I have been a "masher" for as long as I've been riding. I'm not a "slow twitch" kind of athlete and never have been. In my younger days, I was a 400m runner... the odd ball who couldn't sprint fast enough to win a 100m and didn't have the stamina to run 1600m plus. But... I could sprint hard for 400m and very few people could keep up.

I started cycling in 2002 or so and immediately found myself racing local tt, yet I was unable to ride with a fast group for any distance greater than 25 miles. My technique for tt was to shift till it burned and push till I couldn't get my legs over the top tube when I finished.

I've gotten back into cycling this year after a long break (had two kids and a busy job). I've clocked a lot of rides this summer, but mostly while riding with my boys who want to race next year (lots of miles, but slow paced). My oldest (11) raced his first tt this season.

I never bought into a fast cadence. I didn't feel like I was doing enough work and felt I was pedaling too fast for the speed I was going. I have been reading up on this board lately, as I have started a junior team that will be racing next year and I feel like even though we will be hiring coaches, I have a lot to learn before we start.

Anyhow, lately I have kept a close eye on my cadence, with a goal of making 100rpm my average. Yesterday, while my boys were at football practice, I joined a 25mi group ride. I rode at 100rpm for most of the ride. Almost everyone in the group mentioned my "fast" cadence which made me feel like I should slow it down. Instead of giving in to the urge to go back to 60rpm or so like normal, I kept spinning.

As we finished the ride, a couple of us took off on a hard, fast sprint. I was amazed by how hard I could go and how fresh my legs felt. Typically, after a hard ride, I would be gassed and sore (quads especially) but this time was way different. My heart rate average for the ride was 170, which is a lot higher than normal, but at the end, I felt like I could go again. I didn't feel taxed at all.

Moral of this long story is, if you are like me and keep your speed by mashing fast gears... Give 100rpm a try and you will be amazed how different (and better IMO) it is to ride this way. I only write this because out of the group I rode with (very experienced guys) most were mashing gears which surprised me.