Students Of Success

Part I

It’s inevitable. At some point in the fall you’ll do your first ride in relatively cold weather. For the past six months you’ve been enjoying warm, sunny skies with mild temperatures around 75 to 85 degrees.

But not today. Today the mercury has dropped by 20 or 30 degrees and the sun is nowhere to be found. Today is that day where you remember what it’s like in the cold, but your brain could have used a few cobwebs dusted off first – in other words, you’ll make the same mistakes as you did at this time last year. So I wrote this article to warn you of what will go wrong.

We’re well into winter here in the North East USA. Cold, rain, snow, sleet – anything that affects riding – we’ve had it. If you take the proper precautions, you’ll be fine. But if you’re not prepared, old man winter will get the best of you!

I’ll start off with a little story about my first ride in the cold back in October 2004. It was about 52 degrees and cloudy, which seems nice and warm as I look back on it, but it was a little chilly at the time. Being used to 80 degree weather, today’s ride warranted tights, a thick long sleeve undershirt, and a windbreaker… or so I thought.

Starting out I was a little chilly. And I didn’t like it. But I kept going. And after about three minutes I was burning up – today was not the day for a windbreaker. I had to stop, take it off, roll it up, and then try to stuff it in my jersey pocket without catching it on my Camelbak. Which leads me to…

Lesson #1: It’s not as cold as you think it is. 52 in the spring feels like 70, but in the fall it feels like 30. So in the spring you shed all the layers except your shorts and jersey, even if there’s still snow on the ground. And in the fall you pile on everything you have. But that’s not a good idea.

52 warrants tights and a long sleeve jersey, but that’s about it. If you’re unsure, stash some extra layers in your jersey pockets – you can put them on after 15 minutes if you’re still cold. (Remember, you should be a little chilly for the first few minutes of your ride. Then once you warm up, you should be cozy.)

Once I shed some clothing I felt pretty good. The crisp air was refreshing, too. I really enjoyed the ride for the next hour. But then, knowing I would need some more energy for the next hour, I grabbed the Powerbar out of my jersey pocket. The same thing I had been eating successfully all summer. But it wasn’t the same today. By “wasn’t the same,” I mean it was rock hard! I bit into one end, expecting it to melt right in my mouth, but instead it shocked my whole jaw. I had to check for loose teeth after that!

Lesson #2: When Powerbars get cold, they get hard. Rock hard. They’ll break your teeth if you’re not careful. They’re ok down to 45 or 50 degrees, but you should still be really careful when you bite into them. I suggest switching to Powerbar Harvest or Pria bars in cooler weather. They’re a little lighter, so they don’t freeze as easily. And try to keep them close to your body.

Or go with an energy gel like GU. They get thick in the cold, but it takes a while for them to freeze. Personally, I kind of like them when they’re extra thick! The cold really brings out the full flavor.

That’s about it really. Two lessons. Cool weather isn’t bad. It’s the really cold stuff that you need to watch out for.

Part II

So what didn’t I cover in Part 1? I didn’t cover what to do before your first ride in the freezing cold!

Once the temps hit 25 degrees, it gets a little more complicated.

Now is the time to pile on every piece of gear you have! Well maybe not that extreme, but this weather calls for fleece lined tights, a thick base layer, a windbreaker, a balaclava, thick socks, shoe covers, and big insulated gloves.

But this doesn’t guarantee anything. Climb a hill and you’ll overheat. Get to the top of the hill and it will be 10 degrees cooler. You’ll freeze. Riding outside in sub-20 degree weather should, at least in my opinion, be avoided at all costs.

Ride a trainer. Ride some rollers. Run. Lift weights. Rest. Whatever you need to do. You’ll get a better workout that way.

Lesson #3: Going outside on a freezing cold day won’t help your training. It will be hard to move when you’re weighted down by 10 pounds of restrictive winter gear. And if your body is that cold, it will be hard to move anyway. Your form will be horrible. And then if you get used to it, your form will stay horrible into the spring.

Beyond clothing, you need to carry food and water. But if Powerbars are only good to 40 degrees, what do you do?

Lesson #4: For food, when it’s real cold, just bring gels. No bars. Gels will freeze eventually, but if you keep them next to your body, they should be ok for a while.

Lesson #5: For drink, ditch the water bottles. They’re no good. The lids will freeze shut. You’ll need a Camelbak, which should be kept inside your outer layers. Be sure to keep the tube tucked away too, and sip occasionally to be sure the water in the tube doesn’t freeze.

Replacing water with Gatorade might help, too. All the additives lower the freezing point, so it stays warmer a little longer than plain water does.

