We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.
A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, where things get interesting.
Cornering feels a bit like you’re stealing from Physics, as if you’re getting away with something. Momentum, as fundamental as it is, doesn’t know what’s good for us and stubbornly wants to carry us on its merry path. The faster we go, the bigger its influence becomes and the harder we push against it, balancing on the knife’s edge between our body’s lean and the bike’s pull. For those skilled in this craft, the bicycle and rider carve through the bend in perfect harmony.
I’m not particularly good at cornering, which is to say I’m not particularly good at descending. Its a shame, too, because given my size I’m not very good at climbing, either. The way to get better is to practice, and not to give Rule #64 too much thought. You will crash if you want to get better, but you mustn’t lose your nerve. A nervous descender is a bad descender and everyone knows where to find bad descenders.
The riders getting the most practice in this discipline must surely be les grimpeurs for it seems they would be riding down all those mountains they’re riding up. The surprising truth is that this does not always appear to be the case; one need look no farther than Andy Schleck to find evidence of that particular postulate. Furthermore, one would think that a professional, who by the very nature of their occupation is quite used to finding themselves on the tarmac, would be most able to come off and not lose their nerve. This, also, doest not always appear to be the case.
The Giro, known for its narrow mountain roads, is won as much on the descents as it is on the climbs. Who can forget the 1988 Giro, which was won on the descent of the Gavia, not its climb. Or the 2002 and 2005 editions when Il Falco used every millimeter of road as he swept through the hairpin bends to distance his rivals. This year, Brad Wiggins had already put himself on the back foot on GC when he came off on a slow bend and spent the rest of the stage riding like his tires were made of glass. On the same stage, Nibali attacked and came off on a high speed corner before jumping back on his machine and rejoining the leaders moments later. The difference is a question of not only skill, but fearlessness.
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View Comments
@frank
yup, you have so much more control bombing down some single track if you get out of the saddle and let the bike move around. Keep the front tire aimed in the right direction and the rest will follow. I find it amazing how fast my hard tail can get going on even a short descent, so much fun.
@PT
@Patrick
Actually, and @Gianni will be able to correct me if I'm wrong, there is no 'R' sound in the Hawai'ian language. While there in 2002 (O'ahu) I got a fun book called Hawai'ian for Haoles. Haole being the local word for white folks or outsiders.
So I reckon it's: ha lay ah KAY la or ha lay ah KAH la.
Caps for the stress.
@PT
L .Zinn has addressed high speed wobble with larger riders. I believe most of it is a function of frame stiffness. Larger frames get floppier unless they increase the tubing diameter which they never did in the old days. Your carbone frame should be much better for HSW. I have a 63cm merlin extralight. It has large diameter tubing and it is a bombproof descender. One way to stop it is to grip the top tube with your knees as soon as it starts. Before you shiet yourself.
I've experienced it a few times but it was induced by my arms and torso shaking from being cold. I am a big pussy.
@snoov
Let's see. You are right, no R sounds.
It means house of the sun. In Hawaiian the word Hale is house. And the accent/elongation is on the last syllable so it might sound like Ha lay a ka laaa. One would only know that when the word is written correctly, there is a "kahako" over the last letter A, telling one to elongate that A. Do I write it like that? No. Too lazy to find the keystroke combo. HaleakalÄ is what it should look like. Now go to bed.
@Gianni Ha, I just got up, can't lie too long or my back gets stiff. VMH will be sleeping for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games next year so I have to amuse myself here until I can go and wake her up.
I'm no pro, but there is nothing quite like getting passed by a car at the top of a climb, then riding its arse through the twisties down the other side.
I've been amazed at how much the tuck whilst sitting on the top tube increases descending speed. It's more stable than I expected, but definitely for the straighter sections only.
@Beers
Did I ever mention I once drafted behind a car downhill with Johann Musseuw ?
@strathlubnaig
Once or twice. We can only aspire...
@snoov
I had the same dodgy back issue. Sorted overnight with a new mattress. I'll not bore with technical details. The money I spent on it got the same reaction as if I'd bought a new set of wheels for the n1. The final selection process went into just as much detail too. Worth every penny.