JoelS

First off, I didn't read all the responses...

Do you have trainer? As in one of those devices you attach your bike to that has a resistance unit for the back wheel. Or a stationary? Either of those will make this easier, but you can do it on your bike on flat ground...

Practice one legged pedaling. 20 revolutions with right leg, 20 revolutions with left leg. Pay attention to what you are doing to keep the pedal moving with one foot not touching a pedal at all. Get used to the feeling of having to rotate the crank all the way around with only one foot. Then switch feet.

When you think you have a handle on it, put both feet back on and try to coordinate the entire thing. That is spinning. If you find yourself bouncing on the seat, you aren't coordinating it right. Go back to the one legged drill.

Here's the reason why. If you aren't actively unweighting the leg that's on the upstroke, the one pushing down has to propel the bike and push that leg up too. That leg that's being pushed up is also still pushing down, increasing the effort needed to push it up. By learning to unweight that leg using the one-legged drill, you are decreasing the amount of effort needed to keep the pedals going.

I find it extremely helpful climbing, on flats, all the time actually. My preferred cadence is 105, but I can crank it up to 140 or more if needed. I do get down to the low 50's on steep climbs, but I try to keep my climbing cadence at 80 or 90.

All that said, some folks physiology precludes spinning at a fast cadence. They just aren't built for it. But you can learn to ride faster.

As I learned in another sport, to go fast, you have to practice going fast.