by Don Peddie

Riding a bicycle is fun. It should also be easy. Easy to keep up with others, easy on the body, and easy to cover great distances over the course of a day. Learning how to pedal efficiently is to learn the secret technique of how to have fun on a bicycle.

Cadence, RPMs, leg turnover, spinning. To a cyclist they all mean the same thing – namely, the number of times your pedals go around per minute. A high cadence is the key to cycling — the secret to making cycling easier, faster and more enjoyable.

“A high pedal cadence makes cycling easier.” Remember that.

Years ago at the beginning of the running boom, the great guru of running, Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, said “Run naturally if it’s correct, otherwise run correctly until it becomes natural.” This truism applies directly to riding a bicycle. Actually it is even more pertinent because cycling is not a “natural” human function.

Bikes have been around for 120 years at best, and we humans did not evolve on a bike saddle. The first thing we had to learn was to balance the bicycle so it stayed upright, and achiev ing that the next step is to learn the skill of propelling the bicycle in the most efficient manner. This technique is called “spinning,” that is, making the pedals go around approximately 90 times per minute.

As in many good things, however, achieving this skill of using a consistently high cadence at all times can be a very difficult skill to learn. Beginning cyclists often pedal at 50 – 70 RPM and continue in this fashion until they are tired and must slow down. This may well be why far too many of those who begin cycling fail to progress onward to become a cyclist. They simply never learn the easy way. Consequently, they always find club trips too hard for them.

To make it even worse, when they are with the club, they have the additional discouragement of watching everybody else disappear over the horizon ahead of them, seemingly with ease.

What is most remarkable is the novice’s resistance to advice.

Fellow cyclists will use encouragement, logic, cajolery, and even threats in their efforts to help these beginners learn to gear down and spin faster, thereby improving their cycling ability. Even if they initially shift down on command, at the first distraction they shift up again to ride at 60 RPM, pushing the pedals painfully against a large resistance, or they slow down and drop from the group.

At the same time, those who are coaching them become exasperated and angry at what they perceive as stupid stubbornness, which only makes the situation worse.

One great theory regarding pedalling cadence exists, and I subscribe to it:

As humans, we have evolved for walking and running with a natural cadence of about 120 steps per minute, or 60 RPM. This rhythm is so natural that beginning cyclists adopt it and tend to stick with it. It’s just “natural.” Intuitive.

But it ISN’T efficient on a bicycle!

The efficient cadence of 90 – 100 RPMs is an “unnatural” action which the brain must learn, then accept, and then believe; and then the body must be taught to perform. Once the brain learns and accepts this to be correct and necessary, the legs will become adept at it and the fitness required to travel long distances using this method will develop. The results shown by those who ride the Tour de France clearly show that a high cadence is the best way to ride a bicycle.

The built-in control system (to move one’s legs at 60 rpm) is so strong, and so unrecognised, that beginning cyclists don’t realise that it needs to be overcome. On the other hand, experienced cyclists who have learned to pedal faster do not realise why this tendency is so difficult to get past. Too often the greatest teacher becomes the “school of hard knocks,” and it’s only after too many painful experiences that the novice finally begins to strive to overcome the built-in evolutionary control system. After a few sessions in which the novice cyclist persists in his or her attempts to ride a reasonable distance at a reasonable speed by using a big gear and low RPM (50 – 70), they sooner or later find that weakness and pain will force them to slow down.

Slowing down and gearing down usually happens simultaneously, and favourable results are quickly noticed as the pedalling immediately becomes easier and more enjoyable. A few episodes of this and most novices are ready to accept instructions to gear down right from the start and to pedal using a higher RPM, or cadence.

Optimum cadence is 90 – 100 RPM for recreational cyclists, higher for racers.

There’s no question that a higher level of fitness is required to run than to walk; to cross-country ski classic technique than to merely walk on skis; and so it is with this pedalling technique. At first, shortness of breath will be a limiting factor, but quickly your body will improve and adapt to getting the needed oxygen to the legs in order to sustain this faster pedalling technique. Maintaining a higher cadence will “naturally” bring about an increase in fitness, an added bonus for any recreational cyclist.

Early in this new season, right from the start, concentrate on speeding up your pedalling cadence.

Cadence counters are built in to some bike computers and I recommend buying this type. Otherwise, count the number of times your right knee comes up for a one minute interval. Strive for 90 RPMs. Keep working at it, it will come, and your cycling will be much more enjoyable during the 2004 season.

Next article I will deal with another aspect of cycling – learning how to get the most out of your multi-geared bicycle by knowing how and when to select the proper gear for the terrain.

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1

By Alan Schietzsch

The idea behind multiple gears on a bicycle — whether it’s an old “10-speed” bike or a modern mountain bike with 27 gears — is to let you change the distance that the bike moves forward with each pedal stroke. The gears at the front are called the chainwheels or “rings”. Most bikes have two or three chainwheels that look like this:

Attached to the rear wheel is the freewheel or “Cassette”, which looks like this:

The cassette has between five and ten gears on it, depending on the bike. A freewheel spins freely in one direction and locks in the other. That allows the rider to either pedal or not pedal — when not pedaling, the bike coasts (another feature that tricycles and penny-farthing bicycles lack).

To change the gears, a bicycle has front and rear derailleurs. Here’s a shot of the rear derailleur:

The rear derailleur has two small cogs on it that both spin freely. The purpose of the arm and lower cog of the derailleur is to tension the chain. The cog and arm are connected to a spring so that the bottom cog pulls backward at all times.

As you change gears, you will notice that the angle of the arm changes to take up or let out slack:

The top cog is very close to the freewheel. When you adjust the gears with the lever on the handlebar, this cog moves sideways to a different gear on the cassette and drags the chain with it. The chain naturally slips from one gear to the next as you turn the pedals.

