Confidence on descents.
Comments
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RutlandGav wrote:How does your physiological condition interact with your suitability to attempt a fast descent ?
Low blood glucose, adrenaline, endorphins seem to mess with my judgement, I'm wondering if there's any way to stay focused and keep your judgement grounded, or is that like saying you intend to become a better drunk driver through practice.
Last week I went on a ride out to Belvoir castle on my mtb with slicks and triathalon bars. Took me two hours to get there because i kept taking detours, because i was heading into the eye of the wind, and the route was predominantly uphill. The return leg, with the wind and gradient only took an hour (avg speed 16mph not bad for a mtb).
However, about half hour from home i started daydreaming and hit a kerb while on the tri-bars. Crash #1. Bruise on right thigh, pain in ribs (which is still there) but all good because nobody saw it, so jumped back on.
About 15 minutes later I was just starting down this steep, narrow country lane when someone in a Golf GTI overtook me. Soon however, my speed had built so much the gap between us was closing. He entered a blind left hander, I thought, if he can enter the corner at that speed, so can I. Problem was, I hit an undulation in the tarmac just as I was thinking about turning in, which slowed down the process of getting the bike heeled over. The fact that i was on the tri-bars again probably didn't help matters.
Ended up running wide and almost going over the white line - and a car happened to be coming the other way at the very same moment. Realised i was riding like a knob and tried extra hard not to take any other risks for the remainder of the journey, but really i still felt like i was intoxicated ?!
I think you should get rid of the tri bars before you kill yourself to be honest. Steep, narrow lane, blind corner and tri bars in the same sentence = death wish.0 -
- when you're flying downhill, if you know your brakes are good and you can stop/slow down when you need to
Even with great breaks and good pads, many novice people have no idea what so ever on how to use them. If it was up to me, there would be no rear brake on a novices bike on descents. I have seen far too many people hit that rear and either simply stop it and crash, slide out on corners, flat spot their tires...90%+ if the braking power is in the front wheel - and from there you have the weight distribution issues.
Part of the shame is, many roadies are arrogant and dont offer to teach the new folks anything. Then complain that they dont know anything.0 -
Hi there
Moving on from the detailed technique discussion above :shock:
Confidence comes from being confident about all the things that you control and an absence of risk from those things that you don't: the road conditions, other road users, etc - if you're aware of these AMAP (eg is the road clear of traffic? Any nasty bends? Has it rained? Risk of gravel (especially after heavy rain following a dry spell)? Once you feel comfortable about this, then you can concentrate on getting down 'fast'.
Personally, I love the rush of going downhill, but only when I feel it's safe to really do so do I fully let go. Remember, Cancellara in the piccie above is on a closed road in fine weather, with a perfectly maintained bike. And he's on his own.
It's just a hill. Get over it.0 -
Record11Ti wrote:Part of the shame is, many roadies are arrogant and dont offer to teach the new folks anything. Then complain that they dont know anything.
I'm sure some are, but in my experience the majority or roadies are more than happy to help out newbies. They don't need much excuse to talk shop and share the passion.
Which part of the country do you live in? Maybe the roadies are more miserable there?0 -
I agree with a lot of what has been said above; both the Flammerouge and Cyclingtips pages are pretty spot on. I would also mention Dave McLean's old post on cornering. Unfortunately the pictures are no longer visible (and they do help!) but he explains everything thoroughly. He's also got some pretty good credentials for advice on cornering having raced as a pro in Italy.
My personal tips (and I know we're talking about confidence, not technique, but the two are linked):
1. Leaning the bike and not the body is the number one thing that makes me feel safer mid corner (thus increasing my confidence!). A good piece of advice I received was to almost take your bum off the saddle and stand on that outside pedal while you lean your bike.
