All about the Bike

So Bicycling Magazine released a book called Training Techniques for Cyclists which I've had sitting on my kotatsu for months now but have only just read. I thought I'd share some of the stuff I didn't know.

The following is from the book:

Most beginner cyclists shift up (into harder gear) to get more speed. What you should do is pedal faster. Most beginners 'spin' at a relatively low RPM (rotations per minute) - the don't pedal very fast. You want to have a high RPM and maintain a high RPM before thinking about shifting up. Here's the reasoning: Think of a 5lb weight. You could lift that amount all day long. But if you were to add up the cumulative weight at the end of the day, and try to lift it all at once, you wouldn't budge it. By keeping yourself in low gear and pedaling faster, you limit the workload into manageable chunks - like a 5lb weight.

Pedaling Efficiently - don't think about pedaling as pushing down. Think about the motion of scraping something off the bottom of your shoe - a 'wiping' motion - that is the motion you should have when pedaling. (Note - this is only the beginning of good pedaling).

Endurance - the only way to improve endurance it to consistently ride longer - you must commit to 3 days a week. However - do not measure your rides based on distance, only time. Your body only knows how long its been ridding, it doesn't know how far.

Speed - there's one way to increase speed, it's called intervals - warm up for 15 minutes, then go all out for 10 seconds, then pedal easy for 5 - repeat 5-8 times. Strengthening your legs allows you to pedal harder, which translates to speed.

Power - the ability to bike up hills without switching into granny gear. The only way to increase your power it to go hard on high gear. Power is the hardest cycling fundamental to achieve - it is also the most painful to train for.

Recovery - training destroys/weakens/injures muscles. Recovery regenerates/strengthens/repairs muscle. If you do not allow for recovery - training will only hurt you.