A common mountain bicycle has wheels that are about 26 inches in diameter. The “lowest” gear on the bike might use the tiny “granny gear” front chain wheel with 22 teeth and a rear gear having 30 teeth. That means that the gear ratio is 0.73-to- 1. For each turn of the pedals, the rear wheel turns just 0.73 times. In other words, for each pedal stroke, the bike moves forward only about 60 inches (about 5 km/h at a 60-rpm pedaling rate). Like a slow walk. Just what you need to climb a steep hill.

The “highest” gear ratio on the bike might be a front chain wheel with 44 teeth and a rear gear having 11 teeth. That creates a 4-to-1 gear ratio. With 26-inch wheels, the bike moves forward 326 inches with each pedal stroke. At a 60-rpm pedaling rate, the speed of the bike is 30 km/h.

By pedaling at twice the rate, a “cadence” of 120 rpm, the bike has a maximum speed of 60 km/h. A range of 5 km/h to 60 km/h is fantastic, and it lets the rider climb the steepest hill very slowly or race almost as fast as a car! That is why a bike has gears.

Road bike’s gears typically don’t go quite as low, but also can go quite a bit higher than those on a mountain bike.

If you prefer your bike to have lower or higher gears, you can buy a cassette with a different number of teeth, which changes the ratios. Racers often have several cassettes, installing a big one with lower ratios when climbing in the mountains, and using a smaller one for flat courses where low gears aren’t required. Although it can be expensive, front chainrings can be exchanged as well. Everything about a bicycle is simple and can be customized just for you. That’s what makes it such a great machine to ride — and also a great mechanical work of art!

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1

By Don Peddie

“Don, how much air should I put into my tires?” is the most frequently asked question I get asked all summer.

The correct tire pressure is a very controversial subject and one of the most misunderstood elements of road riding. The following recommendations are based on my years of experience and from following advice in magazine articles by so-called experts.

Tire manufacturers stamp a maximum tire pressure value on the sidewall of all tires. This number denotes the highest pressure a tire can sustain for long without damage. It is not the recommended pressure for recreational cycling. Two key considerations in deciding on the correct tire pressure are: preventing pinch-flats and providing rider comfort.

Under-inflation leads to pinch-flats.

The tire is compressed completely against the rim in a spot where the tire goes over an object, trapping the tube against the rim and puncturing it. To be certain your flat is of this type, look at the tube; if it has two slits in it a rim-width apart—very much like a snake-bite—you’ve got a pinch-flat. The evidence is unmistakable.

Over-inflated tires produce a harsh, bumpy ride.

Tires inflated 90–95 pounds will demonstrate to the rider the suppleness the manufacturer has built into the tire. Higher pressure will result in a much harsher, more jarring ride. When this is combined with the super-stiff wheels that are currently so common, the result is usually some serious pain to the parts of the anatomy that contact the saddle.

Most cyclists believe that unless the tire is inflated to a very high pressure there will be more rolling resistance, thereby reducing speed for a given effort. This effect is extremely minimal and only needs to be considered when racing.

The key to selecting the correct tire pressure is to match the tire size to your weight. Most cyclists simply select 700 x 23C no matter what our weight is. For those weighing less than 180 lbs (82 kilos), this is a good tire size. However, if you’re over 180 lbs, 700 x 25C is a smarter choice. For those of us who weigh over 200 lbs (92 kilos) 28C is the best choice. Another consideration is that, given these weight guidelines, touring riders should lean toward wider tires, racers toward narrower.

With the correct tire size, inflating to 90 lbs for the front and 95 lbs for the rear will be the optimum pressure for comfortable riding without the risk of pinch flats. For mountain bike (26”) tires, it’s much less.

Cornering and descending are smoother and easier, the ride is more pleasant, and at the end of a long ride you feel fresher and less fatigued. An added bonus is that your tires will last as much as five times longer.

So if you’re a “max-pressure” type of person, try reducing the pressure bit by bit until you’re down to 90 lbs front and 95 lbs rear. Try it. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1

Written by Our Technical Guru, Don Peddie

Keep Still

“I’ve been told that keeping my upper body still while riding is a good thing. Is this true?” Yes, most cyclists strive for a still upper body because it saves energy. There will always be a bit of motion from side to side, and the bike will sway when on the road. But on a trainer your body will soak up the swaying because the bike is locked in place. On the other hand, some of the best riders had considerable movement, Eddy Merckx for instance. So there is no perfect way to ride. Don’t accentuate a natural motion, but sometimes it takes more effort and concentration to fight a natural motion than to just go with it.

Crankarm Length

There has been much debate, considerable empirical evidence, and little convincing scientific study to support these common leg-to-crankarm relationships: inseam to 31 inches, 170-mm crankarm; inseam 31 or 32 inches, 172.5-mm crankarm; and inseam 33 inches more 175- mm crankarm. Track riders generally choose crankarms up to 5 mm shorter than the above recommendations because shorter crankarms allow for faster cadences and improve cornering clearance on velodromes and in criteriums. Mountain bikers often choose up to 5 mm longer. Although longer crankarms have been favoured for hard steady efforts such as time-trialing, hill climbing and mountain biking, studies have shown that they change torque, not power. In other words, they require the rider to pedal a larger circle. In time-trialing in an aerodynamic position, longer crankarms mean that the rider closes the hip angle, reducing power. (Tip! The length of most crankarms is stamped on the back.)

Round Out Those Pedal Strokes

It’s well established that cyclists can’t actually pull up the pedals with enough force to propel the bike. It’s a nice theory, but it doesn’t work. But pedaling in smooth, round circles certainly helps. It lightens the load on the ascending pedal so there’s less resistance against the one you’re pushing down. That’s most important when climbing. The rounder you can pedal uphill, the more you’ll get out of each stroke. In fact, your technique is easier to work on when climbing because your cadence is slower, letting your brain keep up with your feet. You can concentrate on feeling the pedals all the way around. Try this, too. Instead of simply pumping up and down, pedal across the top and bottom of each stroke. This horizontal approach smooths the up-down transition and has two other benefits. First, it helps momentum, always a good thing when fighting gravity. Second, it alters the load on leg muscles to reduce fatigue.

