I'm so glad you posted this as I was thinking it this morning. I yield SO much time to the field at LP because that hill just scares the crap out of me. I've probably descended it close to 20 times and it keeps getting more frightening! Everyone says - just keep doing it, but it's not working.

My palms are sweaty just typing this.
K

OK, I hate descending more than ascending! I get COLD too! (LOL am I a joy on wheels or what??)

I have worked on the descent part though. Last year I knew I was going to be doing an extremely hilly HIM. I would need those descents if I wanted to make the bike cut-off (yes, it's that bad chez moi) . I did practice a lot, and that helped, and I rode the course. That helped.

I am not sure if this is a great idea or not, but in order to instill more confidence in myself, I practiced some screaming descents on my mtb. For some reason using the heavy bike, in the upright position I felt more confident and trained myself to actually pedal hard and pick up some speed downhill. Then I tried the same hills on my road bike, and just from habit I was able to stay with the pedaling downhill. I used my computer and I was able to increase from a max speed of 28 up to 34 on the same hills.

I'm sure I am rusty from the winter and back to utter wimpiness, but just sharing what worked OK for me.

funny, keene descent has no technical challenge to it...Assuming your bike isn't a speed wobbler, I suspect your fear of going fast will diminish if you gain confidence that you can brake and stop from any speed. Suggest learning that real good, from high speed to near standstill. Learn what you have to do to stop fast and without danger, skidding, or a trip over the bars, even downhill. Then going fast is fun.

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ErgVideo.com

I was in the same boat as you a few years ago until someone said to me,"If you're gonna be dead or mangled whether you crash going 20, 40, or 60 mph." Okay, that wasn't really very comforting.
I second the opinion about having confidence with stopping/braking. I gained most of my descending confidence from riding my mountain bike that has disc wheels. The stopping power was tremendous not to mention the bike handling skills I learned from mtb. It took a few seasons to be comfortable with it.
At IMLP, the real danger is the squirrelly-ness of others on the descent. I stayed to the right if there wasn't anyone around and passed with as wide a berth as possible. I didn't put my arms/hands on the aerobars. Instead, I went into a tuck and had my hands on the brakes (just not squeezing the brakes).

Don't think about crashing. Yeah, I know, easier said than done. But do you think about wrecking your car when you drive?

For descending, try to find someone who is good at it and will let you follow them down a hill (have them go not so fast). Watch what line they take and how they look on the bike. Keep you weight back a little, pedal up on the inside of the curve, stuff like that. Then you try it. Again and again. You'll know you get decent at it when you start driving like your ride. ha

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

descending sucks, especially when the mens fly by at 50+mph. woa, it makes me nervous!

i'm forever a descending pussycat. hahahaha

I became more confident descending one I learned how to use my weight to "steer" the bike and to pick my line. DON'T look at the road right in front of you, look ahead at where you want to go. If I do this, I feel mucho better.

"Speed scares the crap out of me because I feel like I lose control"
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My number one tip from many years of motorcycle road racing:

Always look at where you want to go. If you start staring at the tree just off the side of the road, guess where you are going to go?

Good luck.

Haim

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"Sometimes you need to think INSIDE the box!" -- ME
"Why squirrel hate me?"

Okay Dokey.

1) Never get scared , it makes you tense up and lose the nice fluid movements you need to descend ( easier said than done. )

2) Greg Lemond was once heard to say that he has to physc himself out of being scared .

3) Try and get out with someone who can descend fast and safe. There are many who can descend fast but not safe. There is a big differance.

4) Find a nice hill ( not to steep , busy or too many twists and turns ) and practise just descending that and gradually gettting faster everytime .

5) Confidence is the key ( in your bike and most importanly in your self )

more to be added but gotta get back to work .

Lots of great responses here already. Much like ascending, descending is a trainable skill. The key difference is that not many people are worried about crashing when going up. ;-p


Most of the best best descenders I've ever met, and Sean Yates, one of the best descenders ever as well as holder of the TDF descent speed record attribute their skills to motorcycle riding. You're just going so much faster on a motorcycle that when you go back to riding a bicycle, everything seems easy (well... maybe not the uphill part). So my best advice to anyone who wants to improve their descending skills is to buy a motorcycle and spend a fair amount of time riding it.

If you don't have the means or desire to purchase a motorcycle, there are still lots of things you can do to become a better descender. Mountain bikers and alpine skiers will have an advantage here as the ability to pick a line is crucial to their sport. I have a buddy who doesn't roll downhill nearly as fast as I do, but who kicks my ass on every single technical descent. He's been a ski instructor for 12 years and picking lines to him is like walking to the rest of us. If you don't know how to pick a line, as suggested by others, find someone who is a good descender and follow him or her downhill. Ideally follow this person down the same hill, multiple times. Learning how to pick several lines through a corner, how to anticipate the exit point and set up for the next corner, and at times picking a suboptimal line through one corner so as to better set yourself up for the next corner are all crucial skills that great descenders have mastered. You too can learn this. It just takes practice.

