What Is Your Biggest Weakness In Terms Of Cycling



Uawadall

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Jun 14, 2015
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In 4.5 months, I have gotten better in most areas of cycling. Still have ways to go, but I feel i'm making good progress. In terms of my biggest weak area, I would say cornering at high speeds, especially on descends. I think part of it is, I am still sometimes hesitant and brake at the wrong time. I also tend to not bend enough and often swing wide. I make sure to corner slower on busy roads, but try to practice cornering faster on slower ones.

What are your'e weak areas in cycling.
 
My weakest areas are definitely basic strength, and being brave enough to overcome my hesitation over tough rides.
I still have a lot of trouble on certain climbs, and have on a few occasions ended up carrying my mountain bike periodically while everyone else rode.
The only thing that makes me feel better about this is whenever we hit the trails, I'm a little stronger than last time and can go a little further. There are hills that are no problem now that used to defeat me, so I know I'll get there with perseverance.

The hesitation for me is harder to overcome. I'm always braking at the last minute and screwing myself up. Little by little I'm trying to force myself to let go of the worry and just go for it, but it's slow progress. I've also gone on a couple scary rides that were way over my skill level so I'm definitely a bit nervous which makes it hard.
 
sunshiney said:
My weakest areas are definitely basic strength, and being brave enough to overcome my hesitation over tough rides.
If it can be called a weakness in riding, count me in. With strength, it is a given that I don't have it especially now that I get this swelling on my leg once in a while. In downhill rides, I am very cautious as to always be ready on the brakes because I am a safe rider with safety as my foremost concern. Even if I was good at horseback riding when I was a girl, cycling is a different animal since you can figure in an accident all by yourself.. and that's a big embarrassment for me.
 
Good question. I'm an all-around decent rider, and I don't feel like I'm weak in any given area, so I don't know what to say. I guess I could always go farther and farther while cycling or start competing in some events to prove my mettle. Still, I'm all-around good at cycling without having a major weakness, and I'll leave it at that.
 
I am too nervous and usually overthink my surroundings. I got this from riding motorcycles and I usually try to ride too defensively. It's so bad sometimes that I can't really enjoy the ride and end up more exhausted than usual.
 
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Probably stamina. I'm a lifelong sufferer from asthma, and though it doesn't hit me as often as it used to it can still kick in at bad times, especially when I'm overexerting myself. Wheezing really punches you in the gut and kills your longevity when you're on a bike. It's especially bad during allergy season, as my asthma will sometimes react to what's in the air, though since I moved away from my hometown I've found this to be less and less of a problem. My stamina's not terrible when asthma isn't a factor - at a manageable clip I can ride for an hour or two before needing to head home - but I'd still like to improve.

Actually doing it when I have the time is another big problem. I'm sure most adults can commiserate with this.
 
At the moment, I'm carrying too much weight, still. Really slowing me down on hills. Not that anyone was ever going to mistake me for Nairo Quintana in the first place. :D
 
Cornering at speed is definitely my biggest weakness. I'd also say deflecting the right gear going into a climb, however I am working on both at the moment.
 
Quote by Froze:
"Time and age of which both I have little of them left."

Ain't that the truth?!

For 45 seasons I've begged the Godz of cycling for more power. Didn't happen. I have always climbed decently, cornered like a bat out of Hell, descended at least semi-insanely, but I never, ever had the Watts I wanted.

I ain't whining. That's just how it was and is.
 
I can't really say I have any weakness as I feel that I am a pretty rounded rider. Don't mistake my words, not saying I'm a Lance Armstrong. I'm saying as a Clydesdale rider I worked a lot on climbing so that being my natural weakness, I've done some major work to improve. I'd say all aspects of my cycling are on the same level as one another.

They say work on your weakness not your strengths. I always have in every sport I participated.
 
CAMPYBOB said:
Quote by Froze:
"Time and age of which both I have little of them left."

Ain't that the truth?!

For 45 seasons I've begged the Godz of cycling for more power. Didn't happen. I have always climbed decently, cornered like a bat out of Hell, descended at least semi-insanely, but I never, ever had the Watts I wanted.