A good time to switch to a horizontal emphasis is on the flatter sections of a tiered climb.

Prevent Dirty Fingers

Now and then the chain slips off. It happens to everyone on even the best-tuned bikes. Getting the chain back on the chainwheel doesn’t have to mean getting your fingers all dirty. Find a stick or piece of paper. Crouch beside the front wheel and steer the chain onto the BOTTOM of the chain ring that it just slipped off of. (If the chain is on the outside, by the pedal, slip it onto the big ring. If it’s on the bottom bracket on the inside, slip it onto the small ring.) Pressing the chain into the teeth of the chainring, gently rotate the pedals BACKWARDS, letting the teeth of the chainring engage the links of the chain. Continue rotating the pedals until the chain has fully climbed back onto the ring. Then stand up, lift the rear wheel free of the ground and give the pedals a forward spin. The chain will move itself to whatever cog the shifter has set it for. One touch of the chain is all it takes. No dirty fingers.

How Much Do You Drink?

Not alcohol. I’m talking about water. But how much? First, determine how much liquid you need to replace fluid lost as sweat. To do that, weigh yourself naked prior to a ride, then again after. Each pound lost during the ride means two cups of water (16 oz/480 ml) have been lost. Then add in how much you actually drank during the ride. Divide the total by the number of hours you rode, and this is your hourly sweat rate. You should drink this much fluid each hour as you cycle to maintain optimum hydration. Test yourself again during hot, humid summer weather.

Lube Now, Ride Later

When your chain needs lubrication, do the job right today to avoid a mess tomorrow. When you give the lube’s carrier a chance to evaporate overnight, the chain won’t be a grit magnet and the lube won’t fling onto the frame and wheel. Give the chain one final wipe with a clean rag before riding to keep your machine extra clean.

Get a Grip, But Keep It Loose

Keeping at least one thumb wrapped around the handlebars is the safest way to ride, preventing an unexpected bump from quickly jarring both hands loose. This doesn’t mean you should grip the bars tightly. A comfortable, relaxed grip is ideal, which will let your arms and shoulders stay relaxed so they can soak up road shock and lessen muscle fatigue. Wiggle your fingers now and then to keep them relaxed.

How to Look Back

Looking back is important when riding in traffic to check on cars. When riding in a group, looking back is important to ensure you are not dropping other riders. Unless a person knows how, it can be difficult to ride in a straight line, maintain a steady pace, and look back at the same time. Some people tend to veer to the left when they look over their left shoulder. The tendency is to redistribute weight to the turned side or turn the upper body and consequently the handlebars. Practice using these simple steps:

Cleaning the Cogs

Here’s the best tip I’ve heard for ages. Nothing is simpler or works better for cleaning the spaces between the cogs on the rear wheel than an old skate lace. Use it just like dental floss between your teeth. Remove the rear wheel and give it a try. The cogs will ratchet, spinning slightly when the lace is pulled one way, then lock in place and get cleaned when the lace is pulled back again. A bit of grease dissolver on the lace makes everything sparkle again.

Quick Release Levers: How Tight?

When installing a wheel with a quick release lever, a good rule to follow is that the force needed to close the lever should leave a white impression on the palm of the hand. The rear lever should be on the left side, away from the drive train, and tucked down or in front of a frame tube so that another wheel cannot come between it and the frame, popping it open unexpectedly. When the front lever is on the left it matches the rear one, so it looks good and follows the tradition cyclists have practiced for over 100 years.

Mr. Skippy

You’ve got a skip or slip in the drive train during pedaling. If it happens on just one cassette cog, the cog is worn out. If it happens on every cog, the chain has a stiff link. Replacing a cog—or perhaps the entire cassette—will cost you money. Fixing a stiff link is free and easy. Find that bad boy by kneeling beside your bike, turning the crank backward and watching the chain wind its way through the rear derailleur pulleys. A link that isn’t bending will be apparent. Move it to where you can grasp it on both sides, then flex the chain side to side. Be firm. Add a drop of chain lube and bend the link up and down to check if it’s as free as all the others. Keep at it until it is. Then vow to keep your chain clean and lubed, which should prevent links from stiffening.

Saddle Sore Medicine

Avoid alcohol–on your crotch, that is. Some riders—those impervious to pain—swab their crotch with rubbing alcohol after rides, figuring it’ll kill saddle-sore-causing germs. Maybe. But it can just as well irritate and over-dry the skin, spawning more sores than it prevents. Instead, wash with soap, dry well and treat suspect spots with an over-the-counter acne medication containing 10% benzoyl peroxide. After all, the typical saddle sore is a pimple.

Half-Wheeling

This annoying habit occurs when two cyclists are riding side by side and one of them keeps pulling “just a bit” ahead of her/his partner, increasing the pace. Rider A edges her wheel ahead, Rider B pulls alongside, Rider A pedals a bit faster… and so on. Half-wheeling has been described as “A passive-aggressive way to go faster while annoying your cycling partners” It’s an excellent way to ensure that you ride alone. A lot.

A Plug for Plugs

Handlebar plugs aren’t just a nice finishing touch to your tape job. They are also an important safety item. During a fall, the bar could swing back hard and nail you. If the plug is missing, the result might look like a medical technician took a core sample from your thigh. If one (or both) of your plugs is missing, get a replacement on your next visit to the bike shop. Streamers are optional.

Fast Flat Fixin’

Next time you get a flat tire, search the tire tread for the culprit. Find it? Good. Now you can save time as well as your spare tube. Do so by removing one side of the tire several inches on either side of the puncture. Pull out that section of tube and apply a patch. Before you stuff it back in, be certain to remove what caused the puncture. Check the tread and feel inside the casing. Reseat the tire, add air and away you go.

