Mike Pincus

I get this question a lot while on a bike ride. Normally it’s something like, “Wow, that’s a beautiful bike” or “I love that paint job” or, my favorite, “I’ve never seen a bike like that before. That’s more like rolling artwork than just a bicycle.”

The reason why I choose to ride a Franco bicycle has to start with why I ride in the first place.

Like most of us, I rode a bicycle as a kid. Like most, my first bike was a Schwinn Sting Ray. I then moved on to a BMX bike thinking I was the next “Pro” that was going to grace the cover of BMX Plus. Amazingly, that did not pan out and my next bike wouldn’t show up until I was 32 years old.

In 2001, I wanted to change things up and get out of the gym for some simple exercise, so my next door neighbor recommended that I give mountain biking a shot. I was hooked after 20 minutes. I bought my first adult mountain bike–a Giant NRS. It was everything I was hoping for. It brought me the same sense of true freedom I had as a kid. It’s the freedom to point, shoot, and go anywhere. The fact that I was getting a great cardio workout was secondary. That was a great bike, but then I walked into a bike shop in 2003 and caught a glimpse of what a bike looks like when it’s designed and built by a true artist. This piece of art was a deep red Ventana El Saltamontes. It reminded me of the deep red ‘68 Firebird a friend of mine built up in high school. It was fast just standing still. I bought it.

I loved everything about my new bike. I hit every local trail and even ventured out of town for some great back country rides. I was so hooked on the sport that I entered two mountain bike races. Friends of mine started asking if I would ever consider a road bike. The theory is that road riding will help with your overall fitness and translate over to the mountain bike quite well. I was adamant that I would never be in spandex and riding a skinny tire on a road with cars! It would never happen. Until, 2004.

I was introduced to the Tour de France in July of ‘04. Granted, I had heard about the race, but I had no idea what the fuss was all about. If you recall, this was the year that the individual time trial was held on Alpe d’Huez. Watching that day changed everything. I have been a personal trainer for 31 years and what these humans were putting their body through made absolutely no sense to me. Something in their body had to give out, but it never did.  Apparently that’s what I needed to see because I now needed to try a road bike. I went back to the bike shop where I bought my Ventana and test rode a Calfee. Wow. Done. I ordered it that day.

What I didn’t take into account was what would happen next. The amount of time and detail that went into deciding how the bike would be built up was all-consuming. I had to consider the certain components and wheel options, but more importantly to me, how it would look. I have a true love of art versus functionality. Bikes to me, if done right, are moving art sculptures.

My Calfee was custom built for me and painted to my exact description. Another red bike, there might be a theme here. This time candy apple red with gold flakes mixed in the paint. The bike was also painted with what Calfee calls a fade, allowed the carbon fiber layup to show thru the paint at the ends of the tubing, with a fork to match. I couldn’t go on a ride without someone asking about the paint work.

In 2010 I decided to add a new bike to the stable. I was looking for a bike that climbed a bit better than my Calfee. I test rode a Franco Balcom with a Shimano 105 groupset. What a great looking bike. The frame was very clean: it was not blasted with the company’s logo all over it like the big brands do. This would be an easy sale. Right in my budget for a second bike. Not as striking as my Calfee, but this bike was being purchased to be used more as a tool. For the first time I was buying a bike on the basis of how it was built and how well it would climb. Just as I was about to have them run my credit card, I saw a Balcom Road frame sitting on the floor covered in bubble wrap. The rear triangle was exposed and I saw that it was painted in matte black with two yellow stripes on the chain stay. I asked Julian Franco, co-founder of Franco Bikes, about this frame. He told me that he had it custom painted to match the black and yellow SRAM RED LTE groupset that was on order. (For those that don’t know, that groupset was created to honor the past Tour de France winners who rode in the 2010 TdF. The groupset was in production for only one year.)

I had immediately called my wife and told her about this bike. Fortunately for me, she was very supportive in saying that I would be kicking myself if I didn't pull the trigger and spend the extra money on this piece of artwork. Suddenly I had two pieces of rolling art in my garage. This created a dilemma–which one will I ride on a regular basis?

For the last 8 years the Calfee has been on the road 3 times. Yes, I fell in love with the way the Franco Balcom Road looked, but I also realized I had just purchased a Ferrari of a bicycle. It was so much faster than the Calfee. It was stiffer, lighter, more compliant on the rough roads, snappy on the sprints, better at climbing, and descended like it was on rails. I could go on and on about the difference of these two bikes. Yet, I would have the hardest time selling the Calfee because it was still an amazing piece of artwork.

