Yesterday I had a one on one ride with my coach, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to share my personal experience with having a cycling coach! It's one of the most frequently asked questions I get, so I hope this helps cover a lot of the answers. For those of you who don't know, in January of this year I decided to find a structured way of cycling to help myself stick to it more consistently. (You can read more about my back and forth, here). I started off by doing two things; I got a Garmin 510 and I hired my coach and professional cyclist, Mike Stone. In the beginning he starts you out by having you answer a list of questions and talking to you about your short/long term goals. Once he has an idea of what you're working towards, he gets you set up with a Training Peaks account, and has you complete a power or heart rate test to establish your data. He covers a variety of workouts including core strength, cycling and running depending on what you're training for. Every Monday I can expect to get a text/call asking how I'm feeling, and later on that day my workouts for the week will be listed in Training Peaks. Throughout the week I can write in how I was feeling during that workout and Mike checks in with me periodically throughout the week. He knows how busy I am, and on the rare occasion that I add in or take out a race last minute, he's great about changing up my plan if needed.

Having a coach as a beginner was great because it has helped me have continued guidance, taught me a lot about what I'm doing, and has improved my fitness and bike handling skills immensely. (You guys, I'm 2 points away from catting up in cyclocross, ahh)! But seriously, I was finishing last or close to last every race last year and this year I've been on the podium several times - I'm so proud of how far I've come! Although he coaches more elite level athletes, I never feel like I'm just some newbie on the side, hah! Mike is awesome about listening to me complain and cheering me up when I've had a bad week or race. Sheesh, I sound like a high maintenance client, yikes - sorry about that Mike. :) Anyways, now I'm rambling - what I'm trying to say is having a coach is rad and I wouldn't be telling you guys that or paying for one for an entire year if I didn't think so.

If you are interested in chatting with Mike about coaching or want to know more about him, I'll list some of his details below.
(Mike, I'm about to brag on you!)
He races for Professional UCI continental Lupus Racing Team, he's been on the USA national team, competed in Worlds, Alberta, Tour of China, Vuelta Mexico, etc.
He's based out of Georgia, but he also coaches remotely if needed. His clients range from beginners to elites with all goal levels and skill sets, and he offers a few packages to choose from.
Mike Stone: mikestone608@gmail.com // (770) 380-1082

I hope that helps! If you have any questions for me, you can leave them in the comments and I'll be sure to answer!

xx
Mae