1. When looking over the left shoulder, relax the handlebar grip with the left arm, or drop the left shoulder. Some riders like to place the right hand closer to the stem.
2. Slide your rear end slightly to the right. This helps keep the weight centred over the bicycle.
3. At first, just glance back briefly. Practice lengthening your backward glance until you can do so for several seconds.
4. Repeat the above steps except in the opposite direction, looking back over the right shoulder.

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1

written by Scott Keast

“Many people think there’s a secret to climbing. And there is: extremely high conditioning, low body fat and weight, and knowing how to pace yourself, especially on long climbs”
~ Greg Lemond, three-time Tour de France winner

It is absolutely true that a cyclist must have good conditioning in order to climb hills quickly and efficiently, but there are also some tricks that certainly help too. First of all you need to have your bike fit nailed down so that you and your bike can work together. After you have that done, try some of these tips the next time you hit the steeps.

If you are still riding without either step in pedals or toe clips – get some! If all you have are platform pedals or rat-trap pedals you can’t take advantage of two thirds of each pedal revolution. If you do have step in pedals or toe clips – think circles. As you push down on the pedal imagine that you are scraping mud from the bottom of your shoe as the pedal reaches the bottom of the pedal stroke. Then pull up using your biceps femorus (hamstring muscles in the back of the thighs). Then as the pedal nears the top, imagine driving the knee forward into the handlebars. Pedaling circles instead of just pushing down (pedaling in squares) gives you the option of switching muscle groups as well. As the quadriceps group (muscle group in the front of the thighs) fatigues, switch emphasis to the hamstring groups. this switching back and forth allows the muscles enough recovery that it just might get you to the top of that dreaded hill that has left you walking in the past.

Attack short steep hills in the highest gear of the range you are in (middle chain ring usually) while maintaining your heart rate within your aerobic training zone. Let the momentum carry you up the first third of the hill, then progressively downshift through your rear cog-set, but leave a bailout gear just in case you have misjudged the hill. If you are going to have a mishift under load it will be on the front derailleur – so be sure that you are in the range that you know will get you to the top. If you do have to do a front shift let up a little of the pedal pressure momentarily and hope for the best. You will loose momentum quickly, so you may have to upshift one or two gears on the back quickly, after the front shift, and stand to get on top that gear. Once your speed has come back up close to where you were, sit down again and progressively shift down through the back cog-set.

What you want to do is keep the pedals spinning at 80 – 90 rpm. Some hills may require shifting to the granny ring (3 chainring crankset) but try to use the middle chain ring as much as possible to help build strength and endurance. Try to avoid going straight down to the lowest gear that you have. On a longer group ride or tour, this strategy can leave you literally hours behind, and it often doesn’t save that much energy. Although the gear feels easier it means you are on the grades much longer – so nothing is really gained.

Move around on your saddle to change the emphasis on the muscle groups. Mountain goats in the professional peloton often move back on their saddle to maximize leg extension. If you are on a long climb occasionally stand for brief periods to change muscle groups and stretch. Be sure to gear up one or two gears as you stand otherwise the bicycle will actually move back under you, and you can “drop kick” a rider behind you. This upshifting is a good practice anytime that you stand and is absolutely vital in group riding.

You should ensure that all of your energy is going into pedaling the bike. Minimize upper body movement (bobbing or swaying) and maintain a light hold on the handlebars. Maintain your efficiency by delivering your pedal stroke from a quiet upper body and a solid core. Any other movement takes away from the primary goal of propelling the bicycle upwards.The only exception to this is when you stand to get on top of a gear, change muscle emphasis, or attack another rider. Then a gentle swaying of the bicycle is normal but the body remains centered over the bike with as little bobbing as possible.

If you have toe clips or step in pedals give your quadriceps (muscles in the front of the thighs) a rest occasionally by pulling up on the back of the pedal stroke using the hip flexors and hamstrings. Alternating between the quadriceps/gluteus (butt) and the hamstring (back of the thigh) /hip flexor groups is a good strategy to practice as training throughout the season to help ward off muscle imbalance issues. You may also want to do one legged drills where you pedal with one leg only. It may look strange but the results are undeniable. Step-in pedals or toe clips are of course necessary for this.

Don’t maintain a death grip on the handlebars. Maintain just enough of grip to maintain control and give yourself an anchor to work from. Generally, do your climbing with your hands on or around the brake hoods or on the tops of the bars. Keep your chest open (arms apart) to maximize breathing capacity. If you stand to climb, usually you are best to grip the brake hoods – although the superb Italian climber Marco Pantani (Il Pirata – Italian for the Pirate – a name given to him by the Italian tifosi [fans]) often used to climb standing with his hands on the handlebar drops. He preferred this climbing style so much that Bianchi built special climbing frames for him with extra high head tubes. You may find that sliding back to the rear of the saddle, which increases your leg extension, allows you to deliver added thrust to your pedal stroke.

Stand or Sit – What works best?

Recent research has been done by Professor Jim Martin at Utah State University that looked at two key aspects of rider position in a climbing situation – aerodynamics and muscle activity. It has always been felt that aerodynamics were of little concern when climbing hills. A rider who stood to climb a grade was not at a disadvantage because, although the frontal area had increased, the speeds developed during climbing were so low that aerodynamic drag was not an issue. However, the steepness of the grade does have a bearing on this.

Professor Martin found that on a 5% incline in the seated position the rider is about 3.7% faster at 400 watts output. When the incline is increased to 15% and power output drops – the difference is negligible – so standing is an option.

So if climbing in the seated position is generally more effective why would a rider ever stand to climb a hill?

First of all, as was stated earlier, it allows a rider to use different muscle groups and to stretch the body a bit. Secondly, you may have to get on top of a gear that you were struggling with in the seated position. If your cadence has dropped below 80 rpm and you can’t, or don’t want to downshift – standing allows you to use body weight to propel the bicycle, raise your rpms and then you can return to the seated position.

