Cycling downhill to some people comes easy to others it can be terrifying and stressful. Causing them to lose time and not to enjoy the ride as much. Some people can got down a hill over 40mph without a problem, while others find that hitting anything over 25mph makes them hit the brakes.
Here are some tips on improving your downhill cycling:
1. Is your road bike setup up correctly, riding a bike that has not been setup correctly will make a decent all the more difficult, If you are putting all your weight onto the handle bars then the bike is not setup correctly, if you are unsure about this, go to a your local cycling shop to ask about this, it is very important that the bike is set up correctly for your use.
2. When you are descending try to put all your weight onto the pedals. Do not have all your weight on the saddle; this will give you more control of the bike on descents.
3. This may sound silly, but keep pedalling; if you are on a long cycle and you stop pedalling because you reach a hill you will lose other cyclists and more than likely your legs will freeze up at the bottom of the hill. If you have ever done a triathlon and got the bike for the interchange to the running part you will know what I mean! Even if the hill is very steep keep your legs moving, even if you are a not going to fast, as the speed part will come when you feel confident doing descents and you are relaxed.
4. Try and relax, hold the handlebars gently, try to not cease up of you will just become more nervous and the bike will probably shake, also try and keep your breathing nice and relaxed. Remember if you are tense and stressed with will enjoy it less.
5. Try not to focus on the road immediately in front of you, as it will seem like you are doing a 100mph, look further ahead and it will not seem a fast.
6. Do not treat descents as a free wheel session, you can lose a lot more time on a decent than an uphill and remember if you cycle 10mph slower than the rest on a decent this will mean if you meet an uphill you will need to make that up again on the hill, a few of these will soon have you worn out and rapidly dropping of the pace. I know I would.
And most of all try and enjoy yourself as that is what is all about, if it was not fun then their would be no point in doing it. But sometimes we have to persist with little issues until we master them, take in these tips and you will soon be passing me on that hill!
Paul is a keen runner,cyclist and swimmer, he likes to take part in triathlons and loves to write about sport, Fitness and technology, he has been writing since 2007, you can see his new website on http://www.aquaspheregoggles.com/ which he reviews and details aquasphere goggles for swimmers.
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