Originally Posted by berner

There is a foot race in New York City to the top of the Empire State Building. Imagine trying to win that race by taking the steps two at a time. Not one would last to the top. As I understand it, higher cadence saves the legs and for me it is true. On several occasions, though normally very slow, I've had my moments, (fortuitous alighment of the planets?) where I've held 18 MPH and once 20 MPH. On those happy occasions I have found myself pedaling at very high cadence. This did not happen automatically without some work. Early in my cycling I would shift to a lower gear than normal and spin the pedals for a while and then shift down again and spin furiously. When shifting back to a higher gears, the legs found that to be a sleepy pace. I still do this in spring after the slow winter season. There are some You Tube videos of track cyclists practicing on rollers. They get up way over the cadence of normal humans.