How to put on a helmet by Peter Sagan

He lights up the peloton with speed and style

He is Peter Sagan, the legend. You think he can race a bike, wait until you see the style in which he puts on a bike helmet.

The one and only Peter Sagan. ©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

Today we learn from Peter on how to put on a bike helmet.  
All photos by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer®

1. First make sure all your hair will fit under the helmet. That's a lot of hair!

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

 2. Begin to work on that unruly mane of hair. View helmet to make sure it will all fit.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

 3. Spend time to make sure your hair is just right before placing the helmet on your head.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

4. Verify with others that hair is looking great.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

5. Blush at compliment.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

6.  Place helmet carefully upon cherished head.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

7. Adjust helmet to fit modest ego atop incredible talent. Wear forward for optimal aerodynamics.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

8. With glasses still in mouth, place helmet straps around ears that hear only praise and cheers.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

9. Take care to place straps over perfectly trimmed facial hair.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

10. Securely clip helmet, as Peter has done over 5,000 times.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

11. And pow, that is how it is done folks. Thanks for coming to this demonstration.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

12. Oops, quality check for that loose curl.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

13. Don't leave yet folks, it gets better, he has not put on his glasses yet.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

14. Glasses - the pièce de résistance!

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

15. Next, make sure helmet and glasses will not fall off your head by checking if tires are round. 

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

16. You are ready to roll to the start line past iphone photogs and swooning podium girls.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

17. Always get a last minute equipment check from a respected pro. Mark Cavendish is usually handy.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

18. Time to look cool at the start line. Best to intimidate others by having a helmet that perfectly matches the team kit (National Champion team kit is recommended). Tip: neon colors are preferred.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

19. Immediately after a stage, while international cameras are 4-feet away, it is recommended to keep helmet and glasses on.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

20. Unless you collapse in utter exhaustion, at which point try to remove glasses and helmet before passing out.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

21. Helmet is not needed during times writhing with pain and agony after the stage.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

22. Or when dry heaving after a really tough climb.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

23. Helmets are super cool for time trials. Although you must make this face if wearing an TT helmet.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

24. This is how it is done!

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

25. Speed and style, by Peter Sagan.

©Photo by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer Photography®

These photos were taken in May in California. You can imagine how much fun it was to be there, at the Tour of California, to see Peter race (and win yellow!). If you see his name on a roster for any race - go! You know he looks amazing on TV, in person he is AWESOME.

Lesson #2 on how to put on a cycling helmet by Glocal Cycling Network

GCN tells us how to truly fit a bicycle helmet in this video:  
How To Fit & Adjust A Cycle Helmet



Who wore it better?

Peter Sagan?

Add caption

Or Simon Richardson of GCN?

Recommended Viewing: GCN video

Global Cycling Network (GCN) is in Calfornia

My beautiful home state where they have b-u-r-r-i-t-o-s  and  m-a-r-g-a-r-i-t-a-s.

As you may know I am a huge fan of GCN video, mostly because I really like their accents, secondly because they get to ride in the coolest places and thirdly because they have the best jobs ever.

Neal Rogers of VeloNews recently joined the GCN crew (he is a native of California) and so far his British accent is a bit lacking. Instead he appears to be influencing his co-workers speech patterns, which seems plainly odd to me, but then I remember how the Belfast City Bike Tour guides chuckled at my pronunciation of Anthony (Aahn-thun-neey) and realize California accents can be quite entertaining as well, especially when I pull out my so cal coastal surfing lingo.

This evening I was happily watching this week's GCN video, when I spotted a familiar photo - "Hey! I took that photo!"  The strange thing about being a photographer is that I can remember the angle of nearly every race shot I have taken and how the light shown on a blade of grass in the background. Sure enough it was my photo.

Some things in life bring me great joy:

1. Watching every single video that Global Cycling Network has ever made.
2. Seeing Neal Rogers' transition to blend into GCN.
3. Seeing my race photo of Neal Rogers on GCN (that would be at exactly 3:54).


GCN Video 03/24/215




www.PedalDancerPhotography.com

"I need to sweat"

There is a lot of evidence that the harder you go the better

I was leaving pilates class today at Denver University, when I stopped to tease a fellow student sitting on a bench outside after the class had finished, "Aren't you staying for the third hour?" "No," she responded in a heavy German accent, looking unsatisfied, "I'm used to more active pilates. I need to sweat." For added affect, she repeated it another two times, "I need to sweat." "I need to sweat!"

Interesting. That makes three reminders in a row this week that when it comes to exercise - effort really matters.

First, I saw this to the point video by my fav Global Cycling Network (GCN) crew, which basically summed up this point - a short amount of hard effort = a long amount of moderate effort.

Making two hours really count! But not considering the fun had by the group riding 10-12 hours.

Basically GCN is preaching variability and purpose when it comes to training for cycling, while stating great gains can be made in just two hours a week. Great news for all of us during these cold winter months. Watch the GCN video here: Base Training - Fact Or Fiction? (Feb 6, 2015). It'll make you so happy to learn you don't need to ride for 4-hours in the rain.

Then this morning, I read an article in The New York Times from a couple of weeks ago, titled, Why Your Workout Should Be High-Intensity, which basically states even if you are suffering from chronic diseases (or tend to over-sensationalize injuries as I do), that giving a good solid effort is more beneficial than plodding along in standard go mode.

Then, as I mentioned before, I met the I need to sweat lady. Okay I get the message. Common sense already tells me that as humans, I am guessing we did a lot more flighting than we did fighting or we wouldn't have survived to be here today. I reason that genetics makes us far better at these quick bursts of effort than many of us would first believe.

I for one like the savings in time. I also like the mental entertainment. I also like the hope that there is some proven method that will make me a better faster cyclist. That is, until the next batch of studies proves that we should have been doing it all in a totally different way. Until then, I am going to be bursting forth in great effort and proclaiming I need to sweat!


Extra credit GCN video viewing: How To Train For Sprints