On the agenda for the meeting will include:

1. Kit fittings, Kit orders and sponsorship announcements.
2. A short presentation of the FM 43 project with a short presentation by Tom Tagliabue, Jason Lambert and Kristie Brink.
3. Hill Country Tour sign up.

Also, Come and visit our website and its NEW LOOK. Local artist and daughter of Al Kline, Nicole has donated an original art design for our website to give it an authentic and unique look.

Latest Web Posts in Summary:

Kit Fits now Available
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ FEBRUARY 6, 2012

Kit fittings are now available at Platypus Fitness Gym located on 4202 South Alameda. Kit fittings will be avilable this week and next week (February 6th to February 20th). Come and try on the jersey and bib sizes to make sure everything fits before your purchase! Please contact Wade Spenst for more information at 992-0200. … Continue reading »

TxDOT FM 43 Project Proposed
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ FEBRUARY 4, 2012

This week, CC Cycle Club was notified of a proposed TxDOT FM 43 project. This includes the intersection at Yorktown and Weber through the Oso bridge to Chapman Ranch Road. Our interest is to ensure either an emergency or bike lane along this proposed corridor. This morning, the CC Caller Times also reported on the … Continue reading »

CC Cycle Club Meeting for February – Kit Orders and more!
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 24, 2012

The CC Cycle Club is pleased to announce another meeting for Monday, February 13th, 2012. Our meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at Kikos Mexican Food Restaurant located at 5514 Everhart Road Corpus Christi, TX 78411. This meeting is open to all members, non-members and cycling enthusiasts in the Corpus Christi area. We have … Continue reading »

HITS Triathlon Series – Corpus Christi, TX
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 22, 2012

The HITS Triathlon comes to Corpus Christi on February 18th, 19th, 2012. Presented by HighTower Advisors, the triathlon series provides 5 different distance events. This includes the OPEN, a 100 meter swim, 3 mile bike ride and 1 mile run. The SPRINT, a 750 meter swim, 12.4 mile bike ride and 3.1 mile run (5K). … Continue reading »

LATEST PUBLISHED ARTICLE

Nutrition and Cycling: Putting it all together
POSTED BY CORPUSCYCLING ⋅ FEBRUARY 2, 2012

With all this information on proteins, carbohydrates and fats, how do we put it all together? Balance appears to be the key. In the cycling diet, it’s probably best to remember to eat lightly about 1 hour before the ride and eat very well within 4 hours after the ride to allow the body to repair itself and replace glycogen stores. Eating a high carbohydrate meal the night before a race is still a tradition. … Continue reading »

Recently, researchers are making it a point to eat the ‘right type’ of carbohydrates for proper glycogen storage and even decreasing the ‘type’ of carbohydrate. High starch or simple carbohydrates are better ingested after a ride or within 1 hour before the ride. This is to take full advantage of glycogen repletion after a ride (see glycogen repletion window). For longer energy storage and cell repair past 4 hours, some training coaches and chefs for racing teams have promoted less complex carbohydrates and more balance of fruits, grains and vegetables with a healthy load of monounsaturated fat. And yes, even some fat to help repair cell membranes and help in cell recovery. In fact, more recent studies have flipped the protein/fat percentage in the diet and some now recommended 50 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat and only 20 percent protein for example. And studies have suggested that only in the pre-workout meal should the percentage of protein and fat be flipped. Typically, a 3000 calorie diet should consist of about 100 grams of fat, but make it the good kind, like mono or poly saturated fat. Studies have found that transfat and hydrogenated fat or unsaturated fat will lead to plaque building heart disease by increasing the levels of LDL cholesterol and decreasing ‘good’ HDL cholesterol in the body.

One of the reasons Americans have such a problem with weight gain, is that even if you reduce the amount of fat in the diet, overloading on carbohydrate will cause weight gain. This can also happen in the cycling diet if the amount of carbohydrate in the diet is too excessive. For years, researchers preached a “low fat, high carbohydrate” diet in order to lose weight. However, more and more studies are showing that the opposite is actually true in order to lose weight properly. Fats tend to slow digestion and give you a ‘fuller’ feeling, decreasing the appetite for more carbohydrate. High starches, such as white bread and potatoes, are rich in immediate sugars and trick the body into craving for more. This is because sugars stimulate the production of insulin to energy can be utilized directly within the cells quickly and also accelerates storage of excess sugar into fat cells. This is of course catastrophic if you have diabetes, because the sorbitol in sugar will freely circulate within all cells, destroying vital links that can lead to nerve demyelination, retinopathy, nephropathy or kidney disease and accelerate plaque formation leading to microvascular disease. Once insulin production increases, it can block harmones to suppress the appetite, forcing you to crave more sugar. And the process starts all over again.

It’s important to get more of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables to your body in the post ride period so your body can readily utilize the simple sugars from fruits to replete glycogen in the glycogen repletion phase. There is a risk of eating too much carbohydrate, especially during the post ride period, which can alter your metabolism that will lead to utilizing sugar burning rather than fat burning. More importantly, any access of sugar not metabolized by starches in carbohydrate, will go directly to fat storage and actually lead to weight gain, which is counter-productive in cycling.

Cyclists also tend to over eat simple sugars, which can also lead to weight gain rather than keep you at your ideal weight. Weight gain of a few pounds is not all bad. As you get more fit, your body will utilize fat burning more efficiently as its primary source of fuel. However, the simple sugars in energy bars, pasta, certain cereals and ‘energy drinks’ tend to be too high in sugar and sodium. This can actually cause a rise in blood pressure, which causes more stress to your cardiovascular system and can even lead to kidney disorders. Processed foods have more refined sugars which is OK if you need to avoid an oncoming bonk, but is not really necessary in the diet if you get your immediate sugar from complex carbohydrates.

