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Info Junkie: David Ariola of CR Daccord on Google Earth, Garmin Connect and ‘Shogun’ Business Of Life Crain's Chicago Business

Cross Training: Bikram Yoga

I've tried many fitnes related activities over the years and still worlout in some form about 5 days a week. Weightlifting, marathon ('99), triathlon (Sprint and Olympic distances), skiing, swimming, cycling, climbing.... Looking back and to the future, if I could only do one activity it would be Bikram Yoga and I'd recommend it to everyone. There are official Bikram studios all over the world. Every class, everywhere is identical: 26 poses, 90 minutes in a room heated to 105 degrees. When I first heard this, I was skeptical. I hated yoga and I hate the heat. My wife and I took our first class together. It was very hard and we were not impressed. We stuck it out though and after the first few weeks we noticed great results and felt better. We've both been practicing ever since. Try it for a month. You'll feel better, get stronger and more flexible.

Tracking the Progress

My wife bought me a Garmin GPS unit that i use when I train. It is designed for triatheltes but since I gave that up, I just use it on the bike. It has the ability to upload every detail of every workout on line. You can even play back the workout to see your heartrate, speed, cadence and elevation during the workout. Of course the question is - what do you do with that info? Not much except that I just looked up my stats for the last 365 days. Here they are:

• 129 bike rides
• 2,607 miles
• 171 hours - yikes
• 160,500 calories burned
• 15.2 mph average speed

If you click the title above, it links to a ride I need in Utah for the National ABility Center. So I've found a use for all that data!

Bicycle Commuting to Work

Is it practical to commute to work via bicycle? I've been doing it for the last 2 weeks and here are some suggestions/observations. 1) Storage - you need a place to store the bike at work. Our downtown office has a storage room in the basement that is perfect. Most buildings won't let you bring the bike in the elevator; 2) Shower - you'll need a place to shower. I joined a small fitness center in the building next door; 3) Clothes - I roll my suit into a garment back and pack in a backpack. If rolled properly, no wrinkles; 4) Meetings out of cab range. I joined ZipCar so in case I have to drive to a meeting, I can. The service works great. Downsides? Things change so the biggest hurdle is when I need to meet someone for a drink or event after work. Fortunatley, I only live 3.5 miles from the office so I can cab it or take public transportation easily. So far, I enjoy the bike commute and the extra miles i am able to achieve. We'll see what happens when it gets colder and darker.

Be Aware of Bike Theft!

You can see from other posts that my bike was my prized possession. I had it for 10 years, constantly tweaked it and this year completly rebuilt it. I finished a ride at 7:30 a.m. on a Thursday, locked in in my garage as always, showered and went back to leave for work at 8:30. Some dirtball kicked in the door and took not only my best bike but also my back up touring bike. Incredibly frustrating - still. Worse, I have nothing to ride and found out my homeowner's policy has a 1% deductible which means no claim for me. If anyone sees a white Waterford with black panels and red lettering, please clothesline the rider and hold for my arrival. Also check the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry often.

Cycling or 2010 Tri Training?...

I am really on the fence about tri training this year. I feel to get incrementally better at 3 different sports and training 1 to 2 sessions a day while trying to make a living is a recipe for frustration. This is the first year I am biking through the winter. I am taking a CompuTrainer class at VQ Training and East Bank Club. You use your own bike on a simulator that can replicate almost any actual ride. I thought riding indoors would be boring but I actually really enjoy it. It also leaves time to do yoga once or twice a week. Overall, I enjoy this regiment much better than the tri training. So, I think this year I may try the Velodrome (bike racing track). Interestingly, there are less than 30 in the country and one is right here in Northbrook. I'm going to give it a shot and report back.

Why is cycling the best long-term cardio solution?

- It is virtually no impact. You can ride for hours with no damage to your knees or other joints. (Your butt actually gets used to the saddle.)

- you can cover more ground and see more scenery in less time. I've biked in CO, UT, Vegas, MI and other places - great way to get around, exercise and see a new place.

- no pollution.

- you can spend as much money as you want on cool new gear that won't improve your performance but looks cool.

- there is always a group of riders you can ride with in any town or suburb.

I just rebuilt my 10 year old bike this year.

2009/2010 Ski Season - 30 ski days!

My ski season goal is 25 days out West. I was fortunate this year and and had 30 ski days almost all at Deer Valley UT though I did hit Park City, Alta and Snowbird. This season I also hit the Nastar race course with 27 runs and 16 race days. On their handicap system I was first in my division and age group for IL skiers. I have to break it down to there to come up with an impressive result. Of course my 11 year old daughter Gia beat me straight up in a head-to-head race.

Why is skiing the best family trip/vacation?

• we usually ski as a family almost every day
• where else can you vacation and stay active all day?
• enjoy the best outdoor scenery anywhere and clean air
• work on a skill and actually improve

How do you improve at skiing living in the Mid-West?

• Take a lesson everytime you ski, even if it is only a half day. The best athletes in the world have coaches. If you don't learn the right techniques, you simply ingrain horrible ones that need to be unlearned before you can progress. The best investment you can make.
• sign up for Nastar. The courses are everywhere, not hard, fun and give you a way to benchmark progress.
• go west every year. You can fly to UT on a Friday evening, ski 2 days and be home Sunday night. You can't do that in Colorado.

Oh and Snowbird will probably be open until mid-June this year.