I might have had a "Eureka" moment in cycling but I need to understand what happened.
Background is that I'm not much of a cyclist but I'm better at climbing than other types of riding and I love higher cadence. I'm a spinner I feel so much better at 90+, even 100+ than I do at anything below 85. At least when seated.
But a perfect storm of accidents happened to me the other day.
I was shocked to find it was much more manageable. I held about 20 watts higher than normal and my heart rate wasn't soaring nearly so early as it usually does. And I did almost the entire ride out of the saddle
To make sure it wasn't a fluke, today I did a Zwift race up Alpe du Zwift and had the same experience. Again, virtually the entire ride out of the saddle. Got a PR by 1:30 with an average cadence of 58.
So now I'm left wondering. Should I try to completely change the way I ride? I heard so often how we all basically self-select our optimal cadence. I don't like low-cadence but it sure seems to like me. Has anyone else ever had an experience like this?
Background is that I'm not much of a cyclist but I'm better at climbing than other types of riding and I love higher cadence. I'm a spinner I feel so much better at 90+, even 100+ than I do at anything below 85. At least when seated.
But a perfect storm of accidents happened to me the other day.
- I put a tighter cassette on my trainer 12-25 for some flatter-course riding
- Without thinking, I restored my trainer difficulty to 100% (somehow it had been reduced to 50%)
- I accidentally chose the Zwift Mont Ventoux course instead of the flat one I had planned.
I was shocked to find it was much more manageable. I held about 20 watts higher than normal and my heart rate wasn't soaring nearly so early as it usually does. And I did almost the entire ride out of the saddle
To make sure it wasn't a fluke, today I did a Zwift race up Alpe du Zwift and had the same experience. Again, virtually the entire ride out of the saddle. Got a PR by 1:30 with an average cadence of 58.
So now I'm left wondering. Should I try to completely change the way I ride? I heard so often how we all basically self-select our optimal cadence. I don't like low-cadence but it sure seems to like me. Has anyone else ever had an experience like this?