Many Tour de France Cyclists, Including 1st Place Finisher, Use Zwift

 

Zwift
Image: Zwift.com

A trusted advisor to organizations like Zwift, Lime, and Change.org, Ed Baker specializes in the new integrated twist on digital marketing called growth hacking. These strategies have spurred growth for Zwift, a training app that makes it possible for indoor cyclists and runners to enjoy interacting and competing with other athletes in a digital environment.

According to CyclingNews.com, more than one-third of the recent Tour de France’s cyclists use Zwift. Known as Zwifters, 66 riders used their training from the Zwift virtual space on the Tour de France’s challenging mountain roads in the Alps and Pyrenees. Zwift users in the race included the Tour winner Geraint Thomas and second place finisher Tom Dumoulin.

In addition, four Zwift users were winners of the individual stages: Greg Van Avermaet, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Oscar Fraile, and Arnaud Demare. An American rider with nearly 4,000 kilometers on Zwift, Lawson Craddock, finished the race despite a fractured shoulder blade. He raised more than $200,000 for the velodrome in his hometown of Houston through participation in the race.

A Brief History of the Banjo

Banjo
Image: Banjo.com

Stanford graduate Ed Baker, a growth advisor at LimeBike and several other startups, enjoys playing music in his free time and is currently learning to play the banjo.

The earliest record of stringed instruments similar to banjos dates back to writings from the 17th century, according to which North America, East Africa, and the Caribbean all had instruments consisting of a gourd body with stretched animal skin over the top. A fretless wooden neck was added to this, along with three to four strings. Over time, these instruments were introduced to the New World through slavery, and they soon became commonplace on plantation homes in the United States.

By the mid-1700s, banjos became a part of many minstrel shows in the U.S. At these shows, a white minstrel impersonated African-American musicians. Joel Walker Sweeney, a minstrel performer, became proficient with the banjo and is credited with being the first to use the modern drum-like configuration when playing the instrument. He is also credited with popularizing the fifth string, a short string that produces a drone note that has since become a common characteristic of the banjo.

Banjos continued gaining popularity through the Civil War. This war exposed many new people to the banjo and saw white musicians adapt European folk songs and tunes to be played on the banjo. Manufacturers of the instrument began adding frets, tone rings, and resonators to the instrument by the late 1800s, and the banjo grew into a common addition to early jazz ensembles. Although the guitar eventually dethroned the banjo in terms of popularity, the instrument is still enjoyed by many individuals.

What to Wear during a Triathlon

 

Triathlon
Image: active.com

A growth advisor at LimeBike, Change.org, and Zwift, Ed Baker focuses much of his time on training for triathlons and recently competed in and won his first Ironman competition.

In a triathlon, if you wear a tri suit, you don’t have to be taking clothing off at any point during the race, other than removing a wetsuit if you decide to wear one for the swimming portion. This suit is made of material that wicks moisture away from the body and includes a thin cycling pad that adds some additional cushion. Since this pad is thin, it does not retain water from the swimming portion of the race and instead dries very quickly.

Triathlon suits are usually available as either a one- or two-piece garment. In most cases, these garments are quite expensive since they are specifically designed to be comfortable for triathlons. This expense may keep many new triathletes from purchasing the suits, but they are a pretty common part of experienced triathletes’ race gear.

Instead of buying a triathlon suit, new triathletes can opt for a good pair of shorts and tops. Both the top and bottom of whatever a racer chooses should wick moisture away and promote long-term comfort for racers. Still, triathletes have a bit more flexibility when choosing their top, so they can choose a comfortable tank top or other top that they wore during training.

Choosing shorts is a little less flexible since triathletes may want dedicated triathlon shorts. These shorts are still padded for cycling, but they feature thinner pads that hold less water. This means triathletes can comfortably wear their shorts after the swimming portion of the race without worrying about feeling like they are wearing a swim diaper.

In a full Ironman, one option is to remove the tri suit after the cycling portion of the race and switch to running shorts and a singlet. This is what Ed did at his first Ironman, Ironman Lake Placid, where he was the overall champion of the race.

Improving the Bike Leg of a Triathlon

 

Triathlon
Image: active.com

Viral growth advisor Ed Baker focuses much of his free time on competing in triathlons, including the half and full Ironman events.

For Ironman competitors, about 50 percent of their race is spent on a bike, yet many focus much of their training on swimming and running, thus relatively ignoring their cycling preparation and performance.

If they want to improve their bike leg, triathletes must put in the training. Ideally, they should practice riding between two and four times weekly. With the exception of one, rides should all be of a similar length. One session every week should be longer to help build endurance. Over time, triathletes gradually increase the length of this riding session to the length of the bike leg in their race.

While training, triathletes can improve their biking speed by riding with a group. This training method is perfect for new triathletes since it forces them to adjust their speed to match that of the riders around them. When this group rides faster, they will train at a faster speed than they would have on their own. Interval training is another great way of improving speed since it tasks triathletes with pedaling as fast as they can for brief periods.

Additionally, triathletes should look into getting their bike professionally fit to their body. Doing so ensures that it is comfortable to sit on for extended periods. This reduces the risk of injury and ensures riders are in the best position possible for redirecting power to their pedals.

Crowdpac Facilitates Easier Collaboration and Sharing of Campaigns

 

Crowdpac
Image: Crowdpac.com

A digital growth expert who has held executive positions at Uber and Facebook, Ed Baker is an accomplished triathlete in the Boston metropolitan area. Moreover, Ed Baker serves as an advisor to several promising startups, including Crowdpac, a bipartisan political action platform that makes it easier for individuals to connect with representatives and launch their own political careers.

Historically, collaboration across email, social media platforms, and campaign fundraising accounts has proven difficult since individuals must share login and password information to do so. Crowdpac is now helping its users sidestep the logistical headache of keeping this data safe by providing multi-user access. Now, Crowdpac users can grant access to other team members or even contractors for ease in editing, updating, and retrieving data.

Account access is easily shared directly from the “Settings” menu on the campaign dashboard. Only one “owner” can exist. This person alone has the ability to delete or close a campaign. However, “managers” can be added who have every other permission. Owners and managers can easily invite others to access the campaign by adding their email address to the account.