51 miles and ANOTHER fall (long)

[latelatebloomer]

Hi.
Latelate here.
Pass the ibruprofen. Thanks.

The cool news is that I did my 4th club ride - a mostly flat ride - mostly on bike trail - from Valley Forge to the Philadelphia Art Museum. It was a small group, the leader + 3 guys + 2 women. I was, again, the newbie and the caboose, but I toughed it out. The only really awful parts were some nasty city-traffic riding and a sharp hill post-lunch that caught me with my gearing all wrong - and lots of irritable Philly traffic to deal with, so I walked. Other than that, I was steady - took your advice to "ride my ride" cause I felt pretty sure that if I pushed for more speed, I was gonna pay with a loss of endurance. On the way back, we got some headwinds and the ride leader gave me a primer on drafting. For whatever reason - probably just newbie-ness - I freak out a bit when I'm less than 8 feet from another bike. Not good, definitely something to work on.

And then, the last mile - a descending curve went all wrong on me. I've been trying to build cornering confidence after my spill LAST weekend - I'm tensing and chanting oh no oh no - something I definitely have to get over... I think I moved to the right to make room for an oncoming rider and then just lost it! The ride leader was looking back and said it was on my face - I'm gonna crash! I tried to stay out of the soft stuff at the shoulder, but was probably looking right at it - and as you all have said a million times - you ride into what you're looking at.

So I did a faceplant. But somebody up there was looking out for me, cause I missed the macadam and the gravel - and landed on my right cheekbone in - thickly spread mulch. Got the wind knocked out of me good, my sunglasses went kablooey after digging into my skin a bit, and the muscles on my right side really hurt...my ride buddies were so worried there for a bit. But I got my breath, we checked out my bike, and I rode the last mile in. Got many strokes for being tough and determined. Once in the car, DH stopped at the first store we found for meds, frozen peas for face and side, and um, ice cream. After an hour's drive, I'm actually feeling pretty perky, all things considered. (DH is the one who's shaky now, sweet thing.)

But man, I really want better ride skills. I've fallen 3 times this spring and it's getting old. I don't want to be a fearful rider. That seems REALLY dangerous. The ride leader said he & I could do a little cornering clinic to help me get confident, and he made me promise to ride a little tomorrow.

For the rest of the day, I'm gonna try to focus on the jump from 35 to 51 miles as my best. Flat or no, it's a long time in the saddle turning pedals. Thanks for listening. Long-distance healings to body & confidence deeply appreciated.

[Duck on Wheels]

Hi.
The ride leader said he & I could do a little cornering clinic to help me get confident, and he made me promise to ride a little tomorrow.

Good offer. Good advice. Get well quick! And absolutely good on you for getting back in the saddle and for doing so well on the rest of the ride!

[Grog]

I'm sorry for your fall LateLate, but happy nothing's too crushed there. Good for you to get back on the bike and finish the ride, that must have been difficult but you can be proud you did.

You certainly earned that ice cream!

Practice makes perfect. You have to go out there and try it. Maybe you can find small hills around your house where you don't feel too scared going down? Then add corners? The cornering clinic is also a great idea...

Good luck - thinking of you.

[Brandy]

http://www.tinklebelle.com/Smilies/images/alright.gif I'm sorry about the fall.

[GreenLady]

Sorry to hear about your crash; I hope the pain goes away soon.

One thing that might help with ride skills is to find a good group to ride with, people you can trust and who are willing to help (your ride leader sound like a perfect such person). Do you ever ride with some of the Philly clubs (I'm thinking BCP or SturdyGirl)? They have always been very nice, and I've learned a lot from the people on these rides.

[latelatebloomer]

Greenlady, I just joined the Lehigh Wheelmen 2 months ago and haven't met all their beginning ride leaders yet. If I'm up to it on Tuesday evening, I'll try their women-only ride. I'm very grateful to the riders who ride beside me help me out, also to the ones who just give me a big smile and tell me that I'm awesome.

I just might try the Philly clubs someday. It would be great to ride with a TE buddy.

Now awesome is going to bed, hopeful for a deep healing slumber.:rolleyes:

[tprevost]

Hi LLB,

I'm so sorry to hear about your crash. I hope you heal quickly! You have the right idea though about NOT thinking "I'm gonna crash" etc. I am a pretty nervous downhiller and sometimes I actually catch myself visualizing a fall (maybe because I kept replaying my rollerblade crash in my head afterwards -also on a downhill). BUT, the minute I catch myself doing that, I STOP and re-think the downhill and visualize a smooth clean decent and I have to say, my decending is starting to improve.

