By Erik D'entremont

The CRW 2024 Centuries are currently being planned and will provide the same great riding experience to our CRW members this year. Riders last year might have noticed some new featured water stop sponsors: The New England Classic Charity Bike Tours at Georgetown, The NEC 550 at Mt. Wachusett, and Friends of the Mattapoisett Rail Trail, as well as many new CRW volunteers!

We appreciate all of our volunteers who make centuries possible and welcome more. Thank you CRW volunteers, you rocked it! 

We intend to continue with these great folks and add more, with a new dedicated SAG from Bikes not Bombs at all our centuries.

In addition, CRW riders were rewarded with new cool CRW century sprockets for finishers of any of the routes in the series. We also hope to develop some new routes including a gravel option and a 30-35 mile route to one or more of our century rides.

Here is our 2024 century series which you will be able to register for using our cool CRW app or on the CRW website (as the registration process opens, it will be announced in the ChainLink).

The North to New  Hampshire Century (N2NH) on  May 19^th starting at the Wakefield High School or Technical School. The spring flat century will have several routes to get you ready for all your summer century rides. 

We plan to run a fully-supported event with 3 beautiful routes, 100 miles, 62 miles, and 50 miles. You will enjoy food and drink at rest stops along the route at American Legion Park Georgetown, Shanahan Park Groveland, and Sawyer Park Kensington NH. There will be an After-Ride Party at Wakefield High School from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. How about that Hearth Pizza last year, yummy!

The Climbs to the Clouds (CTTC) on August 11 will test your biking abilities with lots of climbing and a climb up Mt. Wachusett.  This Devo semi-supported ride will have 2 beautiful routes, 100 miles and 63 miles. 

The CTTC hilly rides will climb up Mt. Wachusett for those wanting a challenge. There will be unsupported rest stops including Berlin Orchards and at the base of Mt. Wachusett. Come climb Massachusetts iconic mountain with views of New England. Of course we expect it to rain; would it be fun without it?

The Cranberry Harvest Century (CHC) on October 13^th our fall classic in Plymouth MA with beautiful routes passing cranberry bogs to Mattapoisett and back. 

 Come join us for another fully-supported event with 4 beautiful rides, 100 miles, 62 miles, 53 miles, and new 35 mile route. The CHC captures some of the most charming roads in New England. It is also relatively flat and very manageable for riders of all abilities. All rides start at Myles Standish State Park in Plymouth and travel through the cranberry bogs in Rochester, Wareham, Carver, and Acushnet.

Rides include rest stops at Eastover, Tamarak, and on the beautiful wharf in Mattapoisett. You will enjoy food and drink at rest stops along the route and after party at College Pond at the finish. We will rock out by the pond with sandwiches, pickles and beverages while enjoying the view of College Pond. 

So there you have it, another great year of centuries is coming up, register early and volunteer. We appreciate and look forward to seeing you at our centuries.

Cheers from the Century Committee,

Erik D'Entremont and Mark Nardone

By John O'Dowd

It’s done. The numbers are in. The 2024 Winter Ride Challenge is now part of CRW history. Sixty-nine members rode their bikes from December 15th through March 15th .

The results are:

Racers: 14 (includes three whose hours on the 15th didn’t get onto the leaderboard)

Weekend Warriors: 13

Recreationalists: 18

Participants: 24

The top scores (hours) for each of the categories were:

Racers:

Pamela Blalock - 203.25

Nickolas Linsky – 168

Nick Lepeshkin – 155

Weekend Warriors:

Robert Herold – 91.77

Jim Iannone – 78

Sunny Statsny – 76.97

Recreationalists:

Amy Juodawlkis – 49.65

Guillermo Munoz – 48.96

Clyde Kessel – 45.8

Participants:

Lisa O’Connor – 24

Riccardo Mazzolini – 22.5

Jack Vinson – 20.93

Raffle Winners were:

Racers (CRW gloves): Beth Rosenzweig, Doug Cornelius, Harold Hatch, Nickolas Linsky, and Nick Lepeshkin

