Chi Running --> cycling?

[kelownagirl]

So I have started reading Chi Running and like it so far. I hope to try it soon and see if it makes sense but I got to thinking - could these principles be applied to biking in some way? I'd love to ride faster and further without using my muscles.

[VeloVT]

Seems like it might imply a very different position on the bike, that would put your weight further forward and thus over the pedals more. Kind of like when you stand to climb.

[KnottedYet]

I look at it from the Tai Chi standpoint, I guess. Just do what feels "right." Concentrate on where you are going rather than how you are going.

Like, I tend to have a cadence that is 66 rpm. Steady as a rock. It feels right. If I change it, I become inefficient. (yeah, sure, I *should* be at a faster cadence... but should I, really?) I pass racer boys all the time at that cadence, I feel fabulous, I fly. Why mess with it?

Tai Chi was one of the greatest things I ever learned. I still use it. Doing it while hugely pregnant was a total trip! I teach aspects of it to my patients.

Seems like it's kinda on the lines of letting your body do what you ask, instead of telling it what to do. And focus on your belly button (center of mass) and use small deviations to the belly button to effect larger deviations in motion.

[kelownagirl]

Hmmm, interesting and I was wondering if spinning easily at a higher cadence and "saving" your legs would be a more "chi-like" way to ride. I need read more of the book.

And PS my back is still good. It still goes out but I am able to make it go back pretty quickly now. Thank you, thank you, thank you....

[KnottedYet]

I guess it depends on what your legs want to do.

My chi-running stride is MUCH shorter than my regular stride. My favorite biking cadence is much slower than a racer's cadence. It feels easy and like "saving" my legs, to me.

Guess you should listen to your body, and let it do what it does best?

[kelownagirl]

Yes I agree Knot. Maybe the difference between you and I is that you have the strength to push a bigger gear. I am definitely a spinner, not a masher. The only time I do a cadence of about 60 is climbing big hills and even then I'm in my easiest gear.

[KnottedYet]

Or that I just don't have the fast-twitch fibers in my legs to spin easily.

When I was in track I absolutely s*cked at sprints and any distance less than a quarter mile, but I was good at the long distance stuff.

I just can't move my legs quickly. For someone who *can* move their legs quickly, I'd bet a faster cadence would be more efficient and more chi-running like.

In the great cycle of life, everyone must find their own cadence...

[Trek420]

In the great cycle of life, everyone must find their own cadence...

Ohmmmmmmm