Spoke 'n Word

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Cycling Team

2011-03-03T05:14:00.000-08:00

IUP Cycling has been a customer of ours for 2 years now. We really enjoy working with our collegiate programs.

The young people that run the collegiate teams are truly working a part time job when it comes to managing school work and managing team logistics. Here at VOmax we have made it as easy as possible for the presidents of collegiate teams to enjoy a stress free ordering process

Johnny Brison has had some great blog posts featuring our clothing for the IUP team. This is a little bit of what he had to say about the kits:

"I am really happy with how they came out and the new feel of the bib shorts is great. I know there have been a few upgrades to these from last year and I very much appreciate the work done in the fabrics, padding, and overall appearance of the kit. I was happy to have such a large part in the designing process. I do not mean to say I had everything to do with what was finally put on the shorts. VOmax was right there working to figure out what I had in mind and this is exactly it."

It was great working with the IUP Cycling Team on these new kits and we hope that have a great season of racing!

They created this great video of the members of the team training this winter to ready themselves for the first race of the season this weekend!

A glimpse of our new elite line of clothing

2011-02-24T09:17:00.001-08:00

If you want to get a little glimpse of what our new elite line will look like, check out this video of two of our elite riders in San Diego, CA last week.

This video will also highlight some of the objectives that our elite team is trying to accomplish in the upcoming year!

The big leagues: Bike-apparel business eyes growth through license deals Read more: The big leagues: Bike-apparel business eyes growth through licens

2010-12-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Serial entrepreneur Michael J. Restuccia sifted through thousands of acquisition targets before picking his latest venture. He wanted something profitable, cash flow positive and, most of all, easy to explain in an elevator pitch.

He found it in the form of VOmax, a Northampton-based maker of cycling apparel. When Restuccia bought the business for $3.25 million in 2006, the company had carved out a niche in the custom business, designing jerseys and shorts for cycling clubs and teams and their corporate sponsors. Now the company is leaping into the retail world on the back of licensing deals with Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

The custom marketplace is price-driven with little loyalty, said Restuccia, VOmax’s president and CEO. To grow the company, he needed to find a way to gain repeat customers, which meant a retail model. But there were too many competitors to try to sell VOmax-branded apparel to the 4,500 bike shops around the country.

“I needed a differentiator,” he said. That turned out to be licensed products. His pitch to the leagues was simple, he said. He had a sales engine in place to go after the thousands of independent bike shops and a proven track record. The fact that the U.S. cycling market is estimated to be as high as 45 million riders didn’t hurt either.

“The reception was very, very positive at all three leagues. I signed the contracts within 30 days,” said Restuccia, who commutes between his Lincoln home and the company’s 10,500-square-foot leased facility in Northampton.

VOmax did a soft launch of the licensed apparel, consisting of jerseys, shorts and arm warmers, in July. Prices range from $35 to $100. It beefed up its Web site to allow online shopping and provided the line to about a dozen independent shops. VOmax will show off the licensed wares next month at the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. Restuccia also has deals with Amazon and GSI Commerce Inc., the back-end sales engine for league sites and online sporting goods stores, which he hopes to start this fall. He still is pursuing a deal with the NFL. VOmax will continue its custom business with about 1,000 active customers.

Howard Smith, senior vice president of licensing for Major League Baseball in New York, said his organization is bombarded with pitches hawking the next great idea, but most have already been done. But in Restuccia the organization found a truly novel idea, he said.

“Everything we do is predicated on our fans and giving them ways to connect to baseball and their team in ways unique to them,” Smith said. “This was just another one of those ideas. Obviously biking has grown in popularity over the last several years. It sort of was a natural.”

Smith asked Restuccia to make a pair of Colorado Rockies jerseys for his sister-in-law and her husband to wear in a recent charity ride. The response was phenomenal, he said.

“It’s a small business, but everybody who has seen the product, touched the product, felt the product, loves the product,” Smith said.

The crisp, colorful garments are made using a dye sublimation process, enabling the apparel to be decorated without affecting wicking (which removes sweat away from a cyclist’s body) or compression (which boosts performance).

Cyclist Vince O’Connell launched VOmax in 1982, after his homemade Lycra shorts gained attention from fellow cyclists. While also O’Connell’s initials, the name came from VO2 max, the amount of oxygen an individual’s body consumes at peak athletic output.