Now that we know the importance of protein, carbohydrates and fats as it relates to cycling, how do we put it all together and what are some of the best foods to eat before and after your rides?

Balance is the key. When you go grocery shopping, go first to the fruit and vegetable isle. Then head to the meat, fish and poultry section. When you head to the isles to get cereal, avoid highly processed, high sugar cereals and foods. Typically, you can get grains from foods such as whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta and whole oats. Fruits such as bananas and carrots have a low glycemic index and glycemic load. Carrots also have well regulating high fiber content. Adding fruits and vegatables to your diet will also help promote high fiber, minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients essential to good health.

Remember to also never skip meals or try to reduce your caloric intake to lose weight. It is important for your body’s metabolism not to skip meals, especially breakfast and get a good night’s sleep. Skipping meals, such as breakfast, will force the body to go into a type of “starvation mode” and will decrease your metabolism. In fact, most studies have shown that skipping meals will lead to almost 5 times the likelihood of weight gain, over eating (due to low blood sugar leading to increased appetite) and can lead to other more serious health issues such as high fasting insulin levels leading to diabetes, higher blood cholesterol, amenorrhea, dysmenorrheal and reproductive dysfunction. Skipping meals and decreasing your calorie intake while exercising is damaging to the entire body and will alter metabolism and how the body gets its fuel. First, your body will utilize all glycogen stores in the tissues and organs like the liver and then replete all fat stores which is important for those long rides when you get fit and utilize fat metabolism for energy. Your body will then utilize energy from lean tissue and muscle which will greatly alter performance and cause muscle wasting. Alterations in metabolism can also disrupt electrolytes and lead to cardiac events such as arrhythmias and even cardiac arrest.

During sleep, your body is rapidly metabolizing and repairing muscles. It’s important also to not eat too late or just prior to sleeping. Most if not all tissue repair occurs while sleeping. The first two hours of sleep is an active time for tissue repair and revitalization. In fact, your digestion is also more efficient when you sleep. That is why sleep deprivation is so destructive to the digestive system. The parasympathetic system is most active during sleep to aid in digestion and tissue repair. This increases blood flow to the digestive tract and aids in nutrient absorption. Remember, in exercise, most digestion except for fluid absorption will slow and sometimes stop due to sympathetic overload. That is why it is so good to balance nutrition, exercise and rest or sleep.

It’s easy to over emphasize any one food source or when and why we should eat. I remember the front page cover in Runners Magazine back in the 1980’s when Bill Rogers was on the cover with loads of what we now consider ‘junk’ food as his running diet. Of course, he went on to win many marathons even before we realized the importance of protein, simple and complex carbohydrates and monosaturated and monounsaturated or trans fats. It’s easy to get buried in what is and what isn’t the right diet for cycling or any exercise. It’s important not to have to count calories or grams of carbohydrate, but just know this: do what grandma and your mother said best, “be sure to eat your fruits and vegetables” and simply eat ‘nutritious’ foods and balance diet, exercise and sleep. You should be on your way to a more fulfilling exercise and cycling routine.

Sources:

Livestrong
Self Nutrition Data 
Fatsecret
Wikipedia

Ride safe!

© Corpus Christi Cycling, 2012

There are a number of meetings coming together in the next few days. These include the FrankenBike Bicycle Swap on Sunday at the House of Rock downtown and help is needed at the New Mountain Bike and Nature Trail Park this Saturday for help in cleaning up the trails.

Also, don’t forget the Tuesday Town Hall Meeting that was featured in the Caller Times today. Tom Neagli, owner of Bay Area Bicycles (BAB) has been kind enough to organize this town hall meeting featuring Jeff Pollack, environmental specialist with HDR Engineering. An in-depth slide presentation followed by an impromtu public forum to discuss and ask questions concerning this project. Please show up for this important Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday at the Sunrise mall. The discussion will hopefully kick-start a bond initiative for the projects presented.

We also need your help in some questionnaires we posted to our site including both an Event and Ride Committee Questionnaire and general CC Cycle Club Questionnaire. We don’t want to bombard our members and non-members with questionnaires, but this will greatly help us move in the right direction concerning upcoming events and rides.

Thanks again to everyone who has donated their own time and efforts to better the Corpus Christi Cycling community! Now , more on the latest news . . .

LATEST NEWS

Corpus Christi FrankenBike Bicycle Swap at House of Rock
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 20, 2012

The Corpus Christi Caller Times reports today of a ‘bike swap’ at the House of Rock from 12-5pm this Sunday, January 22nd, 2012. Unfortunately, in the caller times weekend edition, in the “Top 5 Things to do in Corpus Christi”, the event is listed for Saturday. I spoke to Gerald Alvarez, owner of the Spoke … Continue reading »

Feedback Questionnaire: CC Cycling Club Ride and Event Committee
POSTED BY CORPUSCYCLING ⋅ JANUARY 19, 2012

Please fill out the following questionnaire for our event and planning committee. Need some member feedback on proposed events for the club. We will present ideas and ride planning at our next club meeting, scheduled for February 13th, 2012. The time and place for our next meeting is to be announced soon. . . Continue reading »

CC Cycle Club Questionnaire
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 13, 2012

