Categories: La Vie VelominatusNostalgiaRiding UglyTechnique

La Vie Velominatus: Standing Grace

Kelly teaches the masterclass once again.

We are bipedal creatures. Fact. Bipedal locomotion sucks. Also a fact. This makes being a human somewhat challenging in the sense that we don’t have opposable toes or a tail with which to swing from tree limbs. Swinging from your tail seems a little bit like bliss, if you ignore the associated demotion back into the Food Chain.

We Cyclists elect to circumvent these shortcoming by pushing our legs around in circles rather than in whatever shape makes a walking pattern or a tail-swinging pattern. It’s quite unnatural, riding a bike, and even the most casual study of the common Cyclist will reveal that most are not terribly good at it.

Which is why the graceful Cyclist is such a pleasure to watch; the mastery of the unnatural. A Cyclist who coaxes the pedals about their arch with fluid grace and power is not so much an athlete as an artist. This is a creature who has dominated the nature and become something wholly of another world.

Rising from the saddle in search of more power is perhaps the pinnacle of the art. Planting our butts in our saddle provides a solid platform from which to crush the pedals; it’s a handy way to keep our limbs from setting off in independent orbits. But when we’re really on the rivet and in the search for Speed Plus One, that rump is going to have to get lifted up into the air.

The most skilled in this craft are a beauty to behold. In one fluid motion that does nothing to limit the venom in their stroke, they rise out of the saddle and allow the machine to sway beneath them in response to the power being applied by each thrust to the pedals. The saddle sways from side to side in an almost hypnotic rhythm as the rider suffers without revealing any external signs of the effort they are applying.

The only hint is that the amplitude of the saddle’s sway increases as the power does. And when the time comes to return to the saddle, the amplitude is reigned in and brought back to home with perfect precision and no loss in the pedal stroke.

Cadel Evans looked horrible out of the saddle; he gave the impression he was trying to strangle his machine for some untold afront. Sean Kelly, on the other hand, could rise out of the saddle without you even realizing he was standing, so smooth was the transition.

On my best days, my saddle returns to me in perfect unison; I am one with my machine, a symbiotic lifeform. Upon a visit with the Man with the Hammer, I almost need to coast in order to return my rump to its home on the rare occasion that I manage to lift it off in the first place.

Mastery of this art is one I continue to pursue. Vive la Vie Velominatus.

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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View Comments

KogaLover says:

Jun 18 2015 at 1:28 am

@ErikdR

hi Erik, our posts crossed. Seems his shorts are Descente though.
RobSandy says:

Jun 18 2015 at 1:40 am

The ability to rise out of the saddle every now and again is something I am working on. I tend to keep my arse firmly plonked on the saddle whenever I can, and this is not ideal for speed and not ideal for my arse.

Interestingly, I had an issue with my rear derailleur on a route I did a week or so ago which features two of my steepest local climbs, whereby I could not shift to my biggest sprocket. I was forced to stand up to take on the climbs more than I normally would.

The net result? I went faster. Changes to my bike are being meditated to enable better (harder) gearing.
Smonk says:

Jun 18 2015 at 1:51 am

@ErikdR & @KogaLover

Stephen was a great one for contractual wrangles.... When he bailed out on Peugot for Carrerra he did not do so on the best of terms. The upshot of all the legal wranglings was he had to continue to wear his Peugot shorts while racing for Carrerra.

@Haldy... would that it was an Irish thing. I have wings that make Evans & Froome look sleek. I spend most of my rides conciously swinging them back in to spare my neck. I have had the pleasure of being overtaken by Kelly while attempting to climb The Shay Elliot complex... The advice he bellowed at me is now a personal mantra:

"Keep Breathing"
rfreese888 says:

Jun 18 2015 at 3:17 am

I am not fully conscious of how I am doing this at present but will pay more attention now.

Am I right in saying your knees need to be able to withstand the changes in application of force whilst elevating and lowering the rump?

