Brewing and lower cadence

Having a long weekend allowed me to get an extra bike ride. I had the option of going to Red Bluff with the cycling crew. They were originally going to ride in the morning but there was a chance of rain. They delayed the ride until noon. This interfered with my afternoon plans.

Instead I rode the trainer. I have been doing these FTP (functional threshold power) training rides. They are solid. They are hard. I have failed on just as many as I have succeeded. However, last week I discovered something. Since I started riding I have forced myself to ride a high cadence – high like in the mid nineties. Well, on one of my 3 x 10 minutes at 85% FTP rides last week I purposefully shifted down (up) twice to a harder gear. This dropped my cadence to the mid eighties. This felt much easier. I was able to complete the session at a lower perceived exertion and a lower average heart rate.

So this session I did 2 x 20 minutes at 85% FTP with the lower cadence. It was still challenging but I was able to complete the session and once again at a lower average heart rate. This is great news for time trials; however, this might not be the best for triathlons and running after the bike. I need to do some more testing.

In the afternoon I went over to Charles’s house to brew a batch of Ridicule Stout. Ridicule was the method of brewing.  There may be something to that old notion of too many cooks in the kitchen.