| Re: Today's ride - odd experience.
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 09:03:49 -0500, "Matt O'Toole" <matt@deltanet.com>
wrote:
>Great!
>
>Was there any difference in how you rode before the hill? If you had more of a
>warm up, or if you had been riding slower than usual, it could make a huge
>difference in your performance on the hill.
>
>When I ride with slower groups, I steam up hills that are tough when I'm riding
>alone or with faster groups.
>
>Matt O.
As I said in this or maybe a similar thread, I'd been working on my three
point stance on the bike - 30% of weight on saddle, 30% on handlbar, 30% on
pedals, and going for a more aerodynamic position. There were some gusts of
wind and I remembered the idea I'd been reading about, essentially gearing
down and really stomping the pedals in bursts. So when the wind came up,
instead of staying plunked down on the saddle, taking the gusts and slowing
down, I used it to get aero and do mini-bursts.
Then I rode up to where the hill starts, turning out of a commercial
parking lot - so there was essentially no run-up. I resumed the same riding
style I used in the flats, perhaps unconsciously, but I think I changed it
slightly to 10% weight on handlebars, and let the rest of the weight fall
where it would - the weight on the saddle seemed the same, but I was
thinking 'stay light on the bike'.
Immediately felt the power in my legs/quads increase - essentially I was
standing up to pedal, but still remained seated. So I seemed to have the
power of standing pedalling, without the high energy cost/fatigue in the
thighs that happens after about a minute or two like this.
Definitely a neat feeling, and it really made me want to go ride again
immediately after I got home. Quite a high...I didn't realize the magnitude
of the 'discovery' until I got home. Woke up the wife and made her coffee
and a treat and let her watch my TdF 03 CD with me on the big screen tv in
the bedroom.
(It was funny actually, b/c I couldn't stop bouncing around and left the
bedroom soon after that. About 10 minutes later, a still sleepy wife
emerged and said 'you're torturing me, you know that, don't you? You made
me watch the TdF and left the room!' Of course she was smirking when she
said that.)
jj
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