Swiftly, after all these years. Considers himself a plodder, only because he has learnt not to chase everything that moves. Has no ride plan other than to get lost and enjoy the scenery. Looks forward to the mid ride coffee almost as much as the post ride coffee. I have 4 bikes. None of them are dropped down handlebars.
Like Liked by 1 person. Sounds like seasoned cyclist or perhaps Zen cyclist! Great call on the tatts. My only tatt was the temporary chainring on the calf, another sign of an early stage cyclist! Like Liked by 2 people. We cycle for fun, for escape, for enjoyment, no matter how we pigeon hole ourselves or not. Fact is I can be any of the above depending on the day of the week. Like Liked by 3 people. Im on the Avid stage! What bothers me is how to transition… I have learned about periodisation and trained like a loon on TrainerRoad. I am faster now than I have ever been despite it being only March and am excited about the season ahead.
So a decline is inevitable, which is depressing.
- A Maid at King Alfred’s Court.
- Le klone et moi (Roman) (French Edition).
- Breathless: Secrets tear a family apart. (Breathe Book 1).
- S.P.I.R.E. Decodable Readers, Set 4A: Basketball Dreams (SPIRE);
So, how to get back to actually enjoying just going for a ride again? How to deal with falling average speeds? Either way, make sure you enjoy the beast of the year ahead! Yesterday I rode 23 miles into the ice cold Chicago wind. My feet froze and went numb at mile I forgot to unclip at a street crossing at mile 21 and fell over. I had to sit on the couch and warm up to room temperature before I could shower.
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- Reading 1759: Literary Culture in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britain and France (Transits: Literature, Thought & Culture, 1650–1850)?
- Giuseppe Verdi (Becksche Reihe) (German Edition).
- El límite del deseo (Saga Ángeles Caídos nº 1) (Spanish Edition)!
- Efectos personales (Biblioteca Era) (Spanish Edition).
- Six tips to improve your bike handling skills.
- One for the road?;
- Chapter 4: Bicyclist Behavior The Ideal: Vehicular Cycling?
- An Invitation to Social Theory!
- Safe city cycling for beginners: can a course help?;
- The seven stages of becoming a cyclist – Human Cyclist;
This morning I was asked if I was insane. And, I could not stop laughing while reading this post! Keep warm out there. Thanks for sharing and encouraging the rest of us.
And yes, it will make you want to ride quicker! As cyclist who started at 12, catching the Eddy Merckx bug and returning to riding again when I turned 50, I have been through all these steps and stages. Now, 57 doing the odd criterium to proove to myself that finishing a 4 cat race is like winning a race back in the day and hanging onto a paceline at 27mph for a short while is like being resurrected. I am caught between the old school principals and the modern way, what a dilemma.
Just did my launch ride on deepth sections carbon, wow there is no looking back! Great to hear you are rediscovering the bike Eddy. Seems like we can go through the stages more than once too. I love the sound of deep section rims when they come past me on the road. Must feel like you are flying when riding them!
I have read this article over and over again — on different days — getting to it through google. You may have inspired me into buying my first bike last month thanks! I did my first easy 50k last Sunday which I loved!
Tips for a Controlled Descent
I worry about which stage I am on though — hesitant to call myself a first time cyclist though lol.. Very happy to have helped in some small way! I started cycling in and still riding at 66yo. At this point, I consider myself a bikewalker than a typical cyclist who likes to hammer during rides. More relaxed pace, to enjoy, to avoid the suffering and pain, and finish a ride tired but exhilarated, not exhausted.
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You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Skip to content Who? Resting Touring Training Follow me on Strava. Posted on 20 March 19 September by Human Cyclist. Here then are the seven stages of becoming a cyclist.
