Cycling log. Progress. February 6th.

The new gear is top end speed now at speed now at pedaling at maybe 10 miles an hour at a really rapid Cadence. But who cares? For whatever time remains here in unspeakably magnificent Mount Whitney Lone Pine virtually all of the travel is a 3-hour trip uphill at two and a half miles an hour, my choice, and the Cadence is so much more manageable. We had a 400w human output trip today, better than 1400 calories, the best yet. And the more reasonable Cadence, probably averaged 45 or 50 rpm, allowed for a considerably more normal cycling experience. Such a nice advance. A $25 investment in the gear and another $7 for shipping probably. What a nice addition. Oh, and remember when the nuvinci gear was destroyed about a month ago? Having this new physical 1 speed gear dramatically reduces the likelihood of that happening again. All of the positive discoveries about cycling in the last couple of weeks, click on the cycling label below for the other posts, all of that is being born out. The Holy Grail is arriving at a reasonably high output 3 hour trip that requires almost no conscious attention from James. That was achieved probably at the 65% level today. Not bad, considerably better than most days. James will just have to try and keep at it and hope for progress and progress seems to be very likely with routine building on the discoveries of the last several weeks.
Probably no fundamental discoveries today but there's some substantial progress nonetheless I think.

1. Be profoundly profoundly profoundly profoundly respectful of how heavy this payload is, 900 pounds. The benefits of that, I don't know why they are so pronounced, but they are. And it is very counterintuitive. It is something that I need to deliberately bring into the metal equation.
2. Focus that incredible respect for how terribly heavy the vehicle is, listening so carefully to the knee at certain points to reduce pressure, effort, as the grade increases even slightly, take that care especially at the front of the knees and the top of the knees. Why? I don't know yet. But it certainly was very very helpful today and shocking really. At much less effort than it was taking to expend 100 watts an hour, by paying tremendous respect the output went up in the hundred and twenty watt per hour range. Go figure. Now this in the last third of the journey which always produces the best technique, that last third. Go figure. my best guess about that is the first couple of hours are retraining me of what doesn't work. But part of this tremendous respect focused in the knees I think somehow causes the body, trigger triggers the body, to move effort back in the portion of the thighs closer to the crotch, that third or half of the thighs where the power resides and in the same vein it loosens up the muscles of the knees and shins and ankles.
3. For a portion of the trip understanding that the knees were moving the vehicle, by smoothly rotating a small sphere or donut at the knees, rotating it, rolling it, was very helpful.
4. Bringing into attention that the movement of the legs was directly tied to the forward movement, the forward rolling movement, of the vehicle, was not automatic, that doesn't happen automatically, but when I remember to bring it into attention it seems to create an overall perspective for the nervous system that makes things much more fluid, sustainable, encouraging, like the body all of a sudden begins to understand what this is all about and adjust itself accordingly.
5. The body wants to move the pivot point that the knees are to revolve around up higher then is beneficial. Bringing to mind that that sphere being turned is about 10 or 15 degrees down from perpendicular to the ground is necessary and very helpful.
6. Rollin Rollin Rollin, keep those knees rolling. So not automatic and so powerful when finally I remember to do it in the body responds. Much less effort, much more sustainable psychologically and physically, much more enjoyable. Much more automatic meeting the mind can be on study for the clients rather than moving the vehicle.