I couldn't decide whether to drive to Benbrook for the FWBA Thursday ride today. It was raining this morning, but the radar seemed to indicate it would be clearing.

I decided to head that way and if the rain became worse or if I saw lightning, I would turn around.

There were actually about 7 people there for the ride starting at 9 AM. Another group was going to start at 10 AM after it cleared.

Today probably wasn't the best day to get back on the bike, at least initially. It was still raining when we started the ride and some of the roads were slick. Raindrops kept beading up on my sunglasses and I kept having to wipe them with my gloves. However, I knew better than to ride without eye protection. About a week ago a huge black bug hit my sunglasses while I was riding. I was glad for the eye protection! As it was, I had to scrape him off the lens (yuk), but better that than my eye.

Pedaling Efficiently^*1

• Some people may tell you that consciously practicing your pedaling mechanics is not necessary and that you should " just ride your bike" and you'll improve. This is true to a point, but these are the same people who might play tennis but never take lessons. Sure, they'll get better at hitting the ball around, but without knowing what to practice and actually practicing it, they are limiting their potential.
• Apply force in a direction that is 90 degrees to the crank arm.
• At the top of the pedal stroke (or 12 o'clock) you should be moving the pedal directly forward.
• At 6 o'clock, move the pedal backward.
• The only time you should be pushing directly down on the pedal is at exactly 3 o'clock.
• At 2 or 4, you'd be moving the pedal slightly forward and down or slightly back and down, respectively.
• Cyclists will often find themselves still pushing down on the pedal at the bottom, or 6 o'clock, in an attempt to stretch the crank arm. This also "lifts" you off the saddle, since you are pushing directly down with your leg at that moment and the force has to go somewhere, so it lifts you up (bouncing in the saddle).
• Think of the pedaling circle as being 4 overlapping quadrants:
  1. Push the pedal over or across the top of the pedal circle (quadrant 1). Make some effort to move the pedal up oer the top, rather than just letting your foot and leg go along for the ride.
  2. Push down on the downstroke (quadrant 2). This tip may sound obvious but one of the things that separates faster cyclists from average cyclists is how hard they push down on the pedals.
  3. Pull through the bottom of the pedal stroke (quadrant 3). Think of scraping mud or gum off the bottom of your shoe. That's the type of motion you're aiming for.
  4. Unweight the pedal as it is coming up (quadrant 4). A leg that is resting on the rising pedal creates more resistance for the leg pushing down to overcome.

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^*1 Base Building for Cyclists by Thomas Chapple Parts of the information above were excerpted from this book. It is an excellent resource for the cyclist.

I posted a series of questions about cadence, my gearing/chainring issue, and bike maintenance to the FWBA Forum and got some wonderful answers. Everyone didn't agree on the cadence issue, but everyone agreed that my gearing problem after Sunday's fall was probably due to a bent derailleur. Cadence seems to be a very personal preference issue.

The cycling books I have purchased mentioned keeping my cadence between 90 and 100 RPM. However, when I did that, everyone told me I was spinning too much. Apparently a higher cadence uses more of your aerobic system and a lower cadence with a higher gear uses more of your muscular system. Now I know why I prefer spinning - my aerobic system is much stronger than my muscles. Even though I'm middle-aged (I hate saying that!), my heart and lungs are still very strong from all the running and I'm trying to maintain that with the cycling.

The information block to the right goes into another aspect of cycling that I hadn't even considered: Pedaling Efficiently. There is actually an efficient way to pedal that will allow you to go further and faster with less energy. I have studied running form extensively and discovered ways to run more efficiently, but I had never really considered the aspects of cycling efficiently. "You are the engine that moves the bike. Moving the pedals around moves the crank, and the more effectively you move the cranks, the less energy you expend to move the bike."^*1

So I've started trying to do the efficient pedaling, but it's really easy to slip back into my previous pedaling mode. I have to make a conscious effort to do what they say. But when I do, it makes a world of difference! I practiced this method at our Hotter 'N Hell Training Ride in Italy, TX a few weeks ago and was able to finish in front of the pack even with adding an additional 5 miles for a total of 69 miles. And my last several miles of that ride were in the 17-22 mph range! Heat and hills seem to be my limiting factors and I'm glad to see fall is around the corner! That will remove at least one of my obstacles.

