five questions to ask yourself to be RACE READY You have been training for weeks and months for race day; and for most people, you may only have a few big races a year. Heck, this could be your first race or first big race. Having a plan gives you the confidence to race your best knowing you did what you needed to take care of all the things in your control.   Q1. Is your bike dialed? Having your bike set up, and ready to go is critical for race day. In addition to the ABCs - air, brakes and chain, is the bike set up properly for the conditions? If this is a gravel race, do you have the ..read more

TOP 10 TIPS TO PREPARE FOR YOUR BIG A$$ RIDE Long endurance training rides, which I call B.A.R. (Big Ass Rides) produce great training adaptations by increasing endurance, learning about your pacing and nutrition, and also boosting your overall fitness. The rides also prepare you for long endurance races like Belgian Waffle Ride and Leadville which can take 8-10 hours. When preparing for an endurance ride, anticipation is the name of the game. You want to anticipate your needs, wants, and issues and mitigate them. But with anticipation, you don’t know if you don’t know. The top 10 things to d ..read more

Watching Serena work her way up the 99 switchbacks. You can see her on the bottom right corner of the picture. When my 16 year daughter asked me to train her to climb Mt. Whitney, I was beyond stoked. Having trained over a dozen groups to do Whitney, this was not new to me, but training my daughter was new and a wonderful time to have time together. To add a twist, she was only a year of recovering from ACL surgery which was something that we were both wary of. We started training in May with three solid months of hikes and testing out gear for her, which is something she really enjoyed not j ..read more

On July 1, 2021 I made one of the biggest decisions of life…one of the hardest decisions of my life - I quit a stable, 401K paying, 6-weeks of vacation job as the Fitness Center Manager. On that day, I took a chance on myself to become Outdoor Fitness Coach full time. OFC started back in 2010 when I trained groups for one-day Mt. Whitney Summits and created Outdoor Fitness Coach Blog. And I continued to run my business on the side: before work, after work, and on the weekends any chance to squeeze in 1-2 hours or more wherever and however. Not only was it exhausting to carry on this way but I ..read more

Jam packed family-filled, exploring, food-lovin’ holiday A trip to celebrate 50 This is kind of a big year for me - I turned 50 in March and though age has never had a big affect me, it is a half a century and a mark of time. Who am I? what can I say for myself? what am I proud of and what do I value? Though I feel young and healthy, one thing that 50 has brought me is clarity of who I am and what I cherish: my family, having peace in my life, traveling and exposing myself to new place and people, and pausing to notice that the people, place, space around me are the very things that bring joy ..read more

Whether you are new to riding, transitioning from road to gravel (or mountain biking to gravel), riding this new light, skinny bike on gravel, dirt, and rocks is a new feeling and can be a bit scary. COACH TIP - understand your bike and your body. The bike-body connection is key to gravel riding and once you start to feel it, you will ride with ease and flow (and faster and safer). 3 Tips for New Gravel Riders Know Your Bike - Knowing your tires, wheels, gearing, and set up are the basis of your ride. Get comfortable with how it feels and don’t be afraid to change things up. One common mis ..read more

We are Controlled Chaos By Jenn Kwai About a year ago a gravel/mountain bike coach, world champion mountain biker, and cycling community organizer were introduced with a common goal of empowering gravel women cyclists through gravel skills clinics. The clinics have since been expanded to include all genders and as a 6-part gravel series of clinics and trail rides for 2023. Also new for the year, is the non-profit organization being formed, called Controlled Chaos Cycling, to put on these clinics. The clinic and rides are a progressive series that build upon each other and benefit riders of all ..read more

Welcome to the second season of Local Legends. Super excited for the new year and new exciting guests. We launch the year with this fun conversation with Nate Miller. Nate and I met almost ten years ago in the sleepy town of Downieville, CA just north of Tahoe about 12-14 drive from San Diego. It was pretty serendipitous how we met hundreds of miles from San Diego and yet we lived one mile apart! Fast forward to 2023 - Nate grew the TASCO business from his garage and selling t-shirts at local races to now being an online business and found in major retail stores including REI.  In this c ..read more

Today launches a Hispanic Heritage Month - Sept 15 - Oct 15, 2022 honoring and celebrating culture, history and stories of those from Spanish speaking countries. For me, it’s a chance to pause and acknowledge how my life and upbringing has affected the person I am and how it influences my experiences, relationships and appreciation for family and food…and yes my coaching. My sisters and I were born here in San Diego, CA. My parents are both immigrants. My dad was born in Santiago, Chile and came to San Diego when he was a teenager. My mom was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and moved to San Diego ..read more

Advocating for mountain bike trails in San Diego Susie Murphy has a huge impact on the trails we ride in San Diego.  Her role as the Executive Director (since 2015) at San Diego Mountain Bike Association, a non profit advocacy group aiming to improve trails in San Diego for mountain biking since 1994, puts her on the ground, in meetings, and planning to advocate for trails.  Her role is multifaceted from creating relationships with partner organizations and land managers, to coordinating volunteer work and projects to get new trails in the ground or improve current trails.  It’s ..read more