Category Archives: Cycling

Exercise Bike Tips for Longer Rides

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This is just a quick update on some of the things that I have recently found to be helpful for staying motivated to do longer rides indoors ~ on an Exercise Bike, Spin Bike or Bike Trainer.

iFit TechnologyI have written quite a bit below, in previous blog posts, on the benefit of various entertainment and monitoring options to help you stay motivated through out your indoor cycling workouts and these things are still very helpful. Specifically, listening to music, watching TV, reading (in some cases) or just monitoring your workout stats and maybe even competing with yourself (or with others if you have the more advanced console options to interact with the internet. See the Proform or NordicTrack bike reviews for more on this with the iFit technology).

Anything that can keep you entertained or distracted to some degree will probably help pass the time quicker (and allow you to do longer, less boring rides). I have also discovered a couple of very simple things to do for distraction and to allow me to pace myself more for longer rides.

One of the things that I have been using more lately is to simply coast a little. I used to consider this to totally be cheating since the goal is to get a workout and keep your heart-rate up. I found that when I never took a break I was getting worn out much quicker and just ended up not riding for as long.

So lately I’ve been taking a few short breaks during my workout (for some water, to change the tv channel or to check things on my iPhone, etc.). I am talking about very short breaks (like less than a minute) which is very natural and more like riding outdoors. My heart-rate does not usually even drop that much with a short break.

When you ride your outdoor bike there are always times when you get a break from pedalling and you get some free miles from coasting. On an indoor bike you don’t get this extra coasting time so it is really natural to take some short breaks occasionally and like I said, this actually helps me to ride much longer and farther in the long run.

And finally, this is just more of a mental thing, I like to think about my outdoor rides, when I am riding indoors and imagine myself at the mile markers that I remember from these rides.

For example, one of my usual rides outdoors is a 17 mile ride through Inverness and on the Paul Douglas Bike Trail. Since I have an odometer hooked to my bike (on the trainer) when I see that I have hit mile one, I imagine where I would be on my outdoor ride on mile one (and so on for the rest of the ride). If I know how long I intend to ride then I have to imagine my turn-around point and I can’t stop until I make it all the way back (right?). OK, I said it was a mental thing.

I know that these are just small things but I think that anything that helps to pass the time quicker, to entertain you and allow you to do longer or harder workouts is a good thing.

Now I’m imagining that “most interesting man in the world” beer commercial guy and instead of him saying “Stay Thirsty My Friend” he is working out indoors and saying “Stay Motivated My Friend“! 🙂

New Bike Trainer Setup and Entertainment Options

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I just setup my bike on a new (borrowed) Bike Trainer, now that I have a place for it, and in order to check out the trainer and some entertainment (boredom-breaking) options that I had in mind. Giant Cyclotron Auto Bike Trainer

The bike trainer that I am using now is a Giant Cyclotron Auto mag resistance trainer which it is very basic and easy to setup and use. My daughter just went back to college for another semester so I have hew room to use (for my trainer room) for most of the winter.

I took some photos of the bike trainer with my bike (Trek 1500) attached to it for this blog post (I’ve setup the photos on this blog post to show the larger versions when you click on them) and I was thinking of putting together a video to show the full bike trainer setup and use but I have not gotten to that just yet.

Bike Trainer Setup:

The first step in setting up the bike trainer is to replace the real axle or skewer  from my bike’s back wheel with the skewer that is setup to clamp into the Bike Trainer. This was much easier than I expected. You don’t even need to take the rear wheel all the way off to change the skewer. You just release the wheel with the quick release mechanism (that most newer bikes have), lift it out of the frame and unscrew the fitting on one end. Then you replace it with the Bike Trainer skewer and reattach the rear wheel.

Once this is done, and you have adjusted the Bike Trainer to fit your bike and wheel, it is really easy just to clamp the bike into the trainer. This would be great in the summer when you want to use your bike outdoors and indoors.

Adjustments and Indoor Workout:

Giant Bike Trainer, CyclotronThis particular bike trainer has a resistance adjustment knob in the back. This is easy to use and you can set a wide variety of resistance levels from really easy to incredibly hard. I can see how it would be nice to have a Bike Trainer with a remote resistance control although since you can also change gears on your bike as you ride that is not totally necessary.

