This past Saturday was probably one of my worst days on the bike in a long time. I struggled to keep pace with the team even outside of the peak jams. This was not the GOOD SUFFERING. This was just suffering. I felt fatigued and labored in my breathing. Thirty miles into the ride when it appeared they may go longer than the usual 50 miles, I just dropped myself and headed back. I spent the rest of the day beating myself up and trying to understand why my body and mind were not on the same wavelength.
Then I looked at my cadence (number of pedal revolutions p/minute) and noticed that both the average and max for the ride were the highest they’ve been since I put a meter on the Ruby. I have been very conscious lately about trying to build a higher cadence and I realized the fatigue and lack of efficiency were my body’s response to this change in riding. And well, just an overall bad ride – really bad.
In essence I will have to endure some growing pains to break the habit of riding in the big ring, a.k.a. “mashing.” Mashing requires more muscle power than pedaling at a higher cadence, or “spinning.” I think a lot of us get in this habit and it’s a tough one to break. Sure, there are benefits to having and using strong leg muscles. But I am so far into this style of riding that it's become second nature; I even got used to climbing hills in the big ring. With the increase in cadence I am now using more aerobic capacity. The adjustment in transitioning from muscle power to greater use of my heart and lungs is setting me back to a weaker level of cycling. And it hurts.
I hear different schools of thought on this. A majority of cyclists believe it is to one’s advantage to ride at a higher cadence in order to be efficient and sustain longer rides sans the early onset of muscle fatigue. But if you read Ken Mierke’s (fitness coach, ITU World Champion) take, he supports a theory of riding according to your physiology. If genetically you have more muscular than aerobic capacity, ride at a lower cadence. According to Mierke, “Each cyclist brings a unique set of genetics and training to the sport. The basic rules are, if your legs hurt more than your lungs, increase cadence. If your lungs hurt more than your legs, use a lower cadence.” (The if it’s not broke, don’t fix it approach)
For me it’s about being both strong and efficient in the saddle (and fast, I want to be really fast.) In the long run I may end up favoring the big ring but at the very least my goal is to finish most rides at average cadence of 80 – 85. Right now I am averaging at around 78/79 for a moderately hilly ride, with a max cadence to date of 133. A few weeks ago my average cadence was in the high 60s.
It helps to see improvement in cadence and I want to keep working towards this even if it means suffering (not the GOOD SUFFERING) through a few more bad rides until my power and aerobic abilities join hands and live happily ever after. Then I can go back to the GOOD SUFFERING.
When asked if it was better technique to mash a big gear or spin a small gear, Eddy Merckx thought for a moment and said “It’s better to spin a big gear.”
Then I looked at my cadence (number of pedal revolutions p/minute) and noticed that both the average and max for the ride were the highest they’ve been since I put a meter on the Ruby. I have been very conscious lately about trying to build a higher cadence and I realized the fatigue and lack of efficiency were my body’s response to this change in riding. And well, just an overall bad ride – really bad.
In essence I will have to endure some growing pains to break the habit of riding in the big ring, a.k.a. “mashing.” Mashing requires more muscle power than pedaling at a higher cadence, or “spinning.” I think a lot of us get in this habit and it’s a tough one to break. Sure, there are benefits to having and using strong leg muscles. But I am so far into this style of riding that it's become second nature; I even got used to climbing hills in the big ring. With the increase in cadence I am now using more aerobic capacity. The adjustment in transitioning from muscle power to greater use of my heart and lungs is setting me back to a weaker level of cycling. And it hurts.
I hear different schools of thought on this. A majority of cyclists believe it is to one’s advantage to ride at a higher cadence in order to be efficient and sustain longer rides sans the early onset of muscle fatigue. But if you read Ken Mierke’s (fitness coach, ITU World Champion) take, he supports a theory of riding according to your physiology. If genetically you have more muscular than aerobic capacity, ride at a lower cadence. According to Mierke, “Each cyclist brings a unique set of genetics and training to the sport. The basic rules are, if your legs hurt more than your lungs, increase cadence. If your lungs hurt more than your legs, use a lower cadence.” (The if it’s not broke, don’t fix it approach)
For me it’s about being both strong and efficient in the saddle (and fast, I want to be really fast.) In the long run I may end up favoring the big ring but at the very least my goal is to finish most rides at average cadence of 80 – 85. Right now I am averaging at around 78/79 for a moderately hilly ride, with a max cadence to date of 133. A few weeks ago my average cadence was in the high 60s.
It helps to see improvement in cadence and I want to keep working towards this even if it means suffering (not the GOOD SUFFERING) through a few more bad rides until my power and aerobic abilities join hands and live happily ever after. Then I can go back to the GOOD SUFFERING.
When asked if it was better technique to mash a big gear or spin a small gear, Eddy Merckx thought for a moment and said “It’s better to spin a big gear.”
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