What Happens When You Stand to Climb?

In situations where a rider is on a ramp that requires him/her to climb at a sustained pace of 50-60% of their VO2 maximum. It is better that the rider remain seated. Standing in this situation raises the amount of muscle activity in the lower leg, in particular, which drives oxygen requirements to double of what they would be while seated. A rider can quickly go into oxygen debt, and not be able to recover – even if they return to climbing in the seated position.

So, the only time that standing is recommended is when the rider is faced with a relatively short steep climb where it is likely that the intensity will be such that even in the seated position oxygen use will rise above 75% of their VO2 max. In these situations the difference between standing and seated climbing virtually disappears.

Gravity Sucks!

As with any sport where defying gravity is involved – lighter is better. This was never more apparent than when the great American cyclist Lance Armstrong (7 time winner – Tour de France) prepared his bikes for the great climbs of the Pyrenees and Alps. Once all of the latest technology was deployed, it then became a matter of stripping grams from the bike wherever possible. Frames were left unpainted and the Shimano STI front brake/shift lever was replaced by a decidedly low tech standard brake lever. Shifting of the front derailleur was left up to an ancient down tube shift lever. When you’re going up – every gram counts!

Depending on the tour itinerary try to avoid carrying any extra water or gear on the climb. For sure, don’t get dehydrated, but if there is a rest stop or there is a support vehicle that is accompanying the tour, let them carry the load and recover it at the rest stop, on the decent, or on the flats.

Find Your Own Rhythm

Once you get on a climb – find your own rhythm. Don’t try to match someone else’s pace. This is not to say that you should go down to your 24 – 32 gear. Climb within your aerobic capacity as fast as possible, you can recover on the decent.

When approaching a hairpin corner or switchback move out as far as is safely possible from the apex. The road will rise much steeper on the inside of the corner than the outside. Even though the outside path is longer, it will be much easier because it allows you to maintain your rhythm. If you hug the apex of a corner the change in effort due to the steeper pitch of the road will throw your rhythm off, and possibly require a downshift.

If you are a competitive cyclist or have aspirations in that way, try to determine what kind of climber you are. Can you be explosive and blow away other riders with repeated accelerations that they can’t match. Or are you a tempo climber where you can hold a pace that others may not be able to match for long. Some climbers can gradually lift the pace until other riders crack and are forced off the pace. Train and use your natural abilities to advantage in other words. Finally, when you hit the top of small rollers (less than a kilometre) don’t stop pedaling or let up. Gradually upshift and recover. If you stop pedaling or stop altogether, any time advantage that you gained from a good hill climbing strategy will be lost.

Good exercises for improving climbing ability are:

• Squats
• Leg press
• Leg curls
• Sit-ups and/or leg raises to strengthen the hip flexors
• All core exercises (abdominal crunches and back extensions or dead lifts)
• Leg tension drills (high gear – low cadence) on the bike, including one legged pedaling.

Now get out there and fly like an angel!

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1

By Scott Keast

Well, the deepest darkest days of winter are behind us now and the cycling season isn’t far off (apologies to those of you who commute year round – “good on ya!”). Now is the time to start looking ahead to this coming season. That’s right, the success of the summer 2009 season begins now.

Base building is an important part of every serious cyclist’s yearly fitness program. Lance Armstrong, Carlos Sastra, Eddy Mercx, and any other professional cyclist you care to name (past or present) have always paid close attention to base building because it quite simply isn’t possible to stay in top form year round. Periodization is now recognized as the most effective way of managing your fitness. Peaking for certain events or times of the year is the best way of avoiding overtraining and staleness.

So, what are your goals for next year? Maybe it’s a new personal best time at the Tour de l’ Alberta, or finally tackling the Golden or Silver Triangle. Maybe you just want to be able to ride at a higher average speed or feel fresher after longer rides. This is the time to start your base building and if you wish to develop your fitness base through other activities outside of cycling this is a perfect opportunity to inject some variety into your fitness routines.

So, what is base building?

Base building is the foundation for all of your fitness. Just as in home building, if the foundation is poor, the rest of the building is always compromised. It’s really the same with your fitness. Your foundation or base is the Aerobic Energy System.

It is of course essential that you develop all three of your energy systems (Aerobic, Anaerobic and Anaerobic A Lactate – sometimes referred to as the ATP energy system). However, you should concentrate on honing the Aerobic system early in the year.

The Aerobic system is the one that touring cyclists will rely upon the most, because it makes use of the most plentiful fuel that we have stored in our bodies – fat. If you ignore base building your body will simply begin dipping into (carbohydrate derived) glycogen stores sooner. Glycogen is stored in the liver, and when a rider is well conditioned there is about two hours worth of stored glycogen to fuel muscles. We also use available blood sugars to develop muscle movement and that is why it is important to keep fuelling your body when a ride will last an hour or more. In base building we want to delay relying on glycogen for as long as possible – thereby keeping the glycogen for when it’s really needed.

Comparatively speaking, the fat supply in even the leanest athlete can supply energy for the musculature indefinitely, as long as the level of activity doesn’t cause the body to dip into using glycogen for the majority of its energy needs.

Converting fat into fuel for muscle movement is much slower than direct glycogen fuelled muscle movement. Consequently, the intensity must remain lower to prevent the body from shifting into other modes of fuel supply. But this system can be improved and the threshold at which the body begins tapping into your valuable glycogen stores can be raised. Let’s look at what is needed to become a strong rider in terms of general endurance fitness.

Base Fitness Elements

These are the areas that you must develop first in order to go on to develop advanced fitness elements. They include: endurance, strength, and efficiency. These base elements are the most difficult and time consuming to develop for several reasons:

1. They require a lot of patience because they take longer to develop. A solid base is achieved year-by-year over many years – not weeks. Now is the time to get started!
2. The type of activities that develop endurance require lower levels of exertion for longer periods than you may be used to.
3. Riders may feel that they’re not doing enough or working hard enough to be doing any good and the temptation to raise the intensity to “get a real workout” causes them to train and rely on the wrong systems. The no pain no gain crowd really find this difficult.

