My wife is going downhill slowly

[vickster]

If huge anxiety is still present then we wasted a few quid on hypnotherapy and its a case of time on the bike or sack the idea of a fast time on the sportive sell the road bike ( or I keep it, as its more modern than mine and I fit on it perfectly with a slightly longer stem) and stick to going for a bimble on the MTB's .

Why does a fast time matter on a sportive, surely the speed is made on the ups and flats not the downs...unless it's all downhill! However, as it's a 75 mile sportive somewhere hilly an extra couple of mph on downhills will make diddly different, better a couple of extra mph up the hills on a better bike with better wheels. Why sell the bike?

 

[HarryTheDog]

Hi

Why does a fast time matter on a sportive, surely the speed is made on the ups and flats not the downs...unless it's all downhill! However, as it's a 75 mile sportive somewhere hilly an extra couple of mph on downhills will make diddly different, better a couple of extra mph up the hills on a better bike with better wheels. Why sell the bike?

My Missus was/is quite proud of her present fitness having been clinically obese in the past, she has done fitness classes for the last few years and done the moon walk on 3 occasions and did a couple of adventure races ( like a really long assault course). She also has raced sailing dinghies for many years and used to ride horses most weekends. She has had to give it all up due to problems with her back ( facet cyst, bulging disc and vertebrae out of alignment may need fusing) so was losing her fitness , Her consultant advised cycling or swimming . Running, doing berpees, squats, pulling on ropes, hanging out of a boat or trying to rein in a stroppy horse was out. She decided switch to cycling as a means of fitness , Cycling is more convenient, plus me and the kids have been doing it for years. Pain block injections are keeping her pain free at the moment but if her vertebrae need fusing it is all likely to go out the window for months anyway.
She has no great love of cycling or road traffic and wanted a challenge to drive her on. The Velothon is the challenge ,which incidentally was picked because it is on closed roads. The decent time means she is not over the hill just quite yet, she has a certain pride. The anxiety with hills is a problem she wants to go away, it ruins her enjoyment and self confidence that's why she booked the hypnotherapy up fairly quickly. Selling the bike is actually a bit of a joke it will probably become mine as I can fit on it no problem with a longer stem and my road bike is 7 years old and is starting to delaminate, but hers would be available if she wanted it back. Plan B is the MTB's she had a big grin when we went around the local park the other day as no anxiety from traffic just the hills, she wont be able to any technical trails because of her back but could plan interesting trails to keep her enthusiasm. I have time to go out with her and happy to bimble along as my going out with the club and racing days look be over as well , the same time my wife's back went so did mine ,, I was poleaxed for the best 3 months of the summer after trying to race 2 locals up a mountain in Swizerland. I was in agony the next After getting back to the uk for a scan it was found I had 4 deteriorated discs, one bulging disc. I started riding again 8 weeks ago, commuting only.
I get your point about you can make up more time on the uphills and flats and she is certainly on the bike ( Kuota Kom Evo) with very nice wheels ( Reynolds Attacks) and has power in spades to do that. My concern as I have said before is danger in a bunch, there will be 15,000 people on the day starting at different times peletons may form from groups behind and start scything through stragglers, the front guys may see my missus doing 12 mph downhill and calls out, indicates etc but the 20th geezer may not be paying attention and slam into her. I incidentally will be riding shotgun so they would actually slam into me .
Looks like we wont get to test the hypnotherapy tomorrow as due to rain all day, and she does not cycle in rain yet.

 

[KateK]

I would second getting used to the drops, on the flat at first. Also identify a not too steep not too high hill that has a safe runout and try to include it often. She will get used to how the road feels and feel more confident. I think the drops helps because it puts your weight forward a bit: I used to get front wheel wobble if my weight was too far back. And try to relax. Consciously relax your fingers and make sure your arms don't go straight, keep shoulders relaxed. Sing, talk to yourself, whatever to keep relaxed and focused on the road.
Panniers aren't a problem. Crosswinds are when they're about 16mph plus. Look out for gates and side roads on roads with hedges as this is where it will hit you unexpectedly.

She can always brake part of the way down and then let off for the bottom bit when she can see the end in sight.

I think It's more important that she becomes happy with hills rather than viewing it as just going faster.

 

[HarryTheDog]

Well time for a update, my wife seems to be much happier on the MTB and off-road away from traffic. So we decided to try Route 1 out of Chelmsford today on the MTB's I was itching to find out whether the hypnotherapy had worked. Well it was a success!. No she did not go mad and zoom down every hill like a crazed loon.( was a little worry in the back of my head) She still had the obvious good sense to keep the speed down considering the chutney out on the tracks but on some of the little slopes she managed not to use any brakes at all with no worries which would not have been the case before, on the longer downhill slopes she was sensible keeping it below 20mph but a lot faster than her old 12mph. So overall she considers the cash paid out on therapy money well spent. She probably is never going to enter a DH competition but this has increased her level of enjoyment and dampened the old worries she had. I don't know when she will try road again, the road bike is sitting on the turbo now getting a good battering a couple of times a week. I am happy enough discovering tracks I would have not tried before. Maybe Epping Forest next weekend!

 

[ColinJ]

That's good progress!

TBH, I would be a lot more worried at 20 mph offroad on mud than I would be on a dry road at 30+ mph. I reckon she will be quite nippy when she gets back on tarmac.

 

[PpPete]

Great news !
If my experience is anything to go by, in a short while she will be not much slower than you downhill, and drop you big time on the ups !

