I gots my Descending Mojo back!

One of the biggest changes to my riding after my bike crash last year was that I became a tentative descender.

I've always enjoyed descending, and over time I became pretty good at it. Up until right before my crash I'd only ridden Rivendells which are rock-solid descending bikes. Then I got my MidLife Crisis Bike, my lovely titanium Lynskey, and proceeded to crash it on a descent 10 days later. I was off my bike entirely for about 3 months, recovered well and gradually got back in the groove. I didn't remember anything about the crash, but once I started riding for real again I realized I wasn't having fun on descents.

I wasn't being fearful, exactly, although there were some descents early in year's Death Ride training that made me wonder if I was devolving from tentative to fearful.

And, face it, half of the Death Ride is descending. While some people take solace from that fact, I was starting to wonder if that would be my big obstacle. Ridiculous, but true.

Well, I'm happy to say I done gots my Descending Mojo back!

Here's how:

1. For starters, I abandoned my RetroGrouch sensibilities and switched out the bar-end shifters I originally put on my Lynskey to those newfangled :D brake/shift levers. I went whole hog and got the nifty new Ultegra carbon levers, which look very nice indeed (I always disliked the look of brifters, but these actually look nice). They took me a bit of time to get used to, but I really like them now. There are times it's nice to not to have to take a hand off the bar to shift, especially on bumpy descents (which could have contributed to my crash in the first place; but no-one was with me at the time and I don't remember it, so we'll never know).

2. Probably the single most important change was switching out the Shimano pads that came with my brakes for Kool Stop brake pads. The Shimano pads didn't brake all that well, and over time they performed even worse, which could be why I felt less secure descending over time. I felt much more confident in my descending almost immediately after switching to Kool Stops.

3. The icing on the cake is that I'm now very flexible. Soon after I stopped wearing the back brace I took up yoga to help strengthen my back and regain some flexibility. I'm not going to classes right now, but I've kept up with it at home. I can now lay my palms flat on the floor in a forward bend, and after a few moments I can even bring my nose to my knees. That creeps Lee out, which is half the fun. So now I can very easily ride way down in the drops, which I wasn't able to do before. That makes a big difference in stability and security while I'm descending.

So there you have it. I's a happy camper.

Woohoo! That's wonderful.

Awesome Jo! So glad you've gotten more flexible too. I think it makes a huge difference.

Veronica

that's pretty amazing!

I'm impressed - and really glad you recognize the importance of the skill for the death ride.

I've also struggled on and off with bad "descending head" - where I just lose confidence. Having had a bad bicycle crash and an almost identical motorcycle crash (both in left turn switchbacks) didn't help - and I will always take a left turn more slowly than a right. My old standby trick is singing (quietly to myself so as not to ruin anyone else's day :rolleyes: ). That occupies the part of your brain that otherwise might be freaking out and really can help. (This is a trick I learned from a MTB clinic with Jackie Phelan.)

Yay for mojo...Jo! :D Get it?! Mojojo? I crack myself up.

When I read the title of your thread it immediately attracted me, cause that's how I've described my descending in my own brain this year ... like I've lost a little bit of my descending mojo. For me it's "just a little" and I'm not really sure why. For the most part I am very good at the descents, which helps make up for my lack of climbing ability. People pass me on climbs and I pass them on descents (sometimes). Half the time they're not even pedaling and I just don't even get that mentality! That's when it's "easy" to pedal and gain some speed (if you have a gear, depending on your speed).

My friend, who is a much better climber than me, calls me a descending animal. If I can't pedal, I'm often in a tucked position with butt out of the saddle to make the most of the aerodynamics. I am typically pretty fearless on descents, but since I took December off from riding and started riding again in January, sometimes I just don't feel quite as confident in my descending as I used to. I didn't crash or anything, but I think maybe that's part of it. I really don't WANT to crash ... and have heard enough stories about crashes and seen the results ... so I can only assume that something hit home and put a little fear of crashing in me. I still hear the words of a non-cycling friend, who heard about the speeds I descend sometimes saying, "Aren't you afraid of crashing?" Well ... now that I have THAT stuck in my brain I do!

