The way down should hurt as much or more than the way up. Photo: Jared Gruber
The human mind is designed to forget how much things suck. That is a fact. If women had the capacity to retain meaningful data on how horrible things can be, there would be exactly zero families on the planet with more than one child. This has nothing to do with how wonderful children are; it has to do with how birthing a child is the most painful thing one can do in this life and live to tell the tale. Or so I’m told. But women happily bear a second or even a third child; with each labor a fresh-faced surprise at how much the birthing process blows on a visceral level.
On the other hand, we are very good at remembering how great things can be. Like sex. Which is an ironic counterpoint to the above paragraph. I swear I didn’t plan that. (I don’t “plan” any of my writing. I do this for fun.)
I ostensibly observe at this stage in the article-writing-process that maybe I should start planning some of my writing. Because this is going nowhere.
I am vocally quiet about my uneasiness with Strava from the perspective that it causes us to focus on doing good times on segments of our rides which is in conflict with the discipline required to Train Properly. That said, Strava can be a lot of fun in the sense that it provides a kind of passive-active competitive nature to Cycling. To that point, I have been riding with the group out of Hedrick Cycles in Greenwood, Seattle recently; the owner, Carson, is on a rampage to collect the KOM‘s on the local circuits.
KOM is an oxymoron because none of these targets are climbs; he is chasing after the descents.
Seattle has a lot of good descents hidden around, even within the metropolitan area. Mostly because it is a very hilly area to the extent that I can’t find a satisfactory “flat” route to spin on for a recovery day. Which means I’ve learned to “recover” on climbs. Which feels a little bit like bragging. You’re welcome.
As a non-GPS-using rider, I have been very happy to help Carson in his endeavor to bag some tags on the local descents as lead-out monkey and I have to admit it is one hell of a cortisol fix. The descents aren’t even about the KOM anymore, the whole group just attacks one another over and over again all the way down the descent until we reach a stalemate and we start to work together, burning ourselves out and rolling off the front like a worn-out banana peel.
Based on the opening paragraph of this article, I understand that the following claim is unprovable: these descents have put me further into the hurt locker than many climbs I’ve done, barring Haleakala.
Which brings to bear an important reminder: descents are not for recovery. They should hurt every bit as much as the climb, if not more. And if you misjudge a corner, it will hurt a lot more than the climb, possibly for a bit of a while because road rash sucks.
Ride hard on the way up; ride harder over the top, and ride like you stole something on the way down. That is all.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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"I ostensibly observe at this stage in the article-writing-process that maybe I should start planning some of my writing. Because this is going nowhere."
Yes, laughed out loud at that one in the office.
This is all well and good, and I do love a fast descent, but caution is sometimes advised.
I recently rode in the Ariege Pyrenees, and did a loop of the Port de Lhers, descending into Massat and then climbing up the Col de Port to return. Towards the top of the Port de Lhers the mist/drizzle descended, so I wrapped up as I made the summit and headed straight down to avoid getting cold.
On the first hairpin I applied the brakes and this is the moment I remembered that the bike shop owner had fitted brand new pads to the bike, and also that it was the very first time I'd used them that day, and also that they were covered in water and grime from the ascent.
I great deal of nothing happened, I continued towards the bend at the same speed, until I grabbed a bit harder at the levers, at which point the wheels stopped turning but the bike continued in the same direction, but for extra excitement it was now moving sideways. I was just looking for the softest bit of tarmac to lie down on when I managed to get my balance ride and correct the skid.
I went quite slowly down the rest of the descent...
@RobSandy
As I was reading that I thought it was going to end as a consequence of left/right rear/front swap when hiring a bike on the continent or USA.
The Douglas Adams in the Hitchhikers Guide had it that flying was easy, all you had to do was step off a building and forget to fall. He could have had it that you rent a bike in a foreign in land and at the critical juncture forget that the brakes are swapped.
@Teocalli
...and if that happened to be, say, on the descent of the Tourmalet it might also be the last journey you ever make.
The brake swap didn't bother me. Probably because I'm never sure which way around they are on my own bike.
One day I'll remember not to drink coffee while read here... Coffee everywhere... Again...
PS I disagree about giving birth being the most painful thing one can do in this live. But I guess that just proves your point...
Spot on Frank, spot on.
These articles are really going downhill, Frank.
"Ride hard on the way up; ride harder over the top, and ride like you stole something on the way down."
I have never been a climber, but I do descend like I'm escaping from the scene of a crime. For me the descent is a 'recovery' ride in the sense that it is my only chance to chase down and recover my position back in the bunch before the next climb.
as i've mentioned before, i have very few hills to go up, which means i have very few to go down as well. However, i do know when the gradient is even slightly in my favor. I believe speed=more speed. a hill (or tailwind in my case) is not an excuse for a free ride but motivation to get in the biggest gear you can spin and crush it. The rides i end up burying myself the most are the ones where mother nature has given me my own personal lead out train.
"Mostly because it is a very hilly area to the extent that I can’t find a satisfactory “flat” route to spin on for a recovery day."
Learning this. Being down in the south Sound there are flat-ish roads to be found, but it's mostly rolling hills. Actually, hills isn't even the right word. More like rolling walls, especially down by the shore. Have to crush the descents to have enough giddyup for the next one. Maybe it's just an exercise in character building.