Dear editor:
It’s that time of year again. Let’s set the agenda here. Cochrane is bicycle heaven, and that’s a fact. I live here in part because I wanted to live at the base of the Big Hill. Yes, I have had great and horrific experiences on my bike here, so this time around, I thought that rather than lecture, I’d just share the list of things I include in my regular cycling mental checklist. A couple saved me my life.
1) Fit, not equipment, is key. Good equipment stays good longer, while a bad fit will cost months of rehab.
2) Be set up to handle my own problems. If I’m not ready to fix my own flat, then my plan must be to look silly. Nothing is cooler than rolling by a female with a flat and her saying, “It’s OK, I got it.” Warm gear trumps looking cool/cold.
3) Bring spares, tire levers, some kind of pump or canister, plus driver’s licence and a debit/credit card/cash. If I need a washroom then it’s appropriate to pay for a coffee. I’m not special and shouldn’t be the subject of a bad cyclist story.
4) Riding solo works too. It’s safer and more effective training. Better to take the wind and expend the extra 40 per cent effort.
5) Focus first on balance and smoothness. It’s one thing to stay upright at speed, and quite another to keep an even straight track, especially when the wind is gusting. Try to leave a straighter track than the one left before. Balance side-to-side and front to back. Chugging the shoulders is a symptom, and clenching the jaw is a reminder to back off. Back to the bit about riding solo.
6) Relax. Let the hills come to you. Riding into a 30 km/hr wind at 15 km/hr is the same as riding 45 km/hr with no wind. Relax on the tough bits, and remember that within a couple minutes of turning back, you’ll be having a lot of fun. Nothing like a tail wind and that gradual descent home to remind you how fast a human being can be. Pound it out and the knees will flair up tonight. Stay smoothest in the toughest parts.
7) When approaching the rider ahead, remember to let them know you are there, and be nice about it. Pass on the left, not the ditch side. Leave the rider ahead space – much more than on TV. They aren’t going to ride like Eddy Mercx, and you aren’t Jens Voigt. Your life-defining moment isn’t here. It’s the times when you fought your own battles with yourself on the bike. Your best ride might come this June or in five years. Here and with that other rider isn’t it.
8) Pass or follow, don’t ride beside. Chit chat is as distracting to them as it is to you. Besides, they are thinking about them and couldn’t give an honest care about you. Cool it.
9) When being passed, stay out of their wheels and keep them out of yours. There’s nothing wrong with backing off for a couple seconds, or tagging two bike lengths behind. Wheel-to-wheel racing is for top pros and Daytona 500.
10) Remember to leave the entertainment and ear buds at home. The hearing is bad enough, especially into a headwind, and it will make the difference between being caught by surprise by that upcoming vehicle and not.
11) Remember to leave the ego at home. You are here and alive because some people stopped and you didn’t have to be scooped off the pavement. Remember when you can to acknowledge those drivers. Don’t get affected when you see other riders acting imperfectly. Just stay focused on balance, breathing, that nice straight line and remember to look up and see the beauty of this part of the world.
Note that there are no training tips here. It’s not that I don’t aspire to still do special things with my cycling, but that my program is based on doing so much good stuff that the bad gets buried. Though I once competed at a high level, I found that I am more driven to do special personal rides.
Rick Ducommun