On to body positioning. Assuming that you are on a road bike, get down in the drops. That is the most stable position, and affords the greatest braking power. It is also the most aerodynamic. Slide your weight rearward (mtb'ers may recall hanging the butt off the back of the saddle). Keep your pedals level (3 and 9 o clock) and keep some weight on your legs. Relax. Make sure that there is at least a slight bend in your elbows, and that nothing is "locked up". Check your jaw for tension. Look far down the road, focusing on where you want to go - not what you want to avoid. You will go where your eyes look, so staring at the wall or tree or cliff will only make you go towards it. Look at the line you want to follow, and your bike will go there. Practice these things on the flat or on a slight decline where it's safe and you feel comfortable.

There are lots of advanced cornering techniques that I'm not going to go into here, right now, but just be aware that those you're riding with may be employing other techniques - so don't get weirded out if their body position (and line through the corner) is greatly different from yours. Once you've picked your line, just relax and commit to the turn - your bike (and body) will do the rest if you let it.

Finally, remember that your front brake provides most of the braking force. Squeeze both levers firmly, but modulate the pressure such that you do not lock up a wheel. Keep your weight back, stay relaxed, and remember to look where you want to go.

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Ok , nice post from Khai.

Here is a youtube video link for a confident descender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkBIceX4Lao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okr5LFkaWb0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzwvfUXz3eM&feature=related

First video clip is a lunatic doing the superman position on his bike.

Second clip is a nice smooth descent in the alps.

Third clip is a brillant descent of Alp d huez.
Watch the cornering skills and how smooth and fluid he goes round the hairpin bends ( or switchbacks as you lot call them )
Some of the road surfaces into and out of the hairpins are a wee bit crappy , apart from that his line going into and out the corners iv very very good.

My coach helped me down Mt. Lemmon and showed me how to counter steer (?). He goes down like a banchee. I weenied my way down at about 20 mph......but then I took a Backroads trip to Tuscany last June.
The hills of Tuscany, 6k switchback descents, great roads and FANTASTIC Italian drivers helped me gain a lot of confidence. I still ride my brakes if I get up over 35 mph but that's still faster than I used to be.

i always tell myself that I take good care of my bike and I have no reason to expect that it will spontaneously implode on a descent.....but that is what pops into my mind when I go downhill.....definitely a mental thing too.

I enjoy descending immensely. I used to be a downhill ski racer though, so I'm used to screaming down the hill on pieces of equipment. Make sure your bike doesn't shudder at speeds. Get a good tightening up of everything.
I descended Mt. Lemmon last week and made it a contest of making sure my husband didn't catch me! He gives me a 3 min head start. He only caught me when I stopped to re-put my jacket on because I was cold (took it off too soon).

I agree - learn to stop safely and then just realize there's a certain amount of risk involved with even just riding a bike on the road period.

You can do it.

This is an excellent point that completely slipped my mind. I scared the crap out of myself descending Yellow Lake with a loose headset. Most definitely not recommended!

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
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I'm headed to Maui for tri camp tomorrow and will be doing lots of decending. Prime opportunity to practice. I'll be climbing Haleakala Volcano next Saturday. Might not do the down though, looooong way down and my hands will get darn tired squeezing those breaks! Lots of smaller hills though.

I also scared the crap out of myself on Yellow Lake but it was because I hit massive winds. I was getting tossed all over the road. The sand coming in to Penticton was blowing across the road and giving me a good exfoliation. Absolutely terrifying.

Thanks for all the great advice. One again: Girls Rule, Boys Drool!

(I imagine if this was the main forum I would have been picked on for doing IMLP and IMC without feeling good on descents.)

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Sa Calobra on Mallorca, the coolest descent I'll probably ever do, and this pic shows the first...quarter:


Lots of video on youtube of people descending it, this is one of the best, it's been posted here before
Ride the snake

Rider in front from about 2:22 on is ex-national/international calibre rider...if he'd been trying to go fast, the cameraman would've had a hard time staying close. Road is gloriously narrow, no centreline. Here are pics of whats at the end:


And finally, I found this story on the Haleakala Volcano trip...not sure if they have re-instated the commercial tours click (it is Oct 08 and said suspended 60days)
..and not sure if it only applies to the trips that drive you up and all you have to do is descend.

Paul

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ErgVideo.com

“I'll be climbing Haleakala Volcano next Saturday. Might not do the down though, looooong way down and my hands will get darn tired squeezing those breaks! Lots of smaller hills though.”

You will be fine. About 10 years ago I took the Cooterbob women down Haleakala and none were riders. They had a blast and the picture that was taken when we took a break is over my right shoulder as I type this. It was a great day. We started out sort of slow and I let them dictate the pace. After about 10 minutes we were rolling and I was the one getting concerned. The article that Mr. Smeulders cites (and it is probably the descending tour people) just has to be due to the law of big numbers and the American Public doing what they do best …….

Make sure you spend some time in Puna at the bottom.

I cannot help you with crosswinds at speed. They scare the crap out of me too. Best.

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