One great mystery remains in this cycling world. I’ve been a cyclist for over thirty years and I still can’t buy a clue. Remember those rides where very early on, as you roll out of a parking lot, or just away from your house, you notice you have good legs. You need verification and after a proper warm up the feeling is still there, to quote Ryder Hesjedal, “the legs are mint”. And by saying good legs I mean untouchable, inexhaustible, Le Blaireau legs. Legs you can use with extreme prejudice on your friends and enemies all day long. I can count on one hand the number of times that has happened in thirty years. Don’t tell your friends, it’s like having four aces in your hand, keep your mouth shut and let it all play out. On your next group ride, regard everyone’s faces as you let them ride through. Does anyone have good legs? Look for the rider who is quietly sitting in the paceline with a confident telling smirk on his or her face. George Hincapie recalled it as if pedaling with no chain. It’s some magic elusive mojo.
As a cyclists your legs are your tools, your currency. Professional cyclists talk about their legs as if they were not their own. They have legs hung up in a garage, many sets, most of them bad, some OK and only one pair that are good. Unfortunately which set gets installed on any given day is a mystery to everyone. Science has not solved this one or if they have they are sitting on it, maybe Contador has solved it. The more you ride the better your chances are of having good legs. But the amount of recovery riding, rest and diet all go into a formula so complex it has yet to be solved. I used to pay a lot of attention to my abstemious Saturday nights, hoping that the proper dinner and no drinking would bring on a good Sunday ride. Of course my friends were actually drinking beers, having fun and still riding fine the next day. I guess Anquetil had it right, steak tartare washed down with beers works just fine.
When professionals are riding that wave of good form (think Philip Gilbert, the 2011 version) do they have killer legs every day or can they just always summon the strength to crush? I think having good form means all your physical systems are honed up to the highest possible efficiency. Having good legs is more mysterious. It’s an unexpected event, the result of still unknown forces in the body. What happens on the morning of the Worlds Road Race when you get the message from the engine room that you have the good legs installed, what then? It must be every cyclists dream to have those magical good legs on such a day. It must feed into a confidence loop, thinking you have great legs removes the usual doubts, gives one the confidence to try things one might not otherwise dare. I’m bridging up to the front and then I’m going to ride away. I’ve got good legs.
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Great piece Gianni. Many's a time I've heard those words from a Pro - "my legs felt good today" after winning that days race. So the rest of the time they're just going through the motions?
For me (and possibly everybody else?) I too have good legs, fair legs and legs feel like shit days. Haven't quite worked out the formula either gianni? Doesn't appear to be affected by lack of sleep, diet, alcohol, pre-race coitus, No. of children under 5, 100 or 400k training weeks either. I can't quite pinpoint the cause/effect of why this happens?
I can have legs feeling like shit at first and an hour later the interchange has run on to the field; bad out, good in and I'm feeling on fire for the rest of the ride. Or the complete opposite happens, feel great pulling for the first half and then end up with legs feeling like they belong to someone else, not listening to the instructions from my brain. When it all comes together though, oh what a glorious feeling. I like Hincapie's remark - pedalling with no chain - sums it up perfectly I think!
Great piece and great photo!
I felt that I had good legs this past weekend when I rode in my first group ride. It was 80kms in length, through surrounding regions of Ottawa that I had never ridden before. There were about 30 of us riding two abreast and rotating so that everyone took turns pulling at the front.
At one point about 40kms in, I found myself toward the back of the group. All of a sudden, I realised that the guys two rows ahead of me had allowed a big gap to open between them and the next riders. Very quickly, the gap was up to about 50 or 60 yards. And I could see that the group ahead was really hammering as they approached a shortish climb. Now, by this point in the ride, I had absolutely no idea where we were. And I was quite sure that if we got dropped here, we would never see the other riders again. As nobody else in our group looked like they were going to make a move, I decided to jump out and try to close the gap myself. Riding straight into a strong headwind, I hammered as hard as I could. But, after 30 seconds or so I seemed to be making little progress. What surprised me, was that I had the legs to maintain the effort, and even up the pace from where I was. And, shortly thereafter, I started to close the gap.
I don't really know how long it took me to catch the rider in front of me. It felt like an eternity. But, it was probably only 120 or 180 seconds. Still, it took a huge effort. And, as I got back on his wheel, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment and settled in to catch my breath and get back on the rhythm of the peloton. Not 10 seconds later, the guy leading the ride called out for a water break. We all pulled off o the side of the road and took a five minute break. Fuck! Good legs. Crappy timing!
I thought I would post a very precious and rare photo. It is of my good legs (the ones at the front). This was my maiden race victory and I simply rode away from the peleton up a good hill without even going on full attack and rode the last 3/4 of the race on my own to win by 1.30 mins! I continue to try to emulate this but it would appear my good legs remain locked in a secret vault. My race last weekend I attacked frequently and unsuccessfully then got dropped on the last climb as I ran out of Rule V.
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@Souleur
"Riding longer, and resting longer. So i did, and now i have a new pair of legs hanging in the garage, next to the old tired worn out pair."
That's maybe the most sage advise for any cyclists over forty. If that doesn't solve the equation it will come damn close.
@il ciclista medio
" Doesn't appear to be affected by lack of sleep, diet, alcohol, pre-race coitus, No. of children under 5, 100 or 400k training weeks either. I can't quite pinpoint the cause/effect of why this happens?"
Exactly my point too, what the hell does make the magic happen? I wish someone would whisper it to me, in a Jens Voight sort of voice. Or Yoda's, I'll believe either one.
@Daccordi Rider
At least you had the good legs on an important day. The photo shows the guns almost vibrating with power. And your acceleration was so fast you somehow aged the riders behind you. Are they all wearing 1990's Giro helmets with lycra coverings?
@Gianni You're too kind to my skinny guns. Ah the helmet covers, look pretty cool huh. This was a road race with multiple grades so set colours are worn for each grade so the refs can spot anyone tacking into the wrong group. Vets racing, no young un's allowed!
Funny when I'm getting lots of 18-20 hour weeks in my legs feel tired off the bike and during the first hour of the ride, then something just seems to kick in and I'm fine. More of an issue I struggle with is mental burnout this time of year. Love the compression socks for post ride, especially if I ride and then have an hour or so drive home in the car.
"Colours."
Ah...so that explains why everyone is riding on the wrong side of the road.....
@Duende That's the way to do it. And you will be rewarded for it. Good legs.