Author Alex Hutchinson

Cyclists have a tendency to obsesses over everything that goes into their bodies. While I don't count calories, I do try some of the groundbreaking products just for the fun of it. Keep in mind I'm not a chemist or a nutritionist but I am an athlete and I know what I like. Endurolytes Fizz: The lovely lady at Real Bikes in Venice said that Fizz is the latest craze among riders. I tried three sample flavors - Grape, Peach and Mango. They are shaped and work just like Alka-Seltzer. You drop a tablet into your water and the Fizz brings your drink to life. This stuff tastes great in all flavors. It has a sharp bite that brings your palate to life on those long, hot rides. I highly recommend trying Fizz as a tasty, fun way way to add some electrolytes to your water bottle. Check it out. Heed Sports Drink: When I landed on the podium in my second mountain bike race, one of my prizes was a full size container of Heed. When you read the label it is a riders dream c

Over the years you have no doubt heard people talk about Proper bike fit. If you have ever wondered what can happened when you spend too much time on the wrong size bike, I get to be an unfortunate example. Let me first start by saying, "I Love my Bike!" For the last 8 months I have been racing a CycleCraft ProXL given to me by the great people of CycleCraft USA. The wheels and components came over from my old bike with the exception of new Supercross forks, new cables and and new pedals. It is beautiful in dark grey with blue accents but it does not correctly fit me. I have been suffering from back pain for a solid year. I didn't know exactly what was causing it until now. I recently took one month off the 20 inch and rode only my Mountain Bike. I did Foundation training to strengthen my lower back and relieve the pain. My back has never felt better. On Sunday I went to Charlotte BMX and tried my 20" to see what had changed. After only two lap

The folks from Tempo Cyclery dodged the rain yet again to put on another fun Time Trial down the beautiful  second stretch of Honore Rd in Sarasota, Florida. 61 riders gave their all in this monthly 10 mile fun race that tests an athletes top end speed plus their ability to accept pain and afterwards consume beer. The usual mix of unusual rides livened up the field with everything from the high tech Time Trial bikes, a score of road bikes, my own Mountain Bike and even a classic Tandem. The attendees themselves were an even more eclectic mix of personalities ranging from elite cyclists and triathletes to recreational riders and even a few BMXers. Both genders and all ages were represented as the watch clocked everyone's best efforts. The atmosphere remained light and jovial as ever. The guys from Tempo Cyclery stepped up their precautions by having riders sign a waiver at the start of festivities, better safe than sorry. Each person was assigned a number and

Sometimes you have to overreach in order to find out what you are capable of. Three years ago when I decided to try Downhill racing people told me that I was crazy. It was one thing to race Mountain Bikes but doing it at high speed down a mountain was suicidal. While DH was a bit too expensive to continue on a regular basis, I knew that the skills would be invaluable. It's 2012 I'm back on a Mountain Bike looking forward to a Florida Cross Country race. The first step was get myself into XC shape but the second step was to hit some of the trails I will be facing in October. That's why I made a visit to the Alafia River State Park. Alafia is beautiful, well run and the SWAMP club does great job tending to the trails. There is an easy to read map at the trail head, plenty of parking, bathrooms and most importantly - shade. I started my short journey in the place where I knew I would have the most trouble - the double black diamond trail known as moonscape

The brace was a reminder to rest my wrist The rain cast an ominous shadow over the treeline. The constant rumble of thunder was occasionally sliced by the crack of a lightning whip. I stood on my porch and watched the activity. Under normal circumstances any sane person would lock up the bike for the night but not me. I was not convinced that it would rain. Allow me to explain this poor decision. I live near the intercoastal waterway, we have a constant offshore breeze as well as island cover from incoming storms. In order words, an odd collection of geographic coincidences make it so that most storms pass by us to the east or the west. This looked like one of those sideswipe storms so I decided to test the trails. Move forward your seat to center your bodyweight I took the bike out for a tempo ride, low gears at a high cadence. I started by going around the neighborhood, after almost 2 miles there was still no rain so I decided to move a little farther out. Diving into

It wasn't until I started riding again that those elusive off road paths suddenly came into view. You wouldn't see them in your everyday life where we drive from work to home but climb on some knobby tires and your eyes track the gaps between bushes and trees hoping for a little room to roam. Englewood, Florida is a former fishing village, it is pancake flat and not a place people will ever associate with Mountain Biking. However it is my home so I started exploring. While I don't have any major parks nearby, I do have a couple small trail networks, a state forest and some bike paths. In the past weeks I've been checking out these areas and I'm happy to say they are not bad, for Florida. Ann Dever Trails - In the woods behind the San Casa Recreational area are 2 and a half miles of fire roads connecting San Casa Drive with Placida Road. The trails are flat but wide, rolling on primarily crushed shell and pinewood needles. The coolest features are