This is probably no news to anyone who has been riding for long, but I had a cool little change of focus today that seemed to make a difference in my spinning while climbing:

I haven't been out on the road in almost 2 months due to the weather, but today was 50-degrees, so I went out on one of my hilly loops on my mtb with semi-slick tires (winter road bike). As I was grunting my way up one hill, I really didn't want to have to shift into my granny gear, but wanted to continue to spin at a decent cadence where I was. I had been focusing on my feet on the pedals and making smooth circles, but I shifted my focus to my hips and lower abdomen, and what a difference it made! It was as if I had a whole other level of power that I hadn't been using. My feet felt lighter on the pedals, knees weren't straining, my cadence picked up, and the climb instantly became easier!

I won't be able to get out on the road again for awhile, but hopefully I can continue to work on this during my rides indoors on the trainer. I would really like to get to the point of riding a century this year

Linda