Endurance is the ability to do a specific level of work over a relatively long period of time without fatigue. In order to accomplish this, the aerobic energy system must be fully developed. This involves many adaptations right down to the cellular level. New capillaries must be developed to feed the oxygen and fuel to the muscle cells, the stroke volume of the heart must increase, oxygen profusion of the blood by the lungs must improve and yes, your body has to adapt to using fat for fuel.

Longer, lower intensity sessions are the key here. These types of sessions should make up the majority of your activity in the pre-season. While more intense sessions, although still present, make up less of your training regimen. The training load involves intensity and volume. So while the intensity is lower at this time, the volume is greater in order to create the stimulus for the body to change and adapt. This time also prepares your body to work harder later in the spring as you move into more intense lower volume training.

If you want to introduce some weight or resistance training at this time, again it will involve lower weights with higher repetitions and may be referred to as adaptive weight training.

Keep increasing your time spent in your endurance training by about 10% per week until spring, when you can get out on the road. Done right, you should soon be able to manage three to four hours of riding while keeping heart rate values in the 60-69% of your maximum heart rate for the majority of the time.

Once you have arrived at this stage, this is also the time to make gains in your strength. Begin by introducing more intensity into your training routine while reducing some of the volume that you have been doing. So, while still doing longer rides you may begin to introduce some hill repeats into your rides and heavier weights with fewer repetitions and number of sets into your weight training.

Finally, work on your efficiency throughout the year, but the early part of the year is a good time to do some reevaluating, adjustments and targeted training.

What do I mean by efficiency? Quite simply an efficient cyclist uses less fuel and oxygen to do the same amount of work. Some efficiency gains are a direct result of the “tune-up” that you have been giving your aerobic system. But other gains can be derived from increased core strength, flexibility, careful attention to positioning on the bike (this may well change with greater flexibility), developing higher leg speed, and improving your biomechanics.

The core of the body is really the foundation that all of the cycling muscles produce movement from. So work on abdominal, back and shoulder strength/endurance so that the legs have a solid anchor point to work from.

Doing high speed spinning, one legged drills, and sprint accelerations will improve the rate at which the muscles contract and extend. Increased flexibility (particularly in the lower back, butt [gluteus group], hamstrings [biceps femoris], and calves [gastrocnemius]) will allow you to develop the suppleness to pedal with more efficiency. Essentially, your muscles stop fighting each other. One legged drills develop better balance from side to side and between the muscles in the front and back of the leg. Very fluid cyclists are poetry in motion – their efficiency on the bike makes cycling look almost effortless. That’s because there isn’t any wasted movement – everything goes into powering the bicycle.

Once you have begun to get and maintain a good solid foundation for your fitness through improvements in Aerobic Endurance, Strength and Efficiency, then you can begin to look at the advanced aspects of fitness – Muscular Endurance, Anaerobic Endurance and Power. Don’t make the mistake of jumping over the base fitness areas and going straight into the advanced areas. Although a certain level of fitness can be achieved this way, you can never become the cyclist that you could be if you don’t work from a good base.

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1

written by Scott Keast, Education and Safety Co-ordinator

Until recently the best method of determining fitness level was best indicated by monitoring heart rate during exercise, and for the average recreational cyclist it remains a very good way of determining how one’s condition is developing. The introduction of the power meter and portable lactate monitoring in combination with heart rate represents the state of the art methods of keeping tabs on conditioning, but the technical aspects and expense of the two former methods put them out of reach for most cyclists.

Heart rate monitors on the other hand have become increasingly sophisticated and more affordable. Wrist units with a good set of features cost 25% of what similar units cost 10 years ago and offer ECG accuracy. Units from manufacturers, such as Polar, Timex, Garmin, and Suunto offer an excellent, objective method of assessing how one’s body is coping with the load placed on it by cycling.

Where do you begin?

A good place to start is with determining your maximum heart rate. This proves to be more difficult than it first appears because the old formula of 220 minus your age has proven to be wildly inaccurate and of little use. More recent research has found that this formula can have an error of up to + or – 21 beats per minute (bpm)! More recent formulas have been developed that are much closer, but still miss the mark by quite a wide margin. They include:

205.754 – (0.734 x age) with an error range of + or – 7.2 bpm!

205.8 – (0.685 x age) with an error range of + or – 6.4 bpm! (Friel)

The simple fact is that each individual’s body has a unique response to workload. For example using the old 220 – my age gives me a maximum heart rate for cycling of 172. But experience has shown my maximum heart rate to be 183 and this correlates with my maximum heart rate from my heart rate monitor! (A well documented and proven algorithm is used to arrive at this figure, based on sex, age, body weight, height and heartbeat patterns.)

So how do you determine your maximum heart rate?

First of all if you are over 30 years of age and/or have been quite sedentary up to this point, go see your family doctor for a physical and his/her recommendation as to how to proceed with exercise. If you get the green light, then you may do some field tests to push yourself to your maximum heart rate but these definitely fall into the category of “dedicated and driven”. At the end of these tests you will be seeing stars and may even taste blood from the extreme rate of respiration – I’m not kidding on this point! Needless to say this can be dangerous and I do not recommend that this be undertaken. You may unintentionally come very close to seeing your maximum heart rate while out on a regular club ride – this is how I arrived at my maximum heart rate. Quite simply you go out for a ride and after a good warm-up and an hour of tempo riding find a short steep hill and sprint up the hill like you’re possessed! The highest reading that you see on your heart rate monitor is likely within 6 bpm of your absolute maximum.

Wait a minute – why is maximum heart rate so important?

Well, it is one of the best ways of determining your personal training zones (which are very important), but it poses the most risk and generally isn’t recommended.