Also - any insights on how to keep pedaling circles while out of the saddle? I keep trying to 'scoop the ice cream' out of my pedals but it feels less even when standing.
Takmanjapan says:

Jun 18 2015 at 4:55 am

Roche had legal issues with Peugeot when he left their team in 1983. This carried on when he was at La Redoute and was rumored to carry through 1987. I have seen several sites that listed Peugeot as a title sponsor Carrera-Vagabond-Peugeot.
Oli says:

Jun 18 2015 at 5:03 am

@ErikdR

@Matt, @piwakawaka

Agreed – perfection. The Delta brakes… those brake levers. The gumwall tires. The ‘V’ shoes…

The only thing that puzzles me a bit (although it doesn’t distract from the awesomeness of the photo in any way whatsoever) is that he’s wearing shorts branded “Peugeot” while astride a Battaglin bicycle. Some of the wise ones who frequent this site may be able to enlighten this student on why/how that can be? (Could be that they simply are his favorite shorts, of course – or that Peugeot acted as some sort of ‘overall’ sponsor at the time…?)

The year previously he'd ridden for Peugeot and was still theoretically signed with them for '87, but Carrera headhunted him and he jumped ship to the Italian team; part of the deal that was thrashed out between the two teams and Roche to avoid a full legal stoush was that he'd wear his old sponsor's shorts for the 1987 season.
Joe says:

Jun 18 2015 at 5:14 am

@Haldy

Hear hear. But no need for a velodrome, just the time-tested early season miles on the fixed gear road bike to regain the smoothness lost during the previous season (or off-season).
Joe says:

Jun 18 2015 at 5:21 am

re: The first couple paragraphs . . . while riding the last few days, temps in the mid-90s, watching bipedal runners suffering like dogs, I'm glad to be on a machine if only to have some 30km air flowing over me. Funny that the same thoughts of (non) evolution/adaptation crossed my mind.
ErikdR says:

Jun 18 2015 at 6:10 am

@Oli

@ErikdR

@Matt, @piwakawaka

Agreed – perfection. The Delta brakes… those brake levers. The gumwall tires. The ‘V’ shoes…

The only thing that puzzles me a bit (although it doesn’t distract from the awesomeness of the photo in any way whatsoever) is that he’s wearing shorts branded “Peugeot” while astride a Battaglin bicycle. Some of the wise ones who frequent this site may be able to enlighten this student on why/how that can be? (Could be that they simply are his favorite shorts, of course – or that Peugeot acted as some sort of ‘overall’ sponsor at the time…?)

The year previously he’d ridden for Peugeot and was still theoretically signed with them for ’87, but Carrera headhunted him and he jumped ship to the Italian team; part of the deal that was thrashed out between the two teams and Roche to avoid a full legal stoush was that he’d wear his old sponsor’s shorts for the 1987 season.

Cheers Oli!

(@KogaLover: See...? I was hoping a Wise One would chip in - and almost immediately, it came true. Just one of the many, many things that makes this such a great site. (*Insert happy emoticon here*). By the way, I still owe you and the rest of the brethren a reasonable pic of my 63 cm, 'Champagne'-colored, 1980 Koga Miyata Roadspeed. I'm still working on that - i.e. procrastinating - but stay tuned...)
unversio says:

Jun 18 2015 at 6:40 am

@Phillip Mercer

As someone who frequently sits on the front of the group into climbs to then be dropped by the smart-arse climbers who draft the entire way there when I get out of the saddle I always try to make sure there is no break in pedal stroke to avoid taking out those behind. The same cannot be said the other day when I reeled back in one of the guys where I sat on his wheel to regather myself, only for him to stop pedalling to get out of his saddle, change gears and start wildly swinging his back wheel. I found my front wheel being taken out at that point but was able to catch myself before hitting the ground. Sure, I was too close by my mate’s technique really could do with smoothing out…

Phillip pointed out many issues here -- concur. Never allow the bike to throw itself backward. It takes a good deal of practice, but control that glide into position. On the front of the line, at the "now" moment, the bike will even carry forward with me as I push up. There is a short version of this too where I lift entirely off the saddle all within one stroke (carrying forward) just to circulate stuff.