I found that I may even get a better workout on the bike trainer than I do riding outdoors. When riding outdoors there are quite a few times on any ride that you are able to coast while riding and essentially take a break (without even stopping). On the trainer I feel guilty if I stop so I tend to ride the entire time that I am on it. Also, since this is a mag trainer (not fluid) the resistance level is not “progressive” so when you stop pedalling the rear wheel stops pretty quickly then when you start again it is almost like starting from a complete stop again.

Entertainment and Boredom-Breaking Options:

OK, I saved the most fun stuff for last. Whether it is a Bike Trainer, an Exercise Bike or an Indoor Cycle/Spin Bike an indoor workout is usually just not as much fun as riding outdoors. Fortunately, there are plenty of entertainment and inspirational options available these days.

In my case, I started my workout playing music through my iPhone. Playing music as you workout is entertaining and can also be motavational. I started with my ear-buds but I found it a little difficult to find a place for my iPhone since I was wearing a t-shirt (without a pocket) and besides I prefer speakers if I have a choice. Bike Trainer setup

So my next step was to setup my sons old stereo that was not being used, and had an Aux jack (for my iPhone). My son basically did this pretty quickly. So now I have a small stereo in our new workout room! (I mean my daughters room 🙂 ).

One of the nicer features that most of the mid-range or better Exercise Bikes have these days is iPod/MP3 jacks and sound systems that are built into the console. It is nice to have the built-in sound system but as you can see by what I just described, it is not totally necessary since there are other options too.

Although we do have a tv in my new exercise room my daughter’s room, we moved the cable box to another room for a while so I don’t have a tv signal in that room. Still, that is not a problem these days since I have my laptop and can play videos (YouTube or others) and/or Netflix.

In my case, for this initial workout, I setup my laptop and played some of the bike trail videos that I have on this website and that I always thought would be fun to watch while riding indoors. You can find the Bike Trail Videos on this site here.

Our bike trail videos are bike trails mostly in the Chicagoland area. Unfortunately, I used an older camcorder and the quality is not up to today’s standards and I’m not sure if you can play them full screen on all computers and mobile devices.

The thing that I liked about the bike trail videos on this site ~ aside from knowing that I had quite a few and where to find them ~ is that they are fairly long (mostly around 15 minutes) and they are bike trails in this area that I have ridden and am familiar with.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun to (virtually) ride the Busse Woods Trail and the Chicago Lakefront Trail as I worked out yesterday! Then I rode the Des Plaines River Trail this morning as I was taking the bike trainer photos.

Well, my homemade virtual-ride setup may not be as advanced as other options that are available these days ~ like the Proform Tour de France (TDF) Bike ~ but it was still a lot of fun.

After a short time I realized that I really needed a fan to stay cool during my workout so I setup a big box fan in front of my bike. This is one thing that you get natuarally on your outdoor bikes but for me a fan was essential for an indoor workout. Besides, then it felt even more like I was outdoors on a real trail! Once again, many Exercise Bikes come with fans built into their consoles but this is not totally necessary either (besides I don’t think that the built-in Exercise BIke fans ever cool you down that much).

One thing that I totally forgot to check out yesterday was my heart-rate monitor. My HR monitor is integrated into my Garmin 800 Bike GPS computer so since I was not going to be covering any real territory, I didn’t think of it at the time but I see no reason why I can not just strap on my HR chest strap and monitor my HR through my GPS as I ride indoors.

Summary:

Well, I guess this post got a little long but to sum up my thoughts I found this simple Bike Trainer to be easy to use, a great workout and really a lot of fun. Bike Trainers (in general) are a really nice economical way to get a good workout indoors (and without going to the gym or fitness center).

See our Bike Trainers page for more information on the different kinds of trainers, their benefits and for some good online resources.

One of the advantages that indoor (magnetic resistance) Exercise Bikes have over Bike Trainers, Indoor Cycles (or Spin Bikes) is the built-in consoles that allow you to track (and upload in some cases) all of your ride stats such as Speed, Calories Burned, Watts, Distance, Time, etc. See our Best Buy Exercise Bikes page for plenty of exercise bike information and reviews.

I was able to use the stopwatch feature on my iPhone to track my workout time on the bike trainer but I really had no indication about my speed, distance ot the other stats.

