Apr 15, 2023

SLOW AND LOW LET YOURSELF GO... FASTER

MY FRIEND CALLED UP after a rather severe concussion and asked if I'd teach him some bike skills. He'd been riding his bike, crashed, somehow made it to a hospital, and then spent 2 days there...

... now he wants to get back on the bike that bit him.

He shows me the scars.

Yikes!

I don't remember anything.

Nothing?

The Garmin says I was going 23mph and immediately stopped.

If we were kids we'd laugh. He's an adult, with a career and a family. Getting back on his bike...

... is important to him.

Let's get started.

I'm somewhat shocked at the difficulty he has getting going, just clipping in and taking the first pedal stroke. There are two reasons:

He hadn't really ridden much for 20+ years, prior to the crash.
He's been on Zwift a lot (I'll get back to this).

This was going to be a challenge.

As a lifelong rider and outdoor enthusiast, it hadn't occurred to me how far most adults' abilities to balance and control their bodies when in motion could degrade. Handling a bicycle with the inherent speed, myriad obstacles would be frightening.

Could you roll off that low curb there?

It would be terrifying.

What would you do?

Here's what I did.

First we simply rode, I'd chose a desolate road with zero cars.

Keep your elbows slightly bent, your hands firm and your fingers looped around the bar.

We practiced lazy, swooping turns.

You've got to keep your outside foot down.

Things that are so automatic for me, and probably you, we don't even call them second nature. It's just the way we do it. Naturally. Every time.

Keep your chin up, you need to be looking far ahead because things happen fast out here.

Our speeds were very slow as we moved into figure 8s. Large at first, then we kept shrinking the space.

Do you feel all those muscles firing to keep you upright?

I do.

It is tiring?

It is.

That's because you are nervous and weak. We are going to fix that by mastering riding slow. Then, we can go fast.

Ok.

I could tell one leg was clearly being favored and more coordinated so I introduce the one-legged pedaling drill.

Let your right foot hang
Pedal with your left leg
There shouldn't be a dead spot
You should have constant power all the way around.

His pedaling was more like stabbing straight down.

That's very common, to have a dead spot like that.

How do I fix it?

Do this drill, first thing at the start of each ride on a flat street in an easy gear. Both legs, 1 minute each side, 3 sets.

What else?

When using both legs to pedal, imagining you are simply sliding your feet back and forth can be very helpful.

Clearly, he was having a good time. The turns were getting better, the posture better, the confidence increasing to the point...

... we rode off the terrifying curb many times.

The most impressive thing to me was his humility and openness to doing some unconventional Miyagi-like training.

We're a long way from sprinting and railing corners or joining a big group ride, but we'll get there. I'm sure of that.

I was so happy for him, and left him with these words.

Keep it fun and playful. Take your kids to the school tomorrow for some hide and seek on bikes. All that starting and stopping and tight turns will do wonders for your bike handling and confidence.

---

As for Zwift, I'm not scientist and I have zero data but I sure as heck think...

... it's a big factor in the declining handling skills of riders.

Get outside whenever possible.

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