Let’s jump to the beginning of 2018. I went on a test ride with the new Franco Latigo RS1. At the time, it was the latest bike in their fleet. As far as I could tell in the first 5 miles, I went from riding what I thought was a Ferrari (Balcom Road) to a Bugatti (Latigo RS1). I had a long discussion with Hector Rodriguez, co-founder of Franco and its head designer, about the reason for the newest creation. Everything had changed from the overall feel of the ride due to the MJ-series carbon layup, to including a custom geometry option, and even the overall look of the bike. It was fast standing still. I was sold. I was ready to buy a new bike after swearing I would never replace my Balcom “Black and Yellow.”

Hector then informed me that they had taken the RS1 to another level. The RS1-D! (D stands for Disc brakes). We sat down and mapped out how and why this bike was designed, plus how I would personalize it to my own creation. I chose the Sapphire Blue paint with the muted Franco logos, an all ENVE cockpit to match ENVE tubeless carbon wheels, Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, and hydraulic disc brakes.

I went from a Ferrari to a Bugatti. This bike is so much stiffer than the Balcom Road, yet is smoother and more compliant on the rough roads. It climbs faster, descends quicker, and overall handles as if it’s a slot car on a track. The hardest part of owning this bike is not wanting to get it dirty. This is true rolling artwork.

Why do I ride a Franco? My Franco lets me showcase my artistic side, while working on my athletic side. Franco Bikes is the complete package, rolling artwork and high performance machines.

For more information regarding Franco bicycles check out their website at www.francobicycles.com

Today a client showed me a picture of himself from 23 years ago and said "I would love to look like that again." Now before you jump to a conclusion and say it's not possible because of his age (currently 43), I say it's not age that is stopping him from achieving his goals. The picture was of a good looking 20 year old college swimmer. Picture what that physique would look like, not bad huh? When I asked him how many hours a day he used to train his answer was even shocking to himself. 3 hours a day 5 days a week, just in the pool. Another 3 hours a week doing conditioning. That's 18 hours a week of amazing exercise! 

Today, that same client is a single father with 3 daughters. He has them 60-70% of the time and has them on his mind the rest of the time. He is a very successful business man running a company with a handful of employees. He focuses on his investments daily, keeps an orderly house and handles the day to day of life very well I might add. 

With everything he does he adds in 2 hours a week of training with me. Unfortunately that's all of his exercise. He may get in an extra hour on the weekend when nothing else is going on, but that's the extent of his exercise program. 

In the 25+ years of my training career, this scenario happens weekly if not daily. Clients asking me "When will I be in shape?" or "What's it going to take to look like I did back...?" or "What should I be taking (supplement) to get that physique I once had?" 

It's so damn simple! First, what were you doing when you were in the best shape of your life? I don't care how old you were, age is just a number. I have clients that are in better shape now in their late 50's then when they were 20 something. Second, be realistic about your goals for your body. Do you have the time to really put in the effort to achieve the physique you're after? Do you have the will power to put in the effort to achieve that physique? And lastly, NO, it's not a missing supplement that you need to get in shape!! How does a person gain the weight in the first place? Be honest. You eat to much and move to little. Period. Reverse the process smarty pants. Move more and eat less. 

It's not about what new green extract from some wild bush in the forest of some far off place that we should all be adding to our tea that will help us. Quit blaming others for your lack of health and fitness. It's all you baby! Isn't it funny if we become a millionaire we take all the credit. But if we become fat we blame everything and everyone else for our failure. 

I love my industry very much, however it's where a lot of the problems start. The supplement industry is a 60 Billion dollar snowball that is still growing. Everyday we have adds pushed on us as to why we NEED this product or that product to get in shape. If you haven't heard it yet, let me be the first to tell you. EVERYTHING you need to get into and stay in the best shape of your life comes from the earth. A very wise man once said, "If it's been engineered it's been compromised." I love that saying! Think about it before you eat that next meal or take that next pill. However you believe we got here on earth, we were provided with everything we need to sustain life. Processing our food and giving us supplements will not make for a better life. 

Until next time,

I am asked by clients and friends what is the best way to recover from a hard workout or grueling bike ride. Many have chosen to reach for the ice to help in the healing process but after seeing this video you may think twice.

The fitness industry is learning from the medical industry a new way that once you sit back and open your mind to it, simply makes sense. Check out this 26 min video on YouTube. It explains so much and I think you will be shocked. I purchased my Marc Pro about 4 months ago after Dr. Terry Weyman introduced it to me for the simple reason of recovery. (use "etv21" in the coupon code to save some $$)

However, I found out just a few days ago that it has a healing property to it that is truly amazing.

