James –
GREAT riding with you! My apologies for complaining and going slow. My body is cooked!
My goal for you James, as we discussed yesterday, is to make you competitive in both long and short races. In order for you to be there at the end of a long race, we need to make you as efficient, conservative and smart as possible! I can’t teach you all THAT in THIS email. It will take time. But, we CAN get you there! That is my goal for you!!
So, I want to take your past track experience and start to revive those muscles you have and apply them to the bike. Again, time is required, but it WILL happen!
Review of ride:
· I would advise getting wider bars – 44 center to center.
· Longer stem, 130 mm, and set it for 0 degree rise.
· Check your cleat position. Do not change the Q-Factor spacing (distance from center / cranks). I would move the cleat about 2 or 3 mm BEHIND the ball of your foot. You might have to lower your seat slightly – 1 or 2 mm. We can talk more about this later.
· KEEP THOSE KNEES IN!
· Keep those elbows slightly bent
· Coming out of the saddle, make sure you are starting with the stronger leg. Start that pedal stroke at 2:00, push down all the way to 6:00. At 6:00, you start your transition to PULL UP. This goes from 8:00 to 11:00. From here, your other leg is already engaged mimicking the same PUSH & PULL as the other leg.
· When out of the saddle, make sure you are scooting back a bit. The nose of the saddle should almost be touching your thighs. Bike goes side-to-side. Your torso and head stay still. This is something you could easily practice during your commute!
· Fixed gear bike. I would try to get a 42 on the front ring. Having a 42 vs. a 48 on the front will decrease the amount of torque required to turn the gear over. This will in-turn increase the smoothness of your pedal stroke. In other words, it is better (for your pedal stroke) to have a smaller ring in the front and have a smaller cog in the back. For example, 42X16.
Questions?
Comments?
Good luck tonight!!!
Coach O’B
