Rule #34-Mountain bike shoes have their place-on a mountain bike.
During our very recent Cogal I gained some on-the-road insight on Rule #34. We were on a part of the route I have never ridden on a bike and had no memory of. The pavement was pavé, Maui-style. Somewhere deep down below the surface of the road was primordial road, patched with only scoopfuls of asphalt over the years until the surface is completely dimpled with mango sized mounds of road. This was good and expected. The Roubaix technique of big charinring (ahemmm, errrr, 50 tooth), powering along, keeping the weight on the pedals and handlebars had us making good progress through some of Maui’s most remote country. And it was raining and there was cow manure to ride over…almost Northern France.
I came around a bend and hit a steep berg. The tilted road kept curving right so it was impossible to know when it ended but it couldn’t end soon enough for me. I was quickly in the worst of straits: out of gears, out of the saddle and fully gassed with no end in sight. There were still two people behind me that had to be looking to get by; they could not possibly be going slower. I was unintentionally weaving over the pavé as my complete focus was on keeping the bike up and not hitting a hole or a bump big enough to stop me dead.
Totally redlined on a climb that has no immediate end in sight, these are the worst and best times for a cyclists. If you let your back wheel slip, you stop and the foot goes down, unacceptable. If you just say basta, pull on your brakes and put down your feet, that is worse. I assume all cyclists feel this way. If you are on the Koppenberg someone better have blocked your way. No one gets off halfway up that and says, nah, I’d rather walk. If I have a heart attack trying to ride up something horrible, that might be better than the alternative.
“He wasn’t the brightest, but he didn’t put his foot down”.
It is the best time for a cyclists simply because given all alternatives, there are none, it’s Rule #5. No need to think, better not to think, just keep it going up.
If I did put my foot down on a shiny, wet, steep berg, what then? I have speedplay cleats and those aren’t getting me anywhere if I’m not on a bike. No cleat covers that day so I would be laying down my sweet steed, sitting on this hill while I take my shoes off? That is not going to happen.
The only way my putting a foot down that would not end in a bad nickname for life would be if I was wearing mtb shoes. No one needs that temptation. Looking past the obvious reasons for Rule #34: the mtb shoe-cleat connection is sloppy, mtb shoes look lame on road riders and we are riders, not walkers is the cruel temptation to put a foot down and push the bike up to the top of a hill. This is something no one needs in their time of need.
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@snoov
Damn you! We will need full reports. I'm thinking Alp d'Huez is somehow doable, long but doable. Not that I have ever seen it in person. If in doubt, Rule #V.
@Deakus
Somehow I'm happier with the hill I know than the one I don't, mostly because I have to know when it ends. The open-ended hill I find demoralizing because I'm afraid I can't hack it.
@CanuckChuck
Oh yes. That is progress. Killing a climb that has defeated you, it's the best. If you make it up once then you are good forever.
@VeloVita
Bless you my son. Glad you enjoyed the suffering. Full Cogal may be pulled together by next Sunday. A wild ride that I don't need to do again for quite some time unless I find a drug more effective than espresso.
I accept Rule #34 on proper road bikes and proper road bike rides but I do have a bike which is equipped with MTB pedals. It was the bike that I used for audax rides and you do often have to be able to walk and get places without feeling like you've got two ice cubes strapped to your feet.
I would also add an associated piece of advice I was given, which is that there is no hill so steep you can't walk up it. Again, not something that we should defile our Bianchis, Ridleys and Pinarellos with but when you're on a 300 or a 600 with your finest steel there are times it really doesn't matter how you get up. Horses for courses.
Wow. A moon rover would be a more appropriate vehicle for that road! Great photo.
I recall myself climbing a 27% slope on a road with holes 10 cm wide and 30 cm deep (there were potholes and the ground below was then totally washed away by rain). And what Gianni wrote is exactly what I was thinking at that time: "just don't get off the bike, walking will be even more painful than climbing on the bike".
THIS is the moment you understand what pain is and how much your state of mind and motivation can do for your performance. And this is the moment you realise how much happiness can result from moments of pain and exhaustion. This is what cycling is all about!
Great entry, Gianni! Thanks a lot.
@ChrisO You must mean there's no paved road you can't walk up?
I've never had a mountain bike and always avoided them so I'm not sure what a mountain bike pedal would be (SPDs?). I have a pair of SPDs on my CX bike which I swap with pedals from my BMX (Shmano DX clones by GT) if I'm popping into town or just nipping out on an errand which doesn't warrant getting all the gear on. I admit I don't look fantastic at these times but I console myself with the knowledge that any time on a bike is good for the legs.
@Gianni
Absolutely! Expect pictures from Dutch corner and if there's any way to get my hands on a V-flag ...
@ChrisO
Good work, ChrisO! You've opened up a slight angle on this Rule that I was a bit hesitant to enter myself. I have three proper road bikes with matching pedal systems so I can jump on any of them and go. However, I also have a more modest road bike I use for different applications than just strictly road riding & it's my rain road bike. I have it set up with the same pedal system as my CX bike. This allows me to use my CX shoes in foul weather & also hit the trails for an hour then swap bikes and hit the road for an hour, if desired. This can be a fun thing to do on weekends, especially if lacking motivation for whatever reason.
I support Rule 34 fully, but if you've got N+1+1+1, might as well toss a bit of variety in there, or lest be tempted to consider, in dark moments, an N-1 move...
My n and n+1 roadbikes are fitted with SPD pedals, the CX bike w/ mtb pedals, and my single speed with MKS Gr-9 pedals & toe clips (no straps). If I feel like hammering some V w/ the SS I will trade pedals for SPD. The SS is generally for on campus use hence the need to wear conventional shoes. Like Gianni, i would much prefer a coronary blowout to walking up a climb. I have pushed my HR to 97% of max, but thankfully have the ability to drop it reasonably in a short time. I will confess that the only time I find it acceptable to bail out is on an MTB climb, especially when I am riding my 1x9 and simply run out of gears.
Looking at upper 60's here in East TN (although the roads are wet).
Ride hard, ride fast, ride often, and.....have fun!
jeez, when I glanced a the pic at the top of the article I thought, wow, a Scottish road ! Then I read on. Nice one !