Originally Posted by
Area_Man
Wikipedia says the pros have like a 70-90 cadence on the flats. So what the heck, I gave that a shot. I kept it around 60 for a five minute warmup, then two minutes of 90 followed by one minute of >60, rinse and repeat, three minute cooldown <60, and off to lift. It kind of felt like running in midair, and I thought about a hamster wheel a couple of times.
That's tiring! I'm not used to riding that way, so even just fifteen minutes of it is mentally tiring as well as physically tiring. I feel fine now, though.
I really hear what you're saying about mashing your way up a hill. Hills have always been a bear for me. Maybe spinning the gears will change that for me a little. We'll see.
I forget exactly how it was told to me, but basically, your bike has gears to serve you ... not the other way around.
Find a gear you can comfortably spin between 70-80 with to start with, and focus on keeping your cadence in that neighborhood. If the road tilts up, shift to an easier gear and keep spinning at that cadence. If the road tilts down, shift to a harder gear and spin at the same cadence.
It's an entirely different way of cycling than you're used to ... but the change from mashing to spinning is so worth it.