Okay so how do you find your personal training zones without summoning the Grim Reaper?

By finding at what point your body begins to go into a self-limiting phase where the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems are no longer keeping up with the rate of cellular function within the muscles. This self limiting point is called your anaerobic threshold. This is the point when the cells begin to operate with insufficient oxygen, hence the term anaerobic (absence of oxygen) as opposed to aerobic (in the presence of oxygen). It is possible to operate at or slightly below your anaerobic threshold for perhaps an hour. By training around this heart rate it is possible to extend or raise your anaerobic threshold, but it remains time limited.

Part of what limits your time at your aerobic threshold is because the body is beginning to rely on the anaerobic process of glycosis more and more, the cells release a by-product called lactate and current research would indicate that there are hydrogen ions released as well. It is believed that these hydrogen ions are what create the burning, heavy dead feeling that one associates with high intensity efforts. In the past it was believed that it was the lactate that created “the burn,” but lactate is actually recycled, in a sense, and allows for extended energy production by the cells (see Energy Systems).

So, to find your training zones might take a little research and experimentation on your part. You may also have a friend help you as well. For this, you will need a heart rate monitor and some experience at rating your exertion. These rating systems are very subjective, but as you gain experience you will find that you can fine tune these to the point where you can monitor your body quite well without constantly checking your heart rate monitor. Here is one common Rating of Perceived Effort (RPE) scale:

1. Extremely Easy – Restful breathing – able to sing
2. Very Easy – Can talk in complete sentences
3. Easy – Can talk in broken sentences
4. Moderate – Talking first becomes difficult
5. Somewhat Hard – Heavy breathing begins
6. Moderately Hard – Deep breaths, talking is avoided
7. Hard* – Deep and forceful breathing*
8. Very Hard – Laboured, cannot talk
9. Very, Very Hard – Very laboured breathing
10. Extremely Hard – Gasping for air

*anaerobic threshold

The Process

To establish your anaerobic threshold, it is most convenient to do the test on a exercise bike, spinning bike, mag trainer or wind trainer. It is best to control as many variables as possible, including your level of hydration, rest, fueling, ambient air temperature and humidity, and load. Attempting to do this outside on a course introduces too many variables.

Your friend is going to monitor your breathing, record your RPE, heart rate and adjust the load if necessary.

1. Begin by warming up for 10 – 15 minutes.
2. Set the equipment so that the load is very easy (RPE-2) and begin riding at a specific speed or cadence. You are going to maintain this level of output until you no longer can.
3. Every minute raise the machines resistance and at the end of that minute have your friend record your breathing pattern, what you believe your exertion to be, your heart rate, and the load setting.
4. When your breathing becomes deep and forceful your friend should be able to detect this change in your breathing pattern. This is your ventilatory threshold (VT) and corresponds very closely with your lactate threshold or an aerobic threshold. Record all of the same information but be sure to mark the readings as the VT.
5. DON’T Stop! Keep going until you can no longer maintain the workload.
6. Do a cool down of 5 to 10 minutes.

Compare where you felt that your breathing became deep and forceful with where your friend recorded an RPE of 7 and if the two points agree then you have found your anaerobic threshold (AT).

Now your training zones are easy because they are based on your own personal AT. The system that I have found to be very good and very safe was developed by Andie van Diemen (BA-Physical Education, MSc Human Movement Sciences) and Jabik-Jan Bastiaans (MSc – Human Movement Sciences). Van Diemen and Bastiaans developed what they called the Maximal Lactate Steady State (MLSS) which for all intents and purposes is very much like your anaerobic threshold (AT), which you already know. Just plug your numbers in and do the calculations. The percentages on the next page are of your MLSS – not your maximum heart rate.

Note that unless you are training for competition cycling events, you shouldn’t ever see your maximum heart rate unless you get caught out in a brutal headwind or on a longer steeper climb than you expected. The Power Training zone should be trained minimally by touring cyclists. The bulk of your rides should focus on zones 2 and 3 early in the season to build an aerobic base, and then gradually mix in more of zone 3 and 4. Your time in zones 4 and 5 should be interval training so as to minimize the risk of injury and over-training. Intervals should be generally as follows:

Zone 3

Very long tempo rides where the average heart rate stays within the limits of zone 3 for an hour or more.

Long equal intervals (e.g. 10 minutes) in the middle of zone 3 followed by an equal number of minutes in the centre of zone 2.

or

Short intervals of 2 to 5 minutes in the centre of zone 3 followed by incomplete recovery in the centre of zone 2 (30 seconds to 1 minute)

Zone 4

Long intervals (e.g. 6 to 12 minutes) just below your AT with recoveries in the order of 25% of your work interval.

Zone 5

Short intervals (often measured in seconds) followed by a recovery in zone 3 of 3 times the work interval (e.g 30 sec onds all out followed by 90 seconds where the heart rate drops into and stays in zone 3).

If this all sounds a little involved for you, are there other ways of calculating your target heart rate zones?

There are many places on the web that you can access, but most of them are the old 220 minus you age. However, they are safe to use to get you started. One that you may want to try can be found at www.polarca.com Try some of these, then use the formulas that were presented earlier on. Compare them and see if what they present on paper jives with what you experience out on the roads.

Some of the higher end Polar Heart rate Monitors can perform an easy test that takes 5- 7 minutes and has proven to be very accurate at predicting maximum heart rate, target zones, and will even give a close approximation of your Maximal Oxygen Uptake (VO2 MAX) which helps to quantify your fitness level.

Finally, if you have $200 to $300 dollars just burning a hole in your pocket you can go to either Grant MacEwan College or the University of Alberta and have a full blown stress test that will absolutely nail your aerobic threshold, anaerobic threshold, VO2 MAX, and all of your target heart rate zones. Don’t forget that your body will improve on those figures very quickly, and in six months or a year you’ll need to do it all again to determine the new values.