Back to today's ride: I rode my bike a couple of miles after the fall last Sunday and it seemed to act better, so I thought the chain/gearing issue was fixed. However, during today's ride, it started changing gears/chainrings on me without me doing anything. It actually lost all resistance on a hill and I couldn't come out of my clips.

Because my chain would not stay on the ring, I did not do the longer ride today. Two of us cut the ride short (about 27 miles). I was able to get back to my car by riding with the chain on the largest chainring. Of course, that meant the most resistance on the hills, but it was better than falling.

I then took my bike into the bike shop. They were so helpful! The repair guy had me go around to the back of the bike and showed me how bent the derailleur was. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even really know what the derailleur was until he showed me. Now I know what a bent one looks like. He fixed it for me and the bike started changing gears perfectly.

He also showed me how to do "trimming". Now that is a useful thing to know! I previously would change gears/chainrings when I heard a noise like my chain struggling to find the ring. Now I know to just trim by slightly pushing the shifter. It doesn't change rings/gear. Trimming means using the shifter to move the front derailleur cage sideways just a little bit, enough to stop the chain from rubbing, but not enough to make it shift to a different chainring. If your system requires trimming and you don't do it and ride with the chain rubbing against the front derailleur cage, you wear a groove in the side of the cage and it won't shift properly. I am pretty sure I have heard a lot of other cyclists riding with their chain rubbing on these rides. I just always thought they needed to change gears, which is what I did previously. It could be that or a bent derailleur, but it's just as likely the need to "trim" in order to stop the chain from rubbing.

When I first started cycling, I thought I could treat my bike like I do my refrigerator: I don't really know/care about how my refrigerator functions as long as it does. But like I found out with the refrigerator (after an expensive service call), you really do need a basic understanding of how things work and how to do basic maintenance. In the case of the refrigerator, the water filter (which also filters the water used to make the ice) needed replaced. That caused the ice to get progressively smaller and clog the icemaker to the point that it messed up the coils. That taught me to start changing the filter when the ice cubes start getting misshapen/small. It's the same with the bike. The derailleur was bent and I kept trying to ride on it, thinking it would work itself out.

Now I know the symptoms of a bent derailleur. And I also realize that in addition to airing up my tires before every ride, I need to keep my chain lubed/clean. I also need to make sure my cleats don't have a lot of dirt/grass/gravel stuck in them. And I need to do trimming when my chain starts rubbing against the derailleur cage. And although I could just get on my bike and ride, to ride well, I need to understand gearing, pedaling efficiently and the energy systems in the body.

I confess - I looked at cycling as a cross-training activity. I didn't approach it with the single-mindedness I have done with running. Initially, I didn't read all the books, subscribe to the magazines, implement a training plan and plot my progress. I was just going to use it to stay in shape while I couldn't run and then 2-3 days a week as cross-training for my running once I was able to run again.

It's not as good as a fit for me personally as running. In order to be really good at cycling, it requires some fearlessness that is not in my nature.You have to be comfortable manuevering the bike in tight spaces, riding in a pack, falling, doing what the pros call "attacks" during races, and going superfast on downhills. I still won't ride "all out" on the rural rides because I've seen loose dogs come out of nowhere and get right in front of someone's wheel. That can cause an "endo" which may result in either a broken collar bone or broken arms.

However, I've decided to pursue my cycling to a higher level. My limiting factor is going to be my fear of falling and getting hurt. My cardiovascular system is already in pretty good shape, which is why I prefer spinning over mashing when cycling. But I need to develop some muscular strength for mashing the pedals in a larger gear as well.