Categories: Look Pro

Look Pro, Part IV: Don’t Look Down

Shifting is perhaps the most pure expression of our art as Velominati. It is the conduit through which we control our cadence; it effects our power, our breathing, our heart rate. When those essential things come together with the rhythm of the road, we are cast in the spell of La Volupte. The more in-tune with our bodies we become, the more we rely on our shifting to keep our legs in perfect harmony with our bodies. Our shifts must be smooth, crisp, and precise, for any disruption to the rhythm may cause the spell to be broken.

The advent of index-shifting and contoured cogs have simplified the mechanics of the perfect shift, but they have not eliminated the artform. A finely-tuned drivetrain is essential, but is only one piece of the whole. Timing is critical: the shift must be delivered at the precise moment in the stroke when the chain is perfectly loaded to jump silently from one cog to the next. Shifting under too much pressure or at the wrong point can result in delayed, noisy, or rough shifts, disrupting our rhythm and ripping us from La Volupte.

We do not mediate on the shift and we do not look down at our gears; the shift is something we must feel. We must not be overly cerebral – instead, we read the signals from our body and the machine and sense the time to shift and react. Over time, we also learn to sense when we are approaching the limits of the block and execute the double-shift to avoid crossing the chain. We do not look down.

These subtleties cannot be taught; they are artifacts of experience – evidence that the disciple has become one with the machine.

Disclaimer: The “Don’t Look Down” principle does not apply to Lando situations where we repeatedly push the right shifter while pedaling squares up some unholy gradient in the stubborn refusal to accept that we are indeed already in the lowest gear. Under these circumstances, it doesn’t hurt to give the gears a stern look in an effort to intimidate them into spawning a few more teeth on those biggest cogs.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 22 2011 at 12:43 pm

@Brett
Good to know you, your friends, and the baby came through it all in good shape. I'll raise a glass of Chimay red label to you and all.
Brett says:

Feb 22 2011 at 1:08 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro

Cheers Jeff.

Right, back to business. Indeed that photo is badass. Great examples of Casually Deliberate spectating going on; the guy with his arms folded coundn't be any more casual. It looks like he's telling The Badger that he's a big soft pillow and he'd spit right in his face if he could be bothered making the effort, which he can't.

And where the hell is that road?
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 22 2011 at 2:08 pm

This is the 1984 Tour, sometime before the 17th stage. Fignon's wearing the French national champion jersey. He took the yellow on Stage 17 to L'Alpe d'Huez. Fignon ultimately beat 2nd placed Hinault by 10 minutes, 32 seconds.

I can't figure out what road this is. The awesome spectators are dressed like it's cool outside, so it's probably an early climb in a stage. All the pictures I can find of climbs from the '84 Tour have barely dressed fans on sunny days with paved roads.
GottaRideToday says:

Feb 22 2011 at 2:20 pm

Ron :

Back when I was a very green road cyclist, maybe so early on in my development that I wasn't even a nascent Velominati, I used to rarely shift. My form was awful. I'd push the same big gear all the time, standing too much, letting my tempo jump around all over the place. I'd either be flying on flats or dying on hills.

Back in those days when I was much younger I generally rode my geared bike like it was a single speed. Find the gear that seemed to work best for the road and pedal as hard as I could. I was always gassed at the end of a ride. Now days w/ STI shifting I often find myself taking that turn away from the LBS and going after another 10 miles before calling it quits and looking for the post-ride refreshments.
Zoncolan says:

Feb 22 2011 at 2:59 pm

Jeff in PetroMetro :
Have our Kiwis checked in yet (it's morning in Texas)? I thought about y'all as soon as I heard the news from Christchurch. Good luck, and God bless.

Aye, we are up and running, quite localised in Christchurch in the South island, but as a bit of a Velo hotspot i suspect many of our brethren will be affected, we are tough down here, dishing out the V to all that nature throws us.
Marko says:

Feb 22 2011 at 2:59 pm

Check this out.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 22 2011 at 3:08 pm

@Zoncolan
Outstanding. Kiwis are hardcore.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 22 2011 at 3:24 pm

@Marko
Merci. Mais, je ne comprends pas. Je suis un idiot americain.

Oh, and I can say "merde".

That's all I got.
frank says:

Feb 22 2011 at 3:26 pm

@Brett

It looks like he's telling The Badger that he's a big soft pillow and he'd spit right in his face if he could be bothered making the effort, which he can't.

Yeah, it's like this guy I work with just said - "You get tougher the farther away from me you are."

And where the hell is that road?

It's the Cote d'Lafrey outside Vizille, which is a lovely little town. One of my favorite passes in the world, although I've only ever ridden it on paved roads. We were driving it a few years back and this little fawn came tearing down the road and we almost killed it, were it not for my mastery of the automobile.

There's a great account of that stage written by Robert Millar in Issue 13 of Rouleur, called "Into the Valley". Spectacularly written, it really nails the combativeness between Hinault and Fingnon.
xyxax says:

Feb 22 2011 at 5:33 pm

Il est la mon cycliste
arriver devant St Pierre
a reviser son catechisme
tout ca a cause
d'un peu de bierre

merde