- Descending is a joy.
After all the hard work of pedalling up a climb,
this is the reward.
The thrill of speed, gloriously
effortless, exciting and fun.
- Well, for some of us, maybe not.
This video is for those of you
who don't find much joy in descending.
Those of you who are nervous or maybe even dread it.
I know what it feels like because I've been there.
Maybe you've had a crash,
and it's made you lose your confidence.
- Or perhaps it's just been that you've
always been unsure on descents.
Or even, you live in a flat area
and you've had no experience of riding
too much downhill either.
- But the good news is that descending
is just a technique, and it can be learnt.
- Some top descenders are naturals, in that
they have never had to specifically train at it.
But many of those riders have been
cycling since they were very young.
And they picked up a technique
that works for them early on.
And let's face it, we're all a bit brash when we were kids.
It's one of those things that's
actually harder to learn when you're older.
Especially if you've lost your confidence.
So, where do we start?
- It's really daunting when you're scared.
And there are many components to descending.
But it's really hard to remember everything
when you're paralyzed by fear.
So let's break it down into the separate components.
First it's important to remember that
there's a huge mental component to descending.
This is kind of obvious to anyone who's getting nervous.
But what's less obvious is how to fix it.
The bad news is,
there is no magic bullet to kill your fear.
Confidence will take a long time to build back up.
So, be patient and try not to get
frustrated with your progress.
And definitely don't be frustrated with yourself.
It is upsetting to get dropped on descents.
But that negative emotion won't help.
So, try to accept the challenge and work on
descending slowly, but with the right technique.
So you feel safe, before you gradually build up the speed.
At the end of the day, staying safe and enjoying
your cycling is far more important than speed.
So when practicing descending technique,
to rebuild your confidence, just be patient.
One crucial thing to make sure you're
getting right is turning the bike by leaning.
Now this might sound silly.
But a lot of cyclists when they're nervous
will try to turn by turning the handlebars.
So, to start with, practice by leaning
on the flat and in a safe environment.
And at moderate speed, but not too slowly.
Lean is controlled by weight distribution.
Your weight should be going through your
inside hand on the drops and your outside foot.
So keep the outside pedal down.
Keeping pressure through your outside foot
also keeps the inside pedal up,
which avoids the danger of
hitting the ground with this pedal.
- How much you lean the bike,
and thus how sharply you turn,
depends on how much weight you leave on the saddle.
Cornering like this feels strange
and possibly scary if you're nervous.
So practice on the flat to start with where you feel safe.
- Riding with your hands on the drops is safer
because it allows you to have a more secure grip
on the bars and you're less likely
to be dislodged by bumps in the road.
It also keeps your center of balance lower,
which is better for cornering.
And for when you want to go faster,
it's a little bit more aerodynamic.
- You also want to make sure that your bike is set up
so your hands can reach the brakes far easier.
The last thing you want to do when descending
is to be constantly changing your hand position.
So make sure it's set up right.
- If you need to take off speed,
try to get your braking down before each corner.
When you brake, you can expect to feel
like you're being thrown forward.
Because your body will conserve momentum,
even though your bike is slowing down.
- Combat this by pushing backwards
on the pedals and the bars,
to keep your weight well back on the bike.
The more gently you brake, the less startling it feels.
So when rebuilding your confidence,
try to start braking early and gently.
It's faster to wait until the last minute
and brake more sharply, but this throws your
weight forwards more suddenly.
- And it is okay to brake
in the corner if you need to.
For example, if the corner is steeply
downhill, or if you're scared.
But avoid grabbing the brakes in the corner.
Just keep feathering them very gently,
and release when you feel happy to regain speed.
- Taking the right line is absolutely key.
And not just so you can smooth out the corners.
If you drift wide into a corner,
it'll give you a better view of the exit.
And any traffic coming the other way.
- Stay as wide as you can
on the road safely available to you.
By which I mean, don't cross to the
wrong side of the road until you
can see there's no traffic coming.
Look ahead of you and not down.
Although you should of course observe the road surface,
try to look towards where you want to ride.
Because everyone automatically steers
towards where they're looking.
So if you stare at the trees or pothole,
you do increase your risk of hitting them.
Once you can see the exit line from the corner,
it's safe to cut in from your
wide path to shorten the corner.
Another reason to look ahead and out of the corner
is that focusing on close up objects
makes you feel like you're moving faster
than if you focus on the road further away.
And if you're nervous, feeling like you're moving
faster than you actually are definitely won't help.
Ride to the conditions.
If the road is wet, or it's super windy,
so you're getting blown around.
Or if there's gravel on the corner,
or if there are potholes, do go slower.
But don't let it freak you out.
It's still the same technique for cornering.
But you just need to moderate
your speed for the reduced grip.
And take off a bit more speed,
before you go into the corner.
- Is your bike safe?
Now nothing will play on your mind
like doubts about the safety of your bike.
So your brakes, your wheels, your tires, your stand.
That weird juttery feeling you get in your headset.
So if you're in doubt, make sure
you do a full check before you leave the house.
- Or you can take your bike for a professional check-up.
Because peace of mind and trust in your equipment
is absolutely key for descending.
And while you're at it, you can also
check that your hoods are set up on the bar.
So that you can easily reach
the brake levers from the drops.
Descending super fast like the very best
in the world requires you to push the limits
of what's safe in terms of tire traction.
But simply descending swiftly and safely
doesn't mean you have to take any risks at all.
And in fact, you get the best results
if you can just relax and enjoy it.
- Yeah, tension and fear are the enemy
of relaxation and good technique.
Because they make your body really tense up.
Now, it's easier said than done.
But try and enjoy your descent.
It'll really help.
- We hope you find this video helpful.
And for more on getting it right downhill,
try this video, Descending Made Easy.
- Can we have another go at that descent?
Just one more go?
- Yeah, go on then.
While there's some light left.
- Great. Love descending.