cadence training

Most things I've read reccomend maintaining a cadence of 90-100 except on hills. I would suggest just trying to maintain 90, or the highest cadence that you can on all of your rides until it becomes natural. It will definitely feel strange for a while. The plus side is that it is easier on your knees and is more efficient, easier on your leg muscles. The key is to pedal circles, applying force all the way around the stroke. A good drill for this is one leg pedaling. During a ride let one leg go along for the ride and focus on the other leg, concentrating on a smooth even stroke and applying force all the way around. Just do a couple of minutes with each leg. Spend a lot of time on the small front chain ring. Good luck, it'll pay dividends down the road.

Just thought of something else. If you are averaging 75 on a ride, you could do some mini interals. Drop down a gear and ride a couple of minutes at a time at a higher cadence, then go back to what's comfortable. Just a thought, your plan sounds good too.

if you are properly fit on your bike and in the correct position its really easy to increase you cadence. you dont have to work up to a certain number or anything - just focus on pulling through the bottom of the pedal stroke. by spinning at a higher cadence it forces your body to iron out pedal inefficiencies which increases the rhythm and flow of your pedaling action - its also a better aerobic worout. if you start bouncing around on your bike at 95 or 105 rpms then you are not in the proper position and cld use abike fit (which may or may not be easy to come by). keys to remember when in road position with hands on top of the bars - relaxed upper body, if you take your hands off the bar and put them by your side you should be able to spin in the same position without feeling undue strain, nice easy pedaling rhythm, focus on the pulling throught the bottom of your pedal stroke - you can even think to yourself - spin circles - try to stay bw 95-100 rpms - really comfy with no bouncing. above 105 is a little high so, like i said, aim for 95-100 rpms and youll be in great shape coming off the bike and into the run. i try to spin at 95 rpms on the flats and 95 - 100 rpms on climbs as well unless im doing power or above lactate workout where a lowe cadence is needed. if im in a road race my cadence will be lower on the flats (bc you get pulled along by the pack) but always above 90 on the climbs unless the gradient is too steep for it. high cadence = superior efficiency. youll look like lance in no time!

Thanks for all the replies! I have been working on the circles already and can feel the difference. I will try the 95 cadence and if HR too high, then I will do it in intervals as recommended. My HR used to never get high on the bike and now I know it's because I was just muscling it. Since I've been increasing cadence, this should help my aerobic fitness more. I have also been reading about run cadence which I've never paid attention to before. And to think I used to think running and cycling was just a matter of putting inthe hours with no real skill or science :-)