I am on such a cycling "high" lately. There are so many things that are falling into place, which are helping me be a better cyclist.

1- After a depressing club ride a few months ago I finally started doing some intervals. They have helped tremendously with the "gasping for air" that I used to do a lot more of. It's amazing how I can get the top of a hill and not have to stop to catch my breath ... or stop half way up even. I only did a few interval rides before I saw a big improvement.

2- Over the past couple of years I have attempted to lose some weight several times to help me climb hills better. I'm 5'9", so I already have to contend with a body not as well built for climbing. I have been trying to lose around 10 pounds, then over Christmas I "gained" about 4 or 5. Well, I recently lost those Christmas pounds and five more. Today I saw a number on the scale I haven't seen since high school and it just blows me away. I'm working toward 4 to 7 more pounds depending on how it affects my cycling.

3 - Not only did I lose 10 pounds, my bike lost 2 pounds! I just got a new frame, the one I have been coveting for almost a year. (Already posted the story and pics.) A Cannondale SuperSix carbon fiber frame. It not only makes my bike lighter, but it's so much more comfortable to ride on than my aluminum CAAD9, which is a particular help on longer rides. Did a 58 mile half century event yesterday and LOVE LOVE LOVE my bike!!!

4 - In addition to that, my hubby changed out my 6 year old very used DuraAce shifters and derailers to new SRAM Red. There is something about the ease of shifting to and from my big ring that makes me go ahead and shift to my small ring on a hill that I used to just grind up. I'm going up those hills at the same pace or faster with higher cadence, which saves my legs. I have tried working on this in the past and kind of gave up. Pedaling at a higher cadence takes more work in other ways, like the breathing that I have improved with from intervals.

5 - Hubs also changed the stainless steel bearings in my bottom bracket to ceramic. I was clueless about the concept of bearings and what that means to me, but now know that it makes for really smooth pedaling, which feels wonderful and somehow makes it feel like I can take off faster and that I'm almost being propelled down the road with greater ease.

6 - I also just got some 2XU compression tights. These are for recovery after a hard ride, though they can be worn during a ride as well. They help with circulation. If you are sore and you put the tights on, they diminish the soreness considerably and aid in quicker recovery.

With all of these factors in play, it's hard to know if any one of them is helping me more than another, but I am riding faster and stronger as a result of SOMETHING. And it just feels plain good.

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!