Probably better known for his book "The Bicycle Kamasutra - 101 different riding positions" , describes himself as a playful rider and spends much of his spare time on photo shoots for ladies calendars - with his top off whilst holding a kitten. But, @Gary does actually have many useful words of wisdom !
Managed to get out for a couple of hours last night and was trying for the KOM (WWOM in the Scottish edition of Strava - William Wallace of the Mountain). 20km's of mixed terrain in a circuit. It was my forth go and I think if I'd not gone the wrong way, I'd have been there.
I took Gary's advice about getting out of the saddle seriously and it was amazing the difference it made to my riding. I'm a new and inexperienced rider (6 months - when are you not new anymore?) Initially I found it tiring and unnatural, normally popping off the saddle when you need to or when I know there's a bad bump/hole etc .. After a few minutes I started to relax. Half way round I was significantly more relaxed and wasn't suffering the fatigue from being jostled around as much as normal. Being up and in a semi relaxed attack position I was always ready for every bump, hole, dip,skip, tree, rock. My ground speed was considerably higher. As I felt less tired and more relaxed I was able to push harder and in turn, go faster still. I suffered far less of the tension and death grip I normally suffer from. As @Mikerb and @TimVW were saying yesterday and others have said before, you need to be relaxed. Strangely, forcing yourself out of the saddle actually seems to help that.
Managed to get out for a couple of hours last night and was trying for the KOM (WWOM in the Scottish edition of Strava - William Wallace of the Mountain). 20km's of mixed terrain in a circuit. It was my forth go and I think if I'd not gone the wrong way, I'd have been there.
I took Gary's advice about getting out of the saddle seriously and it was amazing the difference it made to my riding. I'm a new and inexperienced rider (6 months - when are you not new anymore?) Initially I found it tiring and unnatural, normally popping off the saddle when you need to or when I know there's a bad bump/hole etc .. After a few minutes I started to relax. Half way round I was significantly more relaxed and wasn't suffering the fatigue from being jostled around as much as normal. Being up and in a semi relaxed attack position I was always ready for every bump, hole, dip,skip, tree, rock. My ground speed was considerably higher. As I felt less tired and more relaxed I was able to push harder and in turn, go faster still. I suffered far less of the tension and death grip I normally suffer from. As @Mikerb and @TimVW were saying yesterday and others have said before, you need to be relaxed. Strangely, forcing yourself out of the saddle actually seems to help that.
