Advice on getting the most from riding with a coach?

[Gowest]

Regarding cornering - not only can and do you weight the outside pedal - you also point your knee to the inside of the turn - watch a youtube video of a pro. You also need to take the correct "line" entering and exiting. You can find info on that with diagrams on the web. also if you know a motorcycle rider - they can explain line choice to you. You should also countersteer - again look up that explanation. If you are doing 90 degree flat cornering - like in a crit you also need to have your pedals in the correct position to avoid catching your inside pedal.

Your bike has a lot to do with confidence and how it feels descending - bikes with a long wheelbase - (center to center of both wheels) corner more like a cadillac when going down hill vs a bike with a more aggressive geometry and shorter wheelbase that corners more like a sports car. When I switched from long to short it took me a long time to build back up my speed, which sometimes I still feel is lacking - but is a tradeoff for other features of the new bike.

No - fearlessness is not necessary - matter of fact I think it is a liablility. Build up to where YOU are comfortable - know where your personal limits are and respect them. Evaluate the road conditions - every road and day is different. Be safe - not sorry - I have seen some bad wrecks on descents ala a dog, gravel or too much speed.

Oh, and most of us can't descend as fast as a man - they weigh more and have smaller brains...ha ha.

debi

[Jiffer]

I had a professional coaching experience last fall, my only one. I have no idea how your coach will work with you. This is what mine did. He put my bike on a trainer and had me warm up and then had me ride as hard as I could for five miles (totally not fun on a trainer .. much harder than on a road). He observed my riding style, cadence and a bunch of other stuff.

My goal was simple, to get faster, particularly on hills. He gave me some tips on pedaling efficiency, position on the bike, breathing, etc. We talked about my goals, what is "realistic" for me like how many times a week I can reasonably ride, what types of rides I do and how I can incorporate training into what I was already doing, like doing intervals while on a weekly club ride.

Then I went home. He came up with a training schedule for me and mailed it to me with descriptions of how to do each ride or floor exercise he wanted me to do. (Didn't do the floor exercises. SO not part of the "realistic" part of the training plan for me!!!)

This was supposed to be about an 8 week plan and, if I continued with training, I'd come back in and do it again. See how I improved on the trainer and get another 8 week training plan.

So, that was my experience. Yours could be completely different. Just think before hand what your goals are. Write down every question you can think of. Your coach will help you figure out how to best use the session(s).

Good luck!

[out_spokin']

Thanks everyone! I committed to the coaching last night and now am waiting for someone to get back to me to work out the details.

Good ideas here. I especially like "write down everything you can think of" -- I definitely have the problem where I can remember the top couple of things and a few of the less important things, but forget a few in the middle I wanted.

I would hate the 5 miles on the trainer! I imagine we may do a little bit that way, but much of the stuff I'm thinking about (hills, corners, etc) would be much tougher without actually getting outside. I'm starting to really look forward to this when before all I felt was confused and intimidated. Yay TE!

[Miranda]

Your bike has a lot to do with confidence and how it feels descending - bikes with a long wheelbase - (center to center of both wheels) corner more like a cadillac when going down hill vs a bike with a more aggressive geometry and shorter wheelbase that corners more like a sports car. When I switched from long to short it took me a long time to build back up my speed, which sometimes I still feel is lacking - but is a tradeoff for other features of the new bike.

Oh, and most of us can't descend as fast as a man - they weigh more and have smaller brains...ha ha.

debi

Thx for chiming in on cornering. I never thought about the bike part, re: the length. I got a new bike last season that was the correct size for me, with my other bike being 2 frames sizes bigger. What a difference. But, yes, trying to adjust to the responsiveness and weight of the new bike is a big diff. On the men (sorry, no offense to our wiser men friend here)... well, this is true... my riding partner and I will joke about trying to yell out "gravel" in group rides to only have a guy go flying around you to pass, corner quicker, and somehow deaf to heads-up on gravel.