We're speeding up on Tour de France time.  Excitement is high as Lance Armstrong clips up for another return to the race.  The never ending onslaught of doping accusations and testing continue to hound the American rider.  However, amid the clamor leading into Tour time, the AFLD has cooled their hot-pursuit of Lance.  The French anti-doping agency's president Pierre Bordry has praised Armstrong and promised he will be treated in the same fashion as other riders.  Without delving into the quagmire of politics that surround testing and the various cycling alliances, let's back away a bit and approach this with broader vision.

The sports world is plagued with charges of performance-enhancing and the ugly mess has besmirched the basic joy of sport.  I have been involved in countless arguments with friends about "cheaters".  These trying times have left fans and hopefuls discouraged with the state of sports.  Lance Armstrong has long been the poster boy for doping accusations though he's never failed a test.  Certain people just can't or won't believe that someone is that good... that determined...  that strong.  I wish I could say without a doubt that I knew he was clean.  He is the only one who knows.  And I trust him.  I don't want to lose that trust.  I believe that his fortitude is from an inner source.  The man beat cancer.  That requires a strength that cannot be denied.  My mother beat (and continues to beat) cancer and I can tell you, that her strength and perseverance is remarkable.  Those who doubt Lance, can doubt all they want.  But, be aware that within the slings that are levied against Armstong exists a denial of true human perseverance and will to endure.

On our Amore e Vita (presented by Life Time Fitness/Velo Vie) team we have a true rider in Chad Gerlach.  He is a man who has battled back from dark days.  The spirit in his eyes is of ambitious hope and determined resolve.  As we are inundated with stories of nefarious "nogoodniks", let us not toss out the good ones and what they represent.  Ride strong Lance and ride even stronger Chad!

GERLACH Takes Tour de Nez Overall Omnium;

TALANSKY Best Young Rider

Andrew Talansky & Chad Gerlach on the podium

Chad Gerlach continues tearing up the track in his first year back.  The Amore e Vita (presented by Life Time Fitness/Velo Vie) star won the Tour de Nez in Nevada.  It was the first overall win for Gerlach this year.  He took the overall title on the back of a fantastic Stage 2 crit (criterium: street race) win as well as strong finishes throughout the omnium (multi-race event combining different cycling disciplines/races).

We don’t intend to dredge up what Chad has been through in his four years off from the sport (you can google if you’d like, but you should get the gist by hearing that he was on A&E’s “Intervention”).  Clearly the man is breaking through the storm clouds.  Chad is an incredibly personable guy, approachable and down to Earth.  There is strength in his smile and a steadfast passion as he naturally assumes a leadership role on the team.  By now he calls himself a veteran and has the swagger of humble champ.

It’s no wonder (or small feat) that he won the Omnium.  He described his cycling specialty as being an all-around rider, comfortable sprinting, climbing or enduring and just as satisfied to set a teammate up for a win.  This time around, he excelled at all-of-the-above and took the win himself.  Bravo Chad!  To many more!

Check-in with us again for exclusive Team Amore e Vita content and coverage of the team traveling the country.

Worthy of more than just a post-script; Andrew Talansky took the classification of Best Young Rider.  The kid is true grit.  Expect big things from him in races to come.

by Coach Troy Jacobson

The bicycle is a wonderful human powered machine. It enables us to propel our bodies forward and travel with a relatively low amount effort and force on the flats and up and down the hills. This is a result of bicycle gearing and something known as a 'gear inch'.

The bigger the gear inch, the harder the bike is to pedal and the further the distance it moves with each pedal revolution. For example, try to put your chain on your 'big ring' on the front and the '12 tooth cog' on the back and then attempt to ride your bike from a complete stop. It's not an easy task!

On the other hand, the opposite holds true if you use a 'small gear inch' such as the small front chain ring on the front and the large cog on the back. Now try that same drill and you'll see the bike rolls very easily while not traveling very far per crank arm revolution.

The front of the drive train on most road bikes contains a big ring and one or two smaller rings. The manufacturer typically stamps a number to the inside of each ring indicating the number of 'teeth' the ring has. Most stock bikes nowadays have a 53/39 (or a 52 big front ring and a 39 tooth small front ring).