 

[hopless500]

My wife has finally succumbed to the dark side and has taken up cycling after watching me and the kids go out commuting, sportiving, racing and generally mucking about on bikes for the last 7 years. Both the kids have left the nest and she has decided to set herself a goal, the Welsh Velothon long route ( 75 miles) she has signed up so no going back. She is quite fit for her age ( late forties) so dont think the mileage is going to be a problem. We have gone out only 5 times on the weekend and got her up to 26 miles so far and onto clipless pedals. However as soon as the road starts to point downwards she is on the brakes and limiting herself to around 12mph. On the flat and uphill she will quite happily go a lot faster. I am hoping she will get more confident and the problem will go away. She is not so sure and is considering hypnosis. Slow downhill with just the two of us is not a problem , however I know from speeding along in large groups a rider slamming on the brakes too eagerly downhill is likely to end in grief for everyone. Anyone else have the same problem with thier other half of a similar age and did it get better with time or have any tricks to boost confidence or tried hypnosis?

Might depend on the brakes. Sold my TCR recently cos I just couldn't stop on it. Only was really obvious after having done @ColinJ's Trough of Bowland ride and having to grip on so flipping hard downhill that I had blisters, and I also had an 'incident' locally where I couldn't stop at a junction. Luckily the car did . Discovered on a road bike that Shimano gears are a no no for me. They pivot in the wrong place for the size of my hands, and I basically have no brakes whatsoever. Fine on the hybrid, and tear downhill as fast as I can. Max 42 so far on my Marin hybrid. Anyway. That is digressing . Further investigation at the LBS finally brought to light that I need Campag brakes on a road bike. They hinge much higher up and they actually work for me. What does your wife ride??? Is she desperately braking downhill because she knows she can't stop??

 

[ColinJ]

Hmm, brakes not working properly would be a major worry which would certainly make me avoid gaining too much speed!

I did some severe descending this afternoon (25% in several places!) and my wheel rims felt rather greasy. I was having to use way too much force on the brake levers and at one point I had to pull them back almost to the bar tape ... So, make sure that wheel rims are kept clean!

 

[HarryTheDog]

Hi hopless500, my missus knows she can stop the bike nothing wrong with the brakes. She is small but has largish hands and is very strong.( sailing and horse riding does that to you) Its was/is anxiety about keeping control,she was the same with skiing ( only tried it twice) . Looks like after the hypnotherapy she is mostly over it from the riding offroad experience this weekend. Not done the acid test on the road bike yet, .The brakes are shimano ultegra on the road bike by the way. I never liked the shifters on compag I only tried the Veloce version and could not stand the thumb shifter for changing up a gear ( or down depends on how you look at it) . My son uses compag but that's purely because he thinks everything cycling should be Italian if possible.
Colin J, greasy rims and 25% hills, time for discs? I

 

[ColinJ]

Colin J, greasy rims and 25% hills, time for discs? I

I had that happen once before - a scouring pad and washing up liquid fixed the problem! It has been too long since I gave those rims a good clean. I've rinsed them and given them a quick wipe, but I haven't made the effort to clean them properly since the mucky weather started a month or so back.

I am going to buy a cyclocross bike in the New Year and that definitely will have disk brakes. I think they are the future and will make sure that any new bikes from now on have them.

 

[Mo1959]

I am going to buy a cyclocross bike in the New Year and that definitely will have disk brakes. I think they are the future and will make sure that any new bikes from now on have them.

They are certainly much more efficient than the average rim brakes around. When I first rode my mtb I nearly put myself over the handlebars the first time I braked.

 

[Phil25]

On downhill slopes I stay at about ten miles an hour and operate only my rear brake handle. I don't touch my forward brake handle; keeping my hand on the handlebar grip. I have been told by some people that sounds all right, while others say I take a chance by relying on only one set of brakes. My rear brakes are very good, and I use them only for short moments while coasting. My hilly roads have bumps, potholes and a veneer of grit on the pavement. I have learned that front brakes are demanding to use with those conditions, even on flat ground; I won't touch them headed downhill.
Is there a better way to ride down these roads ?

 

[Sauce pot]

I have the same fear of going downhill. It just scares me to death. I worry about the implications if I do come off. I just see a downhill decent and it's instant panic and fear, the hands go onto the brakes. My partner then has to wait for me at the bottom. Cycling on the flat and I'm fine and will fly along as fast as I can. But the sea of fear descends when I see a downhill section. Recently I did a sportive and hit a downhill section and my partner was screaming at me to just go for it. Here I actually got up to 25mph which to me felt like I broke the sound barrier the hands were still hoovering on the brakes.
So maybe I should try some hypnotherapy, I wish I could dispel this fear and just go for it.

 

[HarryTheDog]

Holy thread resurrection batman, @Sauce pot and @Phil25 . My missus actually gave up cycling after my last post on this thread for a while and only re-started a fortnight ago. Her hypnotherapy seems to still be working, plus she did some MTB skills classes last weekend ( woman only) at Hadliegh. On a road bike she is now happily recording just under 30 mph downhill with no worries. Hypnotherapy wont work for everyone but maybe give it a bash?

 

[buggi]

Yes it can cause problems. A rider slamming on her brakes in front of me, downhill, on a sportive, was the cause of my concussion and broken collar bone. This has resulted in my own nervousness downhill although I'll still do it at speed, but I am very wary riding with other people now.

It will take some time for her to get used to it but I would avoid encouraging her to ride in groups until she's more confident.