2. 100-50m before you reach the corner, take a good 2 or 3 seconds to scan the surface and get an idea of what the grip will be like; is there gravel/oil/holes that require you to change your line or speed. Once you've done this, you should have your entry speed sorted, using mainly the front brake. (Bear in mind that on steep roads, like on the St Ives coastal road, you will be accelerating through the corner as soon as you let off the brakes.) Once this is done, have a look up the road to see where you need to exit, is there another corner coming up fast?
3. In the corner, look at your exit point and keep on changing where you're looking as you get closer. 20m down the road is fine, you don't want to look so far ahead that you lose focus on where you are mid corner!
4. Try to keep your body flat and evenly distributed over the bike.
5. Counter steering. So what? It doesn't change the amount of grip your tires have, it only decreases your turning radius. You'll probably do it a little naturally to steer, but don't really worry about it; you can turn tight enough to lose traction without doing this!
So why the huge essay about technique? This is a mental checklist that, if you consciously go it through on every corner, will increase your confidence. You will know that you have done everything right going into each bend. Eventually, this will become ingrained and you won't have to think about it.
Practice makes perfect! Anecdotally, I spent 2.5 months in Gran Canaria this winter and, despite being able to corner fast on the flat, was scared to death of the roads there. By the end I was much more confident descending and much of it is down to this mental checklist. However, safety rules! Some of the roads there had no margin for error, so be sensible.
One last tip for hairpin bends: most are blind corners so you won't see any cars coming. Therefore, on a left hander in the UK, use the full right hand side of the road as you approach (if it's safe) and move the apex a little to the right and further on so you will exit on your side of the road. This gives you 3 lanes of turning as opposed to just two.I'm on Twitter! Follow @olake92 for updates on my racing, my team's performance and some generic tweets.0 -
Which part of the country do you live in? Maybe the roadies are more miserable there?
Ahhh- I see you are not in the States. THAT is why people are more friendly. I have raced in 48 states and a few other countries. In Europe people on a whole are just nicer (well, but for France). Dubai no one really cares...but, as I said, in the US the Cat2's tend to be the most snotty. Cat1/Pro more often than not are down to earth. But, nothing is worse than a Cat5 on a $12,000 bike. Trust me, he will tell you that you are doing something wrong.0 -
Record11Ti wrote:Which part of the country do you live in? Maybe the roadies are more miserable there?
Ahhh- I see you are not in the States. THAT is why people are more friendly. I have raced in 48 states and a few other countries. In Europe people on a whole are just nicer (well, but for France). Dubai no one really cares...but, as I said, in the US the Cat2's tend to be the most snotty. Cat1/Pro more often than not are down to earth. But, nothing is worse than a Cat5 on a $12,000 bike. Trust me, he will tell you that you are doing something wrong.
Maybe it's the US ultra-competitive jock beating on the little guy culture filtering down to cycling? Or maybe I've seen one too many Hollywood movies and have no idea what I'm talking about ;-)0 -
Seriously - just press on the outside pedal hard when cornering and look where you want to go- will make the world of difference.
The rest will come. I'm probably over-confident going downhill and I don't consciously think about anything when I'm going downhill, apart from pressing on the outside pedal and making sure I do actually brake occasionally.0 -
http://www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk/riding- ... n-a-roads/
Try this technique. The vanishing point. It provides you with an ability to judge unknown corners and the severity of the bend. That is just one aspect without taking into account road service, conditions, road furniture, manhole covers, surface markings, junctions, if it hasn't rained for a while and you have just had a sudden down pout that means the roads could be extra slippy especially traffic islands and road detritus which is usually at the bottom of a hill right in your exit line.
The vanishing point is just one of many more skill sets you can acquire, mostly its taking the time to look up and be much more aware of your surroundings and looking for tell tale signs for the road ahead, Telegraph poles, hedgerows, warning signs or the black and white chevron all provide valuable information
Build up slowly, experience is key but so is knowledge and can help fast track your ability.
Oh and don't to forget to relax and enjoy the feeling.....its why we ride
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”
Desmond Tutu0 -
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