Originally Posted by
MinnMan
The faster cadence is, for now, more tiring, not less. And the faster I pedal, the harder is is for me to concentrate on pulling back during the understroke, etc.
Start one gear lower, not two.
You have some pretty big jumps between gears on your cassette. It's fairly flat around here too, so on my 8-speed, I replaced the cassette with a 13-23. They don't seem to make it any more, but your LBS can order loose cogs and make up anything you want. With your crank and flat terrain, a 12-21 or even an 11-19 might be worth trying. With loose cogs you can buy lots of extra ones and make up new combinations as required.
Originally Posted by
MinnMan
Would it be such a long haul if I were 30?
Yes. Twenty years might shave 20% off the time. That's not much in the grand scheme of things.
Originally Posted by
MinnMan
And neither is the gym. It's just not the same...
I have the same issues here. I *do* ride year 'round, but my mileage drops considerably in the winter. I maintain power during the winter, but lose both speed and endurance.
My commuting bike I outfit with studded snow tires. My fair-weather fun bike gets full fenders because no matter how nice the day or road conditions, there's always snowmelt somewhere.
DF's suggestion of spin classes could work, if you're both competitive and social. I'm neither, so I'm not a gym kind of guy.
I'm looking at a set of rollers again this year. What I like about rollers is that I still have to ride them as opposed to just sitting there and pedaling. True, all you can do is a straight line, but I have to be fairly present and can't zone out. My galley kitchen seems like the perfect place for them. Drinks and snacks are handy, and it's easy to mop up the sweat from the vinyl floor.