We now have an onsite questionnaire that will help us gather information on the cycling interests of our club members and non-members. We will also be announcing committees to help run the club after our next board meeting. As you will see on the questionnaire, there are a number of questions including rider abilities, route planning, ride … Continue reading »

New Mountain Bike and Nature Trail Park
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 13, 2012

Existing trails (heavy green lines), Semi-Developed Trails (light green lines), Proposed trails (yellow), Double Track Dirt Road (white lines) I spoke to Art Normal who is heading a project to include hike and bike trails near Oso Creek Park, Section 2. Art, who was a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, is heading … Continue reading »

Town Hall Meeting – Discussion of Mobility Concept of the Sustainability Plan for the City of Corpus Christi
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 12, 2012

Please come join us and support this meeting. If you would like to learn more about this topic before the meeting, please visit THIS LINK. . . Continue reading »

CC Cycle Club Meet and Greet a Success!
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 10, 2012

The Meet and Greet was a success! We now have 30 new members to the CC Cycle Club. We had a good turnout of about 50 people. Guests enjoyed pizza and a small introduction to our club. Remember, if you are a non-member, you have the opportunity to join directly on the site through our … Continue reading »

Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee Meeting
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ JANUARY 10, 2012

I attended the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee meeting at City Hall on Monday, January 9th at 2:30pm. The major topics discussed included bicycling, safe passing and the new Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (Bicycle Mobility Concepts). The meeting began with a call to minutes and an enlightening presentation by Jeffrey Pollack on the Integrated Community Sustainability … Continue reading »

LATEST PUBLISHED ARTICLE

Nutrition and Cycling- The Importance of Fats
POSTED BY CORPUSCYCLING ⋅ JANUARY 15, 2012

Dietary fats in general are good for the cyclist. They help to carry fat soluble vitamins through the blood stream, boost immunity and are essential in long-term energy storage. Recent studies have also shown that a low-fat diet can actually decrease performance. “Good fats” such a monosaturated and polysaturated fats found in nuts, seeds and … Continue reading »

In the cycling diet, some coaches are now promoting higher fat content in post ride meals in order to take advantage of cell membrane repair and fat as a distance fuel for longer rides. Some are even promoting a higher fat to protein ratio. As we will discuss in the next segment, “For longer energy storage and cell repair past 4 hours, some training coaches and chefs for racing teams have promoted less complex carbohydrates and more balance of fruits, grains and vegetables with a healthy load of monounsaturated fat. And yes, even some fat to help repair cell membranes and help in cell recovery. In fact, more recent studies have flipped the protein/fat percentage in the diet and some now recommended 50 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat and only 20 percent protein for example. And studies have suggested that only in the pre-workout meal should the percentage of protein and fat be flipped. Typically, a 3000 calorie diet should consist of about 100 grams of fat, but make it the good kind, like mono or poly saturated fat. Studies have found that transfat and hydrogenated fat or unsaturated fat will lead to plaque building heart disease by increasing the levels of LDL cholesterol and decreasing ‘good’ HDL cholesterol in the body.”

Many Americans consume a majority of fat in the diet and diabetes, obesity, heart disease, hypertension and other health ailments are of epidemic proportions in the United States. In fact , studies have shown that a majority of Americans get their daily caloric intake from up to 65% fat in the diet. This has been a major contributor to our current health epidemic. Even in the presence of exercise, high fat diets can still cause heart disease and other health issues. The American Heart Association recommends less than 30% of the total calories consumed daily should come from fat. In a typical 2000 calorie diet, that means up to 65 grams of fat can be consumed each day. For cyclists who typically should consume 3000 calories or more per day depending on your level of training, you are allowed up to 100 grams of fat consumption.

To determine the amount of caloric intake from fats, most foods are now required by law to label the amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat content in grams. To calculate the amount of calories from fat, roughly each gram of fat provides about 9 calories. So, if a particular food contains 10 grams of fat, the food provides 9 x 10 = 90 calories from fat.

Saturated fats in the cycling diet should be avoided. Unsaturated fats or trans fats are found in margarine and shortening, however, they have been shown to also have the same cardiovascular risks as saturated fats. Monosaturated and polysaturated fats are probably the best type of fat to consume. Polysaturated fats found in nuts, corn, soybeans and sunflowers help to reduce cholesterol. Omega- 3, polysaturated fats found is fish such as tuna and salmon have also been shown to prevent arteriosclerosis or plaque, hardening of the arteries, act as anti-inflammatory agents and prevent blood clots. Plus, fish is highly rich in protein , another benefit. Monosaturated fats found in flax seed, funflower seed oil, olive oil, peanut oil and canola oil also help to reduce plaque building cholesterol. More recent studies have also concluded that increasing your diet in fat repairing monosaturated and polysaturated fats actually improves overall cycling performance.

Sources:

Livestrong
Self Nutrition Data 
Fatsecret
Wikipedia

Ride safe!

© Corpus Christi Cycling, 2012

Carbohydrates are considered both simple and complex. Simple carbs or sugars include glucose, fructose and sucrose. Complex carbohydrates are made of 3 or more linked simple sugars. Our digestive system will only absorb simple sugars, so in essence, complex carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars before absorption. Fibers are not absorbed, but help to bind fats and lower cholesterol. Even though fibers can be both soluble and insoluble, they generally help to bind to sugars and fats and carry them out as waste. Think of fiber as a carrier that can regulate sugars and fats and promote regularity since fiber is eliminated as a whole.

