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My wife is looking to do her first IM in 2016 but she is not comfortable on the bike. Part of that is her fit (which we will be addressing soon) and part of that is her discomfort in riding hills. Not the uphill part, the downhill portion. Anytime she gets over 25 MPH she is white knuckling the handlebars or riding the breaks.
From a schedule perspective, CDA is the perfect race. She works 2 days a week so with CDA being in late June she could train through the school year and then make that trip our family vacation while missing very little to no time with our children (this is very important to her).
Her concern is the hills on this course. Could anybody give an accurate portrayal of the hills at CDA and/or any advice as to how she could get comfortable at higher speeds? It is purely a fear thing for her.
I would also welcome other alternatives for an IM or ideas about half IM's to do in preparation. IMFL would be a good course but training through the summer might be a deal breaker for her.
For background we live near Chicago and have no hills of any consequence to practice on.
Thanks.
I'll interested in this too. I signed up for IMCDA in 2015 and suck at descending. I'm in MN and it is flat as a pancake here too.
The good thing about CDA is that the hills are straight and don't have any unmanageable turns at the bottom...off hand, I can only think of one that has any turn at the bottom and that's on the return leg of the short out-and-back. I don't think I ever hit the brakes on that course other than the couple of sharp turns in town. The hills are long, but not overly steep, so it's a race where she could easily control her speed as opposed to the Keene descent out of Lake Placid; maybe it's just because of the terrain on each side, or maybe all the other bikes, but I'm always glad when that descent is over.
As far as tips about being at high speed, other than finding a hill and practicing descending repeats, I can't think of anything. White-knuckling the bars is definitely NOT helping.
ETA: With any pedaling at all, she's still going to push 40-ish mph, but in a straight line. The hills are long enough she can get well over 50 if she wants, but that doesn't sound like it's on her list.
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triflorida: Oct 1, 14 10:35
The hills on the CDA course are long and steady, from my recollection there are two long climbs per lap and a fair amount of rolling terrain. The descents aren't technical at all, very smooth and straight, but they are very fast. At least one of those is a "no pass zone." I don't really see an issue with her just braking to keep speed down, they aren't overly steep, but she will likely have people backing up behind her in the no pass zones.
As far as improving confidence I don't really have any advice other than more time in the saddle.
I understand her descending fear. For me, it had to do with feeling like I was not in control. I still hate the Keene descent in Placid, but with a lot of practice, I've become better at going downhill. I'm not not reckless, but can do it better.
If she decides to do CdA, definitely more time practicing downhills will help. If she can follow someone she trusts, that will be very beneficial. She can see the line he chooses and learn a lot from that. Also, not being afraid to pedal helps you maintain feeling like you're in control of your bike. There are some cool youtube videos to watch too.
Thank you for all of the responses. Keep them coming. I really appreciate the insight. Not sure how she will handle the thought of 40 MPH but we will see...
1. Get a good fit
2. Remove speedometer
3. Hed to Mississippi river valley (west WI has some decent hills)
4. Ride up, ride down, repeat ( also letherride the hills alone)
I did CdA this year, and I am generally very comfortable descending at speeds in the mid-40's. The wind was a beast this year though and was whipping me around on the descents. Just two days before we rode the smaller hill on the first out and back and we very comfortably hit 45 on it with no problems. On race day with the swirling winds. I was never comfortable getting above the upper 30's. I spent way more time than I even imagined possible on the brakes, and even at 37/38 I was more nervous than I've been on a descent. The second out and back has 2 large climbs and a 3rd shorter climb and only 1 major decent on the out portion, but has 3 very fast descents (2 of which are a little over 2 miles long) on the in.
The climbs aren't terribly steep, just long, I live in a dead flat area and between riding what little hills I could and changing my cassette to include a 28, I had more than enough legs to get up the hills with a steady cadence between 85-90. Good Luck to your wife.
They are not bad. I used them to "answer nature's call" last year. Just make sure she stays off the rumble strips, or bad things will happen.
Buy powerful brakes with excellent modulation...I like the old Bontrager Speed Limits but have had good luck with Shimano Dura Ace brakes and I'm a big dude. Make sure she is comfortable applying pressure to her brake levers. If she has small hands you might want to look around at different shapes and sizes of levers. Brake pads should be inspected and distance from the wheel should be adjusted to where she is comfortable with them. If you are deciding on wheels I'd stick with something with an aluminum braking track.
If money is no object buy a road bike with disc brakes and slap some aero bars and a forward facing seat post on it.
Other than that practice makes perfect and that includes in the rain and wind.
Good luck.
I ride the CDA course often and on the two bigger descents you can easily peg 40 mph so for her safety, as well as the other athletes, she should get VERY comfortable with a fast descent if she wants to race this course. One of my observations about this year's race was less confident riders who rode their brakes down these descents - especially the final one which was also a no pass zone - put themselves and other riders in great danger as faster riders would come flying over the top of the hill and then as the road curved they'd either have to try to come to a screeching halt, or, more-often enter the lane with actual cars to avoid collisions. The answer cannot be breaking - it needs to be gaining confidence on the descent which comes from practice on hills in all types of wind and weather so no matter what happens on race day - you're set.
Picking a course that better matches her bike handling - including descent skills - would give her a much better Ironman experience.
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TriLH: Oct 1, 14 14:49
As others have said, you can get fast on the descents but they aren't twisty or technical at all, does she ride a time trial or a road bike? If she is not super confident descending most people feel more comfortable on a road bike
IMCdA is a great choice for a first IM - that's where I did my first in 2010.
Hills on the bike: I remember them more as rollers than steep hills, but I live in the foothills of Denver, so my perception might be skewed. Plenty of time to get more comfortable descending before June. Maybe you can plan some time in WI to train? I think the hills around Madison are probably similar to CdA.
Good luck to her!
Out on a training ride two years ago right at the bottom my dad hit them. He stayed upright but launched his bottles. 30 feet away.