Monday, October 1, 2007

Cornering and Other Skills Info

I was contemplating what I wanted to talk about in my entry today. Yeah, I know I need to write up my last race report of the year, but I will do that tomorrow. Today I was looking at the Chicago Bike Racing website and the latest entry was a riding tip. BTW, that website is full of great information and tips for beginning and experienced riders. Check it out.

Anyway, I started thinking about the skill that made me a better racer and that was cornering. Once I learned the David Phinney way of cornering, I was able to corner much faster. In short, his technique is basically tucking in your inside knee toward the top tube. That was the piece that was missing for me. Evidently, this tucking of the inside leg turns your hips which helps to counter steer the bike. I was already putting my weight on my outside foot and pushing in with my outside thigh. So, where did I read about this technique? I am not sure where I first read about it, but the easiest way to get a full description about this technique is by signing up for the roadbikerider.com email newsletter.

If you sign up for this newsletter, they give you a pdf file that contains 29 pro secrets. I wouldn't exactly call them secrets, but the document is full of valuable information about training, sprinting, cornering, etc. The document details the cornering technique and gives examples of some drills that will help to reinforce the technique.

So, what is this newsletter? It is a weekly newsletter that provides an update on all things cycling including everything that went on in pro racing over the prior week, a couple of articles on training and equipment, and an comedic article that, to me, is the most entertaining article in the newsletter. I really enjoy it; I read it every week. They also have a premium site that you can subscribe to if you are interested.

Anyway, if you sign up for the email newsletter (did I tell you it was free?), you will receive the document that has the info on the cornering technique. Or you can search the internet under "Davis Phinney Cornering Technique". I know their is at least one more entry that describes the technique.

Here is the link for subscribing to the Road Bike Rider newsletter:

http://www.roadbikerider.com/

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