Probably all of us cyclists have encountered the expressions \”pain cave\”, and \”pain face\”. It can easily happen under the stress of utmost effort, and seems to be quite reflexive.

Usually I don\’t put out hard enough effort for long enough to look like the poor fellow here (yup, I\’m a wimp, all right). It\’s something we can see when looking at pics of a bicycle race when things are coming down to a hard climb, or the final sprint.

Here I go again with \”what I\’ve read…\” Grimacing during hard efforts wastes energy, and can even cause the rest of the body to tense up, making things even harder. Sort of like sympathetic vibration, I guess. So however tough the ride is going, do your best to relax your face; the rest of your body should follow.

Maybe we should save the \”pain face\” for Hallowe\’en?