I would DEFINATELY take the ride leader up on his offer; its very cool to have that offered! I would LOVE to take a bike handling course and will be looking out for one when summer starts!

You are doing so great, don't get discouraged and keep on learning!

Tracy

[Trekhawk]

Mate - sorry to hear about the fall but 51 MILES......GOOD FOR YOU.

Yep concentrate on the positive 51 Miles rocks and getting back on the bike after that fall is hardcore.

You are so determined that I know you will get over this little hurdle.

[RoadRaven]

Well done on sealing another club ride, LateLate

Well done on having a relatively "light" crash

We all crash - and yours is the kind of crash we hope to get

Well done on getting back on the bike and finishing... that takes courage and determination. Its easy to just choose "too sore/shocked" and hail the sag wagon when you are still able to finish. And if you can finish it doesn't mess with your head the same way a DNF does.

Take care of yourself and let your DH pamper you.

[Nanci]

Great story! 51 miles is awesome! I've noticed there is a HUGE variation in people's speeds going downhill, and a lot of people who _look_ like they should just blast down turn out to be really nervous and cautious and say they hate descents- so it isn't just you. Is it the curves that get you, or are you worried on straightaways where you can see the bottom and the flat you'll be riding onto, or the next uphill? I definitely get nervous when I can't see around curves. I start slowly until I have a feel for the steepness, and keep both hands on the brakes, strong but relaxed- not in a death grip, and feather the brakes, slowing more going into the curve and releasing a little about midway through. On the straight parts, I have my pedals level, with my weight distributed equally on each foot (not on my seat!) with my thighs gripping the seat (I think this is a mountain bike descending technique, but it makes me really steady on the road, too) and when I come to a curve, I put down the pedal on the outside of the curve. That lets you keep your weight to the outside of the curve, but still be able to lean into it. If it is a very long descent, I occasionally switch which leg is forward so they stay evenly tired. I've heard that if your frame starts to shimmy, all you have to do is touch your knees to the top tube and this makes it stop- but my bike doesn't do that.

I stay more toward the center of the road- far enough to the right so if an oncoming car is over the center line they won't get me- though I stilll watch out for that, but well away from the gravelly shoulder. It isn't safe for a car to pass in a curvy descent, anyway, and they seem to respect your right to be in the road more if you aren't all squished over to the side where it looks like you want them to pass. If it's long, and I have a place like a turnout to give a car a chance to pass me safely, I will, and in the straightaways I make sure they can see around me that it's safe to go by.

I try to divide my attention evenly between watching for potholes and glass, etc., and planning out the upcoming curve. I've noticed that if I take my eyes off the road for a second, I will inevitably hit a hole, or stick, or something else that I didn't want to ride over- so I mostly watch what I am riding on.

Something else important, that a lot of people _don't_ do, is hold their line on a curvy descent. This means pick where in the road you want to be, and stay there, (when you're in a large group where people are passing) don't be drifting right and left. If you are slower, stay a bit to the right, and people can pass you, but don't allow someone to push you into an unsafe part of the road just to get out of their way, either.

That's great that the ride leader is going to give you a cornering clinic! You know what I hate, is just plain fast cornering on normal flat streets, where you have to watch out for that triangle of sand right where you want to make the turn. _That_ makes me nervous, and I just slow down so I can see- too bad if it makes me take the corner slower than everyone else. I really slow down on RR tracks, too.

You are almost at Metric Century distance now! Ice cream!!

Nanci

[latelatebloomer]

Thanks for the tips, Nancy. I wish you could take me out for a spin. Yeah, part of it is that being heavy, I pick up a LOT of speed downhill. And there is that sense that on sharp or heavily wooded corners, I have no idea what's ahead - and around here there can be livestock, wildlife, farm equipment, gawd knows. Once, trying to talk myself out of braking down a steep hill, I had a little thought about the number of deer I've seen there. So I went cautiously and good thing, because a herd of 10 made their way across, 1 or 2 at a time.

Mostly, I just have to relax.Yesterday's ride was a little over my head in terms of skills in terms of bike handling, esp in the city, and now I also understand what some people have said about the treachery of bike paths. Some quiet rides on a lonely country roads will do me good. I'll get out there this afternoon. I don't hurt too bad - sporting quite the shiner though.