“Vince perfected the art of dye sublimation,” Restuccia said. “Although it seems like a very simple process it’s very much an intersection of art and science.”

O’Connell brought the company to a little more than $1 million in revenue before selling in 2005. Businessman Ronald Koester owned it for a year before selling to Restuccia. Restuccia grew the company to $2.35 million in revenue in 2009. He projects $2.5 million in sales for this year with 50 percent growth for 2011, based on the new line. He expects to expand his staff from 21 to 30 employees this year.

“We were undercapitalized at the beginning,” said Restuccia, who is married with three sons. “I had to put a lot of my own money in. I literally put all my chips into the center of the table to make this acquisition happen.”

Restuccia turned to the Waltham-based Smaller Business Association of New England for help bringing in advisers and capital. Through the group’s CEO Dialog Program he met Jerry Socol, the former CEO of Filene’s who now runs the Boston-based consulting firm the Socol Group. He credits Socol and Dan Touhey, a former vice president of marketing for Spalding, with helping him devise his retail and licensing strategy.

“Michael is a hard-working, energetic, charismatic kind of a guy,” Socol said. He credits Restuccia’s enthusiasm and attitude for how quickly he was able to make deals. “I think he’s really onto something here. It’s a huge market.”

Originally from Reading, Restuccia graduated from Northeastern University in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He worked for 15 years in sales for high-tech firms. In the late 1990s he wanted to put his market analysis and sales skills to use for himself. He launched real estate ventures as well as a software startup. Some were successful, some were not, he said.

VOmax may have put an end to the 50-year-old’s startup yen as he sees numerous growth avenues for the company. As proof, he signed a deal with King Features to make both cycling gear and women’s fitness apparel featuring original artwork by pop artist Romero Britto.

“I’d love to see this company become a fashion apparel company, using and leveraging our expertise in dye sublimation,” he said.

Read more: The big leagues: Bike-apparel business eyes growth through license deals | Boston Business Journal

Happy Holidays!!

2010-12-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Everyone at VOmax would like to say Happy Holidays and have a safe and joyful New Year!!

Now that we are covered in a couple feet of snow i cant help thinking of strapping on the XC skis for some great cross training and a way to get out and play in the snow!

Stay tuned for some more updates on our great winter clothing!

Tis the Season.... for cyclocross

2010-12-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

This past weekend marked the final 2 races in the USGP series. This series is the most prestigious cyclocross series in the US. The rider who won both races is our very one local racer Jeremy Powers, or J POW as he's known on the streets. Since he lives so close to us here in Northampton we cant help but to be partial to him winning the series and cheering him on. This included a lot of yelling at our computer screens in the final 2 laps watching the streaming coverage from cyclingdirt.org.

Check out the coverage here and you can see why there was a lot of yelling happening!

Visit cyclingdirt.org for more Videos

We are extremely excited for him and wish him the best of luck at Nationals next weekend in Bend Oregon. We will be attending a party with all of his friends and acquittance's in the area to cheer him on next weekend!

Aside from that:

The Holiday season is now in full swing around us. With deals everywhere and everyone claiming to have the best gift out there! Well let me tell you something. They are all wrong! We have the coolest and best gift to give a loved on this season with our amazing licensed cycling gear for the MLB, NHL, and NBA. Thats not the only reason its a cool gift, but because it makes sense to shop locally! you can purchase these awesome jerseys for your sports fan in your family and they will really enjoy it!

The product is hand made in our manufacturing facility right here in Northampton MA!

So go to our website and purchase one of our awesome jerseys. And make sure to follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on whats going on with us here at VOmax.

Black Friday / Cyber Monday

2010-11-24T05:47:00.000-08:00

Black Friday is the day following thanksgiving day in the United States, traditionally the beginning to the Christmas shopping season. Many US retailers open there doors really early for the dedicated shoppers trying to get the best deal out there.

Theres not only Black Friday though. Theres also "Cyber Monday" which is the following Monday after black Friday. Its entirely a marketing scheme for the internet retailers. So of course, we are trying to capitalize on that awesome marketing scheme and hopefully sell some jerseys!

This is the time of year when everyone is trying to find the best gifts to give their loved ones on Christmas.

Luckily we have some pretty sweet products at a great price for your holiday shopping season. We have a few specialty items for sale as well. A pink Boston Red Sox jersey for your favorite lady. We also have the San Francisco Giants World Series jersey for sale, which are selling like "hot Cakes" at 8:00am in the morning at McDonald's.

