https://velosurance.com/blog/ Bicycle and e-bike insurance, theft, safety, gear, training, and the laws that change how you ride. New articles from the Velosurance team. en-us 2026 Velosurance. All rights reserved. support@velosurance.com (Velosurance) support@velosurance.com (Velosurance) Sun, 25 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Tue, 27 Oct 2026 15:10:52 -0500 Jekyll 4.2.2 https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification 60 daily 1 https://velosurance.com/assets/images/velosurance/logos/velosurance-logo@2x.png https://velosurance.com/blog/ 144 38 https://velosurance.com/blog/mitochondria-cycling-endurance/ https://velosurance.com/blog/mitochondria-cycling-endurance/ Sun, 25 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Half of your fitness lives in your leg muscles, in the mitochondria that burn fat, sugar and, late in a long ride, your own muscle protein. Here is how training builds them, how fast you lose them when you stop riding, what to eat to keep the building going, and why high-dose antioxidant pills blunt the gains. Mitochondria for Cyclists: How Your Legs Build an Engine, and How They Lose One https://velosurance.com/blog/velocity-based-training-cyclists/ https://velosurance.com/blog/velocity-based-training-cyclists/ Thu, 22 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Pro cycling teams stopped grinding out heavy sets to failure and started watching bar speed instead. Velocity-based training loads the bar at 60 to 70% of max, pushes every rep as fast as possible and ends the set at the first slow rep. In professional riders it matched heavy lifting for strength, power and time trial gains with far less soreness. Here is the research, the gear you do and do not need, and the two-session-a-week program. Velocity-Based Training for Cyclists: How to Lift for Power Without Wrecking Tomorrow’s Ride https://velosurance.com/blog/protein-for-cyclists/ https://velosurance.com/blog/protein-for-cyclists/ Thu, 22 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness The old advice was pasta and a banana. The newest research in cyclists says 1.6 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram a day, double the RDA, with 30 to 45 grams at a meal and one of those meals inside two hours of the ride. Here is where the numbers come from, how to hit them in pounds and on a plate, and what protein will and will not do for your speed. How Much Protein Do Cyclists Need? What the Latest Research Says https://velosurance.com/blog/cycling-race-weight/ https://velosurance.com/blog/cycling-race-weight/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness The skin-and-bones climber of the 2000s is gone. Today's pros are as lean as ever but carry more muscle, because durability, the power you still have after three hours, is what wins. Here is why chasing a lower number on the scale costs most amateurs watts, how to lose weight without losing muscle, and the gym method that made lifting stick. Race Weight Is Over: Why Pro Cyclists Got Stronger, Not Thinner, and What It Means for You https://velosurance.com/blog/winter-bike-trainer-workout/ https://velosurance.com/blog/winter-bike-trainer-workout/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Winter on the trainer is the one time of year you control every variable, so spend it fixing a specific weakness. Four of them, fading after 90 minutes, a low VO2 max ceiling, getting dropped on climbs, and losing sprints, each with the drills that fix it, the ERG or simulation setting to run them in, and a 16-week sample plan. Don’t Waste Another Winter on the Trainer: Workouts That Fix Real Weaknesses https://velosurance.com/blog/cross-training-cyclists-what-works/ https://velosurance.com/blog/cross-training-cyclists-what-works/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Aerobic fitness carries over between sports, but unevenly: running and cross-country skiing transfer to the bike well, swimming barely at all. The real payoff is what cycling cannot give you, bone loading, an upper body, and hips that move. Here is the transfer scorecard for every winter option, how to fit it into a week, and how to get back on the bike in spring. Cross-Training for Cyclists: What Transfers to the Bike and What Doesn’t https://velosurance.com/blog/dirty-30s-intervals-cycling/ https://velosurance.com/blog/dirty-30s-intervals-cycling/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Dirty 30s are eight 30-second efforts at 120% to 150% of FTP with a minute easy between them, 26 minutes door to door. The Norwegian research behind short intervals, the workout written out minute by minute, three progressions, and where it fits in a week next to the 4x4. Dirty 30s: The 30-Second Interval Workout That Teaches Your Legs to Recover at Speed https://velosurance.com/blog/stronger-mountain-biker-over-winter/ https://velosurance.com/blog/stronger-mountain-biker-over-winter/ Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Winter is the only stretch of the year long enough to build real