Bryan Curry
Guys, I'll be blunt. Your riding position is awful. You look like you
can't control your bike and you're in pain simply by riding. Worst yet
I've seen since I started mentoring a few years ago. I'm surprised
there weren't more crashes last night.
You're gonna crash because you ride with your arms locked straight while
gripping the handlebar drops like this (but only more rigid, a
horizontal back, and a neck strained upward to see directly in front of
you)-
http://dbrannen.smugmug.com/gallery/5359623_UZqx5#328020000_Ttk6C
That ain't good when someone bumps into you and your arms are stiff.
Anything that hits your arm will cause your hand to move. When your
hand moves, your handlebars move. When your bars move, your bike leans
and turns. At 25+ mph, your bike leans and turns pretty f****** fast.
At PIR, you probably have someone riding a foot away from you. 30 guys
on bikes with locked elbows a foot away from each other at 25+ mph are
like a row of dominoes: one guy bumps into another who then bumps into
another and so on. In the novice race, bumping means crashing.
Here's how you should have your arms while in the drops-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31572898@N06/3523165319/
Great position. He looks relaxed. Elbows bent. Back almost flat. You
bump this guy, he'll probably look at you and ask "Are you OK?" Or else
he'll bump you back. Hopefully you can take a bump without veering off
into 2 or 3 others, especially while cornering in a crit. Better yet,
there's no contact in the first place.
Here's a guy riding on the handlebar tops-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31572898@N06/3523969518/
Note the locked elbows and hands nowhere near the brakes. OK for solo
warm-up. Not OK for riding mid-pack. It's not a good idea to use your
brakes while riding mid-pack but if you fall down in front of me, I'm
using my brakes. If someone falls in front of YOU, you can whatever you
like as long as you don't take me down.
Here's a good position on the tops-
http://cyclingaction.exposuremanager.com/p/eugene-roubaix/img_237327
Note the bent elbows and the rough road. Bent elbows act like shock
absorbers. He's solo way off the front of the pack so he doesn't have
to worry about swerving around other riders. If you're solo off the
front (or WHEN you're solo off the back), you can do the same.
Otherwise, don't ride like this in the pack.
Here's a couple guys riding with their hands on the lever hoods-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31572898@N06/3523168023/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31572898@N06/3523951142/
Very slight bend in the elbows in this case. I'd like to see a little
more elbow bend. This a good position for sitting mid-pack. Note their
backs are at about a 45 degree angle to the road. They can sit up, look
around with less strain on the neck and lower back than while in the
drops, breathe easily, and they can shift and brake easily.
Here's the aggro version of "on the hoods" as done by a Pacific Power
rider-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31572898@N06/3523217541/
Very nice. Note the elbow bend and horizontal back. Shock absorption,
steering, braking, shifting, attacking, no looking back. Boonen and
Cancellara ride like this when they mean it.
Here's a few guys on the hoods with arms locked straight-
http://cyclingaction.exposuremanager.com/p/05_11_09/img_513955
Not good. Note the looks of pain.
Most of you need to adjust your bars so you can have some minimal
comfort. There's books, magazines, websites, local shops,
chiropractors, other riders, etc to help adjust your bike position. Go
find them. Now. "Worst" possible outcome is you have to buy a new
bike.
Also, if there's a crash, don't look backwards to see what happened.
You'll probably swerve. Probably into someone else. Probably cause
another crash. You'll probably be in it.
If there's a crash, don't stop unless you're willing to quit your race,
able to give first aid, pick up gear from the road, and/or direct
oncoming cyclists. Just let the race officials know that there's an
accident, the location, the number of riders involved, and the severity.
See you next week. I'll be the guy repeatedly yelling at you to unlock
your elbows.
Bryan Curry
FMCT