Actually my wife asked me how far I rode and, wthout really thinking about it much, I just said “Zero Miles“. Actually I did not ride a single mile, yard, foot or inch! My average speed was also zero. I did not move! It’s a “stationary bike”! 🙂

I thought that this was kind of funny in a way. It actually is nice to have a mileage number and a speed number even though they are actually only calculations or estimates as to what you might have ridden on a “real ride”. These stats are nice for comparison purposes (and I’ll try not to think of is so literally)!

The New 2013 NordicTrack Commercial VR Pro Review

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I recently discovered that NordicTrack had just released their new top of the line Recumbent Exercise Bike, the NordicTrack Commercial VR PRO. I have been familiar with the Original Commercial VR for quite some time now and at first I didn’t notice that this was an upgraded version of that bike. NordicTrack Commercial VR PRO

It has taken some time and research but I have just posted my review of the NordicTrack Commercial Recumbent Exercise Bike here.

You can tell right away that the new Commercial VR Pro has a sleeker look than the original version and there are a few other differences too although they may not be real obvious, even with the automatic compare feature on their website, so I added a brief summary of the differences to our review (the link above).

As I mentioned in my review, the Commercial VR bikes from NordicTrack are not really commercial grade bikes ~ as the name implies ~ but really heavy-duty, high-end residential bikes that you can get at a reasonable price.

This is actually good since commercial grade fitness equipment is usually way more expensive then residential models and really not always the best choice for in-home use anyway. Commercial equipment is made to withstand long hours of continuous use (and abuse) by multiple users and often times does not have some of the nicer (more breakable) features that you get on residential models.

One example is that both Commercial VR bikes come with a wireless heart-rate transmitters (chest straps) that are compatible with the bike’s console. You might find commercial bikes that are compatible with wireless transmitters but you’ll need to be sure that it is compatible with the kind that you have or are considering getting.

Besides for giving you a more accurate heart-rate reading (than typical handle grip heart-rate monitors) the wireless HR transmitters allow your hands to be free through your entire ride for reading, using a laptop or mobile device or anything else that you want to do as you get or stay in shape.

I was wondering why NordicTrack, and some of the other fitness websites, are still having sales and promotions when we are just 4 days away from Christmas. Then it occurred to me that, since so many people are ready to get in shape the minute that the holidays are over, it makes sense that the early shoppers (for the after-Christmas fitness season) can order their fitness equipment now and have it on its way and delivered right after the holidays.

Anyway, if you are interested in the latest high-end NordicTrack Recumbent Bikes, see our Commercial VR Pro and Commercial VR reviews and comparisons.

And one final note… It is 5:25pm Central Time on 12/21/2012 and I am still here… It is starting to look like the holidays will be here right on schedule… 🙂

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2013 Bike Trail and Cycling Events Calendar

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I’ve just completed putting together the 2013 Bike Trail and Cycling Events Calendar and have also updated our Cycling Events Page with the 2013 dates for many major cycling events and rides in the Chicagoland area and Midwest in general. 2013 Bike Trail and Cycling Events Calendar

I just discovered that many people start looking for the next year’s calendar right after Thanksgiving so I hope I’m not too late in getting this together. I know there will still be people looking for a 2013 Calendar through out December and especially just before and after New Years Day.

This calendar is available in PDF and Excel formats and is designed so that each month will fit on one standard ~ 8.5″x11″ ~ size sheet of paper.

I think that the PDF and Excel formats give you a lot of flexibility with viewing online, downloading and viewing on your computer or other devices or to print (one month at a time or all 12 months at once) if you would like a hardcopy.

Personally, I like to have a hardcopy version of the calendar that I hang on my wall. You may not get the same quality, depending on your printing capabilities, as you would with a store bought calendar but there are some nice bike trail and cycling related photos and the calendar includes US holidays and cycling events in the Midwest in the body of the calendar.

You can use this calendar for quick references, for easily printing a specific month on a standard size sheet of paper or you can print all 12 months in high quality, on fancy paper and bind together in a variety of ways. That part is completely up to you. I am just trying to provide an handy and easy to use calendar (related to cycling of course).

The photos on this years calendar were all taken this year and include photos from bike trails in the Chicagoland area and the Midwest and cycling events in our area such as the MB Financial Bike the Drive (on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago) and the Tour or Elk Grove professional bike racing event.

You can find more information and the 2013 cycling calendars on the 2013 Bike Trails and Events Calendar Page here.

