Hey Everyone!
I hope you are well today and had a good weekend.
There wasn’t any riding for me this weekend as I was at my friends wedding in Wales. However, Wales isn’t somewhere that I’ve done a lot of cycling, but as you drive through the winding roads, that travel through the valleys, you can’t help but fall in love with the place.
I definitely want to get my bike out and take it for a spin in Wales someday soon.
Whilst driving down there I encountered some strange driving where cars in front of me would brake in the middle lane with plenty of room in front of them. This then causes panic with drivers behind and everyone else starts jamming on their brakes which could lead to;
1. A crash
2. A domino effect where everyone slows down, causing a traffic jam for no reason.
This kind of driving reminds me of cyclists when they are out. If they are under confident or don’t have as much experience the same thing can happen. Many cyclists panic and jam on their brakes instead of either:
1. keep pedalling, just lighter
2. stop pedalling but maintain the wheel of the rider in front
3. stop pedalling and just pop out to the side of the rider in front a little to get more wind resistance slowing them down naturally.
The methods above are an easy way to maintain speed when riding behind other cyclists, without slowing down the group or causing an accident.
Granted, becoming confident about doing the above does take time, but just remember that as the rider infant of someone, you are in charge of making sure that the person behind you gets a safe ride.
You don’t have to practice these techniques at 100mph. You should practice these in a safe, closed road environment to start with and then pick up the speed as you become more confident.
So remember,
1. You should throttle your pedalling like you do when you drive.
2. You don’t always need to pump the brakes when you see something up ahead
3. You can decelerate by taking your feet off the throttle and use natural wind resistance to slow yourself down without causing a crash behind you
If you have any questions on this, I am more than happy to help or teach you these skills.
Have a good day.
Graham
P.S. If you would like help training for a cycling event or want some cycle coaching we can help you.
Our services include:
1. Training from our indoor studios. Fully kitted out gyms to help improve your strength, power and endurance.
2. We can train you at home using Zwift or Trainer Road
3. We can do remote coaching using Training Peaks Coaching Software
If you would like some help with your cycling and training, then let us know by replying to this e-mail
or visiting our Manchester (graham 07791060451) or Southampton (Andy 07770908030) websites.
Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | Instagram | Beam.Pro
Click to Post