"Productivity isn't everything, but in the long run it is almost everything"
Paul Krugman "The age of diminishing expectations, 1997

I'm late for the April blog - and the feedback was pretty positive on the March edition.
Thanks for all your feedback and for topic suggestions - which I will get to in subsequent months....for example:
- nutrition - what to eat and drink on rides, especially long rides
- training: the basics of a training plan
- preparing for the Grand Fondo
- The ironman triathlon - what it was like / race report.... what do you think about for 9 hours?
- Ironman training - what do you and why?  (and given Steve Green has entered IM Melbourne for 2014 - these IM tips now have special relevance to the DR!!)

But first, I was doing some work on healthcare productivity improvement at PwC - specifically how to improve the productivity of a hospital / health network and I came across the quote in the title of this blog - it struck me how relevant this was to cycling / endurance sports....

And given that many of you think about ways to improve productivity in a work / business setting (essentially producing more outputs for a given set of inputs), I thought it would be a concept we could look at applying to cycling....

So, how to be more productive riding?

1. Be more efficient: Bike comfort
- one of the biggest initial problems in getting power from your muscles into your bike is bike fit.  If you are not comfortable and your seat height is not right etc - you will not be efficient

2. Bike fit - aero
- there is no point pushing lots of watts, but then having all that good work diminished by overcoming a large frontal area into the face of the wind..... so, to address bike comfort and being aero, there comes a point where it is good to get a bike fit..... to work on comfort, power generation at the crank and also on being as aero as possible.... there can be a trade-off between aero and power and comfort - (think the superman position) - so it is all about balance..

3. The actual cycling motion: "getting more efficient at pushing the pedals"
I know it seems simple, pushing the pedals around - but there is a skill / art in getting the most power out of the cycle.... things like the optimal neural recruitment pattern (the fancy term for having the smoothest and most efficient pedal stroke) and being in the right gear.  These is a big factor and something that I really focus on.  For example, one of the reasons that my cycling has been stronger this year in triathlons, was listening to Kevin and Paul at our winter bikes skills session talking about a smooth cycling stroke and the importance of high cadence.  All this I know - but it is easy to forget.  Since their talk, I've been really focusing on a smooth, high cadence, especially when I'm commuting on the bike path - and I think this has helped translate to a better bike ride in the races.

4. Bike handling
It is no good having an awesome bike position and pedalling motion and then being in the wrong place in the bunch.  As everyone sees in the bike races on TV, it is not always the strongest / fittest rider who wins the race.... so, knowing where to position yourself in a group, drafting well (and safely), not wasting energy and using your riding watts at the right times...

5. Doing some training / how to train....
I will cover this in a separate post and a big topic certainly.  As you know, one of my big themes is how to get the best training effect from the smallest amount of training hours (ie best productivity from my training time).  I'll just say that it is a fine balance / combination of: volume / intensity / recovery in the right proportions - and it takes a while to work out what is best for you.....

6. Maintenance spending...
You cannot ride efficiently / ride well if your bike is not well looked after or you have a breakdown.  Take your pride and joy in for a service and make sure that everything is running smoothly.  You need a new chain / cluster about every year.  Some oil / WD40 on the chain, new tyres and new batteries in the lights etc.... just like any expensive piece of kit - a little $$ can go a long way.

6. "Throwing $$$ at the problem"
This is a favourite pastime of business people as well as cyclists.  "lets just spend some money on a new IT system / new factory / new xxxx" and the productivity will improve.... well, that is the theory.
In cycling, there is always the latest piece of fancy kit.  And that investment can make a difference.  Basically, you want to go more aero and lighter.... a nice set of light, aero, but still sturdy wheels is a good start.  An aero helmet makes a big difference, but the Jow will have to provide you with advice to make sure that the new aero road helmets are still within "the rules" of cycling cool.  And, investing in a beautiful bike makes you want to go and ride it - so, that is money well spent!

So, what can you do to be more "productive" on the bike?

Get a bike fit:
The Dendy Riders have a deal with our friend at Inspired Orthotic Solutions.  Jason Nichols - he fits Simon Gerrens and is "old school" (no fancy fit computer) - but I trust him that he knows how to fit you to a bike...he is on the beach rd opposite the Brighton yacht club 9592 7000 and tell him you are a DR and I sent you....

Participate in the DR winter technique training with Kevin Ford:
Am working with Kevin to think about some winter technique training sessions.
He wants to have a combination of indoor technique (on the rollers....shudder) and also outdoor training in pacelines etc.  He is in Italy for the next few weeks, so we are targeting June - stay tuned.

Get fitter:
Do more Dendy Specials and Saturday rides :)
And stay tuned for subsequent posts on training and nutrition

Spend $$$:
Start with maintenance and then go and splurge when you can.... we all do it when we can!!

thanks for reading - see you in May, Danger