Another thing to be aware of is that you need your hands to be able to eat and drink. This means some thick gloves to keep them warm. But thick gloves mean you can’t easily open a gel pack. And some balaclavas block your mouth.

Lesson #6: Eating and drinking in the cold is a pain in the ass! There’s no miracle cure. You have to take off your gloves for a bit, pull down your balaclava, eat, and then bundle up again. Just one more reason you might want to buy some rollers!

What else can happen in the cold? Well, if you wear contacts, they may just fall out! If you have any sense, you’ll be wearing some sort of eye protection in the cold. Sunglasses at the least, and maybe even opting for ski goggles. But even then, your contacts will get cold. And like Powerbars, they’ll get hard. And then they might fall out. But even if they don’t fall out, your vision will probably be quite blurry and they’ll be a very good chance of riding off the road or into oncoming traffic.

When my contacts were about ready to fall out one day, I tried to close my eyes for a while and warm them up. But that didn’t do much, being that my face was so cold that I couldn’t feel it anymore, let alone control my eye lids.

Lesson #7: Get some goggles. It doesn’t matter what you look like, everyone already thinks you’re an idiot for being outside in this weather!

If you still want to ride outside, please follow at least some of my advice. If you enjoy riding in temperatures below zero, though, you may want to get advice from a psychiatrist.

Levi Bloom is the founder and owner of Bloom Bike Shop and the webmaster of http://bloombikeshop.com Check out his site for more good cycling info and bike repair tutorials.

The start of a New Year is a great time to plan for what you want to achieve. What better time than to invest in yourself and set a course for the future. As you reach your goals you will need to set new ones.
How do you do this in a powerful and focused way?

Here are 10 Essential Questions to ask now to make the most of the next year.

1. What is your 5-year plan?

What do you want to be doing professionally and personally in five years time? How do you want to be feeling? For example what will you be doing, how much income will you be earning, where will you be living, how much time will you be spending with your family?
Keeping in mind your five year vision will help set goals for the next 12 months.

2. What is your vision for the next year?

How do you see the year unfolding? Visualise yourself in 12-months time, reflecting back on the year. What does it look like? What does success look like in a year’s time?

Use this vision to add to your goals. If your planning on a holiday imagine yourself on the beach for example. This will inspire your goals and then make feasible plans to make the vision a reality.

3. What is your mission for the next year?

Who will you help? What problems will you provide solutions for? What new skills will you learn? This is the doing rather then dreaming. How will you go about achieving your goals and vision.

4. Set five key goals to be achieved.

Keep to no more than five specific goals. Write them down. Goals set the big picture achievements for the year. Have both personal and business or career goals. It might be something small like painting a room or something larger like moving house. Write it down.

5. What are the specific strategies or tasks that will help you achieve these goals?

These are the “how to’s”. Make them specific and achievable. Use the OAT formula - Outcome - Action - Timeline.

6. How often will you review your goals?

Write in your diary now a reminder to review them at least every 3 months. Some people like to review them on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis!

7. Conduct a personal SWOT Analysis.

In the past year, what were your Strengths and what were your Weaknesses? What are the Opportunities for the next year? What are the Threats stopping you achieving your new goals?

8. Reality Check.

How will you measure whether you have achieved your goals? What are the milestones or performance criteria that set the benchmark for measuring your success?

9. How will you balance work with personal interests?

What will be the mix of fun & learning, health & fitness, career & finance, love & belonging?

10. How will you reward yourself for achieving your goals in 2003?

How will you celebrate?

Having all this mapped out is as important as effective business management. Managing your goals, prioritising and evaluating ensures your next 12 months will be as successful personally as professionally.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.
You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com

Copyright Theolonius McTavish 2004. All rights reserved.

– SHAMELESS SANTA SLIDERS –

Every year the Ho-Ho-Ho-ing chap in the red tunic with the white whiskers gets inundated with some pretty balmy questions.

So this year, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind responding to twenty-five odd, obscure, and some might even say downright obtuse queries. Needless to say, he was delighted to have a chortling chinwag with me by satellite phone from his nippy ice-fishing hut at the North Pole.

Readers who understand the value of milk and milk products plus high fibre diets also know we all pay a price for being part of the animal kingdom, perhaps more so during the holiday season. So, what’s this got to do with the price of tea in China? Well, allowance should probably be made for those with vagrant airs not to mention a healthy tongue-in-cheek attitude to Life, an uncertain Universe, and Everything absurd in between.

WARNING: For readers unable to make adjustments that are dietary, linguistic, psychological and cultural in nature, please avoid reading the following shameless sliders, big whoppers, and unmitigated, unmuffled freeps — more than likely emanating from a jolly, red-necked, foot-in-the-mouth fellow (probably wearing a plaid shirt, red long-johns, and a pair of bright yellow suspenders).

