Survey for the University of California

Morning all.

Few days ago I have received an email from Thomas Gaither, Research Assistant at the Department of Urology at University of California,San Francisco asking for me to share with fellow cyclists and sports people their survey.

Below are few words from Tom:

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Urology are conducting a survey study to uncover new connections between exercise and men and women's health, aid patients and better inform the public about ways to improve their health. The impact of different forms of exercise on sexual wellness is not well understood and deserves more study. 

All are welcome to participate by doing a short anonymous survey, here is the link for the survey:

https://redcap.ucsf.edu/surveys/?s=CC488NWYAA .

Thank you for taking part in the survey,Please share it with other riders.

SD TEAM

Ride 100 2016, by Guest Blogger John D.

SaddleDrunker John D,talk to us about his Ride 100 2016.

Early last year I met Stefano in my local coffee shop and was interested to see he’d been cycling, a week or so later and I’d joined SaddleDrunk and was back on my bike after a break of nearly 30 years. I’m the sort of person who is driven by challenges so in a moment of madness I signed up for a place on the LondonRide 100. That was over a year and some 5,000km ago, we cyclists like to use kilometres not miles but that’s about 3,000 miles. When the opportunity to sign up for the LondonRide 100 came up again I signed up the same day, this time with confidence.

I was assigned a late start, just minutes before the last riders, 9am. I managed to find my colleague Reuben and slipped over into his group, with some 29,000 riders the chances of bumping into each other again was slim.

The weather was superb, as a Londoner being able to ride through London on closed roads is superb but you’re conscious that you have another 90 odd miles to go (145km). Like last year we had a few unfortunate delays due to accidents. It’s a horrible thought but with so many riders it’s almost a statistical certainty that someone will be less fortunate. Being stuck in several thousand cyclists was actually quite amusing, very friendly with Mexican waves and even went blackberry picking.

The first major hill is Newland’s Corner, not the worst but a good wakeup for your heart, Leith Hill is easily the toughest and the highest hill in South East England, once you’ve done that Box Hill seems just like breeze. Knowing it was my last real hill I was able to give it a little more “oomph” and started racing up the last 100m (300 feet) of climb. Last year I found the most tiring part of the ride was the last 20 miles, simply because you think getting to London is the end but the course winds through South London for some considerable distance, dragging out your finishing sprint.

See the video here https://youtu.be/IN8fW9X0Zok .

The last few miles, down the Embankment, up Whitehall, round Trafalgar Square and into the Mall are worth every hour of suffering, I guess if you’ve run the London Marathon you’ll know what I mean, I haven’t I must add, but to cycle through crowds of people cheering, bands, megaphones and the incredible reception on the Mall almost makes you want to take a second lap, almost…

Organisation was superb, everyone started within seconds of their planned time, all the roads were very well staffed, plenty of watering stops and even nutrition stations, not exactly food but cyclists will know what I mean, just what you need. My name is down for next year and I’ve now signed up for a ride in South Africa, at over 50, not exactly athletic build I’m hooked.

Thank you John,well done again & see you in Cape Town.

SD TEAM.

Track Mongolia Project.Mongolia Junior National Team

Mongolian Cycling Federation is implementing a new project named as “Track Mongolia” supported by Union of Cycling International and Asian Cycling Confederation. According to the project we have started our Junior National team consists from 10 athletes. 

The initial action of the project was our junior athletes from the National team Mr. Tegshbayar.B and Mr. Iderbold.B, Mr. Dorjdagva.E and Mr. Erkhes.D had successfully studied at Track training at the Korean Satellite – World Cycling Center (KS-WCC) in Seoul, the Republic of Korea in 2015 and 2016. 

Mr B.Iderbold at the KS-WCC Track training. 

Now Mr.Tegshbayar.B is attending at the track training at World Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland from April, 2016. During his training he participated at the Track World Championship and became the very first Junior Track World Champion in Mongolian history. 

Mr B.Tegshbayar

Mongolia Junior National Team Competition's Schedule

Team Roster

If you like to support the project or become a sponsor for Mongolian Cycling National Team contact Stefano at stefano@saddledrunk.com for more info.

University Of Glasgow

Dear all,

We are pleased to announce that we are now the technical kit supplier for the University of Glasgow Triathlon Section.

Look out now for the amazing kit at future events.

You Too Can Go For Olympic Gold (in Tokyo 2020)

We have been passed over this lovely article to publish from Alice.

It may be too late to be selected for Team GB in Rio 2016 but new research has shown how almost anyone could become a future Olympian – with a lot of training and more than a little cash.

The study by money saving website Voucherbox.co.uk has revealed exactly what it would take for an average person to take up a new Olympic sport and reach world class level in just four years.

Researchers looked at the time and money investment required to master a wide variety of Olympic disciples in time for Tokyo 2020.

They researched the costs of hiring Olympic level coaches for one on one sessions and researched gyms and trainers across the UK to get an accurate insight into the number of hours it might take a person with average fitness levels to gain Olympic level competence.

They found that aspiring Olympians train for an average of five and a half hours per day, six days a week. But the vast differences of hiring world-class coaches and buying equipment across different sporting disciplines led to some huge differences in the cost of achieving that elusive Olympic dream.

Perhaps surprisingly the researchers found that triathlon was the quickest discipline to master – requiring an average time investment of just 5200 hours over the next four years or 25 hours of training each and every week.

Would be triathletes also need deep pockets with a total investment of £322,400 required to have any real chance of making the podium in Tokyo.

Yet that looks like a snip compared to the enormous costs involved in mastering an equestrian sporting discipline.

To start now as a novice and be ready for Team GB’s equestrian team in 2020 you’ll have to put in a massive 6240 hours of training, or 30 hours a week, and make a huge investment of £468,000.

Those on a tighter budget might decide to focus on judo. With a projected investment of less than £80,000 researchers judged this to be the least expensive sport to master to Olympic levels.

But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy option. To go from novice to Olympian judo star in just four years would require a massive 6864 hours of training – or 33 hours every week between now and the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony.

Perhaps surprisingly badminton was found to be one of the most difficult sports to master to this top level requiring 6656 hours training over four years, or 32 each week, and an investment of £155,418.

Boxing will set you back almost twice as much cash with a total investment of £299,520 needed to have any hope of Olympic selection.

Researchers also found boxing required more time to master than any other sport with a massive training commitment of 7488 hours needed in the ring and at the gym between now and Tokyo – that’s 36 hours every week.

Shane Forster, UK Country Manager at Voucherbox.co.uk says “There’s no greater accolade than competing for your country at the Olympics. Our Olympic medalists are celebrated for years to come. Although our research shows that it’s costly to achieve your goals, you can’t put a price on success.”

Thank you.