As a cyclist you want to protect your head, sure, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style and personality. Check out these unique lids that combine fashion, flare, innovation, and old-fashioned creativity:

If you’re the mountain biking type, the Swedish-made POC Trabec Race is up your alley (see photo above on orange background). The construction of this unique-looking and award-winning helmet is modeled after the human skeleton, proving both impact resistance and long-term durability. The inner aramid filament reinforced EPS core is tough, while the outer PC shell is constructed with seams situated in areas of minimal exposure. An aerodynamic channel system with 16 vents enhances ventilation on hot days.

The POC Trabec design has gotten both a best-in-show award at the EuroBike cycling industry trade show and a prestigious best-of-the-best Red Dot innovative design award, beating out 4,433 other entries from 50 countries. “This helmet is inspired by the spongy bone character and layer-by-layer construction of a skeleton,” explained POC CEO and founder Stefan Ytterborn. “We feel like we have found the right balance between low weight, maximum ventilation, and impact protection.” It looks cool, too.

Want to show off your personal flare and perhaps a secret passion for Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, and (a young) John Travolta? Then check out these step-by-step disco-ball-helmet-creation instructions from San Francisco-based art director Natalie Walsh. Her rationale for such a creation? “Because it’s awesome. ‘Nuff said.” Walsh uses an open-faced motorcycle-style helmet in her demo (picture above), but you can use just about any helmet that has surface area flat enough to glue on small pieces of glass tile. Just note that, as it says on her instructions page, the helmet is meant to be a costume piece. If you want to create something with more real-world functionality, skip the glass tile and use acrylic mirror tiles, which are lighter and won’t shatter.

Perhaps coolest of them all, though, is the still-in-development LumaHelm (bottom right photo, above). The brainchild (pun intended) of 28-year-old Dutch designer Wouter Walmink, who works in Australia’s Exertion Games Lab, this prototype interactive helmet both protects your head and signals your intentions as you ride, making you more visible to motorists. For example, tilt your head (and the helmet) slightly left and the helmet blinks on the left side just like a car’s turn indicator light. Tilt your head slightly back and the helmet lights up red like a set of brake lights.

The LumaHelm looks like a standard commuter helmet (and passes basic safety standards), but takes functionality a step further, utilizing two AA batteries to power a sensor that measures movement of the cyclist’s head, and lights up accordingly [see video here]. Walmink and his team have no immediate plans to manufacture the LumaHelm, but it’s not hard to imagine an established helmet manufacturer having other ideas.

Would you wear any of these helmets? What’s your favorite headgear as a cyclist?

—Jason Sumner, Bicycling Reporter

Photos courtesy of POC; Natalie Walsh; Exertion Games Lab

We recently met a 72-year-old runner at a marathon expo. He was wearing a shirt that said, “Running is 80% mental. The rest is in your head.” We giggled and complimented his sense of humor before he told us that his shirt was no joke.

Without hesitation, he launched into a mesmerizing and lengthy story about how he found running in his 60s but didn’t think he could run a marathon. He ran a few half-marathons but believed he was too old to handle a longer distance. Shortly after his 70th birthday, though, he decided to give it a try. “It was all in my head!” he shouted, before detailing how he has run six marathons and has no plans of stopping as he gets older. 

All too often the barriers in our racing and training are not physical but mental. The body is well-trained and ready to perform, but something in the mind holds us back. Some invisible wall is keeping us from experiencing that breakthrough race we are physically ready to run. If we are to reach our full potential we must train the mind as well as the body.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, I could have run faster! within moments of crossing the finish line, or you can’t figure out why you don’t race as fast as you think you should, these three tips will help you shatter the mental barriers holding you back and catapult you to greater success as a runner:

1.  Visualize: During your runs, see yourself in your next race running effortlessly. Picture yourself accelerating as the race goes on. Imagine fighting through the fatigue and refusing to slow down as you fly past people in the final mile. The more often you see it in your head the more likely you are to come through on race day.