On Monday of this past week I completed a great workout but felt that I may have pushed my Hamstrings a bit too far. Tuesday was my day to bike ride but I was nervous that the Hamstring would be an issue. So I decided to take an easier route and not push it to hard. Halfway into my 2 hour ride my right Hamstring began to lock up. It was a slow process but I could tell the direction it was going. With just 30 minutes to go before I got home, the Hamstring was cramped and beginning to really bother me. The last 10 minutes of the ride I had to unclip the right leg and ONLY pedal with my left leg. I was done!

Here's where the problem really set in, I didn't have time to do much of anything as far as recovery as I had to get showered and get to my next client. I was limping the rest of the day. I called Dr. Terry Weyman and asked him if he felt the Marc Pro could help or would it make it worse. He suggested that I use it but on a very low setting. So around 9pm on Tuesday I hooked up the Marc Pro onto my right Hamstring and set the intensity for 3.0. I left it on for 30 minutes and then applied some Rock Tape to the leg. I was so nervous as to how the outcome would be as I had a cycling client in town for a bike ride on Wednesday. I would have no other choice but to suck it up and ride. It would be too late for me to cancel on him.

I woke up Wednesday morning in complete amazement. I was not in pain. I felt the slightest level of fatigue in the leg but nothing that would stop me from riding. I took my client on a 53 mile ride with 3400 feet of elevation gain. We had over 90 minutes of a major head wind. The point is that I worked hard and my legs felt great! 

Please take the time and do your own research and see if this is for you. I love it myself.

A wiseman once told me that you may spend a lifetime searching for a true friend. To everyone this have has a different meaning. I have some great friends that I can count on to be there for me in an emergency, to bounce ideas off, to spend time with and to just listen when I need an ear.

Then there are those friends that you may not speak to for a year or so and be able to reconnect in no time at all. It's as if you didn't miss a beat. We all have them and we all say "we really need to get together more often", however our busy lives with family and work just prohibits this. Yeah it's unfortunate but that's life.

Then there is that person that was introduced into our lives for a very brief moment. It may have been for a couple of months or a few years. And then we don't see or speak for YEARS. For no other reason then we just go on with our own lives in our own direction. We don't know it at the time, but these special people have helped mold us into the person we are today. The point is that they made an impression on us in a very profound way.

I have found those friends.

In my formative years (8th through 10th grade) I had a very dark time. Perhaps a topic for my book. In that time frame I was able to make friends with three guys in particular. They really helped me get through it all. However since the end of 10th grade I have seen them once maybe twice. We just went our own direction. But because of social media we have reconnected.

I just spent 48 hours with these guys and we got caught up in no time. I feel blessed to have them in my life again. I will not let them get away again from me as I will take them on my journey.

This post is for all of the naysayers out there that feel that Carbohydrates are still the problem to their inability to lose weight. I have taught health and fitness for 24 years now and I keep having to dispel the myth that Carbs make someone fat. So maybe a page out of my own training guide will shed some light on the subject.

Yesterday's meal plan for me consisted of a bowl of Oatmeal for breakfast, three sandwiches for the next three meals and a huge bowl of pasta for dinner with two big pieces of bread for an appetizer. (Dinner was at 8pm BTW)

The sandwiches were PB&J, Salami & Turkey and Ham. All sandwiches were on WHITE bread, the bread for the appetizer was again WHITE bread and the pasta was WHITE!

So how is it possible that I can eat all of this overly processed sugary carbohydrates and not gain weight? Well check out my ride for today. Before any of you say "well sure, look how much you exercised", Yes I burned nearly 3500 cal in 3 1/2 hours but if I didn't have my fuel coming from Carbs I wouldn't have been able to finish the ride!

The point I'm trying to make is that nearly 70% of my intake of food yesterday came from Carbohydrates. The total amount of food I ate was high because I knew I was going to burn it off today. If you are going to do ANY type of Cardiovascular workouts, you have to have Carbs in your body to be used as fuel. If your workout/event is going to last for longer then 30 minutes, you need Carbs in your body.

Everyone celebrates their Birthday in different ways. Some may chose to take a vacation while others have a big party. I've been lucky enough to have done both over the years but I must say the ones I really enjoy are the ones when I challenge myself to do something new. In the past I have learned how to drive a race car through Skip Barber. That was one of the most mentally challenging weekends that I can recall. A few years ago I asked some of my Mountain Bike friends to do a grueling climb up Bulldog. That was a physically challenging miserable day on the bike and one not forgotten by the guys (They still remind me).

So today was just one of those days that I had to torture myself. Why not, it's my Birthday. So I went after mentally and physically challenging. I went up Deer Creek, which is a canyon that starts at PCH and just goes straight up. I have heard rumors about this climb so I had to try it for myself. Check out the hill profile on Garmin Connect, it's CRAZY!