nathank

well, i don't really know, so i'm just kind of guessing here -- just saying what sounds right to me...

it seems like the body only encounters a problem with REALLY low body fat in the sub 10% range... higher than this i think the body should have adequate stores to draw on - how much extra should be pretty irrelevant.

now, when i say 10% or more, i'm meaning for men where most competitive riders are in the 5-15% range... since women naturally have substantially higher body fat and the "normal" fit range is more like 15-30% (i'm guessing) --- i don't know if this means that for women the lower range for available fat reserves for endurance are also raised, or if havig 20% for a woman is sufficient...

i think i would lean more towards the number being absolute (roughly same for sexes) which would also jive with why women are usually compartively better at endurance sports than equally fit/strong men --- also women's body tend to be highly EFFICIENT compared to a man of comparable size/strength

so i guess i'm saying that i would lean towards it making very little difference for you. even if you were to somehow get down to 15% i don't think there would be substantial endurance disadvantages from lack of stored fat --- concentrate on building strength and muscle and don't worry about the fat (or reduce the fat is OK too)