Not all simple carbohydrates are bad for the cyclist. Recent studies have also shown that high starch or simple carbohydrates are better ingested after a ride or within 1 hour before the ride. This is to take full advantage of glycogen repletion after a ride. In fact, for longer energy storage and cell repair past 4 hours, some training coaches and chefs for racing teams have promoted less complex carbohydrates and more balance of fruits, grains and vegetables with a healthy load of monounsaturated fat. And yes, even some fat to help repair cell membranes and help in cell recovery. In fact, more recent studies have flipped the protein/fat percentage in the diet and some now recommended 50 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat and only 20 percent protein for example. This is one way to get lean, but be careful you don’t skimp the carbohydrates which can affect your overall performance.

Chemically, dividing carbohydrates into simple and complex is only part of the story. We all know that white bread compared to wheat bread is a complex carbohydrate. However, white bread is more readily and almost immediately causes a rapid rise in blood sugars compared to wheat bread. In order to better explain this, we now have a system called “the glycemic index” or GI. This system classifies carbohydrates on how quickly they boost blood sugar compared to pure glucose. The higher the glycemic index, the more rapidly it is absorbed and spikes blood sugars, such as with white bread. Foods that score higher than 70 on the glycemic index are considered poor choices as complex carbohydrates, where foods that score 55 or below are better. To get a better idea on the glycemic index, how it affects diabetes and food searches, visit glycemicindex.com.

Picking foods just based on the glycemic index is again only part of the story. Although the glycemic index of a particular food may be high or low depending on how rapidly it is absorbed, it doesn’t tell you the amount of how much carbohydrate the food contains and is absorbed. Take watermelon for example. This fruit has a high glycemic index (72) because it is almost all natural fructose. However, it has a very small amount of carbohydrate. Typically, one slice of watermelon contains 22 grams of carbohydrate, 1 gram of fiber and 86 calories. Hardly the diet needed for cycling, but can provide hydration due to its high water content and provide rapid repletion during the glycemic repletion phase post ride.

In order for researchers to better understand carbohydrate content and glycemic index, they have devised a measurement known as the “glycemic load” or GL. This number is determined by multiplying the glycemic index by the amount of carbohydrate.

Glycemic load (GL) = glycemic index (GI) X carbohydrate (per 100 gram serving/100)

In our earlier example of watermelon, if we plug in the numbers: 72 x 22 grams carbohydrate/100 = 15.84 GL. In general, a glycemic load (GL) of more than 20 is high, 11 to 19 is medium and 10 or under is low. A typical GL index is 100 or less per day(eGL, see Nutrition Data). If you are an active cyclists, this number can also be higher. The important thing to remember here is that you can actually calculate the amount of carbohydrate.

To determine the amount of caloric intake from carbohydrate, most foods are now required by law to label the amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat content in grams. To calculate the amount of calories from carbohydrate, roughly each gram of carbohydrate provides about 4 calories. So if a particular food contains 10 grams of carbohydrate, the food provides 4 x 10 = 40 calories from carbohydrate. This is identical to the amount of calories provided by protein.

As an active cyclist, counting calories per grams of carbohydrate is probably not necessary. More recent studies have also shown that one type of calorie is not the same as another. It’s more important to know the foods you eat and its nutritional value, be it rapid absorbing carbohydrates and sugars to avoid the bonk and eating the proper balance of carbohydrates in the post ride period. In fact, as we shall discuss later, more recent studies have shown that eating certain carbohydrates before and after riding will greatly affect the way your body either ‘sugar’ burns or ‘fat’ burns during activity. Eating carbohydrates high in starches ‘tricks’ the body’s metabolism into burning ‘sugar’ as fuel rather than ‘fat’ or energy from fat stores. This can actually lead to weight gain rather than weight loss, which is counter-productive in cycling. Eating the right amount of carbohydrates is very individual and differs from person to person based on their health, underlying health issues and activity. In general, It is more important to look at how carbohydrates are processed, the type of starch it contains, its fiber content, fruit ripeness, fat and acid content and physical form. Processed grains tend to lose fiber, vitamins and minerals. As eluded to earlier, high fiber content carbohydrates tend to not breakdown and less sugar is absorbed. Ripe fruit has much more sugar available than unripened fruit and vegatables. Foods rich in fat have a decreased ability to convert carbohydrates to sugar only increasing the cholesterol levels in the blood stream.

So how much carbohydrate should the cyclist consume? In general, the best time to consume and replenish glycogen stores by carbohydrate is within 4 hours after a ride. This period is called the ‘glycogen repletion window’. In this period, it’s important to consume up to 3 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of weight (2.2 lbs = 1 kg). So, in a 160 lb. cyclist (72.2 kg), you should consume up to 218 grams of carbohydrate within the first 4 hours and then up to 10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of weight within a 24 hour period. This would be up to 722 grams of carbohydrate in the 24 hours post ride period for a 160lb cyclist. Most foods are labeled and have ‘grams of carbohydrate’ directly on the label.

Sources:

Livestrong
Self Nutrition Data 
Fatsecret
Widipedia

Ride safe!

© Corpus Christi Cycling, 2012

POSTED BY CORPUSCYCLING ⋅ JANUARY 6, 2012

Just a quick reminder that the CC Cycle Club Meet and Greet is just around the corner! This year will kick off with the “Meet and Greet” scheduled for Monday, January 9th, 2012 at B&J’s pizza on Staples past Saratoga. We will begin at 7pm for free pizza. This will be a great time to socialize with our cycling community and keep that New Year’s resolution. We will have representatives from area bicycle shops and exciting news and information concerning our area cycling club and proposed plans for the year. We hope to re-visit some topics such as the proposed hike/bike trails and much, much more. We also will have exciting news at the “Meet and Greet” concerning the direction and focused projects planned for 2012.