Warriors (lights): David Wilson, Erik Sobel, Larry Kernan, Mike Laurin, and Sunny Stastny

Recreationalists (ear buds): Guillermo Munoz, Jeanne Peihl, Jenna Maurer, Joan Sarles, and Randolph Williams

Participants (inner tubes): Ron Molin, Sylvia Lustig, Michael Weintraub, Susan Linz, and Lynne O’Riorden

Raffles winners were selected using a highly sophisticated, state of the art random number generator operated by highly trained Ed Cheng. Special thanks to Randolph Williams (President) and Amy Juodawlkis (Executive VP) for providing technical support and crowd control, and Harold Hatch (Devo ride leader) who came up with the whole idea.

We had a nice little post challenge get together at the Mighty Squirrel on St. Patrick’s day where winners received their prizes and were served drinks and appetizers.

Keep in shape this season so you will be ready to take on next winter’s challenge!

By Amy Juodawlkis

The CRW Women’s/Nonbinary Program is happy to announce it is hosting a ride on International Women’s Day, on Friday, March 8, 2024 at 6:30 AM.

International Women’s Day is “a day of collective global activism and celebration that belongs to all those committed to forging women’s equality” (source: IWD website). The day is commemorated in many ways around the world, from conferences and luncheons to online dancing and fun runs. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Inspire Inclusion.” Organizations and groups are encouraged to find ways to “…ensure the needs, interests, and aspirations of women and girls are valued and included.”

The Women’s/Nonbinary Program’s goal is to invite more women, nonbinary, and female-identifying folks onto the road, foster connection with other women in the club, and act as an on-ramp to co-ed areas of the club. Its co-leads are Robyn Betts and Amy Juodawlkis.

“International Women’s Day falls on a Friday this year, so it is a no-brainer to pair it with our program’s Friday AM social ride, the Praline Croissant,” said Amy Juodawlkis. “To celebrate International Women’s Day, we will host a coffee stop at the end of the ride.” 

Leaving from the Minuteman Bikeway terminus at Alewife in Cambridge, the Praline Croissant is a weekly, 19-mi no-drop ride with 600 ft of climbing. This weekday ride leaves at 6:30 AM, and is open to women, nonbinary, and female-identifying riders. The pace is 13-16 mph, and leaders pause in set locations to keep the group together. Though urban in nature, it is a lovely route, passing through seven towns, and past Spy Pond, Horn Pond, and the Mystic Lakes. ***Breaking: We are actively looking to also schedule a similar weekend ride open to everyone. Watch ChainLink and the Calendar for more information.***

“Our ride on March 8 is a chance to ride in solidarity with International Women’s Day, and to elevate women’s participation, growth, and empowerment in cycling,” said Robyn Betts. “We hope to see a great turnout for this event.”

By Eli Post

March offers intermediate warm days

And if you ride, you get praise 

It may be before the season 

But it's not for us to reason

The need to be out and play

Alongside a snowy sleigh 

A short ride on a warm day will be ok

You might even shout out "Hooray!"

As you conquer the open road 

And have a story that can be told 

We strive to come up with advice we can provide 

But we hope you enjoy your ride 

And credit us for this poem, so

The biking world will show 

That we are in the know 

When you reach a new plateau 

We will have more to say in April

When we plan to be more wakeful 

By Jerry Skurla

The days are getting longer and temps are getting warmer, but Spring is still a month or two away.  Start your Spring Cleaning early and look through your basement, garage, and shed for items for CRW's 3rd Annual Spring Swap Meet & Rides on Sunday, May 5th!

Just use the checklist list below to identify stuff you no longer need or want:

• Complete bikes, frames, wheels, and tires 
• Components, parts, accessories, and tools
• Car racks, travel cases, bike racks, and bike bags
• Clothing including shoes, jerseys, hats, and jackets

Like last year, there will be "free stuff" tables to give away items, and find free gems for yourself. You can also sell your stuff and buy from others. Everyone wins!

There will be two rides in the morning, followed by the Swap Meet in the afternoon, so it's also a great opportunity to get in early season miles.  The location is Harrington Elementary School, 328 Lowell St, Lexington, MA.

