Gears, revelation, and so on

Yep, it's pretty shocking. After my sparkling revelation that in order to go faster on a bicycle, you must pedal harder earlier this year, I've been making progress. I'm getting to the point of ticking over ever-increasing gears, approaching the top gear rapidly. A couple days ago I discovered (actually common knowledge...) that I can sustain a given pace longer by choosing a lower gear and spinning my giant ham-hock legs faster. It's pretty amazing, really, that I'm already approaching the limits of my compact gearing after only a few months.

The really amazing thing, though, is how long it's taken me to figure out how to exploit the latent potential in my enormously long legs (yeah, I'm tall, we're supposed to be good for power on bicycles...). Remember this guy?Greg Lemond, waaaay back in the Day. I'd been hooked on cycling for a few years before his appearance in the Tour de France, but this guy - plus Andy Hampsten shortly before - inspired me to buy a race bike and go for broke back in the mid-to-late '80's. That and my high school physics teacher, who was a well-known local racer.

It's a little sad for me that LeMond has, er, regressed to this:I imagine getting shot by your brother-in-law and leaving lots of lead pellets in your body can have a...detrimental...effect on your mental processes. With all due respect for awakening legions of Americans to cycling and his amazing accomplishments in a then-inhospitable stage for American cyclists - someone he respects needs to slap him and advise him to "let it go."

So, what's it been? 22 years? 22 years I've spent puttering around at 15mph in the small chainring, thinking the big ring was just for downhills and tailwinds. Ha! Had it backwards...the big ring is for everything except steep hills! Well it's on now. Watch yourself.

In follow-up to my previous post, the respected and admired Jens Voigt appears to be doing better. About as well as anyone can be after grinding their face into the asphalt at 45mph, but not nearly as bad as he could have been. Heal fast, Jens.