So be sure to check out our great Licensed Cycling Jerseys for your favorite sports fan this winter season. So forget getting up early for your Black Friday store shopping. Just log into your computer and get on the VOmax website and purchase the best gift that any cycling sports fan could ask for and you will be as happy as the lady with the White Sox Jersey below.

Team Yeti-Sunflower

2010-11-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while one of our sponsored teams emails us with some updates on what they have been up to. The Yeti-Sunflower Team, that is just in its first year as a US domestic pro mountain bike team, has had a very successful season as of yet.

Macky Franklin that is on the team has had a great season and recently attended Collegiate nationals where he placed 4'th in the Division 2 XC race and 2'nd in the Division 2 short track race. Congratulations Macky on some great rides!

There are four people on the team and they all compete at the highest level of Mountain Biking against the some of the best in the world. Read about Yeti-Sunflower Team here. We are very proud to be one of the sponsors for the team and wish them continued success throughout the off season and into next season!

Also, Team member Macky, is starting his own social networking website for MTB'ing and cycling. Check it out and follow the teams success.

Northampton Cyclocross

2010-11-09T06:50:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was the 20'th Annual Cycle-smart International right here in our home turf of Northampton MA. This race brings riders from all over the United States and a select few from other countries. Adam Myerson started this race back when he was attending UMass Amherst 20 years ago, and the race has grown to be one of the biggest UCI races in the United States.

Some of us from VOmax= were there at the races helping out with volunteering and course set up/breakdown. The racing was amazing, with the Italian Lucca Damiani really laying it down to the Keough's. Here is some great video clips of the elite mens race.

Cyclocross racing is quickly becoming the biggest and most spectator friendly cycling event in the United States. Thats why we came out with out new thermal skin suit specifically for the Cyclocross season. Next season we will have a full line of 'cross products to offer.

Giants World Series Cycling Jersey!

2010-11-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

For the first time in 56 years the San Francisco Giants took the win last night over the Texas Rangers in the World Series of Baseball!

Two of the best pitchers in the MLB faced off last night in a duel that left Giants pitcher, Tim Lincecum, standing proud at the end of the game.

VOmax got the art work approved to create a World Series Giants Jersey. Make sure to order your jerseys soon!

Like always after a World Series win, the t-shirts, hats, jackets and all other type of apparel is sold and handed out to all the teammates to wear proudly. You can check out our San Francisco Giants cycling apparel and wear your world series winners proudly while you're out riding!

But dont forget about the Texas Rangers. They had an incredible season as well. We all know that somewhere out there are hundreds of boxes of already printed t-shirts and hats that are now unable to be worn. Who knows where that goes, but you can still get an authentic Rangers Cycling Jersey to represent your runner ups in the World Series.

Luckily for us here at VOmax, everything is made in house to order! Right here in Northampton MA, we are making your custom orders as they come in. So order your World Series Champions cycling jersey today. Alongside all you other favorite MLB teams.

Its getting cold out!

2010-10-22T06:41:00.001-07:00

We have been really busy here at VOmax trying to create some cold weather clothes for the cyclocross season. Cyclocross is fastly becoming one of the biggest events in cycling so we want to accomodate the late season cold weather races with a thermal skin suit that isn't too hot when your racing, but also keeps you warm enough when your lining up for the start.

This product isn't yet available but the prototyping is almost complete and ready to be sold!

Also now that the warm weather is coming its time to start thinking about gearing up for the winter with some warm weather accesories. We have some great arm warmers in your favorite MLB, NBA, and NHL teams and colors available to keep your upper body nice and warm when getting those cold weather miles in.

Contact us with any questions you might have.

Breast Cancer Awareness Jersey

2010-10-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Its Breast Cancer Awareness Month so we decided to create a special jersey for this month.

The jersey is a Pink Red Sox Jersey sold at any of our retailers and their webistes. As well as our own Vomaxgear.com. The jersey is the same as the other licensed apparel, but is only sold in womens sizes.

Get your jersey today!

Famous People and Their Favorite Sports Teams

2010-10-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

With our full line of VOmax licensed products (http://vomaxgear.com/) in full production we thought to ourselves; "I wonder how we could get a celebrity to wear their favorite sports team while they were out cycling." A lot of famous people enjoy cycling and are also avid sports fans.

For example Mike Meyers loves the Toronto Maple Leafs and has done some cycling.