I have also spent some time looking up the dates for many of the major cycling rides and events in our area and have included the 2013 dates and links to the websites that sponsor these events on our Special Cycling Events Page.

Well, here’s to a Happy 2013 and a lot of enjoyable cycling miles and activities!

Lance Armstrong Mess and Livestrong Exercise Bikes

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It really is a shame about this whole Lance Armstrong Mess. Personally, I still want to believe that the doping charges are not true and I wish that he would have fought to prove that the accusations were not true. Unfortunately, Lance chose not to fight and his downfall is now history (fairly recent history anyway).

There are many things that bother me about this whole situation but I want to focus on is the things that I am the most familiar with and on trying to preserve the good things (that can be preserved) that Lance has been involved with (outside of racing).

I think that most people that are familiar with Lance Armstrong know about his fight with and recovery from cancer and that he founded the Livestrong foundation to help cancer patients, promote healthy living and to help fight cancer.

If you have seen the recent news stories about Lance not fighting the latest doping allegations, being banned from professional cycling and being stripped of his 7 Tour de France wins, then you may also know that Lance Armstrong has stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong foundation (as well as being dropped from most, if not all, of his previous sponsors).

My concern, even though Lance has stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong foundation, is the potential harm that could be done to this organization since it was founded by Lance and has had such a close relationship to him for so many years. I mean even the name “Livestrong” still sounds like it is connected with the fallen cyclist.

I know that the Livestrong foundation has done a lot of good things in recent years and I really hope that they can continue their good work without a lot of damage or fall out from the Lance Armstrong demise.

The other thing that I am familiar with and that is very relevant to this website is Livestrong Exercise Bikes and Indoor Cycles. These fitness products are produced by Johnson Health Tech in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. This company had made quality fitness products long before they partnered with the Livestrong foundation and continues to make quality products under the Livestrong brand name as well as other brand names (Horizon Fitness, AFG, Matrix, Vision Fitness…).

Livestrong LS28IC

Livestrong LS28IC Limited Edition Indoor Cycle

My concern here is that, if the Livestrong brand name gets a bad reputation, this could cause problems for Johnson Health Tech and the sale of their quality Livestrong products as well as the Livestrong foundation.

I had met with some of the managers and product specialists at Johnson Health Tech in Wisconsin a little over a year ago which is one of the reasons why I am so familiar with the company and many of its products (specifically the fitness bikes).

I have not actually spoken to them recently about the effects of the Lance Armstrong “mess” (as I called it in the first sentence of this post) but I know that the sales of Livestrong Fitness Bikes (indirectly) from this site in November are about 1/10th of what they were last year so that is not a good sign.

Last year, at this time, Livestrong was still selling the Limited Edition LS28IC Indoor Cycle  (pictured above) that totally celebrated Lance Armstrong’s achievements in addition to providing a generous donation to the Livestrong foundation for each sale of this bike.This was a limited edition bike and has been sold out for quite some time now which is probably good since I’m not sure how it would sell these days ~ who knows, maybe it would be even more popular. 😐

I don’t think that all this negative publicity about Lance is good for Livestrong brand fitness products but I have noticed that you can get their Exercise Bikes and Indoor Cycles (Spin Bikes) at lower prices these days on Amazon where they were rarely marked down in the past.

The following Livestrong bikes have had price reductions at Amazon recently:

Many of these bikes have been on our Best Buys list which is another indication of the quality of these products.

I know that there has already been a lot of stuff written about the Lance Armstrong news but I had to post what I’ve been thinking and concerned about and, of course,  the Livestrong Fitness Bike information that is so relevant to this website.

Previously, I had a blurb on the LS9.9IC page about how Lance Armstrong had endorsed this Spin Bike and just now I jumped on the bandwagon and removed my LA endorsement comments from that page (which was a sad change to make).

Late Season Riding and New Fitness Bikes

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It’s that time of the year, here in the mid-west, where outdoor bike riding season is nearly over. Well, it may already be over for some people and may never be over for others (I’ve seen some pretty rugged cyclists out in the dead of winter).

For me, I usually consider bike riding season to mostly be within the daylight-savings-time date range although I can usually get some riding in before or after these dates. Riding at this time of year is much colder, of course, and you really need to dress properly but you also have less daylight.

