CONTENTS:

1. SPINNING
   

2. STAYING IN CONTROL
   

3. ABORTING YOUR BIKE
   

4. STRETCHING IN MOTION
   

5. PROPULSION SCALE
   

6. 
   

SPINNING

High cadence with low effort will enable you to ride for longer each day, and make the day after easier.  Your muscles don’t work as hard so you can recover faster even though you may have ridden for hours.  If you are an experienced rider you will already understand this concept, but you too need to be aware of the different feel spinning has on a loaded bike.

Balance control comes from weight shifting the torso and head, and/or by exerting a push through either pedal.  Although it will feel a little weird at first pushing against less resistance when spinning, a more noticeable issue is that because you are exerting less pressure on the pedals you have to develop better balance via your core muscles fine tuning where you move your trunk. (For a simulation exercise try kneeling on a big exercise/Swiss ball IN A CLEAR & SAFE ENVIRONMENT!) This is most significant at slower speeds trying to maintain balance of the loaded bike.

Engage what gear? Ride in one to two lower a gear than what you would on an empty bike on a non-trek ride.  In some situations you have no choice but to crank on the pedals for a period of time.  That’s ok, just don’t do it all day.

STAYING IN CONTROL

Early decisions about speed for the conditions and a keen eye for the surface will help loss of control, but sometimes there is no avoiding that shakey, fear inducing feeling.

If traveling a lot of tracks, you are going to have little episodes of loss of control thanks to the surface and your speed.  At these times do nothing abrupt with steering or braking and just try to hold your course and slow a bit until you get that micro-opportunity to correct both line and speed.

Weight shifting at these times is probably your best option.  Shift your pelvis or torso to help guide the bike but do so without standing up as you want your center of gravity to remain low. 

With speed wobbles, shift your weight back and keep low and brake as best you can until they fade.  You want to remove the weight from the handlebars or risk going over them. 

Keep in mind that tyre pressure can also be a factor when it comes to keeping control - higher tyre pressure on harder roads, lower pressure on softer surfaces.  This is more of a traction variable and is not as easy to control as choosing a good path or having the right speed.

Loss of control, like many things, adheres to the adage ‘prevention is better than cure’.  If you can’t stay in control then you’ll have to abort your bike.

ABORTING YOUR BIKE

So like I said in the “PLANNING HILLS” section - If you have a good plan then you won’t have a damaged bike or have to reload everything.  And like I just said above - prevention is better than cure - see it coming and avoid it altogether.

SLOW SPEEDS: If you are traveling where the hills are steep then you will get some practice.  Most of the time you want to fall off when going up at a slow speed.  You want what I call somewhere between a controlled fall and an uncontrolled dismount, which involves you getting a foot down on the ground and then sort of hurdling/hopping off and away from the bike, letting it drop down as you go.  If you can think of it (!), give a sharp tug on both brakes just before you let go of the handle bars.  This seems to help both you and the bike separate easier.  Seriously.

FAST SPEEDS: You are on your own, and you don’t have much time.  I have had the pleasure of not performing this maneuver to date.  Fingers crossed.  You want to aim for a long landing spot that is clear of debris and solid objects, and you want to be fairly sure your bike is not following you.  A tuck and roll is better than a splay and slide.

Post fall, you have some things to attend to in either scenario.  Do a self check and if all is clear then do a bike check.  If you heard something breaking, you might want to do a gear check as well.  It is often a good idea after a big fall to reload the bike from scratch anyhow, just so you can get a better look at the bike and see what might not be obvious on first check (bent rack, broken spoke, loose straps, bent wires etc.).

STRETCHING IN MOTION

When you have been riding for an hour or three you can get a bit stiff in the legs and back.  This happens more in the longer flatter stages (in a rhythm and no need to stop) than the steep or rugged stages (you are on/off the bike more and mixing the effort up a bit).

There are a few stretches that you can do without stopping that only require a short bit of open smooth road and a bit of extra balance:

1. Calves (gastroc-soleus) - stand while rolling along and 95% all your weight through one pedal, letting that heel drop towards the ground, and tilting bike towards opposite side slightly.  You will feel the stretch down the back of your lower leg.
   

2. Front of hip/pelvis (hip flexors) - Standing position but keep weight on both pedals with cranks horizontal (one foot forward one foot back) torso upright and slide pelvis forward towards handlebars.  You will feel the stretch in front of your hip joint.
   

3. Thighs (quads) - Standing OR seated position but holding same side ankle with same side hand, bringing knee hip and shoulder into one line from a side view. REQUIRES EXTRA BALANCE!  You will feel the stretch down the front of the thigh.
   

4. Upper back (thoracic spine) - Put the fingers of each hand same side on the shoulders against the base of your neck (all fingers pointing down the spine).  Try to reach far enough to hook your finger tips over the fleshy part of your trapezius muscles. Your elbows should be parallel to each other and pointing forward and down slightly.  Raise your elbows slightly, tuck your chin down and back, and pull gently forward with all fingers. You will feel the stretch around the base of your neck and top of your back.
   

5. Shoulders (pecs) - lock your hands together behind your back with straight arms, pull your shoulders back and shoulder blades together and down.  You will feel the stretch around the front of the shoulders.
   

Hold these a few times for 20-30 seconds, OR however long you can balance OR whatever the length of the smooth road permits.  These stretches, variations, and additional stretches are also a good idea off the bike, using tightness or discomfort as your guide for where to focus. 

Keep good posture cues in the back of your mid at all times on/off the bike.

Getting your bike fitted by someone who knows what they are doing is a good idea.  You are going to be on that bike a long time and you really want to be efficient and avoid injury/posture problems.

PROPULSION SCALE

See the journal entry for Week 3, Thursday April 5th, titled:

“THE MJJ GRADIENT KEY FOR TOURING MTB USERS”