I ain't whining. That's just how it was and is.
That's one of the reasons I didn't go past Cat 3 was due to the lack of watts, and lack of money too. Funny, I had a girlfriend during my earlier days of racing and she had a cousin who was a #1 ranked female tennis player and I met her at a family Christmas party when I lived in California. She knew quite a bit about me through my girlfriend of course, but this tennis player told me I should do what all sports people do and what all pro cyclist do and that is to dope to become a major contender...yup, she even gave me a name of doctor to see that would set me up, but I was scared of doing something I had no clue what the long term effects would be so I never did it not even to experiment. I knew there were people even at the Cat 3 level doping, but no one in our club did, but no one from our club ever made it into the pros either.
 
I think my biggest weaknesses are how I'm a little wobbly on a bike still, my nerves and fear plays a part I think. Like for instance on hills with steep descents I can't bring myself to roll all the way down without touching the brakes. I always play with the brakes to keep my speed at a controllable level lets say.

My wobbliness on the bike is a little annoying and I fear that it might cause concern for other road users, which is why I always use minor roads and always pull over to let a car behind me go.
 
Susimi said:
I think my biggest weaknesses are how I'm a little wobbly on a bike still, my nerves and fear plays a part I think. Like for instance on hills with steep descents I can't bring myself to roll all the way down without touching the brakes. I always play with the brakes to keep my speed at a controllable level lets say.

My wobbliness on the bike is a little annoying and I fear that it might cause concern for other road users, which is why I always use minor roads and always pull over to let a car behind me go.
this is mostly fear. How long have you been riding? Usually with time it will subside. You can also be suffering from visual problems and how your brain interprets the information being feed it. It's like not everyone can be car racer or a quarterback because not everyone can see the whole picture like those people can. Roughly 75% of the population suffer from tunnel vision effect when being subject to even simple driving down the road, but it worsens as they go faster, some of the 75% suffer from this tunnel vision starting at far lower speeds than others within the same 75%, and it could be you have this problem, your tunnel vision is happening at a slower speed and when it starts it freaks you out more on a bike then in the safety of your car. A quarterback can see the entire picture without even looking directly at an open receiver and know he's there and in split moment ascertains that the intended receiver isn't open and throws it the guy he never even looked at directly. Most people can't do that because their brain is tunneling in on one person and not all the possible targets on the field, and the quarterback isn't even moving fast like on a bike or in a car.

Personally I think most if not all your problem is fear. Try this the next time you are riding faster than you're comfortable going, in fact you should be doing this all the time (even in your car) not when going faster than normal, stop looking a foot or so at the ground in front of your front wheel, instead look ahead at least 1/8th of mile, if you start gazing downward catch yourself and go back up, and see if this settles the weaving down. If you're on a winding downhill road then always be looking at the furthest distance you can see the road. And while you're looking ahead keep your eyes scanning from left to right so you can see the big picture. As far as cars passing and you pulling over, again it's fear but it could be related or combined with the above stuff I mentioned in the first paragraph, you may think the cars are closer to you then they actually are because of the tunneling effect and it freaks you out.

I think if you practice keeping your eyes looking ahead and scanning you should realize an immediate relief in weaving and hopefully eventually the fear of cars passing beside you will subside.

I hope I made sense.
 
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As it pertains to practical skills, I think I have a lot of them. My biggest problem may be that I am just too overconfident. Overconfidence can get you killed on the road especially when you begin to do a lot off Xtreme stunts. Pray for me cause I don't wanna die young.
 
Froze said:
this is mostly fear. How long have you been riding? Usually with time it will subside. You can also be suffering from visual problems and how your brain interprets the information being feed it. It's like not everyone can be car racer or a quarterback because not everyone can see the whole picture like those people can. Roughly 75% of the population suffer from tunnel vision effect when being subject to even simple driving down the road, but it worsens as they go faster, some of the 75% suffer from this tunnel vision starting at far lower speeds than others within the same 75%, and it could be you have this problem, your tunnel vision is happening at a slower speed and when it starts it freaks you out more on a bike then in the safety of your car. A quarterback can see the entire picture without even looking directly at an open receiver and know he's there and in split moment ascertains that the intended receiver isn't open and throws it the guy he never even looked at directly. Most people can't do that because their brain is tunneling in on one person and not all the possible targets on the field, and the quarterback isn't even moving fast like on a bike or in a car.