We will continue to provide the Newsletter to our non-member and members alike.  However, only members will have access to our FORUMS and GROUPSPACES account.  We encourage you to help support our club and don’t miss out on discounts, future planned organized rides, our cycle club forums and much, much more!

We have just updated the site with new information concerning our memberships. Both individual and family memberships are welcome. At this time, everyone signing up through groupspaces will get our newsletter and other vital information concerning planned rides and events. However, beginning next week, this information will only be available to individual members and their families. Other benefits to becoming a member will include access to club kits, special forums and area bike shop discounts just to name a few. Please visit our membership pages (just click on the membership button that best suites you) in the right hand column of our website. If you are viewing mobile, remember to click on the ‘view full site’ feature.

TO JOIN OUR GROUP , CHOOSE FROM ANY OF THE FOLLOWING BUTTONS TO BECOME A MEMBER::

Our club is already in the early stages of organizing a club ride for Easter weekend called the 2012 Easter Hill Country Tour. The Fort Worth Bicycle Association is hosting three days of fully-supported riding over the 2012 Easter weekend, April 6,7 and 8 in the gorgeous Texas Hill Country for only $45. The Bluebonnets and the vistas are unrivaled anywhere in Texas. Club members/riding friends can join us for this event. All rides will start and finish in Kerrville, Texas with each day offering multiple options at distances ranging from about 20 to 100 miles. All rides are fully-supported with rest stops at strategic intervals along the routes supplemented by roving SAG vehicles. This should be great fun for area riders and club members to participate in this beautiful riding venue in the Texas hill country!

Our site will be posting 4 articles about Nutrition and Cycling this month. Articles and general information will still be available through our site for non-members.  These informative articles will be posted every week starting the first week of January.  The first article will discuss the benefits of muscle building protein in the diet. Other articles will follow on carbohydrates and fats and the importance of putting it all together. You may also want to browse the site again.  We have updated the featured cycling blogs page with over 25 cycling blogs from all over the world with interesting topics and reads.

Ride safe!

We touched briefly in earlier articles such as “Revisiting the Bonk” and “Concepts and Tips for Base Training” on the importance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the cycling diet. This article will go more into detail on the importance of good nutrition and some facts on ride preparation and recovery.

In general, the best time to eat before a ride is about 1 hour and within 4 hours after the ride to take full advantage of the glycogen repletion window and the repair abilities of protein in the diet. Both protein and carbohydrate calories promote a better recovery than just protein or carbohydrate alone. That is why it’s good to have a proportion of both carbohydrate and protein in your post ride recovery meals. In general, the proper combination is 60-70% carbohydrate, 30-35% protein and 5-10 % fat in your diet.

In this first installment, we will go into detail concerning the importance of protein in cycling.

Proteins in Milk – the “Drink of champions”

We have all seen the milk the ads “got milk” and the famous after-drink of the Indy 500. Louis Meyer may have popularized milk as the “drink of champions” , gulping down the drink after winning the 1936 Indianapolis 500. Louis Meyer’s mom may have been on to something claiming the milk would ‘refresh him”.

Yes, milk and dairy is a wonderful source of Protein for cyclists. Milk proteins contain all 9 essential amino acids in humans. Amino acids can act as recovery agents in the post ride period. Leucine, a highly branched-chain amino acid, has also been found to aid in muscle repair and recovery. There are two primary components of milk and dairy found to boost performance and help rebuild muscle after a ride. Whey, a milk protein, digests very quickly and aids in muscle repair. Caseins, which digests more slowly , is ideal for delivering a steady source of muscle repair in the post ride period. It also aids in preventing the rapid increase and eventual crash in blood sugars experienced from ingesting carbohydrate. The major whey proteins in cow’s milk is beta-lactoglobulin and alpha-lactalbumin. Alpha-lactalbumin is important in the synthesis of lactose. The function of beta-lactoglobulin is less known, but is thought to be the primary cause of milk allergy and also the primary carrier of vitamin A.

The power of milk protein cannot be underestimated in cycling. Milk is composed of many amino acids, milk fat, water, salts (calcium and phosphorous) and sugar (lactose). In cow milk, 82% of milk protein is casein and 18% is serum or whey protein.

Caseins are composed of similar proteins forming a multi-molecular granule-like structure called the casein micelle. These molecules are maintained as a colloidal suspension in milk. When Caseins are separated they form a substance called curd which is in part the basis for all non-fluid milk products such as cheese. Eating cheese before a ride is generally discouraged due to its slow absorption, but for post rides, it may be an ideal source of steady protein delivery in muscle repair. However, cheese in general is loaded with fat, so only eat this in moderation or try the ‘low fat’ variety. Typically, cheese can pack a whopping 7.5 to 9 grams of fat per slice. In the stomach, when milk is ingested, the lower ph of the stomach acids will disrupt the Casein molecule forming curd. If that doesn’t sound very appetizing, you can ingest skim milk. Skim milk is simply milk centrifuged or spun to separate the cream or milk fat. The skim supernatant is more aqueous and will contain both casein micelles and whey proteins.

