Originally Posted by
Biker395
I forgot one other suggestion about climbing ... and I forgot it because I forget to
do it when I climb.
When climbing, especially when you're tired and you're concentrating on pushing hard on the pedals, it's easy to let your pedaling technique slip. And that can slow you down ... a lot.
Concentrate pedaling in circles, pushing down on one side and pulling up on the other. Use both your legs throughout your entire pedal stroke.
It's not easy. It takes practice. It's easy to forget, especially if you're tired. And you'll discover muscles you never used before.
But if you look down at your speedo while you're doing it, you'll see 1-2 MPH more speed for what seems to be the same effort.
PS: The best part is that you don't need to lose any weight to try it.
Another thing to remember is breathing. Years ago i read about breathplay, a way of breathing in rythym. Count your breaths against your cadence, or against markers on the road or whatever. It works.
I don't stand on very steep climbs like 20%, I'm too afraid something will break.
Biker395 knows about wind, just ask him about scorpions.