in message <
[email protected]>, Gippledocks
('
[email protected]') wrote:
Well, I usually treat Sheldon with respect, but *rubbish*.
I agree pretty much everything can be taken to extremes, but if I didn't
ankle I'd be dead by now. OK, I'm a bit more vulnerable to deep vein
thrombosis than most people, but ankling to a moderate degree certainly
does help you pedal in circles, and more importantly greatly helps with
the circulation of blood in your foot and lower leg. As you'll know if
you've experienced foot pain, swelling, or pins and needles after a long
cycle, the blood return from your foot and lower leg is actually quite
poor when cycling, and this is because people typically flex their
ankles less when cycling than when walking. Flexion of the ankle helps
with the blood return up your veins.
My feet always point slightly down when cycling, but considerably more
down on the lower 180 degrees than on the upper. I'd agree with Sheldon
it doesn't make much difference to power, but it does help with
smoothness particularly when you're tired, and if you are suffering from
foot discomfort then ten minutes of conscious ankling will make a big
difference (/because/ it helps shift the blood).
Personally I ankle a little bit all the time, and consciously do about
ten minutes in the hour of more pronounced ankling on long rides. I
don't doubt Sheldon's anecdote about tendon damage, but I'd suggest that
was because he was doing something quite exaggerated and is any case
only one data point. Lots of people will tell you helmets saved their
lives. They may be right. Sheldon says ankling damaged his tendons. He
may be right too, but frankly he's one in a very large number of people,
and a lot of other people are getting a small but real benefit.
--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke)
http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; When all else fails, read the distractions.