2. Open your mind: Having an open mind doesn’t mean just letting new ideas and beliefs in. It also means letting old beliefs and ideas out. For you to really believe you can do something you must add the new idea that you can while simultaneously subtracting the old idea that you can’t.

3. Compare yourself to others: We normally discourage comparing yourself to others, but in this case if you can find someone who is already running faster than your goals, who is close to you in age, size, and general fitness, it will reinforce the belief that you can do it too!

Just before our new 72-year-old friend walked away to pick up his bib number for his seventh marathon, he offered one last piece of wisdom. “The next time your mind (or anyone else) tells you that you can’t do something, remember that you absolutely can. You just need to believe it.” 

And we thought we were the running experts!

How do you break through mental barriers? What do you see as your mental barriers to overcome as a runner?

—Tim Catalano & Adam Goucher, Running Reporters

Running the Edge co-authors Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano became instant friends while running together at the University of Colorado. After college, Adam went on to have a very successful professional career that garnered eight national championships and an Olympic berth; Tim became a psychology teacher and high school coach in three different countries. They write about their passion for running on their blog, “Run The Edge” and on Facebook.

If you thought NASCAR stars Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmy Johnson were the only professional athletes with lots of wheel choices, think again. When Chris Horner, Fabian Cancellara, and the rest of the RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team line up for the 2012 Tour de France, they’ll have no less than five different Bontrager wheelsets to choose from as they commence the arduous three-week journey toward the final finish line in Paris.

“Each different wheelset is specifically geared to certain conditions, be it a flat or hilly stage profile, or different weather, be it calm or super-windy,” explained Trek/Bontrager media relations liaison Eric Bjorling. “Every rider will have a least five sets of wheels available to them. Each is primarily differentiated by the depth of the rim, starting at 35mm and going all the way up to a full disc wheel.”

That full disc is perhaps the most unique option, and is specifically geared toward the three time trial stages where maximum aerodynamics and speed are paramount to success. Look for the full disc Bontrager wheels to be mated with Trek’s lightning-fast Speed Concept time trial bike (pictured below), a highly-engineered machine that borrows from the automotive racing world, utilizing a concept known as kammtail, where low weight and aerodynamic efficiency are maximized.

The front end of the Speed Concept bike is likely to be occupied by Bontrager’s 90-millimeter offering, which like the full disc is designed to slice through the wind as efficiently as possible. This is in part achieved via what Trek engineers have dubbed dual-directional design, where the leading and trailing edges of the rim share a similar bulbous design.

This differs from most aero wheels (see diagrams below), which only reduce drag at the front of the wheel. By utilizing this innovative D3 profile, the Bontrager wheels reduce drag at both the front tire-leading side, and the rear rim-leading side. Translation: increased speed and better handling, especially in sketchy crosswind situations.

On big climbing stages, weight becomes the primary driver of wheel choice. Expect most riders to opt for the low-profile carbon fiber Bontrager Aeolus 3 with its 35mm deep rim and ultra-light weight (just 1,180 grams for the set, pictured below). When you run shallower wheels, you reduce weight, decrease the watts required to climb, improve acceleration out of corners, and improve handling on windy days.

On mellower days, most riders will switch to either the Aeolus 5 (pictured below) or Aeolus 7, as both wheelsets are more aerodynamically efficient on the flats and medium rollers. “Here’s where wind conditions will play a big factor,” added Bjorling. “If it’s a calm day, then look for riders to choose the deeper rim depth, but if it’s blowing hard those wheels can be harder to control, so a lot of guys will step down to the 5’s or the 3’s.”

Rider size also plays a role in wheel choice, adds Bjorling. “Bigger guys like Cancellara can more easily handle the larger wheels, where the small climbers will have a tougher time. The goal as the team’s wheel supplier is to make sure they have every option possible. That way they can just worry about riding their bike.”

COME BACK TO INNOVATION FOR ENDURANCE DAILY FOR UPDATES FROM THE TOUR DE FRANCE THROUGH JULY 22!

