Geoff

I’ve been riding/racing bikes for 35 years, and I thought I knew all there was to know about training. But I realized sometimes you need fresh eyes to look at your program to help you achieve your potential.

Working with Gerry, he was able to identify three critical deficiencies:

• I was underestimating the calories I burned. Gerry was able to show me how under-fueled I was at races by studying my past races in TrainingPeaks. Adding the extra nutrition allowed me to move up a few spots in my results (and win my first 2 Endurance MTB races!)

• He helped me plan my racing calendar with more recovery weeks than anticipated. Of course, I tried to go hard every week, but Gerry showed me (through historical data in TrainingPeaks) that my best results were when I had recovery in between key events.

• Back-to-back Racing weekends were not leading me to my overall goal. I was training for longer-distance gravel races, yet I was racing short intense cross country MTB races. So when I started incorporating longer weekend rides in my training plans, I was better prepared for the gravel events.

Gerry is an excellent resource for studying past performance to help elevate your future fitness. He also keeps up with the newest research to apply it to his clients. Taking the INCYD test was super informative, so I know where I am with my training and my potential. 

Several of my MTB racing friends have used Gerry’s coaching services, and they’ve all seen huge improvements. I can’t recommend his coaching services enough!

Steve

I took up competitive cycling in my mid-40’s and became crazy over mountain bike and cyclocross racing.  I read many books and articles about training and racing and received advice from many cycling mentors.  Doing this helped me tremendously, and I made quick progress.  I guess I never thought about having a cycling coach.  Maybe I thought only elite racers needed coaches in the back of my mind.  Then, one of my team members from Trestle Bridge Racing (TBR) brought Gerry De Bruijn from Lowlands Cycling on as a team sponsor, and we were encouraged to contact him directly if we wanted personal coaching.  Many of the guys from TBR (all who are much faster racers than me!) were getting personal advice from Gerry, so I figured I’d reach out to him. 

We had an introductory meeting and began working together late in the 2021 mountain biking season.  I liked how Gerry worked with me at my own pace and did not recommend any radical changes to what I was currently doing.  He got to know me both as an athlete and as a person.  He began to introduce changes to my training based on my training data and qualitative factors based on our conversations. After working with Gerry for about four months, I learned many new things about training approaches that worked for me.  Among these are:

• Using qualitative factors (how I feel) to make adjustments to my training within a given week rather than following the prescribed plan precisely as laid out –could mean going harder than planned or going easier

• He helped me stop being overly analytical and second-guessing what I was doing

• Made racing strategies based on my strengths

• Sustainable training that could take me from the mountain biking season through the cyclocross season without hitting a wall and burning out

• Helping me balance training, racing, and family obligations 

My results in working with Gerry are that I had two podium finishes in my last three mountain bike races and my best cyclocross season to date!  And, I kept things fun and not too serious all the time!  I am looking forward to working with Gerry for the 2022 season.

Curt

Working with Gerry at Lowlands Cycling has been a great experience! I worked with Gerry during the 2020 / 2021 cycling seasons. He listened to my specific cycling interests and developed a custom plan to help me reach my goals.

Working with Gerry allowed me to increase my fitness during the off-season so that I was able to start the 2021 cycling race season strong. Gerry created custom workouts for me each week to progressively build to a peak performance level. Gerry also worked around my busy schedule and provided achievable exercises, given work and family time commitments.

Gerry is someone who will listen and make adjustments as needed to make sure that you are receiving the most out of your coaching experience. Gerry is easy to work with, and he is flexible when working with different athletes.

I would highly recommend Lowlands Cycling to any athlete looking to achieve specific performance goals, whether race preparation, weight loss, increased power, or overall fitness and well-being.