Please write comments below with any questions.

By Amy Juodawlkis

On February 4th, the CRW Women's/Nonbinary Program hosted a winter hiking event at the Middlesex Fells Reservation. We met at Medford High School and began with a tailgate including coffee, munchkins, and other treats. This gave everyone a chance to warm up, fuel up, and socialize before our hike.

At 9 am, our group of 27 members and guests set out on a beautiful 4.1- mile hike on gently rolling fire roads. The peaceful scenery was the perfect backdrop for great conversations along the trail. Those with binoculars were rewarded with water bird sightings at our photo-op stop by the reservoir.

Everyone had a fantastic time connecting in nature. The Women's/Nonbinary Program aims to continue offering seasonal events open to our women, non-binary, and female-identifying membership. Consider joining us for fresh air and friendship on our next adventure!

By Nancy Clark

Most nutrition advice is targeted to the average American: Don't drink fruit juice. Eat less sugar. Stay away from pasta. Take the saltshaker off the table. Does this same advice pertain to athletes? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.

Physiologically speaking, the body of a healthy, fit athlete differs significantly from the body of the unfit "average American." For example, compared to an unfit per-son, an athlete's muscles readily take up sugar (glucose) from the blood; this means "sugar spikes" are less of a concern.

This article highlights the confusion stemming from nutrition advice that does not always apply to the needs of athletes. One size does not fit all!

I've stopped eating (fattening) potato, pasta & starchy carbs with dinner. I eat a pile of veggies, instead." 

To start, starchy carbs are not inherently fattening. Excess calories of any kind of food are fattening. Eating a "pile of veggies" for "healthier" carbs is expensive, time consuming, likely to result in a very high fiber diet (leading to undesired pit stops), and unlikely to optimally refuel muscles.  

By Eli Post

John Hughes contributed a training article for many years. His writing was first rate, and the content helped our members improve their riding skills. He served us with distinction. We regret that John passed in February 2024.

John’s website contains many articles that have yet to be on CRW and we can bring you his training wisdom for months to come. I worked closely with John and we developed a friendship. I will miss him.

Eli Post
WheelPeople Editor

Below is abstracted from a testimonial to John, written by his family. 

TABERNASH – John Lewis Hughes, 74, a college administrator turned international cycling coach, passed away Feb. 4, 2024, following emergency surgery. He was a caring spouse and friend, a passionate cyclist and cross-country skier.

A Celebration of Life was held on February 23, at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, Granby, CO.  A celebration will be held in Boulder in mid-March.

Son of the Rev. James B. and Ruth L. Hughes, John was born in Seattle on April 22, 1949. His love for hiking, backpacking and mountaineering began in his youth. Graduating in 1967 from Stadium High School in Tacoma, Wash., he headed south to Stanford University, where he remained for nearly a quarter-century.

He earned a degree in history and a master’s in German Studies at Stanford, ran the main auditorium and eventually held top roles in planning and budgeting as associate vice president and then senior associate dean. While at Stanford, he earned an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

John relished ultramarathon cycling throughout North America, setting several course records, and in France, riding Paris-Brest-Paris five times. He competed in the Race Across America multiple times as a rider or crew chief.

In 1994, John and his wife, Barbara Harvie, moved from California to Boulder, CO where he began a new career as endurance cycling coach and author. (The couple later divorced)

Certified as both a personal trainer and sport coach, John had clients in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. He spoke at the 2011 International Conference on Cycling and Health in Shanghai, China. For 12 years, he led the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association. He wrote two books on endurance cycling and numerous articles for Ultra Cycling and later RoadBikeRider.com.

After his marriage ended, John met Carol Garnand. Starting with a few hikes, they began dating in 2004. They formalized their relationship with a commitment ceremony in 2011 and married in Boulder on December 14, 2019, with John’s brother officiating. That same year, they bought a house at Tabernash, where John continued road and mountain biking. Together they enjoyed skiing, camping and kayaking, as well as concerts, opera, travel and John’s cats.

