Bike Tactics

That's Jake negotiating his tricycle and doing "training" (as he calls it) on our road. His Crocs both have holes in the toes from using them as brakes.

I may not be the right guy to talk about cycling, however I do feel that I have something to contribute to the people new to the peloton. Here are my nuggets:

• while mounting the bike, don't try anything fancy without practising first


• if you train at 25kph and race at 35kph, you will get tired VERY quickly when you race


• learn to find and drink from your waterbottle without taking your eyes off the road


• reduce brake usage and learn how to feather them for going through slight corners


• gear down before you take a sharp turn or hit that steep hill


• don't rest as you reach the summit:- crest the hills, rest the descents


• open your eyes to the road, not the corner of the road


• practise high and low cadence work on the bike. On race day you can alternate depending on how your legs are feeling.

But the best piece of advice actually came from a friend of mine, Matthew, who shared this with me over a plate of pizza at the IMSA 2009 finish line before the race tent was blown away by a tempest:

RR:- How do you go so fast on the bike?

Matthew:- you must try rip the cranks off the bike.

RR:- Seriously?

Matthew:- Seriously. You must, how do I put this, try rip the cranks
off. You go really fast then. I haven't ripped my cranks off yet.

That alone taught me that maybe I wasn't trying hard enough.

Ripping the cranks off,
~RobbyRicc