Day 183: Flow and Cadence

"I've learned so much about swimming since my accident. I've learned that I rely on power and not on flow."

Most of my morning and early arvo, I spent with DA, my friend who also is sort of a mentor to me in the realm of triathlon. Five weeks ago he was peddling hard on a training ride, going 22 miles per hour, his arms stretched if front of him on Aero-Bars, a long way from his brakes. Six juveniles stepped out in front of him from the bushes. He called to them, and one stopped dead in his tracks, eyes connected with DA. There was no time to react, DA hit the kid full in the belly. DA was on the ground, unable to move and asking for help. One of the kids grabbed the hit kid and they all bolted, leaving DA injured on the ground begging for someone to call an ambulance. His lung was punctured, six ribs broken, fractured pelvis, and a broken collar bone. A nearby stranger came to the rescue and offered help. DA was taken to a nearby hospital and put into ICU. 3 days later, he started his training again. 10 minutes a day at first, then 20. Today was his longest ride in a while, about 25 miles. We rode to the site of the accident and chatted about how his training has changed to accommodate for his injuries. He swims 1500 yards, one armed. He was a bit gun shy as we rode into the crowd around Huntington Beach Pier. But he prevailed. He says the worst part of his injury is to his confidence. It was nice to ride with a friend.

Tuesday, while I was cycling with my French buddies, we came to the nasty little hill that leads out of the back bay. Gilles-the triathlete was instructing his coworker who spoke the least amount of English, how to best cycle this nasty little hill--instructing him in English. I was very close and listened for a bit, then cocky little me said: Race ya! And jammed up that hill so fast in my clip-less pedals and cycling shoes, my feet were flying. When I got to the top, I turned around to see where everyone was. In a fine French accent, I heard, "You spanked us!" from the other crew member whose wife is a TV producer and who lived in the US for 3 years--hence his impeccable English (it seems so funny that I should only remember Gilles name--I wouldn't have if the man who lived in the US introduced him as "Gilles, in your language that would be Giles." and then his playful, mocking laugh).

A few times during the day, Gilles gently made suggestions on ways to improve my cycling--step up my cadence ("Do you have a cadence computer?"), work on my flow, don't race on my bike. When I exclaimed that I love that bike, he said, "this is your heart-bike, but not for racing." Yes, Little Red is my heart-bike.

I've been trying to watch my flow and cadence, lighten my gear and quicken my pace. Most of the time, I ride hard, pushing with too much rather than spinning on a lighter gear. But there are times, when I feel the fluidity of my action, when my effort is completely efficient and the energy I expend reveals the maximum potential of the sum of the parts, my pedaling and the bike's components. It is so strange that achieving this requires so much mental work--focus and concentration, rather than the sloppy, all physical aspects of riding. It is all grace.

When I spoke with DA about working on my cadence, he said, "Do you have a cadence computer? Cadence is something you work for. You set a goal and work on it for 5 minutes, then begin increasing it." Same as everything--set a goal and work toward it. Today marks my half a year mark of setting this goal and working toward it.

One thing that really helps that feeling of flow, is to be literally connected to my bike--having my shoes connected to my pedals allow me to utilize the full rotation of the crank. Wednesday night after our ride around the Back Bay, JE and I drove out of the parking lot, leaving my only cycling shoes on the pavement.

Tonight we visited Josh at Irvine Bicycles and talked to him about new cycling shoes. He thinks I should get performance shoes--something with a stiffer sole, that will improve my cycling speed. I asked if it will help with my cadence. He asked if I have a cadence computer...

Today's ride: 57.4 miles, and some self induced circuit training.