In the last 24 hours I have had two major breakthroughs about how I think about cycling. These might seem quite obvious to you, however they seem downright genius to me.
1. Biking is not supposed to be easy.
I think that part of the reason I'm not a fast biker is simply because I'm not trying hard enough. In my mind I have always thought biking is easier than running or swimming.
In my mind running is hard, very hard. It is heavy breathing, pulse racing, sweat dripping, what-the-hell-am-I-doing hard. Always, even on "easy" runs it is still hard. If it wasn't hard I would be walking.
Swimming can also be hard. My background is in swimming so I know what it feels like to push myself in the pool. To pick up the pace over a long set, to tightly flip into a turn, to sprint to the wall. I will always love the feeling of when you stop swimming after a hard set and you can feel your face is so hot from exertion that the water feels extra cold. Do you know that feeling? I love that feeling.
Now biking, biking is not hard. Biking is smooth and fluid. If you "rest" when you run or swim you stop moving. But not in biking - when you bike you can coast and continue to move forward. Perhaps this comes form the fact that until last year I had never ridden a bike for speed, only for pleasure. Until yesterday, my mindset was that biking is only hard when you are going up hills. Well folks, I have learned that if I want to bike faster I must try harder. Simple enough. I need better mental focus on my bike so I can truly keep a steady effort throughout a ride - no more slacking!
I know that I have always been a bit timid when it comes to going down big hills. They are scary. Plain and simple. Since starting to do group rides with Asphalt Green I have learned that my biggest weakness is hills, downhills. Last Thursday in the hard core hill workout I got dropped by the group. Completely dropped. In fact, I got lapped. But do you know why I got dropped? Not because I couldn't keep up going up the hill. It was because I was going too slow on the downhills. This is where I got passed and this is where I got dropped. WTF right? I need to just suck it up and let myself go down those hills! Did/does anyone else have a problem with this?
7 comments:
Oh HELLS yeah. I am so much less timid than I used to be, but I get still freaked out going downhill! It's really just a question of practice- letting go a little more each time, and practicing going fast on some easier hills to get you used to the sensation when you get to the hard ones.
I kind of know what you mean about it being 'easy'. It wasn't until I was given bike specific workouts that I realized this is hard and it takes real work. Ok, that and my group rides on Saturdays going up really BIG hills!
Downhills. It took a while to conquer that monster. I have a healthy sense of mortality and I do not want to die. But I have embraced the downhill. Enter aerobars and I had to do it all over again. Nothing like your face being closer to the ground to bring back that fear.
hey! where are the pics of the new addition??? I've been robbed!
You hit the nail on the head! The bike IS supposed to be hard, and that's where I get messed up. I want it to be fun and easy. I'm going to think about that every time I ride now!
I know lots of people who have issues going downhill. However, descending is my absolute favorite thing to do on a bike! I don't know why, but I have no fear. To me it's just amazing fun. Sadly, I cannot climb to save my life. :)
Yo—I say only go as fast as you feel comfortable with—period. Of course, if you did want to work on losing those downhill inhibitions, you could try to go a mile or two per hour faster every time you go down a nice steady downhill. Although, if you follow this advice, your eyes are probably going to be focused down on your cycling computer and not the road. Scratch that. Watch the road, hold on for dear life, and let it rip... until you feel uncomfortable, then pull back. What the heck do I know?
Cycling is my weakenss too. Uphills are my problem. Downhills my strength. It just takes confidence and relaxation. Much easier to fix!
I totally know what you mean about the downhills. I have a fear of speed...or should I say, crashing while going super fast downhill and getting seriously injured or killed! It's even worse since I have kids and I really don't want to leave them motherless. But, I have been practicing and getting better at being comfortable at higher speeds. So, it will get better, it just takes time and lots of riding.
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