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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@mouse
I'll wait at the top of a good descent if I think there's a car within reach on the way down. A motorcycle I can follow, a car? No fucking way. Especially in the PNW, where we have drivers from British Columbia and Oregon fighting it out for the nation's worst car-handler award, with Washington state coming in a clear third.
Yes, that means all you geniuses I passed sitting in the ditch like a deck of cards after playing 52 Card Pickup in North Carolina every time it snowed are better drivers than this lot.
@frank
As @frank says, better to just pass the fucker. I did that this weekend at 70 kph. The look on the driver's face was priceless. Also, keeping that car behind you over the top of the climb is a great Sur la Plaque training technique.
We have 1 mountain to climb and descend.
@mouse Sorry seem to have pushed your buttons somehow...
@RedRanger Awesome!
@Beers
Nah, don't worry. My gripe wasn't pointed your way.
I'll pass on my tale of woe to make it all clear.
A few months ago, I was riding in the Dandenongs (Melbs - Great climbing, etc) and after a great session of climbing, thought that i'd descend Belgrave Ferny Creek Road. This has a sustained section of 12+%, levels off, then finishes off with a section that's more than 20%. Suffice it to say that when it's dry and your balls are feeling particularly turgid, you can get up a significant head of speed. As I was feeling particularly turgid on this day, I was looking forward to seeing how close I could nudge 100. Problem was, at the top of the hill, i was passed by a complete cuznor in a red ute who thought it would be good fun to fuck with me. He passed me, then slowed to 40 km/h. This meant that I was having to ride the brakes quite heavily on the steep grade. So I decided that I'd had enough and got out of the saddle to pass. This resulted in a quick acceleration and swerve to keep me behind. We did this for a while, then he turned off at the bottom with finger raised. Did I mention that he was a Cu* - cuznor?
Anyhoo, I got past the level off section and proceeded to the 20+% descent. Having to check my speed as there's an intersection at the bottom, I ended up melting the braking track on my carbon front wheel.
My life lesson is to let them go. Get a gap, then try to catch em. Problem is, if they're just being arseholes, there's not much you can do.
@RedRanger So 40-50 min climb for 12 min decent ?
@piwakawaka no. It's 2 hour climb for the very fit rider. 21 miles at 5%.
@RedRanger
Looks like a very nice mountain. We should get in some good descending on the Seattle Summer Cogal. I haven't been up from the east side of Spirit Lake, hoping the road surface is good.
@mouse
Did you know that word is derived from the Dutch work for butt, kont?
You're welcome.
@RedRanger
Wow, that kind of climb is right up my alley.