Originally Posted by
RichardGlover
Make sure you're properly hydrated, fed, and, um, electrolyted.
With those out of the way, try standing in the pedals on a few hills BEFORE you start to get that cramped feeling in your quads. Standing is the only way for me to get complete use from my inner quad muscle - which is the one that gives me grief on hills if I don't extend it completely. You don't have to hammer up the hills - just standing with a cadence maybe half your spin rate (e.g. 45ish if you spin @ 90). You'll probably have to shift to a harder gear when you stand.
Works for me. Might not for you... people are different.
I'll have to try the whole standing thing. As a teenager I stood on the pedals a lot to get more power down, as an adult it just doesn't feel very stable. I'm a lot heavier now than I was then, although the difference is slowly dropping. It's certainly worth a try.
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