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Descents are Not for Recovery. Recovery Ales are for Recovery.

Ivan Basso rips it up on the way down.

My trouble isn’t with being a good descender; it is with cornering and stopping – and sometimes both. Or, as G’rilla puts it, “Descending is like sex; how good I am at it has nothing to do with how much I enjoy it.”

Descending is demanding and requires great skill. It is not a time for resting or taking it easy; getting down the mountain should be every bit as hard as getting up it. Merckx was himself a good climber, but his bikes were all designed to be stable and fast on the descents so he would be able to get off the mountain faster than the mountain goats he was chasing.

On the way down, we are compelled to smoothly spin the pedals at 120 or more rpms in pursuit of maximum speed. Once escape velocity is reached, we contort our bodies into the most aero tuck possible, causing our muscles to scream out in agony from the unnatural position. Cornering, we push on the pedals and bars in an effort to maximize friction between tire and pavement as an alternative to finding too much friction in the ditches at the roadside. The mind is consumed in the total concentration of keeping the rickshaw in one piece.

We hereby hand down Rule #93, plucked from the ether by @urbanwhitetrash in a moment of clair-V-ance after the VVhidbey Island Cogal.

Rule #93 // Descents are not for recovery. Recovery Ales are for Recovery.

Descents are meant to be as hard and demanding as – and much more dangerous than – the climbs. Climb hard, descend to close a gap or open one. Descents should hurt, not be a time for recovery. Recovery is designated only for the pub and for shit-talking.

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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brett says:

Oct 10 2013 at 1:17 am

@RedRanger

ride a MTB to become a better descender.

This.

Although The Chicken was a bad example of bike handling crossover...
Deakus says:

Oct 10 2013 at 2:42 am

A worthy addition! I do love descending, I have no idea how good I am at it, but the thrill of being on the edge of oblivion is very seductive. The only problem is that invariably it is followed by another hill!
ErikdR says:

Oct 10 2013 at 2:50 am

@zeitzmar

True fearless descending by The Prophet himself. Right into the fog. I could stand to learn from this. As @frank says, I descend like a Schleck.

Beautiful video; absolutely beautiful. Thanks for posting this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I can tell, the rider seen in action here on the descent is JosÃ© Manuel Fuente (credit where credit is due). But that being said, the footage of the long, winding descent through the mist and rain is absolutely stunning. Great stuff.

By the way: could that be de Vlaeminck at 4.58 ??
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 5:14 am

@Chris

Descending? Did someone say GIF?

@wiscot This.

So GIF means a short clip of a mad Columbian cyclist bombing down a mountain? Got it! Thanks!
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 5:17 am

@frank

@wiscot

Feeling pretty left out of things here. I live in SE Wisconsin. Not much on offer in terms of descents that last more than 30 seconds - if that.

Frank, I think you mean "piss-taking" not pissed taking. Take the piss properly FFS! And by the way, what the hell does GIF mean?

I thought you were SW Wisconsin; there is enough technical descending on roads that may or may not stop being pave mid-corner and what may or may not be free of pebbles even if it is paved all the way through.

@Siri

@frank I didn't find anything for pissed taking. Do you want me to search the web for you?

I always thought you lived in Cupertino; I didn't realized you moved to Chicago.

You're still kinda hot though.

Nah, south east Wisconsin. Kettle Moraine country. Lumpy terrain with what can really only be called downhills rather than descents. Rode in the bluffs of Iowa last near and damn near shit myself coming down a couple of those.
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 5:32 am

@ErikdR Yup, it's Fuente descending in pink and it is RdeV in the Brooklyn jersey.

Someone should show this film to Wiggo.
zeitzmar says:

Oct 10 2013 at 5:33 am

@ErikdR How embarrassing. I remembered watching that video a while ago and then searched for it and posted it without re-watching it to verify. It is most certainly Fuente on that harrowing descent, Merckx forgive me.

That definitely looks like the Gypsy at 4:58. Another awesome rider from that era to watch.
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 5:35 am

@Simon

@wiscot

Feeling pretty left out of things here. I live in SE Wisconsin. Not much on offer in terms of descents that last more than 30 seconds - if that.

As a fellow SE Wisconsinite (and city boy) I ask, Where do you find a 30-second descent? Unless I pack up the ol' stead and head up north, my longest descent is Lake Drive hill heading South. Or maybe the hill from the Water Tower to the Lake, but I don't like getting hit by cars so I don't ride that one.

There are a few up my way near West Bend: Schuster Hill, Hwy 28 heading east, County A near Greenbush. The latter could almost be called a descent as it turns and twists a bit.
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 5:41 am

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a masterclass in descending courtesy of Mr Fabian Cancellara: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxXqQqAc2pA

I'd be grateful if some could post it properly!
Ron says:

Oct 10 2013 at 7:12 am

After years of road cycling and now just a few of cx riding, it's clear that that only way to get good at descending is to ride on stuff that isn't as unforgiving as pavement. Unless you can push yourself and your tyres and your bike and have it possibly result in a washout on wet grass, I simply don't think you'll ever find that line where you maximize your potential.

Well, unless you don't mind road rash, smashed shifters and ground-down pedals.

Most corners where I ride are full of debris, rocks and loose gravel, meaning I rarely get to corner at any speed. Just not worth it in terms of skin or bike.