So what would it take to get him to ride a bike with us here at VOmax to help promote our products! Imagine getting the guy from Waynes World to represent VOmax.

That would be great!

Even better would be getting a guys like Matt Damon and Ben Afflack to come by for a day to ride with a Boston Red Sox kit on!

They are both from the Boston area and still reside there.

There are so many great celebrities that are avid sports fans like Jerry Seinfeld and his support of the New York Mets http://bit.ly/aZE4M8, or Bill Murray who supports the Chicago cubs http://bit.ly/cdtfvv.

So if any of you out there in the inteweb world have any great connections. Send me a line!

New warm up pants. Custom sublimation.

2010-10-12T06:25:00.001-07:00

Today the brand new sublimated warm up pants were finished for the wheelhouse team. They are not available to everyone as of yet, but they should be very soon once we receive some feedback from the Wheelhouse team after this weekend.

The great thing about these pants is the full zipper down the side. Now that its getting cold and cyclocross season is in full swing, you need some way to stay warm right up to the start of the race.

With the full zipper down the sides, it becomes very easy to remove the pants immediately before the start. No more waiting around for the start in the cold.

They also make a great cold weather riding pant. The fit is very comfortable, and they wear easily right over your VOmax bib shorts.

Check them out on the wheelhouse team, and let us know what you think about the new product.

Photo Shoot!

2010-10-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

Since we have launched our new licensed cycling clothing line, which consists of 90 teams of the NHL, NBA, and MLB, (http://vomaxgear.com/) we have been trying to get all 90 team jerseys and bibs onto a mannequin so that our site looks professional and represents all 90 teams in the same way.

We have had about 30 of the teams pictures on the website and the others we just have the line art that we use to create the jerseys.

Today we are finally shooting the rest of the teams and we hired a couple pros and brought in some reinforcement with the mannequin (http://www.vomaxgear.com/mlb-c-2) that i picked up from Dicks Sporting goods this morning.

The website should be updated shortly with all the new photos.

If your not already, follow us on twitter and become friends with us on facebook. That way you can be kept up to date on all things in the cycling apparel industry!

Interbike Recap

2010-09-27T05:52:00.000-07:00

The VOmax crew headed out to Interbike last Tuesday for the first time in a long time to showcase our new licensed cycling gear, http://vomaxgear.com/.

Our booth sparked an enormous amount of interest within the industry, and some people even said that our new line of cycling clothing was the best thing they saw at interbike this year.

We were very surprised at the wide array of people that really loved our new product. They were people from within the clothing industry to parents of riders and even some Fixie culture people had great interest in the product. We were selling our jerseys on sight, and we sure did sell a lot of them!

Cross Vegas was a great experience. Watching the local New England riders, Jamey Driscoll, Jeremy Powers and Tim Johnson, race was great! Its to bad Driscoll couldn't hold on till the end, it was a great race though.

Overall, we had a overwhelming response to our product and everyone here at VOmax is extremely excited to move forward with the production of the jerseys. It truly felt great when representatives of other major cycling clothing companies came over to our booth and complimented us on our new products.

Check out all our product online now! Vomax.com

A little about me

2010-09-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a blog post that i created for a guest blog section on lovingthebike.com
I figured i would put it up on this blog, so you loyal fans can get to know me a little bit.

The subject of this post is about my plans for the future of cycling!

I also race for the VOmax elite team. So this is also another addition of meeting the team.

Jeremy Durrin
Age: 22
Category 1 racer

Beginning of a 7 hour ride!

When I was 18 and coming out of high school I needed an outlet for my athletic drive. A friend let me borrow a bike and that’s when it all started. I started riding an hour a day with my friends that were clearly much faster than me, that made me work harder so that I could become faster and stronger. After my first few races I set a cycling career goal of making it to the category 2 level. I set this goal because I knew I could achieve it and becoming a category one, at least I though at the time, was going to takes many years and those guys were so fast!

Me in breakaway at Collegiate Nationals this year. I raced for UMass Amherst.

Well, now I’m a category one rider 2 years after I started racing with the Wheelhouse / NCC elite team out of Easthampton MA. Since cycling has helped me so much through the past few years, I have decided to try and make a career in the cycling industry. I aspire to become a professional, but who doesn’t, and I currently work for a cycling clothing company, VOmax, as their social media marketing manager in Northampton MA. This gives me the flexibility to work and train when I want to.

