BICYCLE DESCENDING SKILLS Roger Marquis

Descending ability, like any other fine-motor skill, is best improved with practice. The more time spent on technical descents the more your confidence and speed will develop. The difficulty for cyclists is that each descent requires a climb. Group rides are the best path to developing real bike handling skills, whether descending or not. After experience, the second most important component of a fast descent is relaxation. Anxiety does impair concentration and can cause you to miss important aspects of the road surface. Pushing the speed to the point of fear will not develop good descending skills. Work first on relaxation and smoothness (no sudden movements, braking or turning) and speed will follow. Third in importance is technique. Technique, however, is difficult or impossible to learn from reading about it. For that reason this article touches on just four of the many technical facets of descending: apexing, braking, lean, and passing. Apexing is the art of straightening out a corner by using the breadth of the lane or roadway. A fast descender will set up his or her line well in advance of a corner, entering it from the outside edge of the road for the widest possible angle. The apex, or mid-point, is crossed at the opposite or inside edge of the road, finally exiting again on the outside (always leaving room for traffic, error and unforeseen hazard). The key is to _gradually_ get into position and _smoothly_ follow the line through the corner. If you find yourself making _any_ quick, jerky movements take that as a sign that you need to slow down and devote a little more attention further up the road. Use the brakes ONLY up to the beginning of a corner. NEVER APPLY THE BRAKES THROUGH A CORNER. At that point any traction used for braking will reduce the traction available for cornering. If you do have to brake after entering a curve make every effort to straighten your line before applying the brakes. If the road surface is good use primarily the front brake. If traction is poor switch to the rear brake and begin breaking earlier. In auto racing circles there are two schools of thought on braking technique. One advocates gradually releasing the brakes upon entering the corner. The other advises hard braking right up to the beginning of the curve and abruptly releasing them just before entering the curve. Cyclists should probably combine these techniques depending on the road surface, rim trueness, brake pad hardness, headset wear and the proximity of other riders. Motorcyclists and bicyclists lean their bikes very differently in a corner. Motorcyclists keep their bikes as upright as possible to accommodate the flat-profile tires and avoid scraping pegs or pipes; cyclists on the other hand lean their bikes into the corner and keep the body upright. This makes it easier to transition into and out of corners. Both motorcyclists and bicyclists extend the inside knee down to lower the centre of gravity. To pedal through a corner make like a motorcyclist and keep the bike upright so the inside pedal doesn't catch the ground. One of the most difficult aspects of fast descents is passing. Unfortunately, there are good climbers who are slow descenders. As a result it is not always possible to begin a descent ahead of someone who you may want to pass. If you find yourself behind a slow rider either hang out a safe distance behind or pass quickly but carefully. Passing on a descent is always difficult and can be dangerous. By the same token, if you find yourself ahead of someone who obviously wants to pass, let them by at the earliest safe moment. It's never appropriate to impede someone's progress on a training ride whether they are on a bicycle or in a car. Always make plenty of room for anyone trying to pass no matter what the speed limit is. Keep in mind that downhill racing is not what bicycle racing is all about. There is no need to keep up with the Jones'. This is what causes many a crash. Compete against yourself on the descents. Belgians are notoriously slow descenders due to the consistently rainy conditions there yet some of the best cyclists in the world train on those rainy roads. Don't get caught pushing it on some wet or unfamiliar descent. Be prepared for a car or a patch of dirt or oil around every blind corner no matter how many times you've been on a particular road. Take it easy, relax, exercise your powers of concentration and hammer again when you can turn the pedals.

If the Duke Point Ferry Terminal is still closed, there will be a 45kilometer road race on the Duke Point Highway on April 18th. All participants will start together and category placings will be sorted out after the finish. This may be the last chance we will get to use this great stretch of highway for our races so everyone come along and take advantage of the opportunity.  

The joint MIVA/OBB club rides are slowly gaining in popularity. Last week, there were nine riders and this week seven participants. Your editor was "along for the ride" this Saturday but he didn't stay with the group for long and was content to meander along North Bay Road to Parksville and the Pacific brim Coffee shop. The rest went round the Nanoose loop except for Charlene Hay, who had other obligations and turned around at the end of Lantzville Road.

These social? runs are a great way to meet up with other members, so come on out y'all!

The  9th annual Ride the Rim   is a100 km ride from Ucluelet to Port Alberni.   Hopefully some of MIVA members will be interested in joining this charity ride through some of the most  beautiful scenery on the Island.  The ride takes place on Friday, May 11th.  The Pacific Rim Highway is more than just a long slab of concrete and asphalt. Along the way, travellers can see how life on Vancouver Island is an interaction of sea and land, of past and present.For more information, join our Facebook group ("Ride the Rim") or send an e-mail to Robin Nadig (rnadig@shaw.ca) to sign up.

I was watching the finish of the Duke point road race on Sunday and the sprinting techniques (or lack thereof) of the different groups.  The following will help in improving your sprinting, however good you are. Interval sessions to improve sprint performance should attempt to replicate the racing situation as closely as possible. When you're out on a training ride, try to incorporate 10-12 20-second sprints. Typically, warm-up for 20 minutes and then set targets along the road side. At predetermined points, sprint as if you were in a racing situation, recover sufficiently and repeat. A great place to do this is on a small circuit like the Boxwood criterium course. You can fit in a couple of sprints per lap - at the start  and half way along Meredith. Ideally, these intervals can be done  when out with a group. You can use them as a base to sprint from. This will sharpen your own skills and give you the confidence to jump away from the group. Remember to tell the group what your plans are though, so as not to upset others. For the novice performer, integrate this type of training into one session a week; for those more experienced, two or three times will assist you with your sprint development.

But sprinting on the bike is not just about pure muscular strength. The proper techniques will ensure that you make the most of your developing strength and power and ensure that the forces being generated are going through the bike to produce forward momentum. Typically in the road race, a sprint is not just required at the end - repeated efforts throughout are a necessity if you are going to ensure you are at the front to contest for the line, therefore you need to be fit enough to get to the finish!

Good technique is very important and is the deciding factor in most sprinting situations.

Choosing the correct gear is vital to ensure quick acceleration. Faster cadences will generally allow for such changes of pace, but may limit top end speed, so experiment when out on the bike. Also watch the pro riders and study their position.

Tactics

Finally, the most important technical aspect of sprinting is tactics. When you are in another riders' slipstream you are saving vital energy reserves. By coming from behind the leading rider, they will not know when you are going to make your attack and therefore you will already be at an advantage. A further important component is knowledge, both of the course and of other competitors.

Having an understanding of the course will provide you with an advantage even before the race begins.

When inspecting it, ask yourself questions such as, where is the finish? What is the road gradient like? Are there any bends or obstacles? Are there any distinguishing features towards the end that will remind me of the approaching line? What direction is the wind coming from? If it's a headwind will I struggle if I start my sprint off too early, or if it's a tailwind could I surprise the group and attack further back down the road? Examine the start sheet when you sign on as well - knowing who's riding will assist you when deciding which wheel to follow during the final moments. Having competed in a series of local road races.

I remember a strong rider who always appeared in the top three positions every races I competed in. In the final race of the series, I decided that if it again came down to a sprint finish, I would be the one following the rider's wheel. With a mile to go, I worked my way up through the bunch; using my knowledge of race tactics, the course, and the other competitors, I found his wheel. Pulling me up towards the line, I chose my moment, made my attack and won the race!