—Jason Sumner, Bicycling Reporter

Photos courtesy Bontrager

It’s the final 400 meters in the biggest race of the year. You can see the finish line ahead and the clock counting away the seconds. Your personal best time is within reach, but you’ll need to dig deep, ignore the searing pain in your quadriceps, and commit to one last surge. Your arms feel numb and heavy as you gulp for air in rapid breaths. The clock will not slow down. Will you? 

At first glance, you might think you need superhuman courage to mount a strong finishing kick when faced with these painful barriers. But how a runner reacts in moments like these has more to do with experience than with courage.

The more familiar you become with the sensations of extreme exertion that come in the final parts of a race, the less scary they become. You must practice this feeling well before race day if you are going to perform at your highest level when it matters most. 

Here are three tips to help you develop a winning kick:

1.  Select a specific distance: The type of exertion it takes to run the last 200 meters of an 800-meter race is very different than the last mile of a marathon. Select a specific race and the length of the kick you are trying to develop. 

2.  Simulate the finish: You do not need to run the entire race distance to simulate what it will feel like during the finishing kick. Run a shorter distance at a faster pace to simulate the fatigue you will have when it is time to kick. Then, focus on running hard to the end.  For an 800-meter race, this might mean running an all-out 400 meters and then pushing through the last 200. To practice the last mile of a 10K, run 3 miles at 20 seconds per mile faster than your 10K pace, followed by a hard mile.

3.  Reflect and repeat: While the memory of the workout is fresh, reflect on your finishing effort. What did it feel like? How long did it take to recover? What did you learn about yourself and what you can handle? Could you go even harder next time? If time allows before your big race, schedule two or three of these sessions to really improve your performance.

Here is a real example of the above tips:

Olympian Kara Goucher’s coach wanted her to practice the pace and exertion it will take to contend over the last four miles in the Olympic Marathon next month in London. Last week, at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Duluth, Minnesota, Kara ran the first 9 miles at a quick pace but waited until the 9-mile mark to really push hard. Her 2 miles, from 9 to 11, averaged 5:15 per mile and she ran her last 2 miles with an average 5:08. Her simulated finish gave her confidence in her ability to compete in the last stages of the race. Her reflection? She can go even harder!

Consider this new scenario, once you’ve practiced your finishing kick:

There are 200 meters to go now as the relentless clock continues to count down the time between you and that new PR. But you are equally relentless; you have been here before. You have practiced for this moment. You are not afraid. You burst across the line and stumble around on wobbly legs. The new PR feels great but knowing you had the courage and strength to finish that fast feels even better.  

What innovations and improvements to your training have helped you reach a new PR?

—Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano, Running Reporters

Running the Edge co-authors Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano became instant friends while running together at the University of Colorado. After college, Adam went on to have a very successful professional career that garnered eight national championships and an Olympic berth; Tim became a psychology teacher and high school coach in three different countries. They write about their passion for running on their blog, Run The Edge and on Facebook.

When Chris Horner, Andy Schleck, and the rest of the RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team line up for the start of the 2012 Tour de France on June 30 in Liege, Belgium, they’ll have more than just fitness, savvy, and skill on their sides. Each member of the nine-rider team will benefit from an array of top-tier, cutting-edge equipment, including up to three different Trek bikes. “The goal is to give the riders the right tool for the job so they can do their job,” explained Trek media relations liaison Eric Bjorling. “The Tour de France often comes down to just a few minutes, if not seconds. So attaining every possible advantage is critical for success.”

The centerpiece of this arsenal is the Trek Madone (above). This workhorse full carbon fiber bike is legend in the professional peloton, already carrying the likes of Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador to multiple Tour de France titles. “This is the bike the team will ride the majority of the time,” said Bjorling. “It’s what you’d call a traditional road bike where weight, stiffness, and efficiency are key in order to make the most out of every pedal stroke. This bike was built with grand tour racing in mind.”