Anyway, I have still been getting out for some late season rides but I don’t think that I will have a lot more (unless we have a really mild winter again). Yesterday was a really nice day to ride since there was very little wind and I was thinking about how much I will be missing my rides during the winter.

Well, I still have to stay in shape so that leads us right into the Indoor Cycling and Fitness Bike Season. This is the time of year when a lot of the fitness companies are coming out with their new Indoor Cycles and Exercise Bikes (along with all their other products) and the Fitness Clubs are trying hard to get new members. NordicTrack 2.5 Upright

I have been researching the latest Indoor Cycles and Exercise Bikes and updating this site with information and reviews on the new models (and archiving the older models when they are no longer available).

Some of the most recent exercise bikes to come out are the NordicTrack GX4.2 Recumbent and NordicTrack GX4.2 Upright and NordicTrack 2.5 Upright. NordicTrack seemed to find the right design a long time ago and they just make minor improvements to their previous year models each year. For example the GX4.2 Recumbent and Upright are very similar to last year’s GX4.0 series with some minor improvements (see the links above for more details on the changes).

If you prefer the convenience of an In-Home fitness routine (rather than a club or gym) and want to keep your costs down you also have the option of using a Bike Trainer or bike stand for your outdoor bike.

There are some pros and cons with Bike Trainers vs Exercise Bikes. Some of the advantages of a bike trainer is the much lower cost, of course, and the fact that you can ride your own outdoor bike that you are familiar with. Some of the disadvantages of trainers is that your outdoor bike on a trainer is probably not as sturdy, stable and comfortable as an exercise bike and you need to physically connect your bike to the trainer making it difficult to ride both indoors and outdoors (like at this time of year).

I am going to be keeping up on the latest indoor cycles, exercise bikes and spin bikes so you’ll probably be seeing more on the latest models and sales soon. I also have a story about the heart-rate monitor for my GPS unit but that is a whole different story which I’ll be saving that for another post soon.

Schedule for 2012 Tour of Elk Grove on CSN Chicago

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I did some digging and found out when the 2012 Tour of Elk Grove show will be televised on Comcast Sports Network (CSN Chicago). The TV listings online only go out a week or two and I could not find a schedule for the airing on the tourofelkgrove.com website or in a general Google search.

2012 Tour of Elk Grove on Comcast Sports Net Chicago

2012 Tour of Elk Grove to air on CSN Chicago

Since I wanted to know when this would be on, and mentioned that I would post the schedule here once I knew the dates, I called one of the organizers in charge of the TOEG and he was very helpful and gave me the full schedule.

The 2012 Tour of Elk Grove will be televised on CSN Chicago in September as follows:

  • Sun 9/2/12 at 4pm
  • Mon 9/3/12 at 3pm
  • Sat 9/15/12 at 4pm
  • Sun 9/23/12 at 1pm
  • Sat 9/29/12 at 4pm

All times specified are Central Time Zone.

Obviously, I believe these dates and times to be completely accurate at this time but if I find that there have been any scheduling changes or if I find any errors in the schedule above I will make the change here as soon as I become aware of any changes.

The organizers of the TOEG are hoping to get the event televised nationally in the future but this has not been arranged yet.

For those of us who were at this year’s TOEG,  some of the scenes should look familiar (and maybe we will show up as an extra in the crowd). For those who did not make this year’s event, maybe this will help inspire you to make it to next year’s Tour of Elk Grove ~ as a spectator or even as a participant!

Note: The photo above is not from the actual CSN show but a composite of one of my own photos of the TOEG pasted on to a blank TV screen to convey the message of this post.

 

2012 Tour of Elk Grove Review, Photos and Video

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As I mentioned in my previous post, the Tour of Elk Grove (TOEG) bike races were held last weekend and I did end up going to the event all 3 days (Fri, Sat, Sun). We did not get to the Tour until later in the afternoon on Saturday which was just before a big thunderstorm hit so I did not get to see anything on Saturday. Fortunately a friend of mine was there earlier in the day and contributed many of his photos, of  Saturday’s events to the about-bicycles.com website. The photo below was contributed by Dale Kiffel.

2012 Tour of Elk Grove, TOEG

2012 Tour of Elk Grove Race

I ended up taking a ton of photos at the TOEG and even a few short video clips on my camera. Between all of my photos and all the photos that my friend contributed it has taken me quite a while to filter through them, select the best ones and format and post them on the website but I am finally finished.