Safe city cycling for beginners: can a course help? | Life and style | The Guardian
Which stage are you at? Takes no food and water on long rides anything over 20 miles at this stage A puncture is a life changing event — what the hell am I supposed to do? Why am I doing this? First thing they do after a ride: Discovers the joy of B roads Cycle clothing is wearing shorts Backpack is the equivalent of very roomy jersey pockets Paper maps and getting lost are part of the adventure Gets more punctures in a day than most do in a year due to pinch flats Half of the contents of the shed are carried in backpack Bonks for the first time and vows never to cycle again Bike maintenance is inflating the tyres and spraying WD40 everywhere Average speed of Toast and a sip of Lucozade Ride nutrition: Jam sandwich and Lucozade Post ride nutrition: Fish and chips, more Lucozade Overheard before a ride: May — August, weekends only Stage 3 — Amateur Cyclist Celebrate at your own risk With loads of miles in my legs about !
Preferably five of them. As much food as you can find Overheard before a ride: Check their average speed Cycling season: Lots of horrible energy gels Post ride nutrition: As much pasta as you can eat Overheard before a ride: Are my thighs getting bigger?
Check segments on Strava Cycling season: Porridge, lots of the stuff, and a coffee Ride nutrition: Malt loaf and bananas, and water Post ride nutrition: A solid threshold and endurance ride awaits First thing they do after a ride: Stretch, shower, eat Cycling season: Ignores all numbers except for those measured in watts Cleans bike thinking it will make him quicker Obsesses about weight, has cut brake pads in half on hill climbing bike to save vital few grams Talks about riding with panache to anybody who will listen Is not sure what riding with panache actually is.
Riding with one eyebrow raised perhaps Average speed: My FTP is Eggs, toast and a coffee Ride nutrition: Soreen, bananas and water Post ride nutrition: Protein and carb blend, nutrition drip Overheard before a ride: This will be a steady state ride with a bit of endurance and anaerobic thrown in to lift my FTP First thing they do after a ride: It is to the subject of learned skills and the preservation of life and limb that I dedicate a few thoughts about cheating gravity and getting away with it.
Any discussion of the techniques involved in descending must start with getting to know the dynamics of a particular descent. Many of the best Tour riders scout the difficult sections of a race in advance, because it gives them an idea of what must be negotiated ahead of time. As you descend, you must feel the bike and connect with it so that you are a single unit. Get in tune with the pitch of the hill, the camber, and the way it banks, then climb back up that hill and ride it again.
Skill and confidence improve with familiarity. Also consider changing weather in the mountains, the potential for road hazards, sand, gravel, dirt, leaves, and freshly fallen rocks on sharp road cuts. If you are venturing into unfamiliar terrain, assume that the worst-case scenario awaits, and avoid speeds that compromise your personal skill level. Descending requires percent of your attention, so do not allow yourself to become distracted and never take your eyes off the road in front of you.
If you know a skilled and experienced cyclist who will ride with you and enjoys playing the gravity game, join him or her. Follow his lead, though not with blind abandon, and attempt to duplicate his moves downhill. Ask questions, and wait for answers. As a rule, the best line through a downhill turn is outside, inside, outside, but the quickest way down may be completely inappropriate in traffic.
The manner in which you are set up on your bike is also a factor. Triathletes on steeply angled, forward-positioned time trial bikes, need to reduce speed exponentially, as these bikes may compromise a safe descent. A fun way to learn descending techniques is to carve cones water bottles placed in an empty parking lot. You can safely learn how to control and balance your bike on the flats, which will make you more adept at controlling it on descents.
In case you are wondering, practicing these techniques on a mountain bike on loose surfaces translates well to a road bike. For example, sliding your weight back on the saddle, reducing your center of gravity, light feathering of the brakes, and adjusting the brake bias are skills common to both road and off-road riding. A less common, although potentially terrifying experience for an inexperienced cyclist generally occurs when one's center of gravity is too high and the mechanical set up of the bike is not optimal.
A very sudden loss of control, which is characterized by high-speed oscillation, can be corrected with a remarkably simple action: