Pushing the Pedals

Over the past two weeks I have been learning more and more about cycling.

I perused some books at Barnes and Noble one afternoon.

I consulted a friend and former racer.

I spent an hour and a half talking to the bike shop guys in NC and getting refitted.

What did I learn?  Well I am so short that my bike frame is really little (46cm), which means a lot of my components are smaller and that’s not always such a good thing.  We did swap out the stem.  But my cranks are 165 whereas most folks have 170 or 172.5.  Ok so what the heck does that mean?  Well the cranks are the radius (half the diameter) oh each pedal stroke.  Simply … how much chain is being pulled with each revolution.  I ride with my friend Michelle a lot.  She’s really tall.  Her cranks are 172.5.  In order for me to maintain the same speed as her (in the same gear), I need more revolutions per minute since my cranks are only 165. 

Which brought me to my second big lesson about cycling … spinners versus mashers.  Spinners fluidly move the pedals around the whole circle (equal effort at all points) and tend to pedal faster.  Mashers put most effort on the downstroke and tend to pedal in a higher gear a bit slower.  Because my cranks are short, I have to work on my spinning.

What I have been told is that the advantages to spinning with shorter cranks is that a)  it’s easier on your body, and b)  it affords you more “get up and go” on flat surfaces.  The disadvantages all lie in the hill-climbing.  GRRR.  Damn hills!

So Saturday Michelle and I went out riding later in the day.  We decided to shoot for two hours and something like 25-30 miles.  I was anxious to see if the adjustments we’d made to my bike really were going to make the difference.  We chose a route that was somewhat hilly.  A few long, winding climbs and a few short, steep climbs.  Along with nice stretches of flat road and a few rolling sections. 

I have also been thinking about nutrition/hydration.  So, I imposed quick fuel breaks at mile 10 and 20.  We were really zipping along — felt great. 

We finished our ride at Starbucks and I treated myself to a Carmel Machiatto with real sugar!  I figure it’s the adult version of a chocolate milk. 

All-in-all I was really pleased with this ride.  On these shorter rides I am riding at like 75-90% effort (hills take a lot more out of me) and I know that as I start to tackle the longer distances I am going to need to slow it down to a steady 75% or I just won’t last. 

Plus, Michelle is your classic weekend warrior.  No warm-up, no cool-down.  ha ha  I yelled at her.  😉

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