You can read the Tour of Elk Grove recap and see the photos and video on this site at the Tour of Elk Grove page. There are links to all of the photo pages and the short video at the bottom of the page.

As for the Tour of Elk Grove itself, this is a big event with professional cyclists from around the world as well as races for entry level riders. There’s even a Big Wheel Race for the Real Entry Level riders! I’ve included a few photos of this big event too :-).

This is a 3-day event with time trials on Friday, multiple stage Mens and Womens professional and amateur races on Saturday and Sunday and prize money somewhere around $75,000.

The start and finish line and main stage is located on Elk Grove Blvd at Audubon Park. The event is free and parking is where ever you can find a place (mostly in the neighborhoods on one side of the street)). The races take place on the residential and commercial roads in Elk Grove Village.

If you are into bike riding (you don’t even have to be into racing) I would think that you would find the TOEG interesting and a lot of fun. I sure did. You can get background on this event and all of the race details at the Tour of Elk Grove website at www.tourofelkgrove.com.

As for the article on this website, I have summarized the event on the main Tour of Elk Grove page and tried to capture the feel of the event, from a visitors perspective, with the photos (and short video).

The races are a lot of fun to watch even though I was not always at the finish line to see who actually won many of the races that I saw. Although there is a lot of excitement at the finish line, it is also nice to view different events in other locations (like by some of the sharp turns).

There were a number of Comcast people (with professional video equipment) at this event and I believe that it will be televised in the Chicagoland area soon. I am still working of getting the details on when and where it will be aired. Stay tuned. I’ll post an update here when I find out when it will be on.

So for those of us who were not able to fly off to France to see that little race that they have over there (le Tour de France, of course) :-), at least we have a UCI Category 2.1 international bike race of our own that we can go to right in the suburbs of Chicago!

The 2012 Tour of Elk Grove Race is on!

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Here’s another quick update to let you know that the Tour of Elk Grove (a little closer to home than the TDF for a lot of us) has just started this afternoon. I will do a more complete update on the race and activities after the entire event is over but I wanted to post an update now for anyone that may be interested in this event and that lives in (or is visiting) the Chicagoland area.

2012 Tour of Elk Grove Cyclist

2012 Tour of Elk Grove

Personally, I was disappointed that I only found out about the race after it was over last year and when I saw it televised on Comcast ~ which they will be doing again this year ~ so that is really the main reason for this blog post at this time. See our Cycling Events Page for a brief description of the TOEG and a link to the site with all the official information.

Anyway, I did go to the TOEG today (Friday) and it was very professional, a nice friendly environment and lot of fun to see.  I also learned quite a bit this afternoon. First of all, the main event area (Start and Finish Line) is at Audubon Park off of Elk Grove Blvd. There is directions to this on the TOEG website but they don’t tell you that Elk Grove Blvd is closed to automotive traffic and there is really no main parking area.

So basically what you need to do is to park in the neighborhood somewhere close to the park. This worked fine for me, and since I brought my bike with me ~ which I would recommend if possible ~ it was easy to get around. The other thing that I found out about from talking to a guy who had been going to the TOEG for 8 years now is that they close off different roads for events at different times and if your car is close to the main event area you may get locked in (until about 8pm) when they close off the roads for the main event.

I also brought my camera, since these events make pretty good photo-ops and took the photo above. I hope to get a lot more over the weekend.

So if you are into biking and looking for something fun to do this weekend, stop on by the Tour of Elk Grove.

le 2012 Tour de France Reflection and Summary

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Well, the 2012 edition of le Tour de France is over now and will soon fade into history. Personally, I am going to miss checking out the latest action, the incredible scenery, the crazy spectators (as they try to run alongside the cyclists on the steep mountain climbs), the wild 60 to 70mph rides down from the mountain peaks and even the sportscasters. It is becoming a summer tradition for me to record the TDF each night, whenever possible  (throughout most of July), and watch my recordings later in the day or evening. It’s like the kickoff to summer.

2012 Tour de France

as le 2012 Tour de France fades...

