Mountain when the School of Mines used to host the race up Lookout and learned about the team. She then traded in her pretty, pink Trek for a race bike and has been an avid rider ever since.

Jen & Cheryl

Over the years, Jen has done most every ride and race in Colorado and has made amazing friends through cycling. She has traveled to some incredible places on her bike. She and her husband have made it a priority in their vacation travels to stay at hotels where bikes are available or cities where they can rent bikes at a bike kiosk. While in Kyoto, Japan, Jen and her husband rented e-bikes from the hotel. They were able to explore the city in a way they never would have if they had taken the subway or a taxi.

This year, Jen would like to participate in any race or ride she can. Last year, all of her races were cancelled because of COVID and her office closed as well. She typically rides to work as much as possible. However, with no office to bike to, her regular commute was limited. Since everyone is working from home these days, Jen and her husband were able to spend most of the summer in Salida where you bike everywhere.

As a Bike Ambassador, Jen hopes to introduce people to the extreme joys of biking.  Bikes are not just a mode of transportation, although they can also be that. People who bike are a community, and biking transcends barriers like language and politics.  The one person who comments most frequently on her Strava rides is a cyclist she met in Peru. In 2018, Jen was one of our Bike Ambassadors who worked together with the Golden Police Department to film public service videos called “Keeping it Wheel” to educate both motorists and cyclists about cycling safety. 

Jen will be participating in the 25-mile ride at FoCo Fondo. She will be racing Tri Boulder the day before, so the Foco Fondo will be her recovery ride.

Cheryl is a World Record Holder. She, along with a team of 24 other riders, rode 28 hours on a static bike to generate awareness about cycling and to raise money for PeopleForBikes.

Cheryl Gaiser is another long-time member of the Bike Ambassador team. She has been on the team for seven years and raced on prior teams that Megan managed. “There’s nothing like the camaraderie we have as a team during rides,” she says. Cheryl is constantly looking to assist new riders with tips. This year, she will be helping the BA team members who are participating in the 50-mile ride at FoCo Fondo for the first time. “I think we as cyclists have a real opportunity to get more people involved with cycling,” she says.

Cheryl took a part-time job at a local bike shop because she loves cycling so much and has been taking some of her co-workers on gravel training rides.

This year, her goals include getting more involved in Gran Fondo, Tours and half or full Century rides. Cheryl says these all seem scary at first, but if we can get out there as bike ambassadors and show people that it is doable, she thinks we will see more ridership.

Andrew often commutes to work…sometimes even with his dog!

Thomas Stott has been on the team two years, though he has been collaborating with Megan on all-things-bike-related for a little over three years. He decided to join the Bike Ambassador team because he was ready to take his voice into advocacy.  He is a lifelong athlete and is excited for the chance to spread positivity and good vibes through to his teammates.

Thomas is our advocacy liason.

Tom has known about all the benefits of riding a bike for most of his life (his dad had him riding everywhere on two wheels), but he had only shared it minimally with the public.  When Megan extended an invitation and the opportunity to link up with some like-minded cyclists, he was "all-in."

As a Bike Ambassador his goals this year include:

●      posting in the social spheres about how to include a bike in your life more,

●      leading a neighborhood activity group (pairing parents with kiddos on bikes when things open a bit more/more vaccinations are administered),

●      continuing to set an example of utilizing the bike for commuting purposes and encouraging coworkers to follow suit.

Tom tries to govern his life by the Golden Rule and thinks of spreading the bike gospel in the same scope.  He finds the best way to bring up all the positivity around bikes is to really take a few steps in your audience's shoes.  Are you talking to drivers who are mad that they must share the road with cyclists?  “Better watch your tone!  Never meet aggression with aggression; it will get you nowhere,” he says.  This example is exactly why, at 38 years old, he is ready to start speaking out about what he believes in a bit louder.  From kindly chatting with a gentleman that yelled at him before he turned into a shopping center to speaking to a group of Girl Scouts, spreading the bike gospel starts with spreading love, kindness, and good intention.

Juliet rides road & gravel and is starting to commute by bike from Denver to Golden for work!

Tim’s, aka Tmac, racing/riding plans include Old Man Winter, Sunrise to Sunset MTB, FoCo Fondo, Dead Man Gravel, and the Triple Bypass

Jess will be riding the 50-mile Foco Fondo

Please visit our blog to get lots of tips and advice from our Bike Ambassadors and find out more about the team. We have covered everything from how to dress for cold weather riding to transitioning from a road bike to an e-road bike. You will find lots of useful information especially if you are new to biking.

Our team is sponsored by: TheCyclist-Lawyer, Champion System, Crafted Energy, C3 Bike Shop and Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center.