Catulle
02-15-2006, 07:23 PM
Yesterday, I met a few boys, 16 to 19, who are competing and being sponsored by the local bike shop. Believe it or not, where I live there is only one bike shop in the whole country. I mean, the same owners have two or three shops and all carry the same brands and products. Other places sell a few bikes but only tiny bikes with training wheels.
Talking to these boys I learned that they get a few parts and accesories from the bike shop, and sometimes one of the Chinese bicycles with the shop´s brand, or maybe a lower-end Giant. These are boys coming from very poor and underprivileged backgrounds. I asked them if they had a routine for training, if they knew about heart rate, power output, VO2 Max, nutrition, and so on. They just looked at each other and shook their heads.
I'm not surprised at all that this is the case because forty years ago when I used to compete all I knew was to ride all day long. Indeed, I only started learning about some of the nuances of the sport some five or six years ago when I started riding again (but not competing, of course).
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to respectfully ask you where or how can I find the information required for providing these children with a decent plan for training and competing. I'd like to provide them with the information needed for them to grow as cyclists and as individuals. Maybe the name of a few books and some advice would be just great to start a program for educating these kids. I know the moment the word gets around that they are learning about how to train effectively and how to better compete, many other kids will become interested.
I look forward with interest to your advice. Many thanks.
Talking to these boys I learned that they get a few parts and accesories from the bike shop, and sometimes one of the Chinese bicycles with the shop´s brand, or maybe a lower-end Giant. These are boys coming from very poor and underprivileged backgrounds. I asked them if they had a routine for training, if they knew about heart rate, power output, VO2 Max, nutrition, and so on. They just looked at each other and shook their heads.
I'm not surprised at all that this is the case because forty years ago when I used to compete all I knew was to ride all day long. Indeed, I only started learning about some of the nuances of the sport some five or six years ago when I started riding again (but not competing, of course).
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to respectfully ask you where or how can I find the information required for providing these children with a decent plan for training and competing. I'd like to provide them with the information needed for them to grow as cyclists and as individuals. Maybe the name of a few books and some advice would be just great to start a program for educating these kids. I know the moment the word gets around that they are learning about how to train effectively and how to better compete, many other kids will become interested.
I look forward with interest to your advice. Many thanks.