Rate my standing technique
09-27-20, 08:28 AM
#26
Senior Member
Thread Starter
So I took the advice to retry the hill with a different technique, and I have to say I did obtain a different result.
I decided to attack "Turkey Hill" again, except this time I would try to minimize the time out of the saddle. I did get out of the saddle just once, a very short section of the hill that is 12-16.4% grade - maybe just 150 foot section. For the rest of the hill (and most of the ride) I was seated. To me, the result was dramatic. You'll see from the image attached (just the Turkey Hill section) that for the most part my cadence stayed between 80 and 90 rpm with an average of 82 rpm. With my standing technique I would allow the rpm's to drop knowing that I'd stand when it got to 70. On the ride last week my cadence was between 50 and 90 rpm with an average of 74rpm. I think that's a big difference. Asa result my time up the hill went from 17:10 to 16:40. With the commitment to remain in the saddle, whenever the rpms got close to 80 I dug in and found a some more power. The only time I dropped below 80 rpm was when I hit the section with the 12-16.4% grade...I dropped to 64 rpm and it looks like it took me 500 feet to recover and get back above 70 rpm.Once I hot my heart rate back into the 180's my cadence never dropped below 80 again. I think I will try to say in the saddle for that section the next time I ride that hill.
This was a 30 mile ride, and the only down-side to not standing - my ass was killing me at the 20 mile mark. But spending so much time in the saddle I was able to identify where the saddle was bothering me and I made an adjustment as soon as I got home.
And don't be alarmed by my heart rate (averaged 182 on this section and peaked at 194 - but my average for the 30 mile ride was 166). I was a runner before I was a rider and monitored my heart rate for 30,000 miles. At a 8 minute mile I'm usually in the 170's and a 7 minute mile in the 180's. I know that when I hit the 190's I'm about to run out of energy and at 196/197 I'm done. For the beginning of Turkey Hill I was in the 170's until I hit a 10% grade which brought me into the 180's. I only got into the 190's when the grades were above 12%. Seems normal to me as I'd see the same HR while running this hill. Be assured, my resting HR is in the low 50's.
Thanks to those who suggested I give another technique a try to see if I liked it.
I decided to attack "Turkey Hill" again, except this time I would try to minimize the time out of the saddle. I did get out of the saddle just once, a very short section of the hill that is 12-16.4% grade - maybe just 150 foot section. For the rest of the hill (and most of the ride) I was seated. To me, the result was dramatic. You'll see from the image attached (just the Turkey Hill section) that for the most part my cadence stayed between 80 and 90 rpm with an average of 82 rpm. With my standing technique I would allow the rpm's to drop knowing that I'd stand when it got to 70. On the ride last week my cadence was between 50 and 90 rpm with an average of 74rpm. I think that's a big difference. Asa result my time up the hill went from 17:10 to 16:40. With the commitment to remain in the saddle, whenever the rpms got close to 80 I dug in and found a some more power. The only time I dropped below 80 rpm was when I hit the section with the 12-16.4% grade...I dropped to 64 rpm and it looks like it took me 500 feet to recover and get back above 70 rpm.Once I hot my heart rate back into the 180's my cadence never dropped below 80 again. I think I will try to say in the saddle for that section the next time I ride that hill.
This was a 30 mile ride, and the only down-side to not standing - my ass was killing me at the 20 mile mark. But spending so much time in the saddle I was able to identify where the saddle was bothering me and I made an adjustment as soon as I got home.
And don't be alarmed by my heart rate (averaged 182 on this section and peaked at 194 - but my average for the 30 mile ride was 166). I was a runner before I was a rider and monitored my heart rate for 30,000 miles. At a 8 minute mile I'm usually in the 170's and a 7 minute mile in the 180's. I know that when I hit the 190's I'm about to run out of energy and at 196/197 I'm done. For the beginning of Turkey Hill I was in the 170's until I hit a 10% grade which brought me into the 180's. I only got into the 190's when the grades were above 12%. Seems normal to me as I'd see the same HR while running this hill. Be assured, my resting HR is in the low 50's.
Thanks to those who suggested I give another technique a try to see if I liked it.
