Going up up up...and going down down down

This evening I participated in a Cycling Skills Clinic courtesy of Sports & Spinal Physical Therapy called "Climbing and Descending." Similar to the other clinics these folks put on --- IT WAS AWESOME!

There was so much interest in this clinic that they split the clinic into two separate days of close to 25 participants at each session. I was thrilled to have made the cut.

The clinic was led by Sonja Evers (http://www.ssptdc.com/about/our-staff-severs.asp): Sonja is the MidAtlantic Time Trial and Road Race Champion. A CAT 1 road racer, Level 3 cycling coach, professional mountain biker, and physical therapist. Yes, I was in awe. I love chicks who are kickass.

After a few brief words we were split into smaller groups. I lucked out and was in a group with only five riders --- three of us were triathlon folks. Our yoda was an elite rider from the DC Tri Club --- Janie Hayes. Sweet! She was so helpful. Janie gave us some tips, answered questions and then structured our workout around what we were all worried about --- what should our cadence be during an ascent, how best to take advantage of getting out of the saddle and how best to brake and corner turns during the descent.

We rode up and down a hilly section a couple times and each time practiced a set of skills.

Overall I did much better than I thought I would. I definitely benefited from Tuesday's at Conte's and loops at Hains Point. The best moment was being complimented by Sonja and Janie about my bike handling skills. That was clearly before i dropped my chain. I felt better when one of the other yodas fell of his bike. He was fine, but just proves that everyone is human out here.

Key things I learned:

• Anticipate when you need to brake and start slowing earlier so that you are not breaking too much (if at all) into a turn


• Don't trash your legs by being in gears that are too hard. It's better to go lower and spin more up the hill. It's not wimpy to drop down.


• As a follow-on to above, resist the urge to rock back and forth during an ascent. You are wasting energy moving sideways vs forward. The likely reason is that you are in too difficult of a gear. Drop it down and ride more smoothly.


• Anticipate what gear you need to be in as you move into the flats (this is something I definitely learned at Conte's so that you don't suddenly find yourself "just spinning")


• It's more than ok to stay in your saddle as much as you want during an ascent. It's all preference and style.