Spin Training

BigUgly said:

...Anyway man what a workout!!!

Yeah, learning to spin fast while still delivering power can be real useful. Motorpacing in a moderate fixed gear on the track or running an intentional gear limit like you did while following another rider can do that for you. Just don't extrapolate to spending a lot of time spinning low gears at an easy pace. There's still a lot of training books and advice out there that will advocate 1000 or more miles of low gear easy spinning as base. I tried it for years and just learned to go slow. Now I make sure I'm actually building aerobic fitness on everything except rest day rides which means riding in L2+ or above in power level terminology.

Sounds like your gear limited drafting put you there and that's cool as it builds your aerobic engine while also extending your comfort range from a cadence standpoint. That's a real useful skill for fast crits and can be useful on moderate hills where you have the gears to spin fast.

-Dave

BigUgly said:

He gets to use any gear he wants and I have to stay in 34-21. The reason for all this madness he says is I'll get better at hills and if I do it once a week I'll gain lots of speed and endurance now I'm a new guy is this true or is he just having fun with me. Anyway we did a total of 63km with an average speed of 21.5km/h.

21.5kph in a 34-21 would mean an average cadence of 101, which would still probably be within the comfortable cadence range (high-end) of most experienced cyclists, but probably uncomfortable for a newer rider (especially going downhill). How does 21.5kph compare to your typical pace for a 3-hr ride?

I'd say that might be fun as a way to limit yourself while riding with slower riders, but other than that he's probably having fun with you. It sounds like he didn't choose that cadence, and you probably could have ridden faster if you hadn't been restricted, right?

For that length of ride I would typically been doing around 25-26km/h at a comfy pace and around 30km/h for a serious ride.

By pooped, do you feel muscle soreness or do your lungs and heart feel "puffed out"?

pooped just means wore out, that feeling you get when you've given all you can.