Hhowdy

Howdy,
During the winter we ride 20.1 miles at lunch time. The ride is flat and straight. The ride is an out and back running east and west. Usually there are 3-4 riders but sometimes there will only be 2 people. We usually take 60-120 second pulls.
The question I have is this, on the up wind (12mph average) or fast paced rides (22-26mph) a 2 minute pull will get me pretty tired, my breathing will come up and my legs will get pretty tired. What are some techniques for recovering in the 2-4 minute time in the draft?
I usually go up 1 gear to slow down my pedal rotation as I drop back into the line.
What else can be done to get ready for the next pull?

Thanks
M.R.

DXchulo

Are you more tired in the legs or in the lungs? If your legs are tired you should actually do the opposite and shift to an easier gear and spin faster. If your lungs are tired do more intervals.

If nothing else works, just take shorter pulls.

Hhowdy

Howdy,
My legs recover much faster than my lungs for sure, usually as soon as I get out of the air my legs are good but my breathing will take as much as 3-4 minutes to come back to the point that I could talk.

M.R.

Cypress

Hyperventilate, then stand up and mash some strokes down.

You could always just skip a pull or take a shorter one, but I dunno what kind of crowd you ride with.

Are you holding the pace that the rider in front of you was doing? When I ride in packs, I look at my computer right as the rider in front of me is pulling off. I used to get all excited at thr front and pace it up 3-4 mph, then as soon as my pull was over(me: dead), the pace would drop and I'd be in pain.

DXchulo

It's tough in a smaller group because there's less time to recover. There's really not a whole lot you can do besides the obvious- take it as easy as you can and do intervals on your own. 2 minute pulls are pretty long when conditions are rough. Maybe you could try to convince them that shorter pulls are more efficient and will keep everyone fresh. A lot of times guys get caught up in trying to look strong by taking monster pulls, but what good is that if it slows the group down?

Hhowdy

Howdy,
I'm working on keeping the speed flat, I have caught myself picking up the pace when I get in the pull. The 2 regulars that I ride with are pretty good, if I tell them I want to take it easy they will ride easier, it's when we hook up with the Specialized employees that the ego's go wild.

M.R.

DannoXYZ 

Well, if anything, you're getting good interval workouts in! It'll hurt less in time, just keep it up. You don't have to do every rotation, you can hold back at the end and take one pull for everyone else's two pulls. Take shorter pulls, 20-30 seconds. When we trained for 5-6 man TTTs, we'd take 10-15s pulls max.

fogrider

I agree with danno, shorter pulls is the answer. long pulls will only get you dropped. most people will be hurting in the lungs...on short rides, the only reason the legs hurt is because the lungs are not delivering the oxygen. once the legs recover, the lungs are still working to get oxygen to other parts of the body.

John Wilke

I would make the pulls shorter and be as aerodynamic as possible. Keep your elbows and knees in, no floppy windbreakers, stay relaxed.

jw

merlinextraligh

relax. tell yourself how easy it is. Feel like your soft pedaling when you're in the draft. If you're worried about hanging, the nervous energy expended just makes it harder.

+1 on shorter pulls. Its better to shorten your turn at the front, than to not hold the pace, or to get dropped. As long as your pulling through at the front your helping the group. No group is going to be made up of exactly equal riders. By the stronger riders taking a little bit longer pull, and weaker riders taking slightly shorter pulls, the whole group is faster, than everyone taking equal pulls, or dropping the weaker riders.

timmhaan

nothing new here but i'll just say again that shorter pulls is the best solution. also, try to get more areo during your pulls, control your breathing, and when it's time to swing off reduce your speed only a little. i sometimes have been known to drop back too quickly which makes the effort to match speed and then come up to the front that much harder. just smooth everything out as much as possible.

substructure

On my last group ride I got all crazy when my pull came up - in 30 mph gusty winds no less. And when I got to the back I practically stopped to find the nearest motel.

From my experience, I would suggest (as most people have) you relax when your number is up, spin with a good higher cadence, and shorten your pull when you begin to feel expended. But! Keep up the good work.

lrzipris

I have heard a story about a team on some arduous double century that did the entire ride in 30 second pulls. I guess the idea is that, because you stay fresh and don't get as tired, you don't need as much recovery.

Hhowdy

Howdy,
Thanks for the help folks.
Today it was a 2 man ride, I held my up wind speed to 17-18 and my down wind to 22-23. I also limited my pulls to 45-60 seconds. We turned a 1:00:10 20 miles so I feel pretty good about the whole thing.

M.R.