And I thought I had it hard!

What cyclist doesn\’t want to become a better rider? Not that I really need to ask. Most of us do want to improve: we want to be able to cruise faster (raise my hand); or to climb better; or to ride single track MTB trails better.

We\’d like to improve our strength by off-bike workouts; although perhaps not to the point where we\’re out cold like this fellow here. From what I\’ve read about it, such a workout level may not be needed for a cyclist looking for increased core and upper body strength.

Improving cycling skills isn\’t easy. But however hard I work, I\’m sure I\’ll never approach what a paralympian does  to attain such success. And I thought I had it hard! Can you imagine riding a bicycle when one of your legs is a prosthetic from just below the knee? It seems to me that I\’d feel very lopsided until I became accustomed to using one whole leg, and one leg from the knee up.

And then there are riders who use hand-powered cycles. It would take me a long, long time to adapt to such a way of riding. Upper-body strength has never been a — well — strength of mine. It seems to be, at least in part, a result of the way I\’m built. But if lost the use of my legs and wanted to keep cycling, I\’m sure I\’d find a way to manage it — however hard it is.