Whey proteins are rapidly absorbed and not only contain alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin, but also important immunoglobulins and serum protein. Immunoglobulins are important antibodies that help fight off infection and boost the immune system. Whey also contains important enzymes, harmones, growth factors, nutrients, vitamins, blood serum albumin, lactoferrin, transferrin and more. Lactoferrin and transferrin play an important role in iron absorption which can boost muscle repair. Serum or whey protein in cow’s milk is approximately 50% beta-lactoglobulin and 20% alpha-lactalbumin. Whey proteins also contain a large amount of sulfur-containing amino acids. When disulfide bonds in whey is broken, this is basically called denaturization. Denaturization is used in yogurt production to increase the amount of water proteins can bind to, which improves the texture of yogurt.

Whey proteins have also been reported to stimulate cells to make more protein. This equates to greater gains in lean mass improving endurance, aerobic fitness and increased VO2 max. It is also important to note that high temperature pasteurization of cow’s milk will not affect the nutritional properties of caseins and whey proteins.

Other sources of Protein in the diet

The best source of protein is milk, eggs, cheese, dairy products such as yogurt, green vegetables, raisins, fish, soy, rice, beans and meat. Tofu is pure soy protein made from coagulating soy milk and by pressing the resulting curds. It has relatively low calories and fat and has relatively high amounts of protein. 1 oz of Firm Silken Tofu provides 18 calories, 0.77 grams of fat, 0.68 grams of carbohydrate and 1.96 grams of protein. Egg white, for instance, in one large egg, contains roughly the same amount of calories as Tofu (17g), 0.06 grams of fat, 0.24 grams of carbohydrate and roughly double the protein dose of tofu (3.6 grams). Egg white contains other important elements such as albumins, mucoproteins and globulins. The yolk is high in lipid or fat. Cheese, although high in calcium and protein, is high in fat and absorbs rather slowly in the gut.

Meats are a great source of protein as is fish protein. Skinless chicken is an extremely good source of lean protein. However, red meat, although a great source of protein, can be high in cholesterol and fat. The leaner the meat, the better. Venison is a particularly lean red meat and high in protein. For instance, a 4 oz serving of Venison or Deer steak provides 170 calories, 2.96 grams of fat, 0 carbohydrates and 33.79 grams of protein! Pork, on the other hand, is 60% fat and only 25% protein in general. A 3 oz serving of Pork will provide 224 calories, 18.02 grams of fat, 0 carbohydrates and only 14.36 grams of protein. Salmon and Tuna are also great sources of protein. A 4 oz serving of Salmon provides 166 calories, 6.72 grams of fat, 0 carbohydrates and 24.52 grams of protein. You can also search for better and leaner fish. Tuna, for example, has lower calories and fat and higher protein content than salmon. A 4 oz serving of a Ahi Tuna Steak provides 120 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 carbohydrates and 27 grams of protein.

The point to take away from these foods and making diet calculations is that certain foods will provide more protein with sometimes lower fat and saturated fat content. As we will discuss in our last segment, fat calories are important in the diet, but should only comprise of about 5 to 10 % of our daily diet. And , as we shall later see, monosaturated fats and polysaturated fats are preferable in our diet over saturated fats due to its cholesterol fighting properties.

Also, some protein foods such as eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese,meat, fish and poultry are considered ‘complete proteins’ because they contain all 9 essential amino acids. If you are a vegetarian and don’t eat meat or even dairy products, you’ll have to get your essential proteins from plant foods. However, most plant foods are considered ‘incomplete proteins’ because they may lack one or more essential amino acids. Soy is the only plant protein that is a complete protein. That is why most vegetarians will get their essential amino acids and protein through soy products such as tofu and soy milk. In order to get around this, many vegetarians will eat ‘complimentary proteins’. In other words, certain foods that are incomplete in one area may be complete by eating a second meal.  For instance, rice contains methionine and tryptophan that is not present in beans. Rice and beans compliment each other providing all 9 essential amino acids. These diets may also includes nuts, which are also a great source of non-meat and non-dairy protein. Most nuts are also high in fats, but luckily of the polysaturated variety.

In general, the USDA Nutrient Database recommends adult men should ingest 56 grams (women 46 grams) of protein per day or more and about 10-35% of your daily caloric intake should come from proteins. This can be even higher in an active individual. Contrary to popular belief, young children and adolescent boys and girls do not require more protein than adults. Most nutritionists will tell you that athletes usually will require more protein including 15 to 25 grams of protein in the post recovery period or roughly one-third of your daily protein requirement within 1 hour after your ride. A good rule of thumb is to consume 0.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That is roughly 80 grams of protein in a 160 pound rider.

To determine the amount of caloric intake from protein, most foods are now required by law to label the amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat content in grams. To calculate the amount of calories from protein, roughly each gram of protein provides about 4 calories. So if a particular food contains 10 grams of protein, the food provides 4 x 10 = 40 calories from protein. This is identical to the amount of calories provided by carbohydrates.

As will be discussed in the next segment, entitled “Nutrition and Cycling- the Importance of Carbohydrates”, an active cyclist (male , 160 lbs.) should ingest over 3000 calories or more per day. It is important to realize that not all calories should come from any one class of food such as protein and fat. In fact, as eluded to earlier, a combination of protein. carbohydrate and fat is the best way to replenish your glucose and provide good muscle repair in the post ride period.

Sources:

Livestrong
Self Nutrition Data 
Fatsecret
Widipedia

Ride safe!

© Corpus Christi Cycling, 2012

There will be a New Year’s Day ride starting a 8:30 am at Lamar on Sunday, January 1st, 2012!

This year will also kick off with the “Meet and Greet” scheduled for Monday, January 9th, 2012 at B&J’s pizza on Staples past Saratoga. We will begin at 7pm for free pizza. This will be a great time to socialize with our cycling community and keep that New Year’s resolution.

