![Master Nationals Crit Championship 2009](https://www.drjohnm.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/masters-day-7-09-057-199x300.jpg)
Hi all. Welcome to my Cycling page.
Although DrJohnM is primarily a medical blog, each Wednesday, I write on a topic that is–albeit sometimes tangentially–connected to cycling or endurance sports. I call these features, Cycling Wednesdays. (You can click the link for an archive of my past CW posts.)
Random cycling facts about me:
When not in the EP lab, office or on the MacBook, I am on my bike.
I ride all sorts of bikes: road, cyclocross, tandem, and mountain bikes. If  I could own only one bike, it would be a mountain bike.
My family rides: so do my buds. It is what we do. “It is how we roll,” says my son, Will.
There are many great reasons to ride a bike: good sensations, improved fitness, lower blood pressure, and weight control, but for me, the best reason is the camaraderie–call it the tree-house effect.
![Cincinatti UCI CX Festivel](https://www.drjohnm.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/68306_1611552659425_1554522967_1506889_5615310_n-159x300.jpg)
My team is Papa Johns masters cycling team. It’s paradoxical (and mildly conflicting) that a cardiologist and advocate for healthy living is sponsored by a purveyor of processed white flour and saturated animal and dairy fat. Life has its compromises.
In recent years, I have evolved, although some would say devolved, into a cyclocross (CX) racer. CX is a crazy cult-like brand of bike racing that is contested in the fall and winter. (Here is a CX-primer.)  Races are 45-60 minutes in duration and are contested primarily on off-road courses that are laden with obstacles which require a rider to carry the bike and run. Success in CX requires a combination of fitness, athleticism, and grit. That’s a cool combination, but my favorite thing about CX is that the whole family does it. You can view my past posts on cyclocross here.
I am not a cycling coach, but consider myself well-informed on training techniques and strategies. I’ve read the mind-numbing books that detail notions like VO2-max, lactate-threshold, functional-threshold power and the like. I find this minutia boring–too many trees and not enough forests, I guess.
The DrJohnM formula for going fast on a bike (or in the pool, or on the track) is simple:
- Pick your parents well. (If Dad was an offensive lineman, you are unlikely to win the Tour.)
- Train intelligently. (That’s an entire book.)
- Keep inflammation at bay by not over-training and getting adequate rest. (Good luck with that.)
There are hazards to cycling. It’s fixed now.
![AC Sepration](https://www.drjohnm.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/IMG_0090-225x300.jpg)
That’s enough about me and my cycling. You can read more about other cycling-related topics here:
- Healthy living
- Exercise
- Nutrition
- and one that is especially pertinent to bike racers…inflammation.