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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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View Comments

Harminator says:

Oct 10 2013 at 8:09 am

@wiscot ! Give yourself an uppercut! (Skip to 3.30 for the full berries)
Harminator says:

Oct 10 2013 at 9:10 am

@wiscot

@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!

Except I think its an Australian. Simon Clarke?
Steve-o says:

Oct 10 2013 at 9:54 am

@Haldy

@frank

@Haldy

@Frank- are the extra pages at the back of The Rules..specifically to write the new Rules in as they come along? I don't feel like I have the authority to add to the tome without express Keeper permission!

No, they're for writing down your sins.

The US release of the book will include any new Rules divined between the UK edition and when we go to press. So far that's only two, but nevertheless.

Hmmm....well, since I couldn't wait for a US edition and have the UK edition...I shall amend my copy with the new Rules

Same here
DCR says:

Oct 10 2013 at 10:22 am

When's the US edition due out? Just ordered a UK version but two rule books wouldn't hurt.
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 10:43 am

@Harminator Thank you sir! Appreciate the tech skillz. Uppercut duly administered.
The Oracle says:

Oct 10 2013 at 11:00 am

@wiscot

@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.

I moved from SE Wisconsin to Central Wisconsin (Fond du Lac) this summer, and lo and behold, there are actually (*gasp*) a few categorized climbs in the area! That being said, I'm still with wiscot--nothing around here that I would actually classify as a "descent."

Frank's right, though, SW Wisconsin has a decent amount of up and down. Also, head over to La Crosse and try bombing down Grandad's bluff. That's a good combination of tight blind turns and sheer road-side drop-offs.
Optimiste says:

Oct 10 2013 at 11:00 am

@Harminator

@wiscot ! Give yourself an uppercut! (Skip to 3.30 for the full berries)

Great example - one of my favorite clips to watch. On long descents, I often find myself humming this movement from Mozart's Symphony No. 25 and channeling Faboo. It motivated me do more with what I've got. As a direct result, I now reach Escape Velocity at 134 RPMs.
RManneck says:

Oct 10 2013 at 11:25 am

Good work by the moto, to stay with Faboo.
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 12:26 pm

@Optimiste Where I live you get through the first few bars then you hit the bottom!
wiscot says:

Oct 10 2013 at 12:27 pm

@The Oracle Hey! Good to see you post. So you moved (slightly) up north? Too late for a WI cogal this year, but for sure next year.