1. What does Santa do at a house with no chimney?

Hmmm…better ask the frazzled folks in Notrees (Texas), Mushaboom (Nova Scotia), and Hookey’s Waterhole (Australia) — they still believe Santa Claus will find them if they use smoke signals from blazing barbecues, outdoor cooking stoves, and hot coals from campfires.

2. Does Santa worry about his fat intake over Christmas like everyone else?

The short answer is no…everyone at the North Pole thrives on carrots and brussel sprouts, 57 blubber recipes, plus a weekly serving of fish and chips, supplemented by Girl Guide Cookie or Hostess Twinkie treats — a perfectly balanced diet for pleasingly plump parents and a lean pack of elves with attitude.

3. How does Santa get down the chimney when the fire is going?

We’re back to those blessed chimneys are we?!*… Santa wears a fire-retardant suit silly!

4. How does Santa’s huge body fit through those itsy-bitsy chimneys?

What’s with the f***** chimneys again? Okay if you really must know, Santa presses his “Mighty Magic Midget Button” on his red tunic faster than you can shake a stick or something.

5. What exactly are ‘reindeer games’ anyway?

Are you over 18, in good health, and seeking a pleasurable companion for a night out?

6. Why does Santa visit people only once a year?

There’s a clause in Fairy Godmothers’ Union contract stipulating that in the event of a decision by Santa to visit more frequently, there will be hell to pay from a whole host of hissy-fitters not to mention a hopping mad Easter Bunny.

7. Who brings Santa his Christmas gifts?

The Man From Glad naturally — ’cause his PVC-bag full of goodies won’t break!

8. Does Santa get paid?

By that do you mean in the spiritual sense (you know warm and fuzzies), or in a pragmatic sense ($6.50 per hour less deductions for union dues, pensions, disability insurance, health and dental care benefits, taxes and voluntary charitable donations)?

9. What kind of car does Santa drive during the off-season?

Actually, Santa enjoys the perks of a chauffeur-driven, gas-guzzling, air-conditioned stretch limo with plush leather interiors and an automatic sliding sunroof, plus a full bar service, satellite-TV, a DVD player with surround-sound, not to mention tinted shatterproof glass and kid-proof door-locks. On occasion he has been known to drive a Harley-Davidson (without a helmet) in order to save the environment but more importantly, he just gets a kick out of feeling the wind blow through his long, curly locks of silver hair, bushy eyebrows, not to mention his handle-bar, white moustache and matching trimmed whiskers.

10. Why is Rudolph’s nose so red?

Perhaps he had a run-in with the Frost-Bite Fairy, who knows. Besides, Santa doesn’t tattletale on anyone, not even reindeers. …By the way, why are you more interested in the complexion of a hoofer rather than shooting the breeze with me, if I may be so bold as to ask?

11. Why do we wrap Christmas presents so beautifully only to have others rip off the paper?

Watch a blue movie or two, then you’ll probably figure out the answer all by yourself!

12. If Santa has a weight problem, why do we leave him milk and cookies? Shouldn’t we leave him a salad and water?

Look, there’s nothing wrong with having lots of love handles. Besides, I think you’re getting me mixed up with an alternative-lifestyle Easter Bunny who’d be only to pleased to smoke your weeds and walk on water, if it would make you and your friends happy.

13. How come all the standard Christmas songs you hear on the radio are sung by dead people?

Whoa, they haven’t all croaked yet. According to “Santa’s Good Time News Service”, Elvis was spotted just last week crooning, “Blue Christmas” at a rock’n'rolling retirement community in Bootlegger Crossing, Arizona!

14. Isn’t it a worry that Santa is an anagram of Satan?

At least Santa and Satan know what’s “red” hot and what’s not. God probably has more to worry about in the anagram department than Santa or Satan. After all, he dislikes being called “man’s best friend” and getting blamed for piddling on a fire-hydrant not to mention someone’s parade.

15. If a wise woman had come to the Nativity, she would have brought diapers, wouldn’t she?

If I’m not mistaken there were several signs hanging on the front door of the Inn: “No Vacancy”, “No Admission Under Any Circumstances”, and one in even bigger, bolder letters — “Wise Woman Not Welcome – Go Away!”… and your point was?

16. If it’s true that Santa is magical then why does Christmas Eve take so long?

Santa didn’t invent grandfather clocks, glow-in-the-dark watches, or other bleeping gadgets and gizmos. If you want to complain, I suggest you contact the old coot in charge, “Father Time”.

17. Where does Santa hide his claws?

Just because he wears a red and white outfit doesn’t make him an “Abominable Person of Snow”. Besides, Santa doesn’t need to scratch anyone’s back for a handout.

