MASS START MASTERY
The Mammoth Gran Fondo staff is psyched to partner with Coach Brian at Big Wheel Coaching to provide you all with some insightful articles about how to approach the Mammoth Gran Fondo, your training, and overall spread the psyche for getting in shape and ready for the Mammoth Gran Fondo.
The starting line of the Mammoth Gran Fondo is nothing short of electric. There is the hustle and bustle of getting into the starting chute, the pleasant surprise of seeing friends and fellow riders you only see at big events each year, and the last minute check-list we all run through…
Bottles, food, flat-repair, lunch-ticket, check. Should I wear arm-warmers or take them off? I still don’t know.
OK, it’s National Anthem time and then we are off!
But like most riders taking to the start of the Mammoth Gran Fondo, you might have some reservation, nerves, or even apprehension about the neutral roll-out and downhill start.
That’s OK! Even normal.
That’s why I want to share a few tips to get you (and the whole group) down the hill with a smile and ready for a great day on the bike.
So how do we navigate this procession of riders that inevitably feels like an attempt to “shove 10lbs. of sweetness in a 5lb. bag”, to borrow an old phrase?
Here are three tips to help you start your day confidently and calmly while going downhill at 40mph amongst 1,500 of your cycling friends:
But First, A Note On Corral Position…
The best advice I can offer here is to start near riders who have similar goals and skills to you.
That means if your goal is a 7 hour century then you don’t need to push to be at the front of the start corral. Or at least don’t be surprised if when you do, many riders are pushing to get by and to get by quickly.
On the other hand, if your ride goal is of the Sub-5 hour variety, don’t show up fashionably late to the start corral and expect folks to make room for you. Or to let you by, they should be focusing on their best ride, not yours.
Starting near riders with similar skills and goals helps keep everyone calm and gets us all down the mountain safe and ready for the fun ahead. Now onto the tips…
Mass Start Mastery Tip #1: Take A Deep Breath & Relax
For experienced riders, even in the tight-quarters of a dense peloton, they can be calm. But how do the rest of us remain relaxed when we are riding very close to riders we do not know or trust?
The first thing to do is to relax. Simple right? Just take a deep breath and relax!
In endurance sport we like to think of our exhales being approximately twice as long as our inhales, that typically triggers relaxation in the body while riding, running, or swimming, but in reality, any sort of breathing technique that you have practiced that brings you calm will suffice.
So remember as you are rolling down the 203 toward the 395 North and the official start of the race, even when the speeds are high and people are yelling to call-out obstacles in the road, just take a deep breath.
You can’t control others, but you can control how you react to the situation. So take a deep breath, strike up a conversation, and enjoy the crisp mountain air! We’ll all get down the mountain faster and with less nerves.
Mass Start Mastery Tip #2: Be A Good Wheel & Be On A Good Wheel
This rule can be applied to every mile of your ride in Mammoth. If you are a good wheel other riders will want to ride around you. To add to that, if you are on a good wheel, it’s supremely easier to be calm and ride predictably.
Being a good wheel is easy, simply ride with your head-up, eyes forward, with calm body-language, and be steady to accelerate as well as predictable when braking. No erratic moves!
When you are a good wheel, it encourages others to be a good wheel and our crazy peloton of riders will start to look like a school fish instead of a swarm of angry bees.
Mass Start Mastery Tip #3: Keep Your Hands On Your Controls
This one may seem obvious, but you will most certainly find people on event-day riding with one hand on the top of the bars and one hand near, but not “on” the hoods, or some combination thereof.
Inevitably this is the person that nearly runs into the rider in front of them when there is an obstacle in the road.
Don’t be that rider!
Keeping your hands near your controls helps you react confidently when the situation demands and not over-react, which is often the root of a crash or pile up.
If you were in traffic jam in your car you would likely drive with both hands on the wheel as well as keep your driving foot close to the brake pedal or accelerator pedal. You would be ready to smoothly navigate the tight situation.
It’s likely that you have a lot of experience in traffic jams or bottlenecks, and because you can navigate those confidently you should be OK to work your way through the start of the Mammoth Gran Fondo using a similar approach (not the road rage approach, friends!).
Keep your hands relaxed and near your controls, be attentive to accelerations and decelerations, and go with the flow the best you can! With that recipe you might even be able to enjoy the amazing sunrise that we get to see at the start of the Fondo!
Putting It All Together & Getting The Ride Started
Now here is where you can show off what a good bike rider you are!
It’s pretty simple let’s put it all together into something you can remember on race-day…
Take a deep breath, be a good wheel, be on a good wheel, and keep your hands on your controls and then repeat the deep breath/relaxation component when necessary and you are sure to start this year’s Mammoth Gran Fondo more confidently than ever!
At Big Wheel Coaching, our passion is helping you have a great day on the bike! We believe that training should be fun, challenging, and rewarding, kind of like your first ride on a Big Wheel or a two-wheeler without training wheels!
If you want some expert guidance on how to have your best day on the bike, let us help. We coach Athletes of all ages and abilities, our roster currently includes 13 year-old boys and girls all the way to 70 year old men and women and everything in between.
On that note, you’ve got some training to get to! I hope you have a great ride in Mammoth and look forward to seeing you there!
-Coach Brian