The heavy cyclist

In my last blog I mentioned some obstacles that I would have to overcome this year. The main obstacle is the fact that I am a terrible climber. I am a very strong powerful rider and have always shown signs of power and expect that If I had a power tap I could probably put in some pretty good wattage for decent amounts of time. I recently stopped lifting heavy but my last trip to the actual gym I could still bench press over 300 pounds and was still squatting over 400 pounds. Which would be all well in good if my goal wasn't to be a better cyclist! Needless to say It will be push ups, crunches, plyometrics and bands for the rest of the year.

I read something that really opened my eyes and made me realize to be competitive I have definitely chosen the wrong sport. I found this at www.cptips.com

Question: I began riding last year and recently met my first professional cyclist in person. He's a good climber on a U.S. pro team. I'm astonished at how small he is! He looks skinny, emaciated and weak. But I know he can ride circles around me even though I'm an athletic 6-footer and 190 pounds. How can such an unimposing person put out so much power? I want to climb like him! -- Bradley N.

Comment: When you're familiar with athletes in most conventional sports, it's a shock to see how small and thin top cyclists are. The rule for climbing prowess: You should weigh (in pounds) no more than twice your height in inches. So at 6 feet (72 inches) you'd need to weigh 144 pounds rather than 190. Pro cycling tends to select lean, light-bodied athletes in the same way that the profile of a mastodon is required for football linemen. Climbing ability is crucial in racing, and it depends on the power-to-weight ratio. A light rider doesn't need to generate as much power as his heavier competitor because he has less weight to propel up hills. In the 2005 Tour de France with 189 starters, here's the profile of the average rider:

• Height -- 1.79 meters (5 feet, 10.4 inches)
• Weight -- 71 kilograms (156.2 pounds)
• Resting heart rate -- 50 bpm
• Lung capacity -- 5.69 liters (1.48 gallons)

To say I am 5 foot 9 (69 inches) is a bit of a stretch,
I started the season at 193 pounds.(yes I can still see my abs) and even while I was playing college baseball I was rarely under 185 pounds while batting lead off.

I believe it was in Lance's "It's not about the bike" where he explains how even lean upper body muscle is just extra weight that has to go up the hill or in his case mountains, and how he had a hard time adjusting coming from swimming/triathlons.

As you can see I have a long way to go for my weight to be no more than twice my height. (it will never happen)

But to be the least bit effective I am going to try to drop 20, I am currently at 188. I should have started this process months ago.

People spend thousands of dollars on a carbon bike, light wheelset and even handlebars whenever it would be much easier to drop a few pounds with a little hard work. With that being said...

BRING ON THE HILLS!