18. Why are Christmas colors red and green when Santa’s suit is red and white?

It all started with a few disgruntled Tarot card readers complaining about not being included in the Christmas story. So, the United Nations stepped in to stop all the whining and snivelling which was getting out of hand, (especially a campaign launched by the Society of Plus-Sized People who wanted to replace Santa Claus with the Jolly Green Giant as the symbol of rampant consumer spending, healthy lifestyle choices, and more free giveaways). Anyway, to make a long story short, a referendum was held and people the world over voted in favor of retaining Santa Claus, (dressed in his well-worn red and white suit), as star of the annual “Festival of Negative-Savers”. As a consolation prize, the World Trade Organization declared that “red and green will be the official designated colours of all wrapping paper, ribbons, and note cards accompanying charitable spam and jam food hampers destined for the Tooth Fairy, the Great Pumpkin, and the Easter Bunny”, (who are usually overlooked at this time of year).

19. Do you think Santa Claus believes in himself?

Of course he does! It’s only celebrity psycholigists who suggest that a jolly, bearded gentleman with a red-nosed reindeer in tow should “get a life”. There’s an old adage that says, “Behind every wet blanket lies an incontinent universe”. So take my advice, get off those high-and-mighty hobbyhorses and ride a reindeer for a day. Better yet, take a break. Try watching the deer and the antelope play on the back forty…”where seldom is heard, a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.” It’s way more rewarding than watching soppy soap operas or a fancy fella dispensing dross to dysfunctional divas, disadvantaged doorknobs, desolate dorks, delusional duffers not to mention one too many detached dingbats.

20. What do parents living in warm climates tell their children about Santa Claus? After all there’s no snow in most places and it’s far too warm to be wearing that red suit.

Santa is a very resourceful, fit and adaptable guy with loads of charisma, not to mention tons of glad tidings and good cheer which is often in short supply around the Christmas dinnertable. As a matter of fact, he wears a chartreuse thong or a scarlet pair of bikini briefs underneath his red tunic — just in case he needs to slip into something more comfortable during his visit to Hellhole Palms (California), Boneyard (Arizona) and Weeki Wachee (Florida).

21. How come there isn’t a “Trading Spaces” TV show for Christmas yard decorations?

It’s not enough the world’s falling apart because golfers and gadflies don’t know how to swing a hammer and nail for Pete’s sake! Now you want to bring out the really weird folk who think decorating their lawns with something other than gnomes, angels and fairies would be sinful?

22. Are Santa’s Elves the same elves that are the Keebler Elves? After making toys, do they moonlight by baking cookies and crackers?

Our delightful, double-duty, efficient elves are far more productive and happier than the ‘one-size-fits-all’ sort of wee folk who work in many sweaty sylph shops around the globe. Our toy-shop offers a safe and friendly working environment, free milk and cookies during every 15- minute break, an opportunity to create whistle while you work songs, and an all-expense paid three-week vacation in Fannie, Arkansas not to mention a very popular and hugely successful government-subsidized retraining program for trolls.

23. Why does the Christmas season always come when the stores are at their busiest?

In the Land of Cowabunga, cowboys and cash-cow milkers, never ask why brown cows don’t fly there. (Trust me, they’ve never heard of a kahlua coffee liqueur with a dollop of whipped cream with chocolate sprinkles on top, and a Maraschino Cherry).

24. Should we mail our packages early so the Post Office can lose them in time for next Christmas?

Ah yes, the Post Office, everyone’s favorite pastime — flogging dead horses. Take my advice, stop your faultfinding ways and use your positive energy flow to find a Flying Nun willing to take those parcels off your hands in return for all your Airmile points.

25. On artificial Christmas trees, why do they always make the center trunk green? Wouldn’t it be more realistic if it were painted brown?

What do you expect from fake things, perfection? If you’re not doing anything useful besides asking questions that require answers few have time to ponder, come and join our Toy-Shop Team at the North Pole. We have no trees, we have no bananas, and we just love elves who can hum along, otherwise this year there’ll be no presents under the tree (be they fake or real).

Oh and if by chance you should get stuck beside a “Bah Humbug” type at Christmas dinner, remind the foul miscreant that miracles do happen. Thankfully, at midnight some turn into whoopee cushions to amuse family or friends. Fortunately, others find redemption, (if only for a day), by riding the winds of change which usually means donning a red jump suit, handing out equal-opportunity goodies to those who’ve been naughty and nice, and last but not least — remembering to say, “Ho Ho Ho …and to all a good night!”

About the Author

Theolonius McTavish is a ripsnorting reporter of ribaldry and eccentric clairvoyant in the court of The Quipping Queen at www.quippingqueen.blogspot.com