strength. Here is how mountain bikers should spend it: two heavy gym sessions a week, a minimal aerobic dose, and skills work that pays off the first time the trails dry out. How to Become a Stronger Mountain Biker Over Winter https://velosurance.com/blog/prediabetes-cycling-gels/ https://velosurance.com/blog/prediabetes-cycling-gels/ Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Pro riders eat 90 to 120 g of sugar an hour and amateurs copy them. Now lean, high-volume cyclists are turning up with prediabetic bloodwork. What the studies show, what sugar does to your teeth, and how to fuel to the ride instead of to the Tour. Gels, Sports Drinks, and the Prediabetic Cyclist: How Much Sugar Is Too Much? https://velosurance.com/blog/washington-ebike-law/ https://velosurance.com/blog/washington-ebike-law/ Tue, 22 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Bicycle insurance Washington rewrote its e-bike definition in ESSB 6110, effective June 11, 2026. Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 e-bikes with pedals and 750 watts or less stay bicycles: no license, registration, or insurance mandate. Anything that tops 20 mph on throttle alone, or was sold to be easily unlocked, is now a motorcycle or moped, with the license, plate, insurance, and DOT helmet that come with it. Washington's New E-Bike Law: What Every Rider Needs to Know https://velosurance.com/blog/nyc-ebike-rules/ https://velosurance.com/blog/nyc-ebike-rules/ Sun, 20 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Bicycle insurance Every e-bike in New York City is capped at 15 mph, a red light on a bike is a traffic ticket again as of March 27, 2026, and no-fault pays up to $50,000 of your medical bills when a car, truck or bus hits you. It never pays for the bike, and it does not exist when no motor vehicle is involved. The rules, the crash numbers, and who pays after a crash in the five boroughs. Riding a Bike or E-Bike in New York City: The Rules, the Risks and Who Pays After a Crash https://velosurance.com/blog/e-bike-vs-car-costs/ https://velosurance.com/blog/e-bike-vs-car-costs/ Sun, 20 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Electric bikes A new car costs $12,863 a year, per AAA, which works out to roughly a workday of pay every week. An e-bike costs about $1,000. Yet riders who buy one to drive less keep drifting back to the car, and the ride is rarely the reason: it is the parking, the charging, the weather, the weight and the route. What the switch is worth in hours, and the fix for each thing that makes riders quit. E-Bike vs. Car: What Switching Really Costs, and Why Riders Quit https://velosurance.com/blog/bike-cargo-trailer/ https://velosurance.com/blog/bike-cargo-trailer/ Sun, 20 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Gear A bike cargo trailer costs $150 to $600, hooks to the bike you already own in about ten seconds, and hauls 100 lbs of groceries without changing how the bike handles. This guide covers how trailers attach to quick-release, nutted and thru-axles, one wheel versus two, which trailer fits the Costco run, the daycare run and the hardware store, 20 models compared by capacity and price, and what changes when the tow vehicle is an e-bike. Bike Cargo Trailer Buying Guide: Best Trailers, Hitches and Uses https://velosurance.com/blog/overtraining-syndrome-cyclists/ https://velosurance.com/blog/overtraining-syndrome-cyclists/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Push hard for long enough without recovering and training stops making you faster. Here is how normal fatigue turns into overreaching and then overtraining syndrome, why cyclists are unusually good at digging this hole, and the handful of habits that keep you out of it. Overtraining Syndrome: When More Riding Makes You Slower https://velosurance.com/blog/peptides-for-cycling-injuries/ https://velosurance.com/blog/peptides-for-cycling-injuries/ Sat, 05 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Somewhere in your riding group there is someone injecting BPC-157 near a knee that has hurt since March. Here is what is in the vial, what the research says it does, what the FDA and the anti-doping agencies say about it, and what to do about the knee instead. BPC-157 and Healing Peptides: Can They Really Fix a Cyclist’s Tendon? https://velosurance.com/blog/connecticut-ebike-law/ https://velosurance.com/blog/connecticut-ebike-law/ Thu, 03 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Bicycle insurance Connecticut rewrote its e-bike rules in Public Act 25-159 and Public Act 25-65, effective October 1, 2025. Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 e-bikes stay bicycles: no license, no registration, no insurance mandate. But a helmet is required at every age, and that rule now carries a ticket. Machines with a seat at least 26 inches high and up to 3,700 watts are motor-driven cycles needing only a driver's license. Above that line, it is a motorcycle with all the paperwork. Connecticut's E-Bike Law: What Every Rider Needs to Know https://velosurance.com/blog/how-buy-used-bike/ https://velosurance.com/blog/how-buy-used-bike/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Gear The pandemic bike boom is aging into the best used-bike market in memory, and the easiest one in which to buy somebody else's problem. Here is how to price a used bike, run the serial number, inspect the frame and fork like a mechanic, read an e-bike battery's real health, and leave the handoff with the paperwork that lets you register and insure the bike for full value. How to Buy a Used Bike and Not Get Burned https://velosurance.com/blog/illinois-ebike-law/ https://velosurance.com/blog/illinois-ebike-law/ Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Bicycle insurance Illinois signed Public Act 104-0854, effective January 1, 2027. Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 e-bikes stay bicycles: no license, no registration, no insurance mandate. Anything over 750 watts or assisting past 28 mph becomes a motor driven cycle requiring a driver's license, title, registration, a VIN, and liability insurance. New minimum ages arrive, e-scooters come off sidewalks, and every local e-bike ordinance is preempted. Illinois' New E-Bike Law: What Every Rider Needs to Know https://velosurance.com/blog/road-vs-mountain-biking-dangers/ https://velosurance.com/blog/road-vs-mountain-biking-dangers/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Bicycle safety Mountain bikers visit the emergency room twice as often, but road cyclists suffer the more severe injuries, the worse head trauma, and nearly all the fatalities. A 2025 trauma study and U.S. crash data explain why the answer depends on which question you ask. Road vs. Mountain Biking: Which One Is Actually More Dangerous? https://velosurance.com/blog/how-become-better-climber/ https://velosurance.com/blog/how-become-better-climber/ Tue, 04 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness Good climbers are made, not born. The research points to a handful of trainable levers: power-to-weight ratio, VO2max intervals, threshold work, heavy strength training, cadence, and pacing. Here is what the science actually says about each one, and how to turn it into rides you can do this week. How to Become a Better Climber: What the Science Actually Says https://velosurance.com/blog/weight-training-for-cyclists/ https://velosurance.com/blog/weight-training-for-cyclists/ Sun, 26 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Health and fitness The old warning that lifting makes cyclists slow and bulky has not survived the research. Two heavy gym sessions a week improve pedaling economy, sprint power, and fatigue resistance, and protect the bones and muscle that cycling alone leaves behind. Weight Training for Cyclists: Why Lifting Makes You Faster https://velosurance.com/blog/cycling-for-longevity/ https://velosurance.com/blog/cycling-for-longevity/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0500 David Williams Health and fitness Bike commuters in a 263,450-person BMJ study had a 41 percent lower risk of dying from any cause. Here is what the longevity research actually says about cycling: the heart, brain, and immune system payoffs, the bone-density catch, the traffic-risk math, and how little riding it takes to collect the benefit. Cycling Might Be the Closest Thing We Have to an Anti-Aging Pill https://velosurance.com/blog/bike-chain-lubricants-guide/ https://velosurance.com/blog/bike-chain-lubricants-guide/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Bicycle maintenance Chain lube is the cheapest performance and durability product in cycling, and most riders use the wrong one. Here is how wet lube, dry lube, drip wax, and hot melt wax actually compare in independent testing, why ceramic marketing does not survive the data, and how to apply lube so a $30 chain lasts 5,000 miles instead of 1,000. What Every Cyclist Needs to Know About Chain Lubricants https://velosurance.com/blog/cycling-pain-cave/ https://velosurance.com/blog/cycling-pain-cave/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Gear A pain cave is a corner of your home where the bike is always ready and the only variable left is whether you show up. Here is what it costs to build one at three budgets, from a $175 used fluid trainer to a $6,000 smart bike room, plus the software that supplies the reason to keep pedaling. How to Build a Pain Cave on Any Budget https://velosurance.com/blog/bike-gear-ratios-explained/ https://velosurance.com/blog/bike-gear-ratios-explained/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0500 Denis Voitenko Gear A gear ratio is chainring teeth divided by cog teeth, and that one division explains almost everything about how a bike climbs, cruises, and sprints. Here is how to read gear inches, range, and step size, how 1x, 2x, 3x, and internal hubs compare, what the research actually says about crank length, and why every worn cassette is a cheap chance to re-gear your bike around the rider you have become. What Cyclists Need to Know About Gearing