Putting new skills to the test
One of the most valuable pieces of information Chris shared on Monday during our first MTB lesson was this:
You’re either braking or pedalling
So guess what I did? It’s daft. You’ll laugh. You’ll think I’m slight mad(der).
I took the advice with me during my Thursday Short Bays ride. We all know that I suck descending and that I go very slowly (almost a stand still) at the hair pins from the Sign of the Kiwi into Governors Bay.
What did I do?
I braked and pedalled!
Yes, foolish behaviour. Why on earth would you pedal when you’re braking?
Alright, let me explain. Clearly I had no tension on the chain when I was pedalling, and I wasn’t pedalling as fast as was needed to get tension on the chain.
I did it because Chris explained that the bike will naturally travel. It flows on it’s own.
So it’s only ME that’s trying to man-handle the bike to do something that’s not it’s natural flow. But he said that when you’re pedalling you’re doing what your bike does naturally.
Actually, Helena said the same today. The bike would do it’s own thing and it’s only us on the bike that pulls it about and makes it feel unsafe.
Yep, I would be the first to put my hand up admitting that I’m my own worst enemy.
Anyways, back to the braking and pedalling.
I was heaps better. H.E.A.P.S better. I’m not saying I’m good to go against the best descenders, but I’m saying it felt so good and it wasn’t nearly as scary as it normally feels and I didn’t brake as much or for as long as I normally would. I just pedalled.
I was pretty pleased with my speed too. During that long straight bit (after the 2nd hair pin bend) I would normally be braking off and on, more ON than off. But I felt good enough to let the brakes go and just pedal.
The same during yesterday’s ride. I was pretty excited that my speed down to Governors bay got to 54km/hr (ok, it’s not really that fast) but for me it was a big deal.
Then I checked my max speed after getting to the bottom of Evans Pass. 64km/hr. 64! And on my second descent down Evans Pass I got to 65! Actually my fastest down there has been 71km/hr but that’s after lots of hill work.
My descending is way improved with continuing to pedal and I’m as happy as. It almost felt like fun. I almost got a sense of what everyone has been telling me for years, that the descent is the reward for all the hills, it’s to be enjoyed.
My second round of Short Bays yesterday wasn’t along the bays at all, it was along the Summit Road. That means more corners than you get around the bays and I was pedalling around corners that I was braking around during my training for Le Race.
By crikey, I might finally be getting the hang (drift!) of this descending/cornering thing yet.
Sometimes this blog is about my struggle with eating properly. I do seem to have an infatuation. But really it's more about my life, and my training. A bit of a mixed bag really.
Another key reason to keep pedalling while descending is to keep your intensity as even as possible. If you mostly coast down hills, your HR drops right away, whereas if you keep pedalling, even if it’s just spinning, it keeps your HR a bit higher which is far better for developing your aerobic system.
Well I’m totally sold on keeping pedalling while descending. And all the extra benefits I didn’t realise are just icing on the cake
As an aside, neither hill ride I did last week I got into my top threshold. Very odd indeed (for me). I guess it’s a good thing. My average HR overall was only 2-3bpm less than the times I do get into my max threshold.