John was proud of Carol’s skills as a silk artist and became her devoted set-up helper at art shows. Their travels took them to Norway for skiing and to India for daughter Erika’s wedding. He embraced Carol’s adult daughters as his own and was excited to be a grandfather. 

Survivors include John’s wife, Carol; her daughters, Kirstin (Bryan), Lisa (Adam) and Erika (Kedar); granddaughter, Zelda; brother, Dick (Rachelle); nephew, Matt (Michelle); and niece, Alison.

Contributions may be made to Grand County Wilderness Group, for whom John was board secretary; Colorado public radio/TV or UC Boulder Artist Series Fund.

By Coach John Hughes

Unfortunately, John Hughes recently passed away.  Read Eli Post's Memorial Article on John Hughes in another article posted in this edition of the March WheelPeople.

I’m almost 75 and have the fitness of a 53-year-old (although I felt older shoveling the foot of snow in the driveway this morning). This column explains the importance of your fitness age and how to estimate it.

Fitness age is an estimate of how biologically old your body is compared to your chronological age. Hopefully your fitness age is less than your biological age, e.g., you’re 60 years old and your fitness age is about the same as a 50-year-old’s fitness. If this is the case you’ll probably live longer than most 60-year-olds. And if your fitness age is more than your chronological age, you’re at increased risk of dying prematurely.  And if you develop a chronic disease, the symptoms  will probably progress more slowly than if your fitness age is low.

Aerobic fitness normally declines with age. One meta-analysis looked at  Cardiorespiratory fitness as a quantitative predictor of all-cause mortality. “Epidemiological studies have indicated an inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and coronary heart disease (CHD) or all-cause mortality in healthy participants.” The researchers quantified this relationship by analyzing data from 33 studies with 102,980 participants. From the data in the different studies researchers estimated cardiorespiratory fitness as maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max). The researchers concluded, “Better CRF was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality.” 

Norwegian scientists studied the relationships between aerobic fitness (VO2 max) and how long people lived.  They directly measured the VO2max of thousands of Norwegians, aged between 20 and 90. They also tabulated markers of their general health, including body composition, blood pressure, heart rate and exercise habits. They found the higher the VO2 max the longer people lived. They found that A simple nonexercise model of cardiorespiratory fitness predicts long-term mortality. 

They developed a model, which uses gender, chronological age, height in centimeters, weight in kilograms, resting heart rate, how frequently you exercise, how long you exercise and how hard you exercise.

I’m a 75-year-old male. I’m 178 cm (5’ 10”) tall and weigh 75 kg (165 lbs).  My resting HR is 50 bpm. I exercise most days of the week for more than 30 minutes (like shoveling snow) and some days I get a little sweaty and out of breath. The model says my body is 53 years old!

This is the model to Test your physical age. (Here’s a handy metric conversion website).

This model is derived from a large population and on average the cohort of people with the same fitness indicators as me have the same fitness age. My actual fitness age is somewhere between about 50 and 60, probably toward the lower end. The value of this model is it helps you understand the factors that contribute to your fitness age. Most of the factors are in your control except gender, age and height.

The Northwestern Mutual lifespan model also helps you understand what factors are important. The Northwestern model uses gender, age, height and weight, family medical history, blood pressure, stress in your life, exercise, diet, alcohol use, smoking and use of recreational drugs. The model is set up so that each time you enter an answer it recalculates your age, which helps you to understand which factors are contributing to your projected age. My predicted lifespan is 101 years!  I’ve been keeping training info in blank journals since 1974.  I have enough blank journals to use until age 90. I wonder if that’s enough – or too many?

My geriatric curve is also important. Most people’s health and fitness start to irrevocably decline after about age 50, and as they get older their health and fitness decline more rapidly. This is called the geriatric curve. Depending on your current fitness you may be able to get fitter, i.e., reverse your geriatric curve; however, eventually your fitness will start to decline. You can slow down the rate of decline – but you can’t stop it. I want to keep cycling, hiking, skiing and kayaking into my 90s and then drop dead. This is called “squaring the geriatric curve.”

