My trouble isn’t with being a good descender; it is with cornering and stopping – and sometimes both. Or, as G’rilla puts it, “Descending is like sex; how good I am at it has nothing to do with how much I enjoy it.”
Descending is demanding and requires great skill. It is not a time for resting or taking it easy; getting down the mountain should be every bit as hard as getting up it. Merckx was himself a good climber, but his bikes were all designed to be stable and fast on the descents so he would be able to get off the mountain faster than the mountain goats he was chasing.
On the way down, we are compelled to smoothly spin the pedals at 120 or more rpms in pursuit of maximum speed. Once escape velocity is reached, we contort our bodies into the most aero tuck possible, causing our muscles to scream out in agony from the unnatural position. Cornering, we push on the pedals and bars in an effort to maximize friction between tire and pavement as an alternative to finding too much friction in the ditches at the roadside. The mind is consumed in the total concentration of keeping the rickshaw in one piece.
We hereby hand down Rule #93, plucked from the ether by @urbanwhitetrash in a moment of clair-V-ance after the VVhidbey Island Cogal.
Descents are meant to be as hard and demanding as – and much more dangerous than – the climbs. Climb hard, descend to close a gap or open one. Descents should hurt, not be a time for recovery. Recovery is designated only for the pub and for shit-talking.
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@Cyclops unless you post a video or animated GIF, we can't know if you're pedaling or just coasting...I vote for animated GIF.
I'm so happy about this. I'm always totally shattered at the bottom of a decent. Heart is always well up and legs are always on fire. I'm glad this means I'm doing it right.
@VeloVita
Yup. Looks to me like he's coasting, although he also appears to have reached escape velocity.
GIF GIF GIF!
I need a rule #93 shirt, clearly visible to those behind me, in large font of course, as I pull away from them as I have a love affair with gravity and push myself to the edge......
Perhaps he's just stopped pedaling so he can give the corner maximum lean..and then will get right back on the gear? He does kinda look like he's about to nail the apex...
@Frank- are the extra pages at the back of The Rules..specifically to write the new Rules in as they come along? I don't feel like I have the authority to add to the tome without express Keeper permission!
@VeloVita @frank
I'm going about 80kph there with a Compact so definitely coasting.
@frank Am I not allowed to take the piss out of the piss-taker?
@Teocalli
Sorry mate, we don't condone animal cruelty videos here...
Descending has never been about recovery for me either, it's always a time to put the hammer down... cornering at speed, knee out slightly, in a tuck, hugging the apex, it's a beautiful thing. Maybe there needs to be Enduro-style road races...