Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

The “Technique” Ride

01.14.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

I was chatting with a friend about biking the other day, and he asked what rides I’d done lately.

“Well, yesterday I did the ‘technique’ ride,” I said.

He looked confused, and asked what I meant. I told him that once a week, I do a ride where I don’t worry about speed, or training, or endurance, but instead I try to improve my technique on the bike.

Lately, I’ve been concentrating on three things: cadence, pedaling in a circle, and cornering.

I used to work exclusively on cadence. When I ride the Veloway, I try to keep it at 90 rpm or above. That might mean I’m using some fairly easy gears on some stretches of the route, but that doesn’t matter. I’ve found that getting used to pedaling in a high cadence makes me faster, improves my endurance, and makes it easier for me to draw on my reserves if I’m starting to flag on a long ride. But recently, I’ve caught myself ignoring cadence, and mashing the pedals. I’ve gotten a little slower. So it’s time to get it back. Most of the time, I maintain my 90 cadence in the small ring. I can do it in some of the easier gears on the big ring, but by using the small ring, I don’t worry about my speed — just cranking those pedals fast enough.

When climbing hills, or pushing to catch up to the pack on the flat, I always try to remember to pull up on the pedals. That uses the big thigh muscles to generate power. But two summers ago, I discovered that pedaling in a circle accomplishes the same thing, and the process is much smoother. But it’s really easy to forget that, or to get lazy, and the next thing you know, you find yourself mashing down on the pedals, instead of applying power on the upstroke. So during the “technique” ride, I constantly check that I’m pedaling in a circle.

Then there’s cornering. There’s no real secret to this. But over the past year, after a few crashes, I found myself entering corners with a lot less bravura than I used to. I noticed that I was paying too much attention to the road immediately ahead of myself when coming into a turn, and that resulted in a turn at a slower speed, and maybe some issues with holding my line.

But a couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me: I haven’t been using the proper technique to corner my bike. Remember, the bike will go where you look, so it’s always a good idea to look well ahead, and even around the corner. Taking my eyes off the road right in front of my front wheel makes a marked difference in how well I get through the turn. Remembering to jam my outside foot down on its pedal, and point the inside knee into the turn, adds more stability to the bike. I’m liking my rediscovered confidence in corners.

These are fundamental skills for me. But how much time do gifted athletes spend on the fundamentals of their sport? Yeah. By concentrating on these three things once a week, I find that they’ll be there when I need them on my other rides.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categories // Technique Tags // Technique

Comments

  1. chrisfit2009 says

    January 14, 2010 at 10:46 pm

    I’ve been thinking about pedalling in a circle, but it feels so darn funky, I just can’t get it at the moment. I think there is a lot of co-ordination required, just like rubbing your tummy and patting your head. If I pull up with one leg, I forget to simultaneously push down with the other.

    Time and practice I guess.

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      January 14, 2010 at 10:48 pm

      Once you feel it, you’ll know it’s right.

      Reply
    • PeterUK says

      January 16, 2010 at 12:48 am

      Try unclipping each foot alternatively and pedaling with one leg…you’ll instantly find out which part of the 360 is missing..

      Reply
  2. oldguy says

    January 15, 2010 at 4:49 am

    Great post. The veloway in south Austin is a great place to practice this. Think I’ll give it a try as a break from my hill insanity.

    Reply
  3. GTinLA says

    January 15, 2010 at 9:57 am

    Very good article and a great reminder to work on it myself – thanks!
    GT

    Reply
  4. pedalmikester says

    January 15, 2010 at 11:18 am

    great post man. i always have to tell myself to put my inner knee up on turns. also i have to get back on the cadence tip. that’s when i was at my most efficient. i get more tired easily on the higher gears thinking i’ll burn more doing that. you live, you learn. that’s what makes biking great, so many different workouts you can get just being on the bike.

    great tips man. hope to see you out at the ms150.

    Reply
  5. Sine Botchen (mx4789) says

    January 15, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    I’ve found that as I got faster/stronger I needed a larger gear to keep improving, but that certainly put the kibosh on a higher cadence. Lately I’ve been dropping down a gear on at least one or laps around the veloway in order to get that spin back. I also catch myself slacking on the pedalling in a circle bit too (tho we were taught to pedal in square: slide forward, push down, pull back, pull up.) I’d even go so far as to suggest paying attention to the attitude/position of your feet (heel down vs heel up, etc.)

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      January 15, 2010 at 4:17 pm

      On one of my first ever group rides, I was pedaling toe down. One of the experienced ride leaders yelled, “Hey, Twinkletoes! Get your heel down!” I’ve pedaled with my heel down ever since.

      Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 257 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d