The Physics of Cycling...

...or, what cycling is teaching me about leadership.

I'm heading into the final two weeks of preparation for my 6th annual 24 Hours of Booty charity ride. I'll being joined by over 1,200 cyclists as we ride the 3 mile "Booty Loop" in the Queens College area of Charlotte. It's a lot of fun, it's for a good cause, and it's become a tradition unto itself - the ride usually sells out in a couple of weeks each January. If you're interested, here is my personal web page at the 24 HofB site. You can find out anything you want to know about the ride, and if you're  so inclined, you can even make a donation to my efforts! But I digress...

Normally, I prepare for rides like this and other distance events by long, repetitive hours of time in the saddle. I'm not in this for speed, and I just try to condition my legs, butt, back, and aerobic system for hours of riding. This year, however, I am behind in training time. There's no shortcuts, but I am going to take any advantage I can find - which leads me to the physics of cycling.

At it's simplest, I am trying to move my body mass over a fixed course at maximum efficiency so that I can ride for several hours at a time. I only have the muscles of my body (and the energy stored within them), my bicycle (the system that will convert energy to motion), and my computers (my brain and my bike computer) to accomplish the task. In order to ride at maximum efficiency, I'm going to have to really let the physics of cycling dictate my training and ride times.

As I was on a training ride this past weekend, it occurred to me that the physics of cycling have leadership lessons as well...

...want to join me on a ride?