The 'rear sprocket cluster' or cassette typically has 8 -- 10 'cogs'. Each cog also has a certain number of teeth and again, the number is stamped on the inside of each cog by the manufacturer. Most modern road bikes come with 10 cogs starting with a 12 tooth small cog and working up to a 25 tooth large cog in various jumps such as 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25. Again, this can vary from bike to bike and component manufacturer to component manufacturer.

To determine gear inches when riding, you need to perform a simple mathematical equation.

Gear Inch Value =  Number of Teeth on the Front Ring / Number of Teeth on the Rear Cog x Diameter of the Wheels.

Most road bikes have a 27" diameter wheel while most Mountain bikes (and some smaller road bikes) have 26" diameter wheels.

Let's use our formula to calculate the gear inch of a few common gear ratios on a standard 27" wheel road bike.

BIG RING EXAMPLES
53 (front ring) divided by 15 (rear cog) x 27 = 95 (Gear Inches)
53 (front ring) divided by 12 (rear cog) x 27 = 119 (Gear Inches)
53 (front ring) divided by 21 (rear cog) x 27 = 68 (Gear Inches)

SMALL RING EXAMPLES
39 (front ring) divided by 15 (rear cog) x 27 = 70 (Gear Inches)
39 (front ring) divided by 21 (rear cog) x 27 = 50 (Gear Inches)

As you can see, the smaller the gear inch, the easier the bike will be to pedal. This is why you climb a hill in the small ring and push the flats in the big ring... in most instances.

It has been noted that in our Spinervals DVDs, we sometimes 'cross over' and use the small ring as an 'easy spin' gear when sometimes the large ring and a larger cog in the back accomplishes a similar if not even smaller gear inch. As such, pedaling in the 39x15 (70 inches) is actually more difficult than pedaling in the 53x21 (68 inches) Why do we do this? The main reason is to keep it simple and not confuse the process of gear selection on the trainer by shifting all of the time from the large to the small ring and vice versa (not to mention the increased chance of dropping your chain). In addition, many cyclists are not aware of the characteristics of gear inch selection. The way we determine gearing in a Spinervals workout 'makes sense' and is more intuitive, (i.e. small ring equals soft-pedaling or high cadence work whereas big ring training equals higher power output levels). The key of course is to choose the gearing when doing the workout DVDs that best suit YOUR personal needs but stay within the general framework of the workout structure. In other words, a 53x15 for one person may be entirely different than a 53x15 for someone else due to trainer resistance, tire pressure and other factors.

I hope this overview is helpful and clarifies a few things regarding the magic of the bicycle and gear selection. Good luck and train smart!

Everyone can come up with an excuse or five.  Excuses that keep us in stasis, or worse, slowly deteriorating.  Switch things up.  HERE's a quick list debunking 5 myths about commuting to work by bike.  Keep on cycling.

photo: Stephanie Williams

Mamos standing atop the podium recieving the spoils of a Sunday's labor.

Congrats Philip!  And go Team Amore e Vita!!!!

We'll be keeping up with our team as the travel to Cali to compete June 28th.

You're out on a ride and, ppsssstttttt....the sound of a flat! Oh no! What do you do now?! Hopefully you're prepared with the right tools and knowledge about how to change the flat on the road so you can finish your ride. In this short videocast, Coach Troy demonstrates how to quickly change a clincher tire (tube) using a standard CO2 Cartridge. Practice this at home so that when it happens on the road, you're ready for it!

HERE are 6 bonkers bikes, that you probably won't cruise the trails with...  but, we're always approving of new ideas and concepts when it comes to our two wheeled friends, so keep on creating.

Fix a man's bike and he'll bike for a day...  teach him to fix it, and he'll fix it for life?

THIS is a great concept coming from our friends in Pittsburgh (go Steelers).  Basically a collaborative effort about fixing bikes as a community, connecting you with other cyclists and strengthening your bond with your bike.

