Cyclists are data-obsessed. I’m feeling the craze. If I can’t measure it in watts, did it even happen?? When I was working with my friends at the Vermont Bicycle Shop to pick out a smart trainer to use this winter while getting used to my new bike, some equipment we looked at listed a maximum power capacity of up to 2,000 watts. I had no idea what that meant in real life, and the only loosely-shaped measure of power in my head was horsepower…
It turns out that 1 horsepower is 745.7 watts. That means smart trainers are designed to accommodate cyclists out there who are as strong as almost three horses. WHAT. Apparently, professional male cyclists can generate 1,797 watts for 1 second and 850 watts for 1 minute.1 Are you kidding me!? Can you imagine being the person who called the manufacturer to warranty a 1,500-watt-rated smart trainer because you’re just too powerful? 💥
Naturally, when I found this out, I pulled up my Strava data to see what my best 1-second power output was. What athlete doesn’t compare themselves to the pros for a little humble juice? On November 4, 2025, I generated 425 watts of power for 1 second, which is 57% of 1 horsepower. I was so proud of myself for being within round-able range of 1 HP. To add a bit of levity to all this 2026 training, my new extra special goal became to generate 1 HP for 1 second on my bicycle.
It’s been three months since early November, when I set my silly, fun goal, and I’ve made significant progress!
On January 13, 2026, I generated 634 watts of power for 1 second. I remember this workout. I was SUPER mad that my smart trainer lost power in the middle of a hard interval, so I stood and SMASHED my pedals to get back where I wanted to be.
I was skeptical of this data because my smart trainer had lost power, but I have a separate power meter in my bike that’s connected to a different app. That reading agreed with the smart trainer data stored in Strava: I generated 634 watts for 1 second on January 13th!
This 49% increase in my 1-second power output was driven by multiple factors. Here are a few… 1) my training, 2) the earlier result was probably from trying to ramp up to an interval rather than pushing my hardest, and 3) my equipment setup has completely changed over from November to January.
Even with factors 2 and 3, I know my training is producing results. Since I set my 1 HP goal (amongst others), I consistently strength-trained and cycled. I’ll take a moment here to celebrate this growth!!