Highlights of the Madone include Trek’s integrated cable management, where all the bike’s cables are routed inside the bike’s frame, giving it a sleek look to go along with enhanced performance. And the bike’s ultra-light weight means team mechanics actually have to add weight so as not to violate the sport’s rules.

“It’s basically a safety measure which says a bike must weight no less than 14.9 pounds,” said Bjorling. “That means we have to bring Madone up to that weight using various add-on parts.” On days when the course is particularly rough — traveling over cobblestone roads, for example — some of the team’s riders may opt to switch from the Madone to the Domane (below), a bike specifically designed for maximum shock absorption and comfort.

“Most of the riders will probably stick with the Madone on all the road stages, but Fabian Cancellara for one has asked to have a Domane available,” revealed Bjorling. “It’s a bike that is designed to handle broken pavement, gravel, cobbles, you name it. It has lots of stabilizing features, and riders are in a more upright position, making it a more stable and comfortable ride.”

Among a litany of features on a bike that debuted earlier this year is what Trek calls the iSoSPeeD DecouPler, which isolates the seat tube from the rest of the frameset, increasing compliance and comfort without compromising performance.

But arguably the most important bike in the team’s quest for the yellow jersey is the Trek Speed Concept time trial bike (below). Designed specifically to slice through the wind during what’s known in cycling as “the race of truth,” the Speed Concept is the result of extensive wind tunnel testing.

“It’s a specific tool for a specific purpose,” said Bjorling. “And that’s going to be really important at this year’s Tour because of the emphasis on the time trial.” Indeed, the 2012 route includes a short prologue time trial, plus two critical longer TTs. And unlike traditional stages where team riders can work together, the time trial is man against the clock where huge time gains — and losses — are expected.  

“The highlights of the Speed Concept are really twofold,” said Bjorling. “First, it offers a lot of adjustability, which is really important because each rider has a unique position based on their size and flexibility, and you need to be able to accommodate that so they can put out the maximum possible output. Second, this bike borrows a few pieces from automotive racing, including what is called kammtail. This is basically a way to shave weight while at the same time maintaining aerodynamic efficiency. You see it a lot in NASCAR where the cars have a flat back that’s at a 90-degree angle. The idea is to trick the wind into thinking there is material there, which makes the bike faster.”

It’s also worth noting that riders don’t just have one of each bike, but oftentimes two or even three just in case problems arise. “For someone like Andy Schleck, who may be leading the race at some point, he’ll probably have three Madones that are all set up exactly the same,” said Bjorling. “There will be the one he’s riding, one of top of the team car that’s following the race in case he needs to make a change during the stage, and one back at the team truck just in case something happens to one of the other two.”

The same is true for the time trial bikes, meaning that even if all the riders opt not to ride the Domane, the team will still be hauling around upwards of 45 different bikes for three weeks in July. And that’s not counting the potential need for specially-colored frames — say, one that matches the coveted yellow jersey.

What do you ride? Which of these sweet Trek bikes would you love to own?

—Jason Sumner, Bicycling Reporter

Photos courtesy of Trek Bicycles

Some 128 riders will toe the startline when the seventh running of the Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race starts this Sunday in Santa Rosa. Each will have their own objectives for the ensuing eight days of racing that will cover 733.5 miles on a southerly trip through the Golden State. But within this international peloton that includes riders from 21 countries and five continents, there are a few who deserve a little extra attention. Here’s your cheat sheet on the top riders to watch and why.

Chris Horner – RadioShack-Nissan-Trek: The Golden State native and reigning Tour of California champion is on the short list of favorites for this year’s race. But to pull off the repeat, Horner will likely have to come from behind during the event’s toughest day. Expect the 40-year-old RadioShack-Nissan-Trek rider to lose time to his key rivals in the stage 5 time trial, meaning he’ll have to be at his best during the race-deciding 78.3-mile stage from Ontario to the summit of precipitously steep Mt. Baldy.