Bottom line: You have control over most of the factors that determine how long and how well you will live. Live long and prosper.

Copyright © 2024 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

The French NutriNet-Sante study found that eating dinner late in the evening is associated with increased risk for both heart attacks and strokes (Nature Communications, Dec 2023;14(7899)). Having a first meal for the day (breakfast or lunch) late in the morning also increased risk. The researchers followed 103,389 people, average age 42.6, for 7.2 years, during which time there were 2036 cases of heart disease, 988 cases of strokes, and 1071 cases of heart attacks, angina and heart stents.

The researchers found that each hour of delaying dinner after 5 PM was associated with a 7 percent increased risk for a stroke, and that eating dinner after 9 PM was associated with a 28 percent increased risk for a heart attack, compared to eating before

 8 PM. They also found that each hour of delaying the first meal of the day after 8 AM was associated with increased risk for both heart attacks and strokes. The authors recommend eating both early dinners and early breakfasts.

Other Studies have Shown Similar Results

• Skipping breakfast has been associated with overweight and obesity (Obes Res Clin Pract, 2020;14:1-8), increased risk for a heart attack (Clin Nutr, 2020;39:2982-2988) and diabetes (J Nutr, 2019;149:106-113).

• Eating just before going to bed at night was associated with increased heart attack risk (J Am Heart Assoc, 2020;9:e016455), obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes in women (BMC Public Health, 2018;18:1-12) and heart attacks (Circulation, 2013;128:337-343).

• Eating late breakfasts tends to make longer overnight fasts so you may feel hungrier later on in the day, leading to higher food intake and increased insulin production. Skipping breakfast has also been associated with higher morning blood pressure and cholesterol levels (J Nutr Sci, Nov 2014; 3: e56).

Why Late Dinners are Less Healthful

Eating dinner just before you go to bed causes high rises in blood sugar levels and increased amounts of fat to be deposited in fat cells while you are sleeping. Resting muscles draw almost no sugar from the bloodstream and what little they do remove from the bloodstream requires insulin (Sports Medicine, Feb 2, 2018;1-13:), while contracting muscles pull sugar from the bloodstream and don’t even need insulin to do so (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, Sept 2007;77(3):S87-S91).

• If you do not move around and contract your muscles after eating, you increase risk for high blood sugar levels.

• You burn the lowest amount of calories when you sleep. When you go to sleep after eating, you burn fewer calories from that food so more of it is stored as fat (Metabolism, 2009;58(7):920-926).

• Several studies show that blood sugar levels respond best to insulin during the day and worst at night (Nat Rev Endocrinol, 2019;15(2):75-89).

• Cortisol levels are higher during sleep and raise blood sugar levels by blocking the effects of insulin (Ann NY Acad Sci, 2017;1391(1):20-34).

Changing the evening mealtime of non-obese men from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM significantly increased their markers for becoming obese and developing diabetes (J Clin Endocrinol Metab, Aug 1, 2020;105(8):2789-2802). They had higher blood sugar, higher insulin, higher cortisol levels, and reduced ability to remove and use fat from their cells. These are all major risk factors for obesity.

My Recommendations

The least healthful time to eat is just before you go to bed, and the most healthful times to eat are before you exercise or within an hour after you finish exercising (Appetite, 2013 Jan;60(1):246-251). Exercising after eating causes contracting muscles to pull sugar from the bloodstream, which helps to prevent high rises in blood sugar. Eating within an hour after exercising also helps to prevents a high rise in blood sugar. Your muscles can extract sugar from the bloodstream maximally without needing insulin for about an hour after you finish exercising, but this ability is then gradually lost over about 17 hours or until you contract your muscles again (J Appl Physiol, 2005;8750-7587).

Gabe Mirkin, M.D., is a sports medicine doctor and fitness guru. A practicing physician for more than 50 years and a radio talk show host for 25 years, Dr. Mirkin has run more than 40 marathons and is now a serious tandem bike rider with his wife, Diana. His website is http://drmirkin.com/. Click to read Gabe’s full bio.

© Copyright 2024, Gabe Mirkin MD, all rights reserved.