I did get a lighter bike a couple of months ago, and lighter means less sturdy on descents, but my "slightly less mojo" started before I got that bike. There have been times this year that I just crushed a big descent, and times that I found myself backing off and slowing down. I definitely hate the wind. If it's windy, I am WAY more cautious. And if the road is particularly bumpy and/or unfamiliar ... but that should be normal for everyone. I don't know, maybe it's a good thing that I'm being a little more cautious over all. Maybe it's God tapping on my shoulder saying, "Slow down a bit Jen. I need you on earth a while longer!"

Funny side story ... Hubby and I were talking with some friends about descending, after he did Ride Around the Bear (Big Bear, CA) where it's like 11,000 feet of climbing, all in the front and a SUPER long descent at the end. A friend asked, "What a bout brakes? Do you go through a lot?" (Wondering if he burns out his brakes and has to replace them in the middle of a descent, I guess!) His reply was, "Oh, I don't take breaks." (Getting brake confused with break). Finally I jumped in and clarified, "He doesn't use his brakes!" Then he finally figured out what she was asking and confirmed, "Oh! Brakes! Yeah, I don't use brakes." To which she was horrified, of course! Thinking of it like a car, that has to keep it's speed down. But of course he does use brakes when necessary, but we're talking a long descent with fairly mild turns, so there really wouldn't be a lot of need to slow yourself down, especially when he was trying to break the time record on this ride, which ... he did. :D

By the way, when I switched to compact handlebars, which hubby got me for my birthday last year, it made a big difference in my ability to be in my drops. I could actually reach the brakes and shifters and feel more confident. I started using them all the time after that.

I never thought about flexibility with being down low in the drops, but it makes sense. I guess I'm naturally pretty flexible. I never even realized it until I had three different people tell me I was! The guy that did my bike fit, who had me lay on my back to see how far he could push my leg toward my head ... and then a yoga instructor, when I tried yoga for the first time ... and then my massage therapist. It still kind of shocks me when someone tells me I'm very flexible. :o That's so cool that you are getting more flexible and seeing the results on the bike. Maybe I'll have time to do more yoga this summer. I only did it twice. Too much in my schedule to fit it in more.

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Originally Posted by Jiffer

By the way, when I switched to compact handlebars, which hubby got me for my birthday last year, it made a big difference in my ability to be in my drops. I could actually reach the brakes and shifters and feel more confident. I started using them all the time after that.

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Good point. Early on I was planning to switch my handlebars to more compact ones as well, but at this point I don't think it'll be necessary, I'm pretty comfy in the drops right now with my current setup, and I can reach the brake levers easily.

It's really neat how it all seems to be falling into place for me, finally. MP can attest to the fact that just a few weeks ago I was seriously thinking of throwing in the towel on the whole Death Ride thing. She gave me a great pep talk and let me know it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't go for it this year, or if I scaled back on the training and only aimed for a few passes rather than all five.

That took a lot of pressure off me, and put me in a much better mindset. I had a couple of really fun rides after that, followed by a very successful very epic training ride. It really is mostly mental!

But good brake pads don't hurt either. :cool:

OK. When we traveled to Ca. for our two rides we did there last month, I was, of course, not prepared gearwise for the climbs, which I guess is at least understandable, but the DESCENTS were hair raising. I chugged up the hills, heart rate monitor beeping alarmingly, cursing life and thinking that falling over would be far less painful. Then I got to the top and was terrified. I was passed by the fit, the unfit, the elderly, children on tricycles, and a man on a burro. Well, ok, no burros, but everyone else passed me. My hands hurt from holding the brakes, and my bike, I am sure, was ready to kill me (I projected my horse experience on to it and could hear myself yelling at my students to "LET GO OF HIS MOUTH!!"). I was grateful each time to get to the bottom of the descent and start another climb (until I got to the middle of that one...and so on).
So, of course, this is all coming from lack of experience here in Texas. There are no descents here. Oh, yeah. I can whizz down one of our little hills at 34-35 mph, but that was NOTHING in comparison to the crazy nuts grade descents I faced there.
We are going back in October for the gran fondo in Santa Rosa. I know I face humiliation of my lack of descending skills.

