A Guide for Beginner (and Experienced!) Cyclists, to the Art and Practice of Cycling. Becoming Proficient, Fit, and Happy on your bike.
For the past few weeks we’ve been
concentrating on a laundry list of skills. The things we’ve been discussing are useful or essential for
a new (or a more experienced) cyclist.
The thing with most of these skills is that they can be learned fairly
quickly, but it takes a long time to master
them. Another thing about skills,
if they are not used and consciously applied and corrected, they tend to
deteriorate.
It is for this reason that
professional pilots are required to
undergo “recurrency training” on a regular basis. Or, for that matter, consider a major league baseball
player. Guess what that individual
spends the most time working on? That would be throwing the ball,
catching the ball, batting practice, and running the bases. The basics. All the rest of the intricate arcana of
the game amount to little if the fundamental skills are not honed and sharpened.
Here’s the best suggestion set I
can offer for bringing those skills to a fine sharp level, and then for
constantly improving them. It can be summed up in one word. Practice.
At the beginning of our cycling “career,”
we should set aside at least two practice sessions each and every week. These can be done as part of the warm
up for a ride, or as part of the cool down or they can be stand-alone
exercises. But schedule two separate one-hour sessions
each week.
Schedule it! Mark the “Skills Days” on your
calendar, and make a solid commitment that, regardless of what else might be missed, the “skill drills”
will be done!
Plan it! Lay out a program. Pick two skills for each one-hour
session, and work on those for a half hour each. That means that you will actively work and rehearse four
individual skills per week.
How long? Expect this initial skill practice to
go on for six months. Then
establish the concept that you will revisit and re-practice skills on a regular
basis, for as long as you ride a bike.
After that initial six month period, you may find that skill drills
frequency can be reduced, but a wise cyclist will always be scheduling time for skill work, and planning which skills
to refresh.
At first, do it alone! Group participation skill drills don’t
work out so well. Of course it’s a
good idea to get a proficient cyclist or coach to critique your skill work, but
the bulk of the work is best done solo.
“So when do I get
to go out and ride?” Good
question! Along about now, you are
beginning to wonder if you’ll ever venture out of the neighborhood. (Likely, you’ve already done so.) That’s okay. Start making some forays out into the world. Keep them brief, and for now, avoid
high traffic areas.
Don’t worry, we are going to go out into the world, and
we’ll deal with how to do so in safety and in style.
Next Week: Traffic
Survival 101
~//~
This series
began with the post on Tuesday, 19 June 2012. It is intended to continue for three years. Each week, we will discuss exercises,
skills, practices, and activities designed to bring the new (or “experienced”)
rider a high level of cycling competence.
We’ll address common problems, and (always)
stress safe practice.
~//~
A Note on Timing: This series uses Mid-June as the
starting point of the “Cyclists Year.”
We do this because this is the time that most folks decide to start
riding. If you are following this
guide, you can “adjust” the timing to fit your personal “first three
years.” Do note that some of the
posts will concern weather and seasonal changes. When that starts to happen, just swap the “months” around to
fit your personal timeline.
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