LR - that's a nice bike. Does it have a double or triple front chainring?

Triple. I rarely use either of the extemes though.

If I was towing that much weight, I'd be using the full range of gears. I spend a lot of time in granny gear (which still isn't low enough).

My neighborhood ride is just a 9 mile loop through the subdivision, but has cumulative elevation gain of about 1300 feet. It takes me almost an hour to ride those 9 miles. I need everything from the smallest combination to the biggest. (My max speed last week was 40.1 mph, but for 2.5 miles I didn't get out of granny gear.)

Definitely right HLJ, as we put years on our knees we have to be careful about use and form. I was talking to a college fencer last night at practice and he mentioned that some guys on his team went down with knee injuries.

Now we know who sees LabRat's ass more than anyone else.

He shoots, he scores!

So I'm riding to work the other day and I catchup to a 20-something comely lass riding a softail up off the seat -- expending most of her energy with the whole bike going up and down. I was just about to tell her that she needed to firm up her rearend when I though better about it... :blush:

I did a 6 miler Wed night with the pup in tow and paid particular attention to what gears I was using. Oooooh, long one I know. But that's all my tush could take. It's still getting rebroken in. I need to switch my seat to my new one off my road bike this weekend.

I used the front granny chainring twice, for two longer steeper hills for the easiest gear ratios. The rest of the time I used the middle one and just shifted the rear. My right knee made itself known a couple times, not painfully, but sort of an *Ahem* little catch. I know I'm due for new running shoes so until I get those I am chalking it up to my milage increasing on shot sneaks... Experience has taught me that when my knees start to bug me, it's time for a new pair.

I guess I figured that more pedalling in lower gears was worse on your knees than breaking a little sweat in a slightly higher one. But you guys are making me see the possible error in my thinking.

LR - Everything I've read indicates that you should keep your pedalling cadence high - maybe 90 RPM (when possible). This is the reason for using the granny gear (smallest front, largest rear chainring) on steep terrain. It's supposed to be better for your knees and endurance.

Yeah but, you get a lousy finish time...:D

For running, I know I'm not 'pushing' myself too hard when I can breathe in for 3 footfalls, and out for 2. (IN: left,right,left OUT: right, left IN: right, left, right etc.) Pushing myself I fall into a 2/2 and get tired a lot faster. Stride length however matters.

Also, I like to run to music with a certain beat/min, which is escaping me right now. (150?) I own several aerobics music CD's that have the BPM listed, and they sell this type of thing for cycling too, though I don't own any of those

What do you use to gauge how fast your cadence is?

The computer on one of my bikes includes cadence (it requires an additional magnet on the crank) -- unfortunately, the two bikes that I ride most often do not have cadence, so I just try to stay in a gear that keeps me spinning pretty fast.

Lest you forget.
http://www.bikerag.com/bike_crash_pics.htm

A guy I ride with came into the shop one day with a perfect print of an 8" maple across his shoulder and chest. The guy with him was sure he was dead, but he just couldn't catch his breathe.

Spectacular finish! click Hushovd wins stage four.

Good ride today 2 and a half hours on the pavement. Pete road to work this morning so I road in to ride back with her. nice