Personally I think most if not all your problem is fear. Try this the next time you are riding faster than you're comfortable going, in fact you should be doing this all the time (even in your car) not when going faster than normal, stop looking a foot or so at the ground in front of your front wheel, instead look ahead at least 1/8th of mile, if you start gazing downward catch yourself and go back up, and see if this settles the weaving down. If you're on a winding downhill road then always be looking at the furthest distance you can see the road. And while you're looking ahead keep your eyes scanning from left to right so you can see the big picture. As far as cars passing and you pulling over, again it's fear but it could be related or combined with the above stuff I mentioned in the first paragraph, you may think the cars are closer to you then they actually are because of the tunneling effect and it freaks you out.

I think if you practice keeping your eyes looking ahead and scanning you should realize an immediate relief in weaving and hopefully eventually the fear of cars passing beside you will subside.

I hope I made sense.
Thanks for the tips :)

I've been riding for over 10 years and I'm still that that little bit wobbly. I probably have improved over the years but I do still have a little wobble to my riding.

Next time I go for a ride I'll try the looking much further ahead like you suggested.
 
jbepp said:
I am too nervous and usually overthink my surroundings. I got this from riding motorcycles and I usually try to ride too defensively. It's so bad sometimes that I can't really enjoy the ride and end up more exhausted than usual.
Well, that was me in my younger years when I fist started to ride bikes. I was always reminded of all the fatalities taking place on the roads that I wouldn't even venture very far. Only after a year did I start to gradually build up my confidence levels to the point where I would cycle in an uninhibited manner. Riding a bike should be an enjoyable and fun experience but I do realize how other road users make things tougher than they should be.

By the way, love your Aphex Twin icon as I'm a huge fan of his music.
 
LinB said:
As it pertains to practical skills, I think I have a lot of them. My biggest problem may be that I am just too overconfident. Overconfidence can get you killed on the road especially when you begin to do a lot off Xtreme stunts. Pray for me cause I don't wanna die young.
I'm one person who understands the need for extreme stunts, especially when I was younger, I use to do some BMX stuff back in the primitive days, along with auto racing, ultralight flying, bad schit I did in the military (don't ask, I never talk to anyone not even my own wife about what I did), but almost all the stuff done today is pushing the envelope to die or become paralyzed because everyone is out to one up the last person and so the stunts get more and more dangerous, not to mention numerous bone breaks trying to practice some crazy stunt. Martyn Ashton became paralyzed from a stunt gone bad.

If you don't want to die young, may I make a suggestion? Stop doing stuff that carries a high risk of getting you hurt or killed. If you're making money doing this stuff then what good is all that money if you can never walk again? can't play with your children? or can't feed yourself? can't interact with your spouse? or you're 6' under? If someone came up to me and offered me a million dollars to amputate my legs I tell him to take a flying leap off a skyscraper...but that's just me.

Sorry, I should have minded my own business on that subject.
 
My biggest problem is power and endurance, I'm not what I used to be 20 years ago, back then I can do a lot of freestyle tricks and I regularly do ramps, but age affects everyone, and years of corporate work, cigarette smokng and non riding brought my endurance down. I'm trying to build up my power and endurance again by lessening my smoking, drinking a lot of vitamins and by riding.
 
Good question. I'm an all-around decent rider, and I don't feel like I'm weak in any given area, so I don't know what to say. I guess I could always go farther and farther while cycling or start competing in some events to prove my mettle. Still, I'm all-around good at cycling without having a major weakness, and I'll leave it at that.

The truth is that we can't really understand our weaknesses in cycling until we are giving some time to be a part of a riding competition or so. The thing is that we get to see where we have in improve by that time.
 

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