As the weather turns colder, the last thing most cyclists are thinking about is trying to drop their riding positions and get low in the drops. We’re so bundled up — and maybe have a little extra holiday layer of our own as well — that the thought of “getting aero” sounds ludicrous. But now is the time of year when we all need to work on the core and back strength, as well as the general body flexibility, that will allow us to get lower come the next big events this spring and summer.

To demonstrate just how important aerodynamics are to a cyclist, let’s get technical for a second: The relationship between speed and wind resistance is an exponential one. In other words, to double your bike speed, you’d have to overcome EIGHT TIMES more wind resistance! On a flat road, between 70 and 90% of a rider’s energy goes into overcoming aerodynamic drag — and the percentage goes up as speed increases.
Coach Rick Crawford penned a really cool article about The Evolution of Aero. He focuses on time trial bike setups — where the racers compete one at a time, there’s no drafting, and being “slippery” through the wind is of paramount importance.
A great position that your body can’t handle is useless:

When I finished, my entire backside was wrecked from my mid-lower back all the way to the back of my knees. My neck was cramping. When I tried to dismount the bike, my right glute seized up in a cramp so painful that I just dropped straight to the ground and writhed in agony. I was a mess. My time did not reflect the suffering I had just gone through…

… it was evident that my body was not trained to the radical aero position that this funny-bike put me in. I could not maintain the power I was putting out, and my muscles led a rebellion against me. I was way lower and more forward than I was accustomed to and while I was more aero, my muscles were not conditioned to this position. It was a tough lesson to learn, but simple enough to fix.

As I learned the hard way, aerodynamics is not enough by itself… cooperation from the body is critical. That cooperation is earned through training (emphasis added).

One of my very favorite stories to come through the blogosphere this past year was about aerodynamics… but it had nothing to do with bikes. Mike Turner took a stock 1992 Honda Civic hatchback with original body and engine, added some Bondo and hardware store modifications, and turned it into a vehicle capable of 95 mpg at 65 mph and smoothly hitting 100mph. It was all done by making the car more aerodynamic!

Although this story is about an old car, the principle for cyclists is the same: take the same chassis and engine (i.e. you and your bike), get into a more aerodynamic position, and you will go LOTS faster. However, as Crawford’s article points out, you have to train your body to reach a low-profile position and still be able to generate power once you get there.

What’s the message here?

• To have the best in-season ever, make good use of your offseason, by working on:
• Your Flexibility
• Your core strength
• Bike Position
• And be specific, target any weaknesses you might have noticed over you past season
• Think about getting yourself a professional bike fit. Figure out a position that you can strive for as you continue to work on flexibility as well as an immediate, in-between position that’s comfortable.

Photo via flickr by Swoo.

Josh L. works for Cyclo-CLUB.com and uses their workouts for his training program. Specifically to target core strength and flexibility.