Tejay Van Garderen – BMC Racing Team: Among a highly promising group of young American pros, it would surprise no one if the 23-year-old Van Garderen had a breakout ride and won the race. The native of Montana came close to that Eureka moment last year, finishing third in Colorado’s USA Pro Cycling Challenge and fifth at the Tour of California. Like Horner, Van Garderen is both a capable time trialist and exceptional climber. The BMC rider, who was fifth earlier this season in the prestigious Paris-Nice stage race in France, will also benefit from the expert support of veteran teammate and fellow American George Hincapie.

Tom Danielson – Garmin-Barracuda: One of the world’s best pure climbers as witnessed by his ninth place finish in last year’s Tour de France, the 34-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, is a threat in any race with big mountain climbs. But after a breakout victory at the 2005 Tour de Georgia earned him the moniker of “next great American cyclist,” Danielson has struggled to live up to the hype and actually win big races. He’ll have to buck that trend if he wants to exceed his third place finish at last year’s Tour of California.  

Andrew Talansky – Garmin-Barracuda: Another member of American cycling’s Generation Next, the 23-year-old from Banner Elk, North Carolina, had the breakout ride of his career earlier in the season, placing second at the testing Tour of Romandie. In California, Talansky will share team leadership roles with Danielson, giving the Garmin squad a lethal one-two punch that could be a difference maker.

Levi Leipheimer – Omega Pharma-QuickStep: After being struck by a car during a training ride earlier in the season, there’s still some doubt whether the three-time Tour of California champion will even start this year’s race. But the guess here is that despite suffering a broken leg in the accident, there’s no way he’ll sit out an event that kicks off in his hometown of Santa Rosa. As for his chances at overall title No. 4, it’s unlikely the former Innovation for Endurance contributor will have regained enough form to compete at the highest level.

Rory Sutherland – UnitedHealthcare: The Tour of California includes six teams that race primarily in North America, cycling’s equivalent of triple A baseball. Expectedly few of those team’s riders hold out much hope of competing for the overall crown against the major leaguers from the European peloton. The lone exception could be UnitedHealthcare’s Sutherland, who was seventh overall in 2011, and has been training hard in California during the lead-up to the race.

Tom Boonen – Omega Pharma-QuickStep: Imagine Kobe Bryant or LeBron James showing up for a hoops tournament in Belgium, and you get some idea of how big a deal it is for Tom Boonen (above) to be racing bikes in California. “Tornado Tom” is by far the biggest sports star in his native Belgium, a stature further bolstered this spring with his conquest of both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the world’s two toughest one-day races. There are too many big climbs in California for big Tom to win the overall, but the former Tour de France green jersey winner will be in the hunt for victory in any stage that ends in a sprint — and will be a crowd favorite wherever he goes.

Peter Sagan – Liquigas-Cannondale: Like Boonen, Sagan is not built to win overall stage races. But the 22-year-old Slovakian sprinter nicknamed “Terminator” is one of the sport’s rising stars, already owning three Tour of California stage wins. Expect Sagan to add to that tally this year.  

And the winner is… Following a spring campaign where he served primarily in a support role, Chris Horner is coming off a solid at-home training block, and now gets to ride for himself as RadioShack-Nissan-Trek’s team leader. We’re obviously big fans of Horner here at Innovation for Endurance, but the cagey veteran is also one of the sport’s smartest riders, and that’s why he’ll win his second straight Tour of California title. Look for Horner to hold his ground in the stage 5 time trial, then take time on his rivals during the ensuing pair of big climbing stages. And with the overall win, Horner will make a strong case for a place on this summer’s U.S. Olympic team, an honor he’s long overdue.

—Jason Sumner, Bicycling Reporter

Photos by Getty Images

I have a confession to make. Even though I’ve written about exercise for nearly 20 years and valiantly practiced what I’ve preached, I’m really no different than you are.

