Instructor Articles
When Tragedy Strikes and the Ride Must Go On
This is advice I hope you never need to use: how to deliver a class when tragedy affects your community. But with what feels like an unending string of tragedies that can make delivering a properly-pitched class a challenge, it seems fitting to share tips from instructor Laura Iwan who had to deliver just such…
Read MoreTeam Teaching
Looking for something to spice up your class? Try team teaching! If creating and delivering a class with another instructor is something you’d like to try, here are a few tips for a smooth process. First up is logistics. Ideally, you’ll have access to two microphones that pair via your sound system. If not, you…
Read MoreThe Art of Setting “Clear” Goals
Have you set goals for yourself as an instructor? Before you do, you might want to read “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and/or listen to Brene Brown’s interview with him on her awesome Spotify podcast called Dare to Lead – I loved it! Why? Clear offers a reframe for achieving what you want that instantly…
Read MoreHow to Challenge All Rider Levels
We’ve all wrestled with it: creating and delivering a class that challenges each of our riders’ different fitness levels. There’s the creation side and the delivery side. When creating your profiles, you’re playing with combinations of speed, intensity, duration and movements. As you put those together (smartly), ask yourself how you can cue each to…
Read MoreHow to Create a Ride Series
A cycling ride series is like a limited Netflix show – six or seven episodes focused on a central theme start to finish. If you have a consistent group of riders, creating a ride series is especially effective. The first ingredient is a goal. What do you want your riders to achieve, learn or experience…
Read MoreWhat’s Awesome?
Besides being my tagline, awesome is something that you get to define. Everyday. Some days, especially during this past year, awesome can be getting out of bed. Taking your dog for a walk. Doing a workout you didn’t want to do or stopping at one glass of wine. The list of small things goes on.…
Read MoreDo You Coach Breath?
Heart rate. Zones. Intensity. Rate of Perceived Exertion. As cycling instructors, these words are as familiar to us as our own names. They are the foundation for ride profiles and account for much of our coaching and cuing. We can coach them in our sleep. But do you coach what is at the heart of…
Read MoreWindows
My life, I’ve realized, is like a bank of windows opened at various heights. This is not my preference. I’d like each window to be either fully opened, fully closed or decidedly in the middle. But that’s rarely, if ever, the case. Except for cycling class. After one of my classes last week, I asked…
Read MoreClarity 2020: Phone a Friend
I love the start of a new year. Everything about it (except staying up late on New Year’s Eve) aligns with my personality. I’m turned on by goal setting. I thrive on change and second chances. Completing financial spreadsheets to evaluate the year? Love it. But my favorite ritual is carving out quiet time to…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Safety Sentence?
Do you have a safety sentence that you include in your class intro? My safety sentence is some form of: My job is to give you a great experience that’s safe and challenging and your job is to listen to your body and take on the challenges that are right for you today. I don’t…
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