[DirtDiva]

Aw, latelate. :( Sorry to hear about your fall. Hope the owies heal themselves up quickly. Well done on the 51 miles though! :)

[kelownagirl]

So what *is* a reasonable downhill road speed? I am also cautious going downhill (on the road) but not afraid. My hubby always flies way ahead of me but I don't usually go much more than 28/29 mph max. Yesterday I was riding alone and noticed I hit 32 mph so that's the fastest I've done. He's sometimes doing 38/39 mph if it's a safe area but I can't bring myself to do those speeds... Mountain biking in the hills is another story altogether. I am slowly working my way up to 10/12 mph on gravel or dirt downhills. Ugh.. Scares the %&#*$ out of me.. :eek:

[kelownagirl]

Forgot to say - sorry about your fall, LLB. Didn't mean to hijack your thread. I haven't fallen yet and I am absolutely terrified of my first fall. Still haven't gotten clipless pedals for that very reason. Hope you're feeling better...

[DirtDiva]

Something a bit slower than Warp 5. ;)

[Nanci]

LLB, someday you're going to appreciate the extra speed that weight gives you when you fly past skinny people on the downhills. It doesn't even have to be a big downhill-_and_ you keep that momentum going longer on the way back up a roller!

Speed- for me, 30 seems reasonable. I feel in control at that speed. I've recently gone my fastest speed ever- 41.something, and it was exhilarating, but nerve-wracking. I felt in control, still, but felt like my reaction time cushion was greatly reduced, so I had to be extra extra extra vigilant. But it was wonderful.

Kelownagirl- I'm terrified of falling, too. Not so much tipping over, but a real crash/fall. Hopefully, it will happen so fast and be over so fast I won't have time to worry. Tipping over from not being unclipped hurts your dignity, but that's about all. It _almost_ happened to me last Saturday when I was looking behind, looking behind, wanting to turn left, waiting for a stream of traffic to pass, finally decided I'd have to get off the road onto the dirt shoulder and wait, but I was going so slowly at that point that I _almost_ couldn't unclip. It was a miracle I got my foot out. But- you shouldn't be afraid- all you have to do is plan ahead a little and unclip and then coast nicely to a stop all ready to put your foot down. I learned on a mountain bike, so I had softer landings. Better than on the road. Plus, on the MTB, you crash all the time, anyway, so you don't have that extreme fear of falling- it's more natural.

Nanci

[Geonz]

It sounds like you're selectively scared (and you'd probably just used up your "stay focused and don't panic" nerve on the first 45 close encoiunters with speed, hills and traffic that day). If descents are your weakness, go with it and when they happen, tell people that you're going to the back... when I did TOMRV I made my name tag say "ICORNERSLOWLY" (I was grateful to have enough characters to use teh adverb!). I loved it 'cause people gave me room and said all kinds of encouraging things, and they pretty much didn't seem surprised that I descended relatively slowly, too. THey might have thought there was a whole drama... no... I *know* I can get into that freak-out lock-up mode and then it's crash time.
THe really good news for me was that last year, *twice,* things happened that should have put me over the line, and - angels didn't sing and trumpets didn't sound, but my BODY just did the right thing and corrected and righted things instead of simply preparing for the crash, when there wasn't any time to think about it and it wasn't a move I had learned or rehearse. So... there IS hope! However, I am pretty sure the reason that could happen was because I took care *not* to set up situations where I was at risk for panic mode... maybe some people should just trust themselves to do the right thing, but experience has taught me otherwise with this body-brain conglomerate; panic can feed on itself.

[Crankin]

Well, I've been riding for 5 years and I haven't gone over 32 mph. Cornering freaks me out, I feel like I have no control and my bike is moving out into the road where it shouldn't be. Straight downhills are fine; but there aren't too many of those around here. I know all the right things to do, I just can't seem to do them. This year I no longer seem to have a death grip on the brakes, and I'm getting better at feathering. But once the fear sets in, it's there. I don't care if my husband is going 45 downhill, he will wait! Besides, a lot of those people who pass me on the downhill cannot keep up with me on the climbs.

[KSH]

Sorry to hear about your spill. Taking that many spills over the past year, has to be tough.

I am sure you will do better in the future with more practice.

I will say that going FAST downhills is VERY scary to me. Especially if there is a turn at the bottom of the hill, or I don't know the road. Everyone passes me on descents, because I am using my brakes the whole time. Then, I pass them all when we go up the next hill.

Just ride your ride though and do what you feel comfortable doing. Remember, we aren't getting paid to race... this is for fun... so do what is fun.


*Soft hugs*

PS- Read my signature line. I think it fits here.