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.
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.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
Descents are for the rouleurs to chase their guts out, and bring it back together before the end. It's what I do...
Now I understand a little better why you have issues descending. The key to good descending is assuredly not contorting oneself into bizarre positions. The machine knows how to get down the mountain so don't fight it. Be supple and loose on the bike, and let it carry you down the road.
I descend like a monster. It's all I got....
@Nate I agree, descents require a sort of blending of Rules 5 and 6. Harden yourself up enough to Free the Mind to let the bike fall as fast as it can down the hill. You must be loose and fluid.
Today is a hill repeat day on Norway Hill for me...you can bet I will be embracing the new Rule every time I have to drop back down to hit the hill again!
How much faith can I put into a Rule suggested by an urbanwhitetrash?
As much faith as I put into the rubber on my rims as I hit the apex? More, or less.
@Nate
Sometimes I swear you get a lobotomy and forget with the site is about: pissed taking.
All I can do in these cases is sigh and wait for your fuckwit comment get buried on the next page.
People recovering on descents is how you catch, smile at, then drop their ass. The only thing I do better than go up the berg is going down it. Faster the better.
@frank
Cripes and I've been trying to put into practice all I read here since I joined the community. Here's how I'm getting on.........
*Video deleted
Yours truly LOTOJA - Strawberry Pass 2010
Excellent piece @frank, including your response to @Nate! The specific dynamics and physical properties of the road tire were recently explained to me by the US masters TT champ. I am not sure the actual properties are all that important, but the baseline message is - "lean the bike as far as you can around the turn and the tire does the rest" - it works and my descent speeds have improved materially. May the force (centripetal) be with you.