Shifting advice

[indysteel]

I do think some of this will come in time as you gain strength, conditioning and confidence. I would also suggest adding some cadence drills into your interval routine. Having ridden with you, you do have a nice spin, even without the benefit of clipless pedals (although I think they, too, will ultimately help). My guess, however, is that you could spin a bit faster with some practice. That will help you build better aerobic capacity, too, which is a necessary building block for speed work.

All that said, I would strongly encourage you to just ride. In my experience, there's only so much you can work on at one time. Between bike handling, endurance and distance,you already have a lot to focus on. I know you already know this, but try to remember and accept that it will take take more than one season to meet all of your goals. So, be patient, grasshopper!

[Catrin]

I do think some of this will come in time as you gain strength, conditioning and confidence. I would also suggest adding some cadence drills into your interval routine. Having ridden with you, you do have a nice spin, even without the benefit of clipless pedals (although I think they, too, will ultimately help). My guess, however, is that you could spin a bit faster with some practice. That will help you build better aerobic capacity, too, which is a necessary building block for speed work.

All that said, I would strongly encourage you to just ride. In my experience, there's only so much you can work on at one time. Between bike handling, endurance and distance,you already have a lot to focus on. I know you already know this, but try to remember and accept that it will take take more than one season to meet all of your goals. So, be patient, grasshopper!

This is true - being somewhat of an obsess...errrrr...focused and stubborn woman I tend to expect too much out of myself (limitations? what's that?) I have an entire 600 miles under my belt, and seem to be progressing so I am certainly not complaining.

I am certainly riding as much as I can, and greatly enjoying every minute of it. This isn't something that I can "think through" but to simply do/be. As hard as that sometimes is for me it is also a very good thing.

Psyclepath - thanks for your advice. I guess what gets me to start mashing big gears is that when I down-shift to maintain a certain cadence my speed, of course, drops. I have to get it through my head that right now endurance is more important than speed...I have a natural heavy foot when driving, so this is likely related

I am assuming that cadence drills is where you focus on maintaining a particular cadence for a period of time/distance, regardless of the terrain? I tried to do that on my long ride Saturday, but wound up getting frustrated with my speed and started mashing away...

Thanks for the advice!

[indysteel]

I am assuming that cadence drills is where you focus on maintaining a particular cadence for a period of time/distance, regardless of the terrain? I tried to do that on my long ride Saturday, but wound up getting frustrated with my speed and started mashing away...

There's a couple of suggestions here for cadence drills (note the high cadence drill and spin up drill): http://www.energyfitnesscoaching.com/article.cfm?id=180

I would pick relatively flat areas to do these. And turn off the speedometer. This isn't about speed; it's about technique snd conditioning. As you get used to spinning at a higher cadence, you will likely find yourself getting faster. You will also increase your efficiency and endurance and put less strain on your knees.