We will have representatives from area bicycle shops and exciting news and information concerning our area cycling club and proposed plans for the year. We hope to re-visit some topics such as the proposed hike/bike trails and much, much more.

In January, we will also be posting 4 articles about Nutrition and Cycling. These informative articles will be posted every week starting the first week of January.  The first article will discuss the benefits of muscle building protein, then an article on carbohydrates and fats to follow.  The final article will round out the entire series with the food pyramid.

You may also want to browse the site again.  I’ve updated the featured cycling blogs page.  I found over 25 cycling blogs from all over the world with interesting topics and reads.

Well, the weather has cooled a bit, but its still great to live in CC and take advantage of some good riding weather. The rain seems to be gone for now, so hope to see everyone on the Saturday/Sunday group rides! Be sure to check our Calendar Page for our latest scheduled rides and events.

Ride safe!

Corpus Christi Cycling Meet and Greet
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ DECEMBER 18, 2011

Come join CC Cycling club for our first of the year “Meet and Greet”. This is an open invitation to all area cyclists and roadies. Place: B&J’s Pizza Address: 6662 South Staples past Saratoga Date: Monday, January 9th, 2012 Time: 7pm This is a social ‘meet and greet’ to introduce everyone to the Corpus Christi … Continue reading »

DOWNLOAD OUR ‘MEET AND GREET’ FLYER! [PDF]

Latest Original Articles in Corpus Christi Cycling …

Concepts and Tips for Base Training
POSTED BY CORPUSCYCLING ⋅ DECEMBER 28, 2011

The winter is traditionally an ‘off’ season for most cyclists. This is a good time to re-energize the batteries and assess your successes in the previous racing season, determine your strengths and weaknesses and begin making plans for your next cycling season. Once you’ve finished the racing season in good, solid condition, you want to … Continue reading »

Dogs and Cycling – A Dangerous Combination
POSTED BY CORPUSCYCLING ⋅ DECEMBER 13, 2011

Recently on a small group ride, three riders had just left Lamar and headed down Santa Fe. In an instant, a dog bolted out of someones yard. It happened so quick, one of our riders had no time to react. The dog ‘bowling pinned’ one of the rider’s front wheel and the rider came down … Continue reading »

Corpus Christi Cycling Blog 

LATEST POST

SUPER LIMITED S-WORKS VENGE Frameset – Green Jersey Edition
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ DECEMBER 16, 2011

I took the opportunity to bring a SUPER LIMITED S-WORKS VENGE frameset into the shop. This is the “green jersey edition” built to celebrate Mark Cavendish`s winning the green jersey at this years Tour de France. There were a total of 50 of these built for the entire USA. Please visit The Pedal Bike Shop … Continue reading »

Winter Specials at The Pedal Bike Shop
POSTED BY BICYCLECC ⋅ DECEMBER 15, 2011

Sam, owner of The Pedal Bike Shop, has announced some Winter Specials at his store. “We have brought in a really nice selection of womens winter apparel from Pearl Izumi and Mavic that we are featuring at special prices. In addition we are currently offering all Mavic wheelsets at super prices. We also have a … Continue reading »

Ride Safe!

Base training is a term used to describe strength building by increasing your aerobic capacity. Physiologically, proper base training will increase your body’s ability to transport oxygen, increase muscle mitochondria, increase your heart pumping efficiency, increase your pedaling efficiency, decrease glycogen depletion and increase glycogen storage. Proper base training in November, December and January will provide you with an essential foundation when you begin more progressive strength and interval training just before the racing season starts. Whether you are a seasoned racer or recreational cyclist, proper base training will translate into more enjoyable rides and provide the cyclist with the strength needed to win your first race or just beat your fellow competitors to that imaginary finish line in your local group ride.

Luckily, here in Corpus Christi, the weather is generally pretty good in the winter season, so you can continue riding and building for the upcoming racing and spring season. Here are some quick tips on keeping the winter training interesting and allowing you to improve on the fitness you’ve gained.

Keep riding consistent and constant

Consistency is the key to winter base training. Find specific heart zones based on your fitness level and stick to a consistent riding schedule. Going hard all the time will only cause injury. Riding too easy will not afford you the benefits of proper training. Find a comfortable zone to ride and stick with that schedule slowly increasing the time in the saddle. Remember to not increase your riding time by more than 10 percent a week. Tempo riding can be added to the schedule increasing the overall quality of the ride. However, hard interval training should be avoided. In base training, you want to build muscle and capillary beds. Hard efforts will cause tissue breakdown and destroy any new capillary beds you are building to gain better aerobic fitness. In general, base training should never include anaerobic activity. Good base training will usually start at riding of about 60% of your maximum heart rate, increasing this after a month to 70%-75% of maximum and by the third month to about 80-85% of your maximum heart rate. Cadence should be maintained at 95 to 105 rpm to promote an efficient pedaling style. You can alternate faster cadence with less power and focus on maintain a specific heart rate. If you do this correctly, you should not feel completely depleted at the end of your daily ride and should be relatively ‘fresh’ at the end of each ride. This allows you to continue building and maintaining your efforts from one day to the next without risking injury. If you find yourself too tired after any one workout, then you are probably are riding too hard. Slow stress loading will help you gain the most overall improvement.

