A Fantastic Day In The Saddle!

A few weeks ago I wrote about a sucky weekend I had of bike riding. I have taken a very deep look at how I ride and took another shot this weekend at going 50 miles. My form has gotten so much better already and it shows because this weekend I went the full distance. However, without an odometer I have no clue how close to 50 miles I got. I do know it was within 47-49 miles for sure, if not more, based on the loops I took. When I finished I knew I could go longer and that was enough for me.

To fix my problems I did a few things: First I looked at how my legs were working with each stroke of the pedals. I found that my left leg was doing too much of the work involuntarily. So I am now pushing with my right leg. I also found that when I get tired I tend to drag my feet such that I don’t lift them up when I should which causes weight to be applied to the pedal moving upwards. I fixed this by making concious changes to how I pedal.

Secondly I looked at my upper body movements and found that when I was pushing hard I would sway from side to side. This is very bad because it is not only a waste of energy but also puts forces at a ninety degree angle to the direction I am traveling. I fixed this by ensuring my upper body remains still as possible throughout the ride. When I climb now, I make sure that although the bike swings from side to side, my shoulder remain in line with the wheels. Again, so as not to waste any energy.

Thirdly, I looked at when I was pedaling too fast or hard and changed my strategy. Because my 50 mile loop[s] have 4-5 hills that are still a tad challenging to me I have forced myself to restrain from blazing across the flat sections. Today this was helped by catching people and being able to wheel suck for a bit. Thank you for all the help out there! It was much appreciated!

Fouthly, I made sure that I was as clean as possible before going out. This meant little to no pizza and a very small breakfast before riding. I had a bowl of rice crispies with some bananas and some coffee. This also meant that I carried only two water bottles rather than the four I carried last time. The weight savings were noticeably, although next time I will probably carry three bottles or grab a refill as I ran out at around 40 miles.

And lastly, I made sure that I carried gatorade instead of just water! This ensured that my legs were still good for the last couple of climbs I had to do. Boy was the gatorade and power bars a life saver today. I ended up eating my power bar a little early, but it felt great. I immediately felt the change and felt basically fresh even after 25 miles of some pretty hard roads.

Tomorrow I get back into the normal 16-20 mile routine until I can go longer in the short time I have after work. I have lost a total of 0 pounds, but feel stronger and thinner. Once I change my diet for good I am sure I will lose some weight.

1 Comment

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  By Fivel, August 4, 2008 @ 12:36 pm

  keep it up! Sounds awesome.

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