As for the results of le Tour, I’m sure those of you who have been into it this year, already know the results (since the final stage in Paris was on Sunday) but for those who may have had some interest in the TDF but were not totally into it (that’s hard to imagine) and/or may have missed the ending here is a brief summary of the Results of le Tour de France 2012:

It was a great year for Great Britain and for the Sky Procycling team. The overall winner of le Tour de France ~ the winner of the Yellow Jersey ~ was Bradley Wiggins of GBR and the Sky Procycling team. This was not much of a surprise for anyone who watched the final stages of the TDF since Wiggins wore the yellow jersey for most of the final stages and had a good lead on everyone else. This was, however, the first time (in 99 TDFs) that a cyclist from GBR won le Tour de France!

Second place in the overall standings (second best overall time) was Christopher Froome also of  GBR and Sky Procycling. A number of people thought that Froome might have had a chance to win the TDF himself but stuck to his team role and was a great help for Wiggins.

We (the good ol USA) had Tejay Van Garderen of the BMC Racing Team come in 5th place overall. Tejay also won the White Jersey for the best young rider.

Thomas Voeckler of France and Team Europcar won the Polka-dot Jersey for the King of the Mountain, or best climber. Voeckler wore the Yellow Jersey for quite a few stages in last year’s TDF. Voeckler also seems like a very likeable person and this was nice to see.

Peter Sagan of SVK and the Liquigas-Cannondale team won the Green Jersey (for the most points) along with 3 stage wins. Sagan was the cyclist with the Funky-Chicken, Forrest Gump and Hulk victory moves at the finish line of the stages that he won. He was also close to winning a few other stages and I was kind of hoping that he would so I could see what he had in mind for his next victory celebration.

Even the final stage, in Paris, was pretty exciting this year. The overall standings were pretty much decided by then but Team Sky had one more challenge (which they succeeded at) which was to help Mark Cavendish also of GBR, to win the final stage, for which he has been undefeated in the last 4 years. Cavendish had 3 stage wins, altogether,  in this year’s TDF.

Here’s the TDF Summary in an easier to read list (without my additional comments):

  • Yellow Jersey ~ General classification ~ Best Time Overall
    Bradley Wiggins Country: GBR  – Team: SKY PROCYCLING
  • Top 10 Best Overall Times:
    1. WIGGINS, Bradley Country, Team: GBR, SKY PROCYCLING
    2. FROOME, Christopher Country, Team: GBR, SKY PROCYCLING
    3. NIBALI, Vincenzo Country, Team: ITA, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE
    4. VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen Country, Team: BEL, LOTTO-BELISOL
    5. VAN GARDEREN, Tejay Country, Team: USA, BMC RACING
    6. ZUBELDIA, Haimar Country, Team: ESP, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN
    7. EVANS, Cadel Country, AUS, Team: BMC RACING
    8. ROLLAND, Pierre Country, Team: FRA, TEAM EUROPCAR
    9. BRAJKOVIC, Janez Country, Team: SLO, ASTANA PRO
    10.   PINOT, Thibaut Country, Team: FRA , FDJ-BIGMAT
  • Green Jersey ~ Most Points
    Peter Sagan Country: SVK LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE
  • Polka-Dot Jersey ~ King of the Mountains
    Thomas Voeckler Country: FRA TEAM EUROPCAR
  • White Jersey ~ Best Young Rider (under 26 years old)
    Tejay Van Garderen Country: USA BMC RACING TEAM
  • Team Classification Winner
    RADIOSHACK-NISSAN
  • Super-Combative Winner
    Chris Anker Sorensen Country:DEN Team: SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK

This information is, of course, available in more detail on plenty of other websites but I found it hard to find a basic text-style summary of the key Tour de France results all in one place so hopefully this will be helpful in some way.

On to the Olympics

So after racing for a little over 2,100 miles in about 3 weeks, many of the TDF riders get to go to the Summer Olympics to compete! I have heard that Wiggins is expected to come away with some kind of metal to add to his collection this year.

This article got quite a bit longer and more detailed than I expected when I sat down to write it but I am glad that I spent some time on the TDF wrap-up. As for myself, I’ll be out riding more bike trails in our area to help with my Tour de France Withdrawal. I am actually working on adding some additional pages to the Des Plaines River Trail article (again) since I just rode and photographed another 15 miles of this trail last week.

And for one final, slightly related note, a short time ago I had heard that Proform is supposed to be coming out with a brand new version of the popular, high tech, Proform TDF Indoor Cycle very soon. I will, of course, stay up to date on this and post an update as soon as I have any additional information. See our Proform TDF Indoor Cycle page for the latest update on this.