What is this "pedaling strategy" of which you speak? We do not have such things on my planet.


I really don't think about my pedaling stroke any more except when I am at the end of my rope and just trying to survive. Most of the time, it is a steady cadence (probably somewhere in the vicinity of 90 rpm, but I couldn't swear to that) and I shift to maintain that. I've been complimented a time or two on having a smooth pedaling stroke. To the extent that is true - I don't watch myself so I don't know - it is because of the (extremely) low level racing I did many years ago. Learning to fit into a group and not yo-yo behind a wheel taught me that being herky-jerky is not the way to go. I guess I learned the lesson and internalized it to the point that it is second nature and I simply don't think about it.


Climbing, of course, is the exception; when I run out of gears that I can spin, it's grind grind grind and occasionally stand up and mash to try to spread the work around. I rarely if ever think about my pedaling strategy then, either. I react to the road and what my body is telling me. And if my body says "pull over and give a break, you moron," I generally obey.