Steady State Ride

How to do it

1. Set the saddle so your knee keeps a slight bend at the bottom of the pedal stroke.
2. Sit with your sit bones on the widest part of the saddle and hold the bars with relaxed arms.
3. Add enough resistance that the flywheel feels loaded rather than spinning freely.
4. Drive through the top of the stroke with the hips and push the pedal down through the whole foot.
5. Pull through the bottom and lift on the upstroke so both legs contribute to a complete circle.
6. Hold that cadence and resistance for the planned duration, keeping the torso quiet in the saddle.

Common mistakes

• Mashing straight down on the pedals, which wastes the upstroke and makes the ride choppy.
• Spinning fast with almost no resistance, which raises cadence without raising real workload.
• Sitting too far forward on the saddle, which causes discomfort and shifts load off the glutes.
• Riding a steady session too hard, which pushes it above threshold and stops it being a base ride.