On the front of the lead-out. We took 1’st, 3’rd, 5’Th, 7’Th, and 10’Th

Cycling has really changed my life. So now I plan to give back to cycling as much as I can throughout my career. As I journey through the ranks of cycling I hope to reach the top and sign a pro contract some day. My dream is to race the Tour of California, if that happens I couldn’t ask for anything more! The team I am currently with has a great community influence. We run kids races, lead group rides, help people get started riding, donate to the community. The directors of my team are great, they not only are really fast but really care about giving back to the sport that gave them so much. I wish to do what they do some day.

Recent local cross race. Came in Second place.

Now I’m 22 years old, and have a great support system in cycling. I am trying to make a name for myself and get noticed so I can race with the pros someday soon! Watch out for me on the social media front as @Vomaxtechnical and there are talks about me joining the bikereg.com social media front as well, so watch out for that as well. I will be conducting video interviews of top cyclocross racers, for my various blogs through VOmax and bikereg.com.

Sitting on the Jamis and kenda leadout train at the NRC Fitchburg Longsjo crit.

Help and support me along the way!

Customer Appreciation

2010-08-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

At VOmax we always love receiving pictures from our customers showing off our products in action. We recently received these photos of our new licensed apparel from a couple different clients.

These riders wore our new licensed jerseys representing Boston MA at the Pan Mass Challenge a few weekends ago.

Another group of riders sped off with our Colorado Rockies jerseys recently.

Its always great to see our cycling jerseys out there in the cycling world! We want to see more customer photos. If you read this and want to send us pictures, just shoot them over to Shop@vomaxgear.com and i will post them on our facebook and twitter.

This licensed cycling apparel sector of our business is really taking off for us! Check out our website Vomaxgear.com and purchase your favorite sports team jersey.
Remember though, we do custom cycling jerseys as well, http://vomax.com/cycling1.html

Expect to see our bike jerseys everywhere real soon. Our marketing will be getting us into bike shops all over the U.S. and in other retailers in the cycling industry.

Elite team Profiles continued

2010-08-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

Elite team Profile

The next two guys that we are featuring have both raced as professional teams and are a huge asset to the Wheelhouse team. They help the younger riders learn what it takes to race like a pro.

Ward Solar
Age: 34
Hometown: Milan, NH
Racing Category: Cat 1
Ward Solar started racing road bikes back in 1989. While living in northern NH he joined a local bike club and never looked back. In college he started a mountain bike club, played collegiate soccer and volleyball. He even graduated with an ecology and environmental science degree! After college he was craving competition so Ward picked up solo 24 hour mountain bike racing. The next 5 years he spent most of his time training on his road bike but racing his mountain bike. With over ten 24 hour solo victories and high finishes at the World Championships, he was drawn back to his road racing career. In 2000 because of his love of cycling and wealth of experience, he decided to become a USA level 2 certified cycling coach. In 2002 he joined America’s Cycling Team and was exposed to many International two week UCI Stage Races. 2005+2006 Ward moved to Richmond VA. and rode for the local Pro /Am Team Natures Path. Missing NE he moved back and planted himself a “real” job as a sales and service pro working in the biotech field. For the ladies out there you can check one more off your list, as Ward is engaged and soon to be married, but don’t let that stop you from checking out and cheering for the rest of the NCC/ Wheelhouse crew.

Dan Greenfield
Dan rejoined Wheelhouse / NCC in 2009 after taking several years off during grad school. In 2005, he had a successful season with the team earning his category 1 upgrade in the spring and eventually securing a spot on a UCI trade team for 2006. On the national circuit Dan found the steep part of his learning curve. While results did not pour in, he gained some experience, which he hopes he can share with his younger teammates.
Prior to cycling, Dan played football while attending Colby College. He currently is a PhD candidate and lecturer in the economics department at Northeastern University.

This team plays a huge role in getting our cycling jerseys out into the racing scene. They are the nicest people in the New England bike racing area. The team is in charge of critiquing our new cycling products and giving constant feedback on existing custom apparel (http://bit.ly/9j59j7). Right now we have two of the riders in the office giving us feedback on new cycling apparel and are discussing where VOmax should go in order to take of more of the market (http://bit.ly/9me2Kr). I'm looking forward to hearing what evolves out of this meeting.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Cross racing is on my schedule, and in this heat i will be wearing my new summer skin suit that VOmax makes! (http://bit.ly/dp20e9)

Best dressed

2010-08-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Here at VOmax we love to connect with the people that wear our stuff. irecently stumbled upon this photo on a teams website that we recently supplied with new kits.