I have a love-hate relationship with exercise—meaning, I love the results when I do it regularly, but I often hate having to exercise to achieve those results. It’s a situation that only gets worse as the warmer weather creates a thousand new distractions bent on pushing me off-course. If that’s you as well, then know this: You can easily avoid every possible fitness pitfall this summer by having a few innovative ideas in your arsenal.

For example, one of the most common excuses I hear is, “I don’t have enough time.” Can’t do your usual 30 minutes of cardio? Then just break it up into two smaller sessions of 15 minutes—or even three, 10-minute sessions—and do them whenever it’s convenient. You’ll still burn the same number of total calories, but better yet, you’ll elevate your metabolism two or three times instead of once. Since your body burns calories at a faster rate for an additional hour after intense exercise, you’ll get that extra calorie after-burn several times instead of once.

If weight training’s more your thing, then just do one set of each exercise in your routine instead of the typical two or three sets—research has shown that one set is actually 90% as effective at building muscle as three sets. Then, reduce the time you wait between sets to one minute or less. Unless your goal is strictly to build strength, the fuel muscles use for anaerobic activity—called creatine phosphate—returns within 30 to 60 seconds after you lift. Applying both of these techniques can turn a 30-minute weight training routine into an equally effective one you can do in less than 10 minutes.

Here’s another classic summer stumbling block: “I don’t have easy access to exercise equipment or a gym.” Even if you’re away on vacation in the most remote locale, you always have the tools to pull off four of the top 10 most effective exercises for building muscle and burning calories: squats and lunges for your lower body, push-ups for your upper body and skipping rope, which burns over 800 calories an hour! Not coordinated enough to skip? Then just mimic the movements minus the rope—you’ll still burn roughly the same amount of calories.

Here’s my biggest excuse: “I want to have fun outside, not exercise.” That’s when I remind myself that there are countless ways to turn leisure time into exercise. Everything from chasing your kids around to playing with your dog can be a workout, so long as you perform the activity at a pace that’s challenging to your current fitness level. Best rule of thumb: If you can talk while doing it, but you wouldn’t be able to sing, your pulse is most likely right between 60 and 80% of your maximum heart rate (MHR)—the ideal spot for burning fat.

If you have a favorite innovation that helps you stay on top of exercise, then I’d love to hear about it, so do us a favor and post it here. Who knows? You may find out that you’re not alone dealing with a certain problem, but more important, you may give someone else the solution they’ve been desperately looking for to stay in shape.

—Myatt Murphy, Fitness Blogger

Fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS, is the author of the best-selling books Testosterone Transformation (Rodale, 2012), The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), The Men’s Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006) and Men’s Health’s Ultimate Dumbbell Guide (Rodale, 2007). His work has appeared in innumerable magazines and online.

“When you say you are ‘slow,’ do you mean compared to the 93% of people who can’t run a mile without stopping, or the majority of Americans who never exercise?” We asked a runner this question at a recent race expo. She was trying to convince us that she was a “slow runner” and we were trying to convince her that there is no such thing as slow. (To be honest, we made up the 93% number. Fortunately, she didn’t ask us where we got our statistics.)

Sensing that she needed more convincing, we tried another approach. “If a woman qualifies for the Boston Marathon, does that make her fast?” She nodded enthusiastically.  

“What if she finishes the marathon in last place? Does that make her slow?” The look of compassion on her face communicated that she felt sorry for these two men desperately trying to impart anything close to wisdom. We wished her good luck in her race and requested that she let us know how she did when it was over.  

Two days later we received an email informing us that she had improved her best time in the  half marathon by over two minutes. She went on to explain that even though she was slower than most of the other competitors in the race, she was faster than any previous version of herself. The runner she was three months earlier would have looked at the runner she is now with admiration and respect. Now she wanted to train harder than ever to be an even faster runner in her next race.  

She ended the email with this thought, “From Olympians to runners just trying to finish a 10K, we are all fast. Runners at every level are pushing their limits and trying to see how good they can be. The only way to be slow is not to run at all.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

—Tim Catalano & Adam Goucher, Running Bloggers

Ever forget to put your underpants in your gym bag and end up going “commando” to a work meeting? That happened to professional triathlete Chrissie Wellington, too. Only her work meeting happened to be at 10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister’s office. 

