University of Utah Cycling Study

I'm not really in the mood to write right now (so pardon my sloppiness and confusion), but I figure I should write about my experience while it's still fresh on my mind.

Last week, I spent three days (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday) at the U practicing for this week's testing. Basically, they have six bikes, all of which are set up for one-legged pedaling. They have you move from one bike to the next, and each bike is an experience all it's own.

The first bike was used for right leg pedaling. They had me warm up for five minutes using whatever resistance and cadence I wanted. Then they crank the resistance up to a specified level and have you hold 80 RPM for 90 seconds. Then they have you rate your perceived level of exertion on a scale. Some days it seemed easy and other days it was hard. Today, it was harder than usual. I don't know why there was a change. Maybe it has something to do with my fatigue level (or maybe they are doing something different some days. It's all very hush, hush).

The second bike was a repeat of the first, only with the left leg. The interesting part about they way they have you set up is that you have to clip into a stationary pedal with the leg that's not being used. It's really quite uncomfortable. My stationary leg is positioned on the outside of a wooden board to keep it from being hit by the weights. The weights (20 pound worth)are bolted to the other pedal (where your foot would be if it were actually clipped to the bike and not the outside of a board.)

The third bike is used for the left leg again. I have to be seat-belted onto the bike so I can't come out of saddle. This bike is for three-second sprints. Last week they had me do three sets; this week it's two sets. The sprints aren't too bad. They're not long enough to be hard.

Forth bike, same thing as third, only for the right leg.

The fifth bike is strange. It is used for the right leg only. First, they have it set up so that the crank length is only 120 mm. I get to warm up for a minute to get used to it, then I do more three second sprints. I kind of like the short cranks. I can really get the pedals flying. They then adjust the bike so that the crank length is ridiculously long. It makes me feel like I'm pedaling a giant tricycle: leg all the way extended at the bottom of the pedal-stroke, and knee hitting me in the chest at the top. After I get used to it for a minute, I get to do more sprints. These sprints feel awkward, slow, and clumsy.

Next, I move to the sixth and last bike. This bike is motor-powered. Usually, I use this bike for more sprints. The motor is running the flywheel at 120 RPMs. I have to get the pedals up to speed and sprint from there. These are the hardest sprints of them all. It's hard for me to tell if I'm really putting forth more power once I start sprinting.

Today, I used this last bike for ultimate torture! The adjusted the bike so that the motor was pedaling the cranks backwards. My job was to try to resist the motor, with only my right leg. They measure how many watts you're resisting with. I was supposed resist at 125 watts, but it was so hard! I was crying by halfway through. The whole time, they're yelling at me not to let up. My whole body was so tense, and when I'd try to relax one area of my body, I'd let up on the pedaling. Then it was hard to get back into it because it hurt so bad I just wanted to stop. The less watts you push, the longer you have to do it. So I ended up being on the stupid machine for twice as long as I should have been. Ugh!

And then there was a big surprise. I thought I was done after the torture bike. But, no! I had to do an uphill time trial on the computrainer with my left leg. This was the last thing I wanted to do at the time, but it wasn't so bad after what I'd just been through. I was surprised that I actually asked them to make it steeper toward the end. Once again, this was one of those deals where the harder you push the faster it's over. So this one didn't seem to take long at all.

Today, I had to do all the bikes twice. Thankfully, I only had to do torture and time-trial once. Also new this week, blood draws and pain-rating squats. What fun!

I walked out of the lab like a drunk. My knee kept buckling on me, and I couldn't walk a straight line. If you want a good show, come hang out at the U of U and watch the study participants walk out of the building.

Anyway, I'm really hurting already. Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!