Ultimately you just have to find one method that gets the results that you are after.

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1

written by Scott Keast, Education and Safety Co-ordinator

The human body is a marvelous organism. To power all of the musculature and maintain normal metabolism the body relies on three energy systems:

1. The Aerobic System
2. The Anaerobic System
3. The Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) / Creatine Phosphate (CP) System

Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but together they form a very sophisticated, overall energy system that can supply the correct amount of fuel and oxygen, via the circulatory system, to all of the body’s individual muscle cells under most conditions. Like any other system in the body we can train and improve these systems to take advantage of them for our cycling.

The Aerobic Energy System

This is the system that the endurance cyclist must train fully in order to spare the anaerobic and ATP/CP energy systems for when they are needed. This is likely one of the most difficult areas to get a cyclist to train because it involves high volumes of moderate paced riding. Training times will vary depending upon the event or tour that is targeted. In general though, a maximum of 3-4 hours of riding at an endurance heart rate or intense endurance heart-rate will be sufficient to create a supercompensation (the body is stimulated to grow stronger after a stimulus) response from the body.

The aerobic system has the following advantages:

• It provides fuel (glucose) to the cells through the synthesis of glycogen, carbohydrate, fat, and protein.
• Synthesis takes place within the presence of oxygen, with the only by-products being CO2 and water.
• Minimal production of lactate and the hydrogen ions that are believed to cause “the burn”.
• Energy production can continue indefinitely, provided the body continues to be well hydrated and fed, and work loads remain low enough that the aerobic system remains the primary energy provider.

The disadvantages of the aerobic system are:

• The system takes several minutes to respond to the loads that are placed on the body.
• The aerobic system requires more than 20 steps to convert glycogen and / or glucose to ATP to fuel the cells.
• The system cannot provide enough fuel to the mitochondria to allow for high intensity workloads.

The Anaerobic Energy System

Once the aerobic system can no longer supply sufficient oxygen to the cells the process of converting glycogen to glucose, then to ATP shortens, but there is a hefty price to pay for this. Fuel resources are used up much more rapidly and hydrogen ions that result from this process serve to limit how long the muscle contraction can continue. The good news is that the system can be trained and the body is better able to buffer the effects of the hydrogen ions. Training to fine tune and improve this system is done by doing interval workouts at or slightly below your anaerobic threshold. By doing intervals the stimulus to the body is sufficient to cause improvement, but not so long as to cause catabolic waste to cause damage to the muscle cells and the need for extensive recovery time.

The advantages of the anaerobic energy system are:

• It is capable of supplying fuel to the cells when there is an oxygen deficit.
• It allows an athlete to maintain high workloads for about an hour to an hour and a half.
• It can respond to high workloads much more quickly than the aerobic system.

The disadvantages of the anaerobic system are:

• Due to the lack of oxygen, glycolysis takes place which is catabolic (destructive) to the muscle cells if the process continues for too long.
• Lactate and hydrogen ions are produced. The lactate is used to continue energy production (current theory), while the hydrogen ions irritate the muscle tissue and chemically limit muscle contraction. This creates the burning sensation and the heavy wooden feeling in the muscles.
• The system cannot supply energy for extended periods. When fully trained, an athlete can sustain sub anaerobic threshold intensities for 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Fuel resources are used up very rapidly and the body cannot synthesize fats and protein quickly enough to supply this system so, glycogen and carbohydrates must be used.

The ATP/CP Energy System

This system is used for quick maximal efforts lasting 10 seconds or less. Situations where this might be used include; sprinting, closing a gap, and attacking on a hill. The reason that this system can provide these bursts of maximum output is because the Adenosine Triphosphate and Creatine Phosphate are stored within the muscle tissue – there is no lengthy chemical breakdown of fuel. The breakdown of ATP by the mitochondria creates energy that the muscle cells can use and the breakdown of the CP actually precipitates the rebuilding of the ATP molecule. Nevertheless this process is very brief.

The advantages of the ATP/CP System are:

• The system has the ability to provide a comparatively brief but intense amount of energy for times when the body must do a large amount of work over a brief period of time (part of our basic fight or flight instinct no doubt).
• Glycolysis is not involved so the process is not catabolic.
• The Creatine Phosphate in a sense “recycles” and rebuilds the ATP molecule to extend both the time that one is able to use this energy system, as well as the number of times that one can use the system.
• The system can and should be trained by doing short maximum intervals with a recovery of three times the work load time.

The disadvantages of the ATP / CP System are:

• It can only provide energy for brief periods of time—eight to ten seconds.
• The system can be accessed a number of times, but will eventually exhaust the “built-in” supply of ATP – even with the help of the Creatine Phosphate molecule.
• Rebuilding of the supply of ATP takes 24 to 48 hours (it is helped through the use of a high glycemic sports drink with the addition of some protein (four grams of carbohydrate to one gram of protein) within the first 1/2 hour following a training ride or event. That first half hour window is crucial – beyond that time re-uptake resumes at a normal pace.

So there you have it – three energy systems which can all be optimized by systematically using them in a controlled manner. The important points to know are:

• Be conscious of what system is being used while out on the bike under various conditions.
• Know how to exploit the benefits and minimize the negative effects of each system.
• Train each system so that it meets your needs for the type of riding you do most, or type of event you are targeting (e.g. don’t over emphasize the ATP / CP System if you do mostly endurance events). and
• Make sure that you include recovery in your training plan. Remember fitness is gained while you rest – exercise is the stimulus.

Read other Cycling 101 Articles

1. Cycling 101 Introduction
2. Heart Rate and Building Fitness
3. Looking Ahead
4. Hill Climbing
5. Quick Release: A Potpourri of Cycling Tips
6. Tires: Keep the Pressure Up, But Don’t Blow It!
7. Shopping for a Bike?
8. Bicycle Gear Ratios
9. Cycling Made Easy Part 1