Wellington’s candor in her new autobiography, A Life Without Limits: A World Champion’s Journey, is not limited to the humorous side of her rise to be the world’s best triathlete. There’s a dark side, too, one that includes a battle with eating disorders, a renegade coach, and the bullying she experienced by fellow triathlon team members, perhaps spawned by jealousy: Wellington turned pro just before turning 30 (ancient by professional standards) and won her first Ironman World Championship —a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run — at the Hawaii Ironman a mere six months later. She has gone on to win that race three more times, along with every Ironman triathlon she’s ever entered. Thirteen, to be exact, in only five years.

Her story is compelling and her life thus far has been extraordinary. We had a few questions for her and Chrissie Wellington shared her answers.

Innovation for Endurance: For most professional triathletes, triathlon is all they know; it’s the only job they’ve ever had. But before you turned pro, you spent years as an adviser in international development for the UK Government, even rolling up your sleeves to aid people in third-world countries. How do you think your perspective on human suffering affects your personal capacity for your own physical suffering?

Chrissie Wellington: These life experiences have definitely shaped me into the athlete I am today, enabling me to develop independence, strength, and perspective. It made me realize the power of sport to make a difference in people’s lives, in developed and developing countries. It has enabled me to see wonderful landscapes and meet some great friends. I bank these memories and draw heavily on them when I am training and racing, especially to get me through the tougher, darker times. Most of all, traveling—and the things I have seen—have taught me so much about our capacity to endure and overcome hurdles, to never take for granted the opportunities I am given, to appreciate the simple things in life rather than placing value on material possessions, and to seize every chance that comes my way. 

IFE: “Still got it.” That’s a sentence that repeats throughout your book regarding the memorabilia you’ve saved throughout your life. Of all the things you “still got,” is there anything you prize most of all?

CW: The scars born of the crash before Kona 2012: They tell more than a thousand words.

IFE: You took up cycling while living in Nepal and rode extensively in the shadow of the Himalayas. You have said in your book, describing those amazing rides, “I’m sure it was the making of me.” What would you say makes up the total Chrissie package?

CW: I don’t think my success is down to one single quality, but rather a whole package of traits: drive, determination, consistency, self-belief, a great support structure, physiology, and good genes (or failing that, an ability to look good in jeans!), positivity, ability and willingness to overcome adversity, an ability to rest your mind as well as your body, a competitive fire, my life experiences and yes…..big calves.

IFE: Your fastest marathon time in an Ironman race (2:44:35) suggests a real possibility that you would be equally competitive in a straight marathon. Has competing in other sports, be it running, swimming, cycling (or something removed from triathlon) crossed your mind?

CW: Of course, I am always open to a challenge and I would love to do a big city marathon, to test myself to the limit and see what kind of time I could achieve.

IFE: I suspect you will live the next 35 years as passionately and productively as the first 35 years of your life, and will need to write a second memoir. What will be the highlights in that book?     

CW: I think this great question is best answered by plundering the final paragraph of my autobiography ….which goes a little something like this….

“…how can I speculate on what the future holds, when the present is so astronomically removed from whatever expectations I might have had in my youth? My only policy throughout has been to keep an open mind and, whatever I may do, to give it my all. It still takes my breath away to think where that simple outlook on life has taken me. I never set out to be a world champion – not many ordinary girls from Norfolk do – but neither have I ever wanted to be left wondering, ‘What if..?’ At so many stages along the way, the limits that I thought I could see lying ahead dissolved as I approached them. And that has been the most exciting discovery of all”.

