Help Ma'Boab, I cannae descend!

souter

In frantic efforts to do some "training" as I believe it is called, for the Wicklow 100 I discover that my aversion to climbing has been joined by a terror of descending.
WTF? I used to regard it as the paltry recompense for the nightmare of going uphill. This evening I found after the horror of climbing Howth hill (south side) the expected wheee!!!!! had me covering the brake at all times and even shamefully dabbing it a few times. And this was going back down the south side, with no other traffic. Max speed was 49.5 kph (damn that missing 0.5).

I used to have no problems with this hill, is it the bike or am I just getting old?
In olden times when I was young and feckless, I went down this hill in my ginormous steel tourer of 20 years with nary a care in the world, soggy tyres and all.
The new bike is a Spesh tricross of just over half a years ownership and makes me nervy as hell.
To me it feels twitchy as a colt and light as gossamer.
With the 25c tyres pumped up to correct pressure , every bump and crack on the road makes me feel the bike is going to disintegrate and send me flying down the tarmac.

Is this a mid life crisis in reverse, and can anyone give me tips on how to get my mojo back?

CheGuedara

Hey, I'd guess it's just a matter of time, training and experience before you become comfortable descending at speed.

Caution is good at the beginning when you're testing out what your comfort zone is and as you're getting used to the particular foibles and quirks of you bike.

It's when you confuse your intentions e.g. descending at 60kph, with your abilities e.g. doing it at 30kph, that things can go properly pear shaped so it sounds like as you're going at the minute is right on the money for building confidence safely.

About the tyres, if you're used to bigger tyres with softer pressures then hard inflated narrow tyres can be a bit of a culture shock but as with the rest of it just give it some time and you'll be descending like a demon in no time

Key of all it is to keep going with it.

unionman

That post could have been written by me. When I started out on the spins last year the descents were something I came to dread, which annoyed the hell out of me, I never worried about it when I was younger so what was different?

Apart from the type of bike I was riding, I thought that ,to some degree, it was down to a bit of middle aged risk aversion (which doesn't make me feel any better about it).

That particular descent (north side of Howth head), is one I have never warmed to. It's narrow with limited visibility of the road ahead, concealed entrances and traffic signals, it isn't like descending from Sally Gap where it's mad fast but you have a good view of the road ahead.

Riding with a group I would watch other riders closely to see what they do differently. Many pedal rather than just freewheel, this seems to make a difference in terms of control and balance. Getting your a55 back into the saddle to put the weight on the rear wheel will stop the bike 'fishtailing'. Getting low over the handlebars, using the drops, all of this seems to help too. I continue to be in awe of some of the lads (and ladies) round here when it comes to their combination of skill and fearlessness on descents.

All I can say to you is, think about your position on the bike, descend the south side of the head a few times, it has better visibility and has some nice fast bits and good road surface.

My fear has gradually diminished through more and more practice, but every descent reminds me of my own vulnerability. I've managed to get my speed on descents up from around 48kmh (I dumped speed routinely at this speed, though it was an unconcious habit) up to 60kmh on two recent descents. That was a big moment for me, but I've seen a lot faster...a lot lot faster:eek:

Just keep doing it, your fear will eventually stop dictating how you approach descents.

And eh...+1 everything that CheGuedara said ^^

xz

I'm no expert, but I find you need to be relaxed on the descent,covering and dabbing your brakes is a natural "fear" reaction, but how quickly do you think you are going to stop at these speeds, so relax and go with it, if you feel wobbly, start pedalling, it will balance you out. Don't fight the bike, let IT find its way down. Unless, of course you are drifting off the road, if you feel you are drifting, then, again, pedal. I find this works for me.

Most of our fear of descents could be borne out of, the actual fear of crashing, when your mind wanders to the "what if's"scenarios, and how will I pay the bills if I am out of work etc etc, If you let these thoughts enter your head, you are going to be wary.
I have never crashed my bike....yet, I know it will happen, but I don't dwell on where, when or how it is going to happen, but when it does, I will no doubt, know all about it.

OP have you ever crashed whilst descending? Because that would be a natural reaction to what you are feeling

Esroh

Was very bad descender to begin withA trick for staying relaxed that I was told by an old Road Warrior is put the tip of your tongue between your teeth and as you tense up you'll soon know.Arms tightening, stiffens ur shoulders, stiffens your neck which stiffens your jaw and you bite your tongue.Knowing its going to hurt gets your mind off going down hill

blorg

Do bear in mind that if you are not racing it doesn't terribly matter, it is just a matter of how much fun are you having. Descending prowess is rarely a big deal in the Wicklow 100/200, climbing prowess is much more important! Apart from that, practice, practice.

alfalad

As Unionman said the south side of Howth hill is a much nicer descent, and the road from Howth village to Sutton Cross is busy and poor quality so i generally just turn at the top and go back down the southside of the hill or even if i do go down to the village I turn and come back up over the hill. As said, don't worry about it, keep relaxed and with confidence it will come as will the enjoyment!

fenris

I still remember vividly the moment that I went from knowing intellectually the difference in stopping power of a mountain bike with an soft rubber big contact patch & discs to that of a road bike with skinny tyres and callipers to really knowing!

The powerscourt wall, road damp, going with a vengence (well 72kph trying to hit 80 - chasing numbers = bad) as a reward for that bitch of a hill up out of Enniskerry - late braking (would have been grand for a MTB) would have been splatted if there was car coming the other way due to lack of traction/skill/cop on.

40kph seemed like plenty for descending for a while!

The positive side for me is that I now know that:
My brakes can lock the back wheel much earlier than expected
I can regain control of the back end if it steps out (preferably on my own side of the road)
Skinney rubber really does not work well with MTB reactions/expectations
The adrenaline burst is enough to get me pretty far up the next hill!

To get through the fear factor you just have to keep pushing it a bit more each time, it is only when you nearly lose it that you get to appreciate what the edge of you/your bikes capability feels like, but at least you know where it is, what it feels like and how long you have to sort it!

souter

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. The one thing I can't do is pedal as the bike is single speed and I'd need a cadence about 460. btw, I was descending the south side - turned at the summit for my repetitions (all 2 of them).
Will keep working at it.

blorg

souter wrote: »

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. The one thing I can't do is pedal as the bike is single speed and I'd need a cadence about 460. btw, I was descending the south side - turned at the summit for my repetitions (all 2 of them).
Will keep working at it.

Tuck is more important than pedalling in any case, give it a blast at the start and then get down as low as possible. Arse should be off the back of the saddle with your stomach resting on the saddle, chin relatively close to the bars, elbows in, knees in.

Try to learn to take a good line around corners so you don't have to brake. If you DO have to brake, do it before the corner, not during it.

Stay as far away from other people as you can while doing this