speed and cadence and quads, oh my!

[Owlie]

I do get quad pain if my saddle's too low, but that's in a very specific place and I've learned to recognize it--outside of the leg, somewhere in the middle--and it goes away as soon as I get off and stretch. Quad pain from the wrong gear is very different and involves pretty much all of the muscles that make up the quadriceps. And it doesn't go away.

OP, do you use clipless pedals or straps/toe cages? Those can help give your quads a bit of a break. It's hard to pedal "properly" with just platforms (especially if they're the horrible slippery plastic kind) because you can't pull up, but you can utilize a motion similar to scraping mud off the bottom of your shoes to complete as much of the circle as you can.

[NaeNae]

As the original poster, thanks for all the insight, tips and suggestions. I went for a 33 mile ride today (personal longest) and really focused on keeping my cadence up and pedal stroke. I'm not messing with my saddle until my boyfriend gets a chance to look at it and help.

To answer a couple questions posted in the replies: I use clipless pedals, and while I have a computer, it doesn't measure cadence. Today, a couple times when I guessed I was at about 80 rpm, I counted each revolution for 15 seconds (using my watch) and multiplied by 4; my guess was right. So I have a comfortable cadence at about 80 rpm.

I resisted the temptation (mostly) to shift to a higher gear, especially on the flats. When I succumbed to the temptation, I could definitely feel myself falling below 80 rpm and, unsurprisingly, felt it a lot more in my quads.

I focused much, much more on pulling up on my pedal stroke and could feel it much more in my hamstrings (not a bad feel). When I felt my quads getting tired, I noticed that I had a) lost focus on pulling up and was relying on the downstroke too much, and/or b) was in too high a gear and was mashing at too low a cadence.

To conclude: So far, my legs feel GREAT after today's ride! Pedaling at a higher cadence did not seem to slow me down too much, but my speed may have been maintained at or near "typical" speed by pedaling more efficiently (esp. upstroke). I will continue to focus on these things and see if it continues to make a difference. Thanks again!