Bicycling Jerseys that Send a Message

If you bicycle on the road, then you've probably been nearly run off of it sometime by a discourteous or oblivious driver. Here's your chance to talk back. Wear a jersey with a message. 

I can't guarantee the fit. Looks to me as if they're styled for men, but wearing the message may make giving up a little style worth it. There are a bunch of different statements available and they're inexpensive too. Be safe.

Training Plan for the New Year

I'm often asked about how to train for a bike tour. With the new year soon upon us, I thought it a good time to present the following 6-week bicycling training plan. It can be followed by someone new to cycling.

Week    Mon    Tues     Wed    Thurs     Fri       Sat       Sun       Total
1           off        ½ hr     off      ½ hr      off       1 hr      off        2 hrs
2           off        ½ hr     off      ½ hr      off       ½ hr     1½ hr   3 hrs
3           off        ½ hr     off      1 hr       off       1 hr      2 hr      4½ hrs
4           off        1 hr      off      1 hr       off       1 hr      3 hr      6 hrs
5           off        1 hr      off      1 hr       off       1 hr      4 hr      7 hrs
6           off        1 hr      off      1 hr       off       1½ hr   4½ hr   8 hrs


Plan: Your schedule should be personalized for you. And remember – it should be fun. Feel free to modify your training plan based on your own physical condition, daily schedule and preferences. If your time doesn’t allow you to exercise on the weekends, then plan your long rides during the week. If you’re starting a new fitness plan, be sure to check with your physician first.

Speed: You’ll notice that the training plan is based upon time. I don’t mention speed. Feel free to bike at your own pace. Your “time in the saddle” is more important than the number of miles you cover or how fast you go.

Pace: Strive to keep an even pedaling pace (cadence) as you bike. Spin your feet evenly and smoothly through the pedal stroke. Use your gears effectively, shifting up or down as the terrain changes to keep a constant cadence. It is easier on your knees to pedal quickly and smoothly at an easier gear rather than slowly and firmly on a hard gear.

Stretching: The best routine is to stretch after you have cycled 10 – 15 minutes, and then again at the end of your work-out. Be sure to include stretches for your legs, shoulders and neck muscles.

Hills: The more hills you ride, the stronger you’ll get. They not only strengthen your muscles, but they help you practice shifting and give you confidence. Don’t be afraid of hills. If you learn to downshift to an easier gear at the bottom of the hill, you’ll learn to spin easily at a constant pace and use less energy. Learn to enjoy the slower pace that hills allow. Listen to the sounds around you that you can only hear when you don’t have the wind in your ears.

Intervals: In addition to including some hills in your plan, it’s a good idea to include some interval training too. Intervals are short periods of high exertion followed by periods of recovery. After warming up with easy riding for 15 minutes, try suddenly cycling as hard as you can to the next tree or up a hill.  Once at the top, slow down to your normal speed until you’ve recovered. Do this a few times and then continue on with your ride at an easy pace to cool down. Intervals are an excellent way to increase your strength and speed.

Spinning: Gym classes that incorporate spinning bikes are an excellent substitute for bicycling outdoors. Join your local fitness club and take a spinning class instead of forcing yourself to bike in the pouring rain or through a blizzard. Remember – keep training fun.

Cross-training: Feel free to use one of your work-out sessions each week to cross-train. Use the time to hike, run, ski, play tennis or take an aerobics class. If you mix up your training, you’ll be less likely to get injured, bored or tired of it.

Weight-training: In addition to increasing your aerobic capacity, it’s a good idea to strengthen your muscles at the same time. Consider lifting weights twice a week in addition to your biking schedule. If you’re new to weight training, start with very light weights to avoid injury. Be sure that a trained professional shows you proper technique and equipment use.

Advanced Training: If you have signed up to do a more advanced tour, including a cross-country tour, you should double or triple your weeks of training. Steadily increase your weekly mileage to build endurance. Work up to two or three 6-hour cycling days in a row. The more fit you are before the tour, the better you’ll likely enjoy it. If you’re not as in shape as you wish you were, you can always ride part of the day during the tour in the van. By the end of the week, you’ll be in great shape for your next trip!

Resources: If you are new to cycling, a good book is “A Woman’s Guide to Cycling” by Susan Weaver. It covers many topics about bicycling including training. Also, we are always available to help. Please do not hesitate to call or email us for advice or instruction.

Return from Outdoor Adventure Conference

We just returned from the America Outdoors Association conference in Reno, NV. The record cold temperatures made sure to keep us inside so we'd attend all the sessions and visit all the vendors. Look for new WomanTours hats in 2010 and expect our tour leaders to be thrilled with our new fancy food and drink coolers. 

The conference was also the first time that some of our staff met one another. Sandra and Michelle hit it off though. They brought money home from their one night out at the casino.

Jackie, Jen, Marian from the women's adventure travel company, Adventures in Good Company, and Michelle and Sandra say good-bye to the "Biggest Little City in the World."

Happy Holidays from WomanTours

Photo by Annette Lein

Let us take you away from your hectic schedule this time of year for just 3 minutes. We'll take you to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks on your bike. You'll hear one of our tour guides, Michelle, perform her song. Before the end, you'll probably wish you were on your bike beside her and singing Rain Dance Road along with her. Enjoy! Watch our bike video.

Work on the Arizona Spring Training tour

Not to be outdone by my sister (see below,) I was recently in Tucson working on the improvements we've made to our Arizona bike tour. We're biking on 2 bike paths through the city now and visiting the awesome Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum again. I was so glad to see that the outside restoration of the San Xavier Del Bac Mission is finished and the scaffolding is gone. We bike there on a Monday now, so we can actually go into the church and not interrupt the Sunday service.


If you've already done this tour, it may be time to come back and do it again. Then you can let us know if the 3 new bike rides, 2 new Tucson restaurants, and changes in the hotels are the improvements we think they are. Arizona is still the best place to bike in the States during the dead of winter!

Work on the Washington DC tour

We're busy in the off-season getting our 2010 tours ready to go. Jen was recently in Washington DC cycling the bike paths of our new Washington DC Bikeways tour. We try to double and triple check our cues, especially when they involve bike paths.

Jen says, "There's absolutely no better way to see the monuments than by bike. You don't have to deal with the traffic, getting lost on one-way streets, or finding parking. And you don't get so tired as you would if you were walking."

She walked into the National Archives on the spur of the moment and fell into a tour for new White House interns just as the building was closing. She saw the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. She said, "It was amazing. We had the place to ourselves. I didn't even know we had a National Archives, let alone what was in it!"

Here's Jen across the Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial.

Electric Bicycles...The Future?

One of our best customers, Peggy, has been on more than a dozen WomanTours trips. At 75, she's not as spry as she once was, but she doesn't let that slow her down.

She's the proud owner of a BionX electric bicycle. She brags that she can easily climb hills with whopping 10% grades. She uses the electric motor only when she needs it, and easily sets it at 25%, 50% or 100% level of assistance on the fly. She brings her bike to our tours and says, "Hilly routes are no longer intimidating."

A retired engineer, she's never been afraid to test the newest in technology. She explains, "I think this BionX motor assist will revolutionize biking for the senior set." And no, neither she nor I works for the company. We're just trying to keep more women bicycling.

Here's Peggy on her old bike on our Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard bike tour - BEFORE she got her BionX.