The kits came out great, and they actually won a best dressed competition at an event they were at!

They will also be getting ski suits that look the same from us!

Remember we don't only do cycling. but running and skiing as well.

VOmax's elite team profiles

2010-08-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

VOmax sponsors a local elite race team in the northeast. There team name is Wheelhouse / Northampton cycling club. This team is great because they help us with a lot of product development and testing. A lot of products that are out in the market now for us were tested and critiqued by the hardest riders who really put the products to the test.

This is going to be a blog series that focuses on a couple riders of the team each entry, and highlights what their strong points are and how they help the team. We will focus on Mukunda and Alec for today.

Age 31

Hometown Easthampton, MA

Racing Category Cat 1

Personal Bio: Mukunda has been racing for over 10 years and has spent the last several years racing for the Team. A strong all-rounder, Mukunda enjoys racing hard for the breaks and giving it his all in industrial park crits. This year Mukunda has taken over Jason Beerman’s spot as Team Director and is really pumped about the way everything has come together, so if you don’t see him off the front of a race it’s most likely because he is back in the team car “directing” things..

When Mukunda isn’t racing he can be found drinking coffee and whisky at his cafes Amherst Coffee and Northampton Coffee.

Age: 33

Hometown: Easthampton, MA

Racing Category: 1

I got into racing based on a misconception of the sport that watching the tour on tv had fostered. A few years in, as I realized I would not be the next Miguel Indurain and this industrial crit was not like what I saw on the alp, it was too late and the act of riding a bike had inseparably grown into the way I related to life. So, I like to ride bikes, and racing is partly the justification for that riding. I live in the Pioneer valley with the core of the Wheelhouse team, and the riding out here is amazing with little traffic. It’s hard to pick which of your favorite routes to ride, and it’s impossible to get to all of them in a season. I don’t mind riding with people, but really like riding alone.

I am a coach for Cycle-Smart.com, and a board member of the Northampton Cycling Club. I promote a local training series in Montague, and UCI cross races.

Mukunda and I run the team as a way to collect people that make racing more enjoyable.

Sometimes they are fictitious like Neil Coleman, or Doug, but they are always people we would associate with off the bike.

Tune in for more profiles on our riders in the following weeks.

Training fundamentals

2010-08-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

There are many ways you can get more out of your training plan. Here are some quick tips to maximize your training.

1. Have a plan- Your fitness level is limited by just doing your own thing. If you want to take it to the next level, you need to have a plan and follow it. Scoring that first win comes with time and practice. So create a plan, or hire a coach and take it to the next level.

2. Listen to your body- You can have a plan and follow a plan but sometimes you just need to listen to your body. It’s important to rest if you are tired. Listening to your body is the best thing you can do for yourself. If you have a coach telling you what to do, be sure to tell him or her what you are feeling, otherwise you may keep pushing yourself when your body doesn’t want to be pushed. Be ready to scrap your training plan if need be.

3. Ride at the limits- Challenge your body every week. Go out and do a hard ride with a structured workout. But be sure to follow it up with rest. Rest is what really makes legs strong.

4. Be in tune with yourself- While camaraderie is important in making rides more fun, make sure you keep your training goals in mind before you empty yourself on the next king of the mountain contest or town line sprint. If you can’t go easy when you’re supposed to go easy, then ride by yourself. If you want to race for the king of the mountains and town like sprints on your group ride, try to structure that into your training plan.

5. Do what you don’t like- If you hate climbing, then go out and climb. It will only make you better.

6. Set improvement goals- Week in and week out you are logging the miles, doing the intervals and other specific workouts. Make sure you are setting goals, weekly, monthly, yearly. If you set goals you are more likely to achieve your optimal fitness.

7. Maintain the body- Cycling is more than just pedaling with your legs. It your core, your upper body and back. Be sure to be doing some workouts that address strengthening these areas. It will help you become a better all around rider.

8. Train your mind- Sometimes you can do more than you think you can. Try training your brain to allow yourself to do things you wouldn’t normally do. Think positively and use visualization.

9. Eat- This is explained in the earlier blog post. Make sure to eat while you are riding. This will supply you with the right energy while riding. Also keep hydrated with water and sports drinks.

