Shift on time, keep your speed

Smooth and efficient gear shifting – at just the right time -- is something mountain bikers learn to do right off the bat. If you haven’t shifted into a low gear just as you hit a long, steep uphill on the trail, you’ll just stop, trapped by the too high gear.  So on the trail riders have to anticipate what gear they need to be in, and shift to it so, in the case of a sudden steep hill to get up, the low gear is there right when they need it.

Most road bikers that are, or have been, mountain bikers know this as second nature, and are rarely caught in an inefficient or unworkable gear. I’ve done a lot of mountain biking, and occasionally on a road bike I find myself in the wrong gear. It’s usually when I’m super tired, or not focusing for some reason.

On a road bike, it’s easy to forget to shift to the optimal gear right before it is needed. It’s a different, less intensely alert mindset on a road bike, and riders can be lulled into suddenly being in the wrong gear.

But with anticipation of rollers, descents or any other pitch changes ahead that require shifting to the optimal gear, a rider can shift at just the right time to be at the optimal pedal resistance according to the relative freshness of the rider’s legs. Focusing on the road pitch changes ahead is the key, which mountain bikers have to do to stay on their bikes and keep forward progress. They face many terrain changes at a much quicker pace. Roadies, especially when they’re tired, sometimes have to remind themselves to do it.

Recently I was on the wheel of another road bike rider to make the best speed against a small headwind. The rider in front of me pedaled very strongly but stopped pedaling when he hit a short downhill pitch. I guess he was trying to rest, but it made him lose a lot of speed. If he just kept pedaling on those descent pitches, he could have gained speed with less effort. But then, when you’re tired, a lot of those little speed enhancing habits aren’t on your mind! Instead, you think, hey, when is this going to be over? I’m toast.

And in little different scenario I’ve shifted to a low gear far too early before a steep pitch in the road. Doing that, I slow down, spinning way too fast for too long before the hill. To keep optimum speed, it works best to power toward a climb in a higher gear, then smoothly downshift when the pull of the climb kicks in. Easy to do, but it requires staying alert to what’s ahead. I like to pick a spot on the road where the climb ticks up noticeably and then shift when I get to that spot. It works well, and eliminates stress shifting fast to a low gear under load, which is hard on your power train.

Getting to the optimal gear is different for every rider, depending on how physically strong, or not, they feel. The key is to get to the gear that’s not too easy and not too hard, but gives just the right resistance to keep your cadence in that upper middle zone, strong and rhythmic and a little bit hard. Too easy, you lose speed and literally spin your wheels. To hard, and you lose speed while burning up too much energy. It’s a feel every rider can develop into instinctive, efficient shifting.

Maintaining a smooth shifting bike is also key. Check out this bike shifting maintenance video. Some good info…

Oh yeah, just thought of another reason other than shifting efficiency that staying alert to what’s ahead is a good idea: Good old-fashioned safety.

Like when a squirrel darts across the road right in front of you. Or, as happened to me recently, when the rider whose wheel you’re on, takes a swig out of his water bottle, then fumbles it as he tries to put it back in its cage. The bottle skittered on the road and I veered hard left to avoid running over it. I pedaled past the guy, happy that I didn’t crash. But man, that was close.

Hydration is your friend

I recently did three high altitude climbs with two buddies one Saturday in the Sierra Nevada, and at the end of the day, the climb total was just under 7,300 feet. I’d done a different variation of the three in a row before – the annual Death Ride in the area has five – and I’d always struggled with leg cramps on the third climb.

This time I got in two back-to-back 50-mile flat rides and rest the day before. Had a cup of coffee on the way, and a full bottle of water and a couple of FRS energy chews before shoving off with my back pockets stuffed with jerky, energy squares, granola bar, and an apple. I also had two full bottles of water. Felt strong on the first climb, descended to the other side and ate all of my pocket food before the second climb. Felt a little sluggish on the second climb, but worked up a strong pace by the top to finish with some pace.

Before the last climb, when we stopped at the truck to rest, I ate a big portion of trail mix, a plum, drank another full bottle of water and took some electrolyte gel caps to help ward off leg cramps. The food and good hydration before that third climb really helped me keep a strong pace, and my legs, though tired, didn’t want to cramp. I think the electrolytes were a big factor, too.

So next for me is to try four big climbs in one day, and I think a pre-dawn start, when it’s dark and cool, will make it much more do-able. Buddies that have done the mid-summer Death Ride start in the dark pre-dawn hours, and not only do they beat some nasty heat on the early climbs, but say they barely even remember the first climb. The dim light, they say, kept them from thinking too much about what lay ahead. They could just keep their focus on knocking off each steep pitch, one at a time, all the way to the top.

This pre-dawn strategy sounds good to me. I want to do four big climbs in one day, but not the five in a day that the Death Ride sets forth. No, four big climbs in a day is good enough for me. Five is just too far deep into the suffer zone to make me want to do it. Could do it. Just don’t feel a need to. I’m good with that. I’d rather finish relatively intact, instead of leg-locked, blubbering incoherently to myself! I’ll let you know how I do on this four big climbs business.

Til next time, remember to strap on a helmet every time you get on a bike. Then, do all you can to keep the rubber side down.

May all your rides be safe and fun.

--Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf
His blog of personal essays is at: http://marksmuzings.blogspot.com/