Are you a big fish or a little fish?

It was at the beginning of my weekly group road ride on Saturday -- the call going out, "Fast group leaving'' -- when a question hit me: When you ride in a group, are you normally the big fish in the little pond or the little fish in the big pond?


Too few cyclists on these Saturday rides elect to ride with the first group. Sure, some are just weekend warriors and don't race, so it's not worth it to them. Others, by the looks of their physiques, do a lot of riding and could stand a challenge but elect to take the safe route and avoid the possibility of being just another rider in the group, or heaven forbid, dropped.


This is a key choice that can either sharpen your fitness or massage your ego. In general, you should bury your ego and choose to ride in a group that's pushing the pace over your comfort level, i.e, be the little fish in the big pond. Nothing -- and I mean nothing -- will motivate you more and bring out your best than the fear of being dropped.


If you get dropped, you must resolve yourself to try and stick next week. That can be difficult; nobody enjoys getting their ass kicked and it's human nature to avoid uncomfortable situations. Confidence is mainly about ego, the thought that, hey, I'm one fast dude. There's nothing wrong with a heaping dose of it. Just don't let it get in the way of a nice challenge. Getting humbled now and then is healthy for a competitive cyclist.


Therefore, always electing to ride in a group where you're among the fastest, will massage your ego, but will it make you faster? If you train to successfully race a bike, you should begin every ride asking yourself, "How will this workout make me faster?'' not "How will this workout boost my ego?''


I like to be the little fish. If I had a nickel for all the times I've been dropped ... well, you get the idea. But when I'm able to finally stick, well, that's a real boost to my ego.


So next time you saddle up for a group ride, throw caution into the wind and join the fast guys. And if you become their equal eventually? Well, there's always someone faster in the group up ahead.

The perfect fit

Few bicycle purchases can make a profound difference in your performance and enjoyment of the sport. Buy a new crankset, and sure, the bling factor is nice and maybe there's a weight savings, but does it really make a difference? Same with a wheelset, bars, seatpost, stem and the like.

I made a purchase last month that has made a huge difference in my comfort and enjoyment. It's not something I can show off to the world, but most importantly, it is something I can feel: I received a Wobble-Naught bike fitting by Matt Goforth of On Your Mark in Palm Beach Gardens.

While I had no physical issues like knee or back pain and felt comfortable on my road and mountain bikes, I always had the suspicion that I wasn't lined up properly. And I wondered if that was costing me watts and forcing me to work harder.

I can't say for certain that I'm faster now, but I can proclaim I'm more comfortable and feel more powerful after letting Matt do his thing recently. After taking numerous physical measurements and running them through a program, he dialed in my position. Basically, in both instances, he lowered my position to get me more aerodynamic.

I feel much more "at the ready'' and both positions have me wanting to hammer. It's hard to put into words, but it's a comfort level I haven't had before. On both my road and mountain bikes, my feet are playing a bigger role in power transfer.

"The fit pays close attention to your feet and their ability to perform work,'' Matt said. "Many fitting styles out there are based on leg angles, which means very little, in my opinion. I've seen many different angles in legs (due to different leg dimensions) and the client is still super happy. Your feet are the foundation to your house; we must build them strong and able to play all day!''

Along those lines, Matt recommends SOLE footbeds. I was surprised at the difference they made in both my road and mountain shoes. After an initial break-in, these beds are extremely comfortable while snugly keeping your feet poised to mash.

On my road bike, where I've been spending most of my training time on so far, I have equal comfort in the drops, on the tops and on the hoods. One other nice benefit: I don't have sit-bone discomfort or saddle sores anymore. It's like my seat is more comfortable.

I related this to Matt and he made an astute observation: "Instead of sitting on the saddle, you were hanging from it. It's amazing what 10-15mm will do, huh?''

Indeed. But, I have to say, that first road ride was strange at first. My seat felt way too low, but after about 25 miles, everything felt right again. Only better.

My new position on the mountain bike wasn't as big of an adjustment, just a bit more aggressive. Matt also adjusted the sweep on my bars to turn my wrists downward. Like the road bike, I feel like going hard from the get-go. While sit-bone discomfort was the main issue on the road bike, left-hand numbness was my chief complaint on the mountain bike. Well, so far, so good.

Now, if I could find the magic bullet to produce more watts with my limited genetics ...

While spending money on getting your position dialed in by a real professional like Matt might not be as sexy as that new crankset or lightweight wheelset, I guarantee having Matt fit you will be the best investment in bicycling you can make.

To read more about Matt's service, go to http://www.laserbikefit.com/. To read more about the Wobble-Naught process, go to http://www.wobblenaught.com/.