I finally had a few minutes yesterday to get out on the bike. If you were watching my twitter account you noticed that I had every intention of going out on the MTB. I decided instead to take to the road. It has been a while since I have ridden the Allez, and I really wanted to spin in the open air for once, instead of in my living room. Also, because of my riding on the trainer, I wanted to see if I could ride at a consistent cadence. This is something I never used to be able to monitor, but when I got the new bike it came with a computer that shows cadence.
I had been training at a cadence of 85 to 95 or so, and this is what I decided to ride at yesterday. I rode from my house over to Paris Mt. State park, which is about an 9 mi ride, then up the Hincapie challenge to the turnaround and back home. Riding at this higher cadence was a very odd experience. I liked spinning, fast and smooth, and it was kinda fun to be changing gears much more often in order to keep the cadence steady. But, it is an uncomfortable pace. I have found that I MTB at a very slow cadence. This transition may be difficult to make. Is it necessary?
1. How long should I plan for each workout?
2. Should I base my workout on cadence, or distance traveled?
3. How important is it for me to stay in true riding position/form?
4. Will this actually make me a better rider, or just a guy who sweats a lot while watching TV in the living room
Any insights?