Cycling Downhill - Road Cyclist
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dinae1
Posts: 10 Member
I'm an adult female that learned how to ride as an adult, but I can't help feel nervous about cycling downhill. I don't know the exact origin, but it comes from childhood. Is there any adult cyclist like me out there? How did you get rid of that anxiety? It's supposed to be fun, but if it's a one mile/technical downhill, I have to stop myself to get composure.
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I lost my downhill confidence last year due to a high speed crash on a century ride - in dappled sunlight didn't see a combined sunken drain and pothole and front wheel flicked to full lock when I was doing 30+mph downhill. Fastest I've even gone from upright to face-plant!
What has helped regain at least most of my confidence was doing hill repeats. Gradually working my speed and lean angle back up on a road that becomes more and more familiar with each up/down circuit. In my case the iconic Box Hill in Surrey was great for a variety of turns from slow hairpins to fast bends to high speed straight blasts.
The other thing that helped is going back to my previous experience as an advanced motorcycle riding coach - use your eyes to guide the bike where you want to go and don't stare at what you are scared of hitting (because you will go where you look...).
Try to keep it smooth, loose arms, relaxed hands, progressive use of brakes (not grabbing a big handful and upsetting the bike). Practice, practice, practice.....3 -
I too have had my share of crashes whilst downhill riding (also road riding. and single track riding. just a lot of crashing for this girl lately). I think there is a lot to be said for being familiar with the terrain as well. The more you ride it, the safer you'll feel as you'll know where to look for all the little nicks and crannies ahead of time. As the reply posted above says... practice, practice, practice! Good luck!0
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What has helped regain at least most of my confidence was doing hill repeats. Gradually working my speed and lean angle back up on a road that becomes more and more familiar with each up/down circuit. In my case the iconic Box Hill in Surrey was great for a variety of turns from slow hairpins to fast bends to high speed straight blasts.
The other thing that helped is going back to my previous experience as an advanced motorcycle riding coach - use your eyes to guide the bike where you want to go and don't stare at what you are scared of hitting (because you will go where you look...).
Try to keep it smooth, loose arms, relaxed hands, progressive use of brakes (not grabbing a big handful and upsetting the bike). Practice, practice, practice.....
^^^ THIS ^^^
confidence comes with familiarity - it's just down to practice.
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When I was a kid, my brother taught me that the key to down-hilling on a bike or motorcycle is feeling comfortable and in control. This is more important than speed or your performance compared to others. So as you tackle each descent, just focus on being relaxed and confident. Over time, you'll get more comfortable with the speed.0
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3 years ago, I moved into the French Pyrenees mountains from the Netherlands (which is rather flat). I always loved cycling in the mountains, but now suddenly there is no flat anymore. I had to get to grips with descending, since that is half of my distance here, always... (by the way I am 57 years, and I was uncomfortable with descending all my life).
So, I got on YouTube and watched videos on the technique of taking corners descending: break before the corner, slow-in, fast-out. I started to take every descent slowly and talked to myself as if I was coaching myself through the turns and twists.
I also bought a road bike with disk brakes and wider tires. This all gave me confidence and with confidence comes a more relaxed attitude to descending, which gives you more confidence and so on.
The last trick is knowing the road ahead, so redoing the same descents and really see it as a training.
Now, I am used to the speed and enjoy the descents as much as I enjoy the climbs.1
