We had a good group of committed riders at hill repeats today, so George unleashed a little pain. Not only did we go up and down the hill six times, but we did a few drills while we were at it.
The first time up, we just rode normally; just get up the hill however you want to do it. It was a good warm-up.
The second time, we did one-legged drills. We pedaled with only one leg at a time for four revolutions, then switched legs. We didn’t click out like previous one-legged drills I’d done, so you could’ve cheated if you wanted to, but how’s that going to help you when it was time to ride Sea Otter? What I discovered was that it was much easier to do clipped in because you are balanced. And when I say “easier” I don’t mean it was easy. I mean you were more stable on the bike, so you could really concentrate on pedaling with one leg. I eventually switched to eight-and-eight because I could really work my kick, scrape and pull muscles (pushing forward, pulling backward, and pulling upward, respectively; basically every part of the stroke except pushing down).
The third time up, we did standing all the way. I did a few yards seated, but otherwise, I did the whole thing out of the saddle.
The fourth time up, we used one gear higher than we normally would. Since I normally do this in my lowest gear, I should’ve done this in my second-lowest gear. But I thought I’d see how far I could get in my third-lowest. I did most of the hill that way, dropping into my second-lowest gear where I needed to. I learned how to play this little psychological game with myself on my mountain bike. I’d climb in my second-lowest gear and use the fact that I had one extra gear to comfort and motivate me to climb farther.
The fifth and sixth times, we climbed as normal, but didn’t have a break in between. We just turned around at the bottom of the hill and climbed back to the top. Then, when we got to the top, we sprinted the last few yards.
Then came the fast descent back to the cars. I was still feeling good, so I caught most of the other riders. The last guy in front of me was the head coach. So I rode his wheel for a little way, then said “on your left, George.” Well, he was having none of that! He dropped the hammer and closed the door on me. It was awesome! I’m not gonna mess with the big dog anymore!