Mountain Descents

[jennrod12]

Try this - pick one local hill (preferably one you can climb in a few minutes) and descend it over and over again in one session. Try out different techniques. What happens if I weight the outside pedal? What happens if I hug the inside of the curve, or the outside of the curve, or pick a line that varies? How about if I throw my inside knee to the outside, or hug it to the top tube? Brake early, brake late, try everything!

First of all, you'll become very comfortable with that hill, and this will increase your confidence. Second of all, you'll learn which techniques work best for you.

When you get more comfortable with the hill, bring along someone you know who descends well and try to follow their line down the hill and see what that feels like.

Good luck!

Jenn

[OakLeaf]

What happens if you hug the outside of the curve, is that you're right in the path of any car that happens to run a little wide on the oncoming side.

Try a lot of things, but please don't try that.

[RoadRaven]

You have loads of good advice...
I used to be a down-hill weenie, and still can't keep up with some of the others when I race...

But I descend in the drops, I choose a big gear so my legs don't spin, and when I brake, I feather the brakes - not hold them tight.

It takes practice to increase your confidence. But better that way than being over-confident and going too fast...

And yes, what OakLeaf says, hug curves but only on your side of the road, stay to your corners and inside the white line - always.

[jennrod12]

What happens if you hug the outside of the curve, is that you're right in the path of any car that happens to run a little wide on the oncoming side.

Try a lot of things, but please don't try that.

Good point, you have to go with what makes sense under the conditions. For me, I usually don't want to go more than about 3/4 of the way towards the outside of the lane for just that reason. It somewhat depends on visibility (and hearing if it's on a lightly traveled road, which, hopefully it would be).

Or to put it another way, each rider defines "outside of the curve" to her own comfort level. Some people will cross a double yellow line, others may only go halfway into their own lane. Traffic conditions help dictate what makes sense in any given situation.

The point is to see the difference in how you can take the turns depending on where you are in the lane. If you always hug the inside of the lane, your descending is not likely to improve to it's full potential.

Jenn