All,
All these tips I have heard/read/researched before and they are fantastic! It's nice to have them synthesized in a nice, concise place. I am practicing almost all of them and have seen (for me at least) great improvement in the last month or so.
Even given my age (57) and physical make-up, I can push a pretty big gear at a slower, but somewhat normal cadence. If I spin in a lower gear it seems like I'm not being efficient. You guys know that everyone has their optimal cadence. Mine does not even approach 100
As this relates to OOS I'm finding that as I come over the top of the pedal stroke, I tend to rush it to help make sure I'm balanced, which actually is not the case. This causes a little hiccup in the drive train in that there's not constant pressure/torque when I come over the top of the stroke. It's a timing issue and I have to wait until the pedal is fully loaded naturally as the pedal comes over the top. When I am able to do this consistently things are much better. I feel more balanced and feel like I'm less likely to go over the front or have other catastrophic failures.
I've been really conscience of this pedal timing issue the last few times out and it has made a big difference. It's hard to describe, but I need to wait until the drive train is naturally loaded. I'm also practicing on flat stretches of road, and more recently on small/short distance rolling hills in my area. Some up to 4% to 5% grades, but not long distance wise. Compared to my Specialized Allez with more aggressive geometry, the Domane is significantly easier to transition from seated to standing and back. I'm going to try and focus more specifically on the tips in this thread, especially practice on quiet roads (which I do), keeping my weight back and trying to increase my leg strength.
Thanks again for all your help.
Glenn