What happens when we approach a task with great effort and zero technique?  The result is often misery, frustration, injury, and burnout.  However, approach the same activity with sound technique and the result is mastery, grace, efficiency and longevity.  Total Immersion has brought this to swimming.  Chi Running has brought it to running.  But what about cycling, the longest sport in triathlon?  Do you finish the bike portion of your races ready for a divorce?  As a “technique freak”, I have discovered the missing link. But first, let me “toot my own horn” just a bit.

In 2007, my 8^th year in the sport of triathlon, at age 50, I really enjoyed the rewards of my relentless pursuit of technique (swim, run and bike):  Between late July and late November (a 4-month period) I finished Ironman Lake Placid (11:54, 19^th in age group), placed 5^th in age group at the USMS 2-Mile Cable Swim National Championship, tied for 6^th overall, 1^st in age group) at the 24 Hours of Triathlon (swim: 8 miles, bike: 141 miles, run: 42 miles), completed the Virginia Double Iron Triathlon in 32 hours 6 minutes (7^th overall, 1^st in age group), ran the JFK 50-mile and (a week after the 50-mile) ran the NCR Trail Marathon.  (With a time of 3:36:18 for that final marathon, I missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by 19 seconds.)  I finished the season happy, healthy, invigorated and uninjured.

I’m not an extraordinary athlete.  I give a lot of credit to the power of technique.*  I have used Total Immersion as the structure for my intensive and relentless pursuit of graceful swimming.  (My 1:00:49 swim time at Ironman LP was 2^nd in age group, 180^th out of over 2,000+ overall.)  I have used Chi Running as the structure for my intensive and relentless pursuit of graceful, injury-free running.

But what about the bike?  Where is the bike technique program that parallels Total Immersion and Chi Running?  Out of necessity, I have developed that technique program: Zendurance Cycling.  As a certified Serotta Bike Fit Technician, with years of experience in the fit studio, I have helped clients with biomechanical issues by addressing cycling technique.  I am also a highly motivated triathlete living in the “Great White North” of Lake Placid, where 5 to 6 months of cold weather and salted roads mean I may spend countless hours on the stationary stand.  Instead of going into “auto-pilot” – surrendering to the drudgery, or zoning out in front of the TV – I have used my experience and countless hours to develop a cycling technique program.

Each sport in triathlon requires a unique approach to technique.  I have addressed the three unique approaches in my book “Zendurance, A Spiritual Fitness Guide for Endurance Athletes”.  I call them the Three Attitudes of Triathlon.  (This will link you to three essays that present these approaches.)  The attitude for swimming is yielding to the water.  Consequently, swimming technique begins with hydrodynamic body positioning and progresses to stroke mechanics that enhance rather than diminish the hydrodynamics.  For running, the attitude is aligning with gravity.  Consequently, running technique begins with a forward-leaning body position, causing the runner to translate falling into forward motion.  For cycling, it is joining with the bike.  Consequently, cycling technique is based on a harmonious, dynamic relationship between rider and bike. 

Zendurance Cycling Technique Clinics offer an intensive investigation of posture and alignment, biomechanics and rider positioning strategies.  The clinics are conducted in a mirrored studio, with a maximum of 8 cyclists riding their own bikes mounted on stationary stands.  Stationary riding may be the most dreaded aspect of foul-weather training, but it presents a unique and valuable opportunity to develop technique.  (Think of it as pool training for open water swimmers.)  This format eliminates the dangers and distractions of open-road riding and allows athletes to focus inward, using proprioception and the feedback of the mirrors to develop and imprint efficient and sound technique.

The clinics begin with an introduction to posture and alignment, both off and on the bike.  We look at pelvic orientation and core engagement, head, neck and spinal alignment, as well as weight distribution and upper body support on the bike.  In this segment, I begin to address bike fit issues with each cyclist to optimize the potential for harmony in the bike-rider relationship.

Next I introduce exercises and drills that participants will take home to develop and practice during their stationary training sessions, just as TI swimmers practice drills and exercises during their pool training sessions.  Zendurance Cycling exercises fall into 3 categories:  1) Sensing Exercises help the athlete to develop sensitivity in her/his relationship with the bike, and are often performed “blind” (with eyes closed).  These are exploratory in nature and are performed at low intensity.  They include Saddle Sensing, Pedal Sensing and Bar Sensing – the three points of contact.  2) Biomechanics Drills are often performed using a mirror specifically placed for each drill to constantly monitor alignment and smooth, efficient pedaling.  They include Loose Shoe, Cadence Build, Ankling, Hipping, Knee Leading, Horizontal Pedaling and Single Leg Circles.  These are performed singularly, and in various combinations, in various rider positions, over a wide range of intensity levels – both resistance and cadence.  3) Rider Position Strategies provide a structure that encourages each cyclist to establish a unique “vocabulary” of rider positions to respond to topography, wind conditions and road conditions, varying the use of muscles and metabolic energy systems.

With even a small mirror at home, a studio setting with the stationary provides a safe, focused opportunity to develop the proprioceptive skills, biomechanical techniques and rider positions that constitute good cycling technique.  As these elements are imprinted on the neuro-system, the cyclist will naturally begin to integrate them into open-road riding, with all its distractions, even at high levels of intensity.  The result is improved balance, biomechanical efficiency, comfort, stability, speed and endurance in all riding situations.

Stay tuned for… Zendurance Cycling II, an open-road clinic.