{"id":85,"date":"2020-04-26T10:51:01","date_gmt":"2020-04-26T17:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestrides.org\/manual\/?page_id=85"},"modified":"2023-01-04T10:03:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T18:03:44","slug":"riding-in-gravel-or-mud-or-snow-or-sand","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/bestrides.org\/bikeschool\/?page_id=85","title":{"rendered":"Cycling in Special Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Shoulder: a storage area beside a public road where the highway
department stores its broken glass and debris.<\/em> (Cyclist’s dictionary)<\/p>

I better go home and get my race wheels. (Frazz’s response to a sand-bagger before the weekly group ride)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s talk about all the special riding conditions you might encounter\u2014gravel, mud, snow, sand, rain, wind, cold, heat, high elevation, traffic, high-crime areas, pacelines, and old age\u2014and the techniques required to cope with them. Everything that follows builds on the techniques discussed in the Your First Ride and Advanced Skills chapters, so please read them first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we talk about techniques for coping with specific road conditions, let’s talk about how to fall and how not to fall. I said this in the Advanced Skills chapter, but it bears repeating here: The road obstacle that takes you down is not the rough one, it\u2019s the unexpected one.<\/em> You didn\u2019t fall because there were railroad tracks, or potholes, or cars; you fell because you didn\u2019t see the railroad tracks or potholes or cars coming and so didn’t prepare for them. Almost nothing will make you fall if you see it coming and make plans to cope with it. So always look ahead of you. Look far enough ahead to notice the obstacle and make plans to deal with it, which is usually further ahead than most riders look. And every time you ride over a pothole or stick that startles you, remind yourself, \u201cI didn\u2019t see that coming\u2014my bad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Road riders, unlike mountain bikers, don’t fall a lot unless they race\u2014most of the serious riders I know fall perhaps once every several years. But, since however hard you try to stay upright eventually you will fail and fall, it’s important to understand the physics of falling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t avoid a fall by riding slowly. If your wheel hits ice, wet paint, loose gravel, or any sort of obstacle (railroad track, fallen limb, rock), you can fall at any speed. The hardest my head ever hit the pavement was a time I was riding on ice at 5 mph and my wheel went sideways. Your consummate bike handling skills don’t negate this\u2014In the 2014 Tour de France, on the last stage, the race leader Nibali was riding along a straight, flat road at a recreational pace, taking no risks and in no hurry to get to the finish line, when his front tire touched a painted road marker and went sideways, and the bike flew out from under him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can’t make yourself safe in a fall by riding slowly. It\u2019s a common misconception that the impact of a crash is proportional to the speed with which you\u2019re traveling. Not so. The impact of a crash is caused by gravity, and thus is proportional to the distance from you to the ground and independent of your forward speed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the faster forward you’re moving when you fall, the gentler the impact can be (though the worse the road rash). That’s because when you land while moving forward, some of the energy is dissipated by sliding\/skidding. Think of a flat rock dropped straight down into water vs. one skipped along the surface: the dropped rock lands with a wham, while the skipped rock settles gently into the water after its run. So riding slow actually means your head will hit the ground harder when you go down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you fall, try not to catch yourself with your outstretched arm\u2014it’s a move that almost guarantees a broken wrist and\/or a broken collar bone. It’s counter-intuitive, but try to land on the fat part of your shoulder and upper arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a fall, the danger is not over. You’re still at risk if you continue to ride with a damaged bike or damaged helmet. So check out your bike (especially the frame) rigorously for crash damage, and replace your helmet ASAP if it was involved in the impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cycling in Gravel (or Mud or Snow or Sand)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riding in anything soft requires dealing with two problems: the front wheel wandering off line, and the rear wheel losing traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare the bike<\/strong>. If you know you\u2019re going to ride in soft stuff a lot, get bigger tires and lower your tire pressure. Get a more upright riding position. Ideally, get a gravel bike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unweight the handlebar. <\/strong>Your weight is going to force your front wheel to dig into the muck and make things worse. Let your front wheel float over the surface. Let the wheel go where it wants to. It\u2019s going to wander\u2014don’t fight it. Instead, go with it. It takes some nerve\u2014the natural urge is to tighten up and try to force the wheel back towards center. As you drift to one side or the other, think, \u201cOK, I\u2019m riding over here now.\u201d Don\u2019t give up. The urge, once the front wheel goes off line, is to panic, assume a crash is inevitable, and bail out. Far from it. Hang in there and surprisingly often things will work themselves out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minimize torque<\/strong>. Pedal with as little pressure on the pedals as the conditions will allow, with your attention on your rear-wheel traction\u2014try to sense when it\u2019s about to break free, and back off the gas just before it does. This is actually possible. Gearing up one gear more than you would ordinarily use goes against our instincts but it actually helps, by preventing you from pouring torque into the back wheel and breaking your rear tire loose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cycling on Gravel-Strewn Pavement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After ice (see below), pavement with loose gravel scattered across it is the most deadly surface you can ride on. You’re riding fast on what seems to be reliable road surface, you start a descent, hit a corner with a little gravel scattered around, and suddenly your tires shoot out from under you. There is nothing to do about this except know the danger, see it coming, slow down, and stay upright to keep your weight over your tire patch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much gravel does it take to bring you down? One marble-sized grain, if you hit it wrong and it’s a roller. I hate to tell you to be afraid, but I’ve seen too many riders go down ugly not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cycling in the Rain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ride cautiously<\/strong>. Road bikes aren\u2019t designed for wet weather. The traction, which is surprisingly good when it\u2019s dry, is often next to nothing when it\u2019s wet. Rim brakes, which are barely adequate dry, are often non-functional when wet. So wet weather is never a time to ride aggressively. Take your time, stay upright in corners, and make all turns gently. Since it is impossible to descent safely at speed in the rain, and crawling down a hill with the brakes on is no fun, I try to never do big descents in the rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid paint<\/strong>. Anything painted on the road surface has the potential to be as slick as ice when it’s wet, so assume it is and stay off it, or baby your way across it if you can\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Double your vigilance during the first rain<\/strong>. All the time it isn\u2019t raining, cars are depositing oil and grease on the road surface. Then it rains, and all that oil and grease comes loose and floats around on the road, reducing the traction, often to literally nothing. In those first hours of rain after a dry spell, no amount of vigilance is too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have rain-appropriate clothing<\/strong>. We talked about this in the Clothing chapter. For some reason, many cyclists refuse to invest in good rain gear beyond the raincoat. Don’t be one of them. If riding in the rain is more than a rare event, invest in rain pants, waterproof gloves, and waterproof socks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t confuse warmth and dryness. Your goal in rain is to stay dry. Staying warm is rarely the problem, since it usually isn\u2019t all that cold when it\u2019s raining; the problem is overheating. So don\u2019t automatically pile on the layers for a rainy ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De-fog your glasses<\/strong>. The worst thing about rain, after the likelihood of a crash, is you can\u2019t see. The rain fogs your glasses or covers them with droplets you can\u2019t see through. The best solution is anti-fog sprays, waxes, and liquids. They put a slick hydrophobic<\/em> (\u201cwater-fearing\u201d) coating on the lens that encourages water to run off and sheet instead of forming droplets. Your glasses get wet but you can still see. These products work well and should be a staple item in your bike support kit. Bike shops rarely stock them, so you may have to order online. Or you can buy glasses with hydrophobic lenses, which shed water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you forgot to de-fog and you find your glasses fogging up mid-ride, there are a number of things you can do. Condensation occurs when hot, water-laden breath hits cold surfaces like lenses. So anything that keeps your breath off your lenses will help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n