10. Have fun- Remember that you are riding a bicycle. Every kid loves going fast, bring back that joy and just have fun with it. Even your clothing can reflect your fun side. VOmax just introduced a line of MLB, NHL, and NBA cycling apparel. My group had one guy in a Red Sox jersey and another in a Yankees. The motorists loved it!

The making of a Red Sox Jersey

2010-07-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

One of the really cool things about working here at VOmax is that we make our stuff right down the hallway from my desk. This morning I went into the production room to see what they were making and saw that we were making a fresh batch of Red Sox and Bruins cyling jerseys.

So i took a few pictures. Everything, from start to finish is created down the hall. It all starts with the cutting of the fabric and printing the artwork onto the fabric.

That's the finished product after cutting the fabric and printing the image onto the jersey. We then take all the cut fabric and transfer them to the sewing room.

The sewing room is where it actually starts looking like a jersey. The collar gets sewn, all the panels come together nicely and we almost have a finished product.

Some of the coolest things we make are our licensed apparel. You can ride proudly with your favorite team represented on your back. Check out all the teams at http://www.vomaxgear.com/

Ride like a pro cyclist

2010-07-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things that the average cyclist can learn from watching big races such as the Tour de France and the Tour of California. The teams work together so well that sometimes every break away that gets away seems to happen for a reason, and the teams soon reel the riders in at a specific point for tactical advantages. But you don’t have to study these pros in the big races to learn to ride like them. Here are a few easy things that you can learn to ride more like the pros.

Pacing: It may not be noticeable to the average rider watching the pros on TV, but each of them is carefully monitoring their energy output each day. It’s as if they have a specific goal in mind at the beginning of the day, so they start with a fixed amount of gas in the tank and will only use as much as necessary during each stage. Each hard effort that they put out burns gas and at the end of the stage they will have used up the amount of gas in the tank right as they cross the finish line.

Proper pacing is important so you don’t burn all your fuel before the end of the ride, because there’s no way of getting it back. Something that helps in breaking the ride up into pieces, either thirds or quarters whichever you prefer. Set a goal for each part of your ride and make sure you follow that goal, but don’t be overly aggressive with your goals. You want to have some left in the tank when it comes to the finish of the group ride or a race. (TIP: if you completely deplete your energy source, it makes it difficult to recover for the next day. Be conservative.)

Group Riding: When you are riding in a group and you are properly drafting off the rider in front of you, you can save upwards of 30% of your energy. You need to practice pace lining. Many riders are not confident in their pace lining and this causes them to actually waste more energy than they would on their own. Being smooth and confident is the key to saving as much energy as possible.

Tactics: The ride profile will decide what kind of tactics riders will use. On a flat ride, a team will usually ride at an above average pace to discourage a break away from getting away. On a hillier ride, it’s important that riders become cautious and not to use up to much energy on the first half of the ride. When it comes time to climb, that’s when you can start using more gas ~~that’s~~ in the tank. Be careful though, many riders tend to start out too hard and burn too much energy at the beginning and then don’t have enough to keep up towards the top of a climb. Be smart when riding: the most important thing to riding/racing is to conserve as much energy as possible. This will make you a better and stronger rider.

Nutrition: The most important factor of them all is what you eat and drink on the bike. You don’t see it on TV, but the riders are drinking from there bottles every 10-15mins, usually a sports drink, and eating some type of energy bar every 15-20mins. During a ride you usually will burn more fuel than you can take in during the ride. Eating and drinking complex carbohydrates is very important during the ride so you won’t cramp and ~~you~~ will last throughout your ride. Proper nutrition also helps the recovery process after the ride. (TIP: If you start fading at the end of a ride, it’s most likely because you went too hard and were not able to replenish your fuel in time.)

Lessons from the Pros: You will notice that sometimes a rider in the Tour De France will be climbing with a group and then all of a sudden they are off the back, and they are not going anywhere fast. Cadel Evans had this experience in this year’s Tour. He was climbing beyond his energy limits and then all of a sudden he “hits the wall” and falls off the lead group and can barely pedal his bike. He went way too far into his energy bank and couldn’t take in enough nutrition to stay with the group.

Many other things can make you ride more like the pros. Their clothing, for instance, is made specifically for competition. It’s tight, lightweight, and ventilates very well. Clothing from VOmax is top-of-the-line for cycling, running and skiing, and it’s all made here in the USA! Check out some cool clothing on vomax.com and get outfitted like the pros.