Joy Poulsen, Yellow Jersey
Kim Brandt, Yellow Jersey
Joy Poulsen and Kim Brandt
Castro Valley (SF Bay Area), CA
Heart Zones Yellow Jersey Trainers
Joy Poulsen and Kim Brandt became Yellow Jersey Trainers at the 2005 Heart Zones Conference in Denver, CO. Both trainers are friends and live in the Northern California area. Together, they decided to train a group of women for the Thirtieth Anniversary Cinderella Classic Bike Tour, a 100 kilometer (66.2 mile) ride through Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Danville, and San Ramon, California.
To get ready for the event, 20 local women participated in the Heart Zones Group Cycling training program to increase their endurance, strength, and speed led by Heart Zones ® trainers Joy Poulsen and Kim Brandt. The Heart Zones® Group training program teaches participants to train smarter not harder using their heart rate. While some of the women are experienced riders, others hadn't been on their bike in a while. The training provided both the physical and mental preparation to achieve their goal - completion of the ride. Renee Ray, one of the women, said, "It was the hardest ride in 30 years, but the training prepared us and we did it!"
Training for any event as part of a group is also a great way to get motivated and stay committed to the goal. "At home I am mom and wife, but by training for and completing this ride, I know that I am Maribel, a strong woman," are the insightful words from Maribel Castillo-Glaze.
Group training creates a team feeling and provides the emotional support to attain the goal. "Everyone stuck with the training because no one wanted to let the team down," noted trainer Kim Brandt, "To complete the ride was a great sense of accomplishment for everyone."
The training program consisted of four rides per week plus email support from Joy and Kim. To celebrate the ladies training a pasta feed was held the night before where each women was given a certificate of completion along with a goodie bag for the ride.
Sharon Carlos , a student, said of the training program, " The emails ahead of time to know what was going to happen in the coming week were very helpful. The various other tips, nutrition, bike clinic, and outdoor rides were all very helpful too." Most of the rides were done on indoor cycling bikes at a local gym and one ride a week (weather permitting) was outdoors. "The indoor cycling bikes are a great way to train during the rainy weather, but we needed to ride outdoors to get the feel of the road, gearing, and road etiquette," explained Joy Poulsen, Heart Zones ® trainer and cyclist.
Many of the women look at the Cinderella Classic as the opening of the cycling season and plan to participate in upcoming cycling or triathlon events throughout the Bay Area. Whether the events are fundraisers, "for fun" or races, anyone can enjoy these physical events, with the right training. The day of the actual Cinderella Ride, the weather played a MAJOR role, giving all riders a real challenge. Storms predominated Northern California the days and night before. The day of the event, when it wasn't raining, hailing or even sleeting, the cold wind picked up. Donned in their pink jerseys emblazoned with Harley's Angels (in appreciation of Harland Bordeau of Cavalier Trucking) and their Heart Zones head gear all riders finished the ride...a testament to Heart Zones training and the incredible perseverence and spirit of the ladies and their leaders, Joy and Kim.
The Cinderella Classic is an annual event sponsored by the Valley Spokesmen Bicycle Touring Club. The proceeds from the event go to help women's support organizations.
Joy Poulsen and Kim Brandt are Yellow Jersey Heart Zones -certified instructors and trainers. Learn more about the Heart Zones® Group Cycling program.