Safety and Training
Click here to download the rider safety document
This is the fun part. If you’re worried about being able to bike 115km a day while getting very little sleep and consuming nothing but PowerBars and Gatorade, don’t be; you put the time in and you’ll be fine. Almost half of our riders to date had little to no experience when they registered and almost one-third of them hadn’t been on a bike at all… well at least as an adult they hadn’t. We have had a 15-year old tank, a 78-year old machine, and people of all ages in between. We have had Ironman finishers (one crazy guy had done 18) and we have had many first-time cyclists. The best part is that from the first day of training to the day we cross the finish line, we work as a team, learn about self-sacrifice, and experience such personal growth that it is hard to put into words. Our goal is to do all of this together. Most importantly, we have now cycled more than 100,000kms collectively and have not had a significant fall or injury! Safety and proper training are PARAMOUNT to us and we take it very seriously.
We are honoured again to have Dr. Stephen Cheung, renowned Canadian cyclist and Chair of Exercise Physiology at Brock University, be our coach. He wrote a series of articles below just for this event and is happy to work with riders on an individual basis as well. In addition, for 2010 we have identified a number of coaches that will work with you on everything from training and eating to picking the right gear and clothing. To have one of the below coaches work with you for 2010, email your questions to Todd (tmcdonald@energyatlantica.com) and he will assign the right coach to you.
Mark Campbell (18-time Ironman, PrimalQuest finisher, EcoChallenge Finisher, 2008 GIVETOLIVE cyclist, and basically just a machine)
Amy Gough (4-time Ironman, 2008 GIVETOLIVE cyclist, and a top-notch female coach… and Mark’s better half!)
John Gillis (7-time Ironman, 2010 GIVETOLIVE participant, and super friendly dude!)
Todd McDonald (1-time Ironman, 2008-09 GIVETOLIVE participant, and ride organizer/volunteer)
We will also do a lot of group training rides as well as make introductions to people in the same city as you so you can get some practice riding in packs. Thanks to folks like James Bugden, Mark and Amy Campbell, Ron Allen, Tim Brooks, and Jim Currie, we have some solid experience on our side. These folks have some serious knowledge and are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
If you have the will, we have the time to train you… no matter your experience level. But you do have to put in the hours on the saddle!
- Log 1 – Dissecting the ride
- Log 2 – Basics of Bike Fitting
- Log 3 – Building Indurance
- Log 4 – Goals and Milestones
- Log 5 – Basic Training Template
- Log 6 – It’s all about the Bike
- Log 7 – Recovery
- Log 8 – Pack Riding Basics
- Log 9 – Climbing Techniques
- Log 10 – Training Camp Summary