— Kara Thom, Runner’s World Reporter 

Photos courtesy of Chrissie Wellington and Center Street Publishing 

In early March, we at Innovation for Endurance asked you to reveal your biggest pet peeves when riding a bike. The response was overwhelming and wide-ranging. But in spite of a such a range of answers, three clear themes emerged. In general, the biggest obstacles facing cyclists are inconsiderate and/or inattentive motorists, bad roads, and other cyclists who ignore the rules of the road.

Respondents — were you one of them? — railed against being honked at, buzzed, and doored by car drivers. They lamented streets with no bike lanes, minimal shoulders, and giant potholes. And they called out fellow cyclists who blow through stop signs, run red lights, ride on the sidewalk, and/or ride three and four abreast on narrow roads.

“Motorists who don’t know or don’t care that cyclists have the same right to the road as they do,” wrote Ron Fife in his response to our question, “What’s your biggest pet peeve as a cyclist?”  He added: “And cyclists who give the rest of us a bad name because they don’t know or don’t care that having the same right to the road as motorists means that we need to obey the same rules of the road.”

Of course there’s no panacea to these problems, but there are some basic tips and tricks that can help all cyclists more safely navigate the sometimes dangerous two-wheeled world.

“Always try to make eye contact with drivers,” explained Elizabeth Train, executive director of the Boulder B-cycle bike-sharing program. “If they’re not looking directly at you, chances are they don’t see you. By engaging with drivers visually, and riding predictably, you’ll stay safer.”

“The No. 1 priority for safety is visibility,” adds Scott Christopher, the development and outreach director for Bicycle Colorado, a cycling advocacy organization. “And that’s not just what you wear or making sure to have lights at night.”

Indeed, Christopher says lane positioning is key. On a road with no shoulder, ride in the “right wheel track” of motor vehicles to ensure you don’t blend into the scenery along the edge of the road. This also gives you 3 to 4 feet of space from the edge of the pavement to allow for emergency maneuvers such as dodging potholes or dealing with a wind gust.

At a red light, don’t creep up the right side of cars, adds Christopher. Take your place in traffic just like you would in your car. Don’t provide a driver a second chance to accidentally clip you by making them pass you a second time. “To successfully have society view bicycles as a part of traffic we need to behave like responsible, considerate traffic,” says Christopher. “Even when I’m in the right, I try to be a good ambassador for all bicyclists when dealing with motorists.”

Of course, even the most conscientious cyclists sometimes break the rules. “That’s why it’s important to govern from within,” says Innovation for Endurance contributor and renowned cycling coach Chris Carmichael.

“One rider can ruin it for all of us,” adds Ainslie MacEachran, head coach and owner of Gemini Training Systems. “Don’t be that guy. When you’re riding with other riders lead by example and if there are riders who have chronic issues with bad traffic habits, don’t ride with them. Also ”

That means staying off sidewalks and riding the right direction on one-way streets, says B-cycle’s Train. Better yet, try to find roads that were designed with cyclists in mind. “Google is beta testing cycling routes on their maps right now,” adds Train.

Another great resource is other cyclists. Stop by a local bike shop and ask for advice, says Carmichael. “I travel a lot, so I’m frequently in cities where I don’t have local knowledge of good cycling routes,” he says. “I use a combination of local bike shops and websites like MapMyRide and Strava to tap into that local knowledge. In many cities there are also city-based resources to find the roads that have bike lanes on them. Regardless, you need to be confident and aware of your surroundings. Keep your eyes open so you can move into the lane gradually. And if you have to avoid obstacles don’t swerve. That’s more likely to put you the path of a driver who thought they had enough room to get around you.”

A little advance recon is also a good idea. “I usually observe the road I’m going to ride a bike on from a car first,” says Frank Overton, who owns and operates the FasCat Coaching and Performance Cycling Center. “I look to see how large the shoulder is, if there is a bike lane, the quality of the pavement, and if there are any other hazards that factor into safe cycling. If the roads are hazardous I do not ride them and seek out side roads or alternate routes.”

How do you work around some of your pet peeves to make cycling more fun? Share your best advice here.

—Jason Sumner, Bicycling Reporter

Photos by Stockphoto