Join a bike club at your Life Time Fitness and connect in a similar fashion!

right to left: Chad GERLACH, Volodymyr STARCHYK (ear), Roberto Gaggioli (back),

Yuri METLUSHENKO , Andrew TALANSKY

The Amore e Vita (presented by Life Time Fitness/Velo Vie) cycle team is in Minnesota for the Nature Valley Grand Prix.  It's a steady pace of race race race.  They spent the day with Life Time Fitness at the club across from HQ.

Aussi Richard England (right) talked about how great it is to have a partnership with a place dedicated to fitness and was awestruck at the club itself.  Richard didn't start out as a cyclist,

he was busy playing tennis, but now he's part of a diverse group of great cyclists and guys.  They seem to get along famously, laughing enjoying the ride wearing their vicious road rash scars and knocks like badges of honor.

That pride comes from dedication.  These guys had just completed a twenty hour car ride from Philly so the chance to stretch the legs (with a 30 mile ride) and relax at the club was a welcome bit of fun and rest.

Yesterday was their time trial in St. Paul and Roberto reports that the team seemed a bit tired still.  But, during the evening crit (shorter, wild, street race), the picked up and was in the top 10 ready for sprinter Metlushenko to make a break but, with 8 laps to go Yuri (Melushenko) got a flat that dropped him to the back of the pack.

Better luck today in today's Canon Falls Road Race.  We'll have news on that as well as a feature on Chad Gerlach tomorrow as we gear up to hit the trenches with the team Friday for the Uptown Crit.

Volodymyr STARCHYK , Philipp MAMOS

Yuri METLUSHENKO

HERE is a site that has got it right.  Taking old bike parts and 're-purposing' them to create new items.  A great spot to grab a gift for your favorite cyclist.  The big wheels keep on turning.  Supporting efforts like these also help us reduce the junk we leave on our big, round globe.

Mitts to keep your top ten cozy.  Not all of us live in perfect climates and/or you want to push your limits with extreme type training.  This way you can cruise along without losing a pinky to frostbite.  Check out the mitts right HERE

Gawker is reporting that a Fox News van/crew hit and dragged a NYC cyclist through Central Park.  Bizarre story HERE .  To all cyclists: be careful out there.  While hanging with the Amore&Vita (Life Time Fitness/Velo Vie) cycling team recently, they talked about how every cyclist knows someone who has been injured by cars while riding.  Keep aware, obey those road laws (even if they're cumbersome) and ride safe always.  Remember, it's always safe in the state of the art cycle studios at Life Time Fitness.  And never stop cycling.

Last year's Life Time Fitness Leadville race was absolutely awesome.  And I might say awesome too often, but, this is a case that warrants major hyperbole.  Armstrong made his foray back into cycling at the event and LTF was there in full force.  Expect an even bigger and better Leadville experience this year, but I thought we should get a little nostalgic for a second as we barrel into summer.

You won't always have Team Amore e Vita (presented by Life Time Fitness/Velo Vie) star Chad Gerlach there as a crossing guard.

HERE is an interesting article about bike laws.  While I tend to be a stickler for rules and regulations in society (which is odd because I'm a diehard rebel), some great points are made.  I tend to think that even when certain road laws don't make sense or seem cumbersome, we all need to subscribe to some universal conventions in order for our society to function properly and so that we're not impeding each other.  However, the article makes a great point about the fact that most traffic laws were either established without consideration for the cycle or simply ignoring citizens traveling in modes besides an automobile.  Bring it up at the next meeting/ride with your Life Time Fitness cycle club for an interesting discussion piece...  and if you're not a member of a cycle club, ask a coach and join!

Nothing that's more of summer bummer than a busted bike.  It's one step up from having your bike stolen, which has happened to me twice in my life.  Here's a great little piece reviewing three titles aimed at helping you self-correct the problem.  Fix-It

This is taking green to the next level.  A bike made out of wood with environmentally friendly sealants and parts.  Check 'em out HERE

73 MPHs....on a home-made jet bike.  Wowie Zowie.  It's like Pee-Wee's Big Adventure meets the Fast and the Furious.   Check out this article about the dude who strapped rockets onto his bike and lived to tell the STORY