Originally Posted by
Spld cyclist
Another thought. Sounds like you're already putting a lot of time into cycling and have the motivation to keep it up. You must be already in pretty good shape, but with that kind of time investment you could get into elite shape. Maybe you should consider a structured training program. That would guide you in applying the right amount of rest/recovery for the amount of cycling you do and also apply the right amount of high-intensity work to advance your fitness. It's my understanding that advanced cyclists actually spend the vast majority of their miles at light to moderate intensity (relative to their level of fitness) and the remainder of the time is spent in high-intensity interval training.
Right now I'm in the highest gear and I'm turning a cadence of 60-65 a minute. When I drop down gears and step up the cadence I feel like it becomes all hamstring. Also my bike has a 42 teeth front crank so it is not a difficult gear relatively speaking but hard for me in the highest gear. My legs aren't that strong. I've had some huge strength gains in the last 5 months and I feel like I have a ways to go before I can afford to have a moderate intensity day because I feel like I'm barely moving.