Make time for the Gym

Work in the Gym is an important aspect of winter training. Cyclists typically avoid strength training of the upper body, abdomen and back. However, incorporating a gym routine into your winter training schedule 2 or 3 days a week will greatly increase your overall conditioning. I once read that one of the reasons Lance Armstrong increased his overall fitness between tours helping him to win consecutive tours was a direct result of adding strength training in the gym to his base training schedule. Also, leg weights including hamstring curls and quadracep strengthening using the leg press is also helpful to balance these large muscle groups in the legs.

Plan for 1 to 2 long rides per week

It’s important to dedicate 1 or 2 long rides into your winter base training schedule. Long rides should include a ride of roughly double your longest race for the season. Don’t worry about miles, just focus on time in the saddle. So, if your racing typically 2 hours for a race, you should consider a long, consistent ride of about 4 hours once or twice a week. Many seasoned racers will typically do the long ride in a group ride setting on a Saturday and Sunday. Some cyclists like to break it up and do one long ride on the weekend and another one mid-week. It’s also important to point out that group rides can often turn into a hammer fest or mini-race, so ride smart and stick to your schedule and plan. The group ride can provide an excellent opportunity to hone your cycling skills, but if the ride interferes with your training pace and heart rate zone, you can always back off and find other riders who keep a more consistent tempo. Better to stick to your plan than someone else’s.

Take a rest week

During base training, typically you can stick to your schedule for 2 to 3 weeks, then take 1 week as a ‘rest’ week. This does not mean that you have to completely get off the bike. However, the intensity should be easy enough to allow for complete recovery. The rides on a rest week should involve the easiest spinning that allows for both muscle flexibility and recovery of any muscle tightness, stiffness of local inflammation. It is also important to point out that at any time during the winter base training schedule, if you feel tired or stressed, throw in a rest day of two if needed. Always ride how you feel. Give yourself enough time to recover from sickness such as the flu and colds.

Base training with a power meter

Although the power meter is a wonderful tool , in the initial phases of winter base training, you should avoid using the power meter as the specific indicator for your workouts and to determine any level of fitness. Base training is the time to actually enjoy riding without the worries of trying to ‘target’ a certain wattage. Fitness will come with easier riding. Stomping on your pedals and trying to maintain a specific power during a longer base training ride will only lead to injuries. With that said, the power meter can be useful to know at what wattage your heart rate will go over or under your specific heart rate zones. Heart rate can be affected by various factors, so riding in a designated heart rate zone is more beneficial than trying to force a certain power objective if you’re a little tired. In fact, as you base train, the time spent in the saddle at your target heart rate zone is cumulative. Meaning that fitness and capillary building increase from the stress load of maintaining your pace. Remember, ride more on how you feel and stick to a general heart rate zone when base training. Leave the more specific details of your power meter when interval training begins. We will discuss the benefits of training with a power meter in a later article.

Nutrition

During base training, we tend to increase our ability to utilize fat burning. It’s important to remember to eat properly before and after each ride. Muscle repairing protein, carbohydrates and some fat should be incorporated into your daily diet. Some riders find it good to eat a small meal 1 hour before a ride and eat well within 4 hours post ride. This period is called the “glycogen repletion window” (see Revisiting the Bonk)

“this is the most important time to eat and prepare your muscles for the next day’s ride. It is important to consume up to 3 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram in the first 4 hours after the ride and up to 10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram over the post ride 24 hour period. Recent studies have also shown that during the glycogen repletion window, it is important to also eat a meal rich in protein. Protein calories and carbohydrates appear to promote better glycogen replacement, especially in repetitive exercise within a 24 hour period. Don’t expect to replace glycogen uptake with protein calories alone. You must ingest carbohydrate in the glycogen repletion window to take full advantage of glycogen uptake for your next ride. The best cycling meal is one that is rich in carbohydrate (60 to 70 percent), about 20 to 30 percent in protein and low in fat.”

Your muscles and body are most receptive to re-fueling within 4 hours after you stop exercise. Typically, a good formula is 60% Carbohydrate, 30% Protein and 10% fat per meal. Carbohydrates is your body’s first choice for fuel, so utilize complex carbohydrates rather than simple ones such as sugar. Complex carbohydrates include pasta, beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts, rice and bread. Remember, try to avoid refined flours and eat the healthier whole grains for your breads, rice and pastas.

Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is probably as important as the training itself. When you sleep, this is the peak time for muscle repair and re-energizing the engine. Recent studies have reported that many of the repair mechanisms that aid muscle repair and boost your immune system occurs within the first 2 hours of sleep. Older studies have shown that even in the presence of sleep deprivation, even a 30 minute to 1 hour ‘nap’ or sleep can significantly rejuvenate body function. It is best to sleep ‘naturally’ at night up to 7 hours and wake by your body’s natural biorhythm.

So remember, proper winter base training will help you build a solid foundation for the upcoming season. Keep riding consistent and constant, building your aerobic base and pedal efficiency. Stick to your prescribed heart zones to continue proper building of strength and stamina. Take a few times out of the week after your ride to go to the gym and work the upper body and back as well as some larger leg muscle groups. Plan on 1 or 2 long rides during the week that is roughly twice as long as your longest race for the season.

Incorporate a rest week every second or third week in your training schedule. Avoid the power meter and concentrate on muscle building by sticking to a particular heart rate zone as determined by a percentage of your maximum heart rate. Remember to eat properly before and after your rides. Sleep up to 7 hours nightly and take a 20 to 30 minute nap or siesta during the day, preferably before your scheduled rides. Stick to these simple rules and you’ll find yourself stronger for the next riding and racing season.

Ride safe!

© Corpus Christi Cycling, 2011