I had to pick myself up off the floor....jobob has brifters!!!! :rolleyes:

Yay on getting your mojo back, you are going to kick azz on the Death Ride. ;)

Wonderful news Jo!
Look forward to hearing some ride reports.:)

Good for you! I know that I'm a very cautious descender, and I'm really working on it. (Especially since I'm spending every day off climbing up in the mountains - for every climb, there's a descent to practice on before my big trip to Colorado.) I found that singing definitely helps.

On the bike I'm building up for this trip, I put on new shifters (the new 2010 Campy design) that's easier to reach the brakes from the drops. But, how does one, after years of descending on the hoods, transition down to the drops? I think about it and can't even imagine feeling stable enough. Do you try it on a gentle grade first to build up to the steep stuff?

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

But, how does one, after years of descending on the hoods, transition down to the drops? I think about it and can't even imagine feeling stable enough. Do you try it on a gentle grade first to build up to the steep stuff?

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Well, in my case, it just happened. I know that's a non-answer. :rolleyes:

I always descended on the hoods as well, which worked well with my previous set-up; the brake-only levers worked fine from the hoods.

But once I changed from bar-end shifting to the Ultegra dual shift-brake levers, braking from the hoods didn't work nearly as well for me, so I had no real choice but to start braking from the drops. It wasn't particularly easy for me to get used to that, and was a source of a lot of my descending issues. This was also back when the Shimano pads were still on my brakes, so I was not a happy descender.

The switch to the Kool Stop pads and the astonishing (for me) discovery that I could easily get way down into the drops and brake/descend well from there happened almost simultaneously.

Although I'm pretty sure were it not for the confidence boost the Kool Stop pads gave me, the rest wouldn't have happened.

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Originally Posted by jobob

The switch to the Kool Stop pads and the astonishing (for me) discovery that I could easily get way down into the drops and brake/descend well from there happened almost simultaneously.

Although I'm pretty sure were it not for the confidence boost the Kool Stop pads gave me, the rest wouldn't have happened.

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One of my happiest descending was on a trip that I had the Kool Stops on my bike. I attributed it to the bike (Ti Colnago) but you know, it could have been the brake pads. The bike I'm building up could use new pads. Might as well go Kool! :)

hey jobob,

i just wanted to thank you for sharing your tips on getting over descending fears. I crashed last year, and I too am having lots of trouble with getting my mojo back. I'm not much fun to ride with anymore, as i get left behind on long descents, and i feel so bad holding people up. I am going to get some of the kool stops and I hope that will help me. I just got a new fit that makes being in the drops more comfortable but descending in them is still a little scary for me. i know it's about time for new brakes, especially since i've been riding them more fiercely since my crash, so knowing that these are an option gives me some hope for getting over my fear, since it helped you.

JoBob- This is such great news! And, as you say- descending is very much a part of the Death Ride. Glad to hear you had a "little talk" with the infamous MP- grandest of coaches around here!

My take on the drops- I have discovered that riding in the drops MOST of the time has given me more power, speed, and confidence. I had noticed a couple of people in our bike club (one who was a state champion a couple of years ago- Laurie Fenech) ride in the drops all the time. I figured they must be onto something so I started doing it this past year as well. One of my bike buddies (he also builds bikes) says that when you are in the drops you have MORE control and you are better balanced. Jobob's post confirms this once again for me.

I rode almost the entire Cinderella ride in the "drops" against a mean wind that wouldn't stop. At the end, I was tired, but not sore, PLUS I pulled others most of the time. Again, I felt more in control against the wind.

So, my advice- learn to ride in the drops. Bike fit is important here and, as JoBob and Veronica both say, flexibility helps as well. I do a lot of stretching as well as weight lifting which I know has made a big difference.