It’s funny how fate can change things. Early the next morning, I barely managed to pedal forward, dizzy and starving, unable to maintain balance even while coasting. Just then, Galen Farrington entered my life. He was an experienced cyclist from Mississippi, touring New England by bike. He passed me on a small uphill — I could barely move forward at that point. Then something magical happened: he stopped at the top of the hill, waited for me to catch up, and said, “You don’t look so good.”
He took me to a diner and bought me a meal. After eating, he rode with me for an hour at a very slow pace, teaching me how to ride. He also adjusted my gears for me. I never saw Galen again after that. But that brief encounter transformed a cycling idiot into a rider. Because he made me realize there was so much to learn about riding even a 10-speed bike. Every little skill, trick, and bit of knowledge I gained made cycling easier and more enjoyable. [Thanks to a kind reader, I’ve since tracked down Galen and learned he has become a highly respected cycling coach.]
Here are some cycling principles taught to me by Galen and ones I’ve come to understand myself:
Grip the Handlebars
Since your hands do a lot of work while cycling, they’re bound to get fatigued or even injured. Frequently changing hand positions can prevent most problems. One of the biggest advantages of drop handlebars is that they offer many possible grip positions. You can hold the drops, the hoods, the tops, or the brake levers. In fact, you should change your hand position every ten minutes or so. This relieves pressure on the nerves in your palms, prevents numbness and tingling, and helps relax your upper body.
Mountain bikes or other upright designs usually have fewer grip options. If you have bar ends, install them. Don’t dismiss them just because they’re metal. If your hands have a safe place to rest (while still maintaining a grip), frequently placing them there will definitely improve your riding experience.
Keep Pedaling
Ideally, you should stay relaxed, keeping your feet and ankles in a natural position as you pedal. One thing that can help you pedal more smoothly and generate power when climbing: if you learn to pull back on the pedals when your foot is at the 3 o’clock position, you’ll find through practice that this motion generates more power.
Many people focus on pushing down. That part of the pedal stroke is natural. You’ll do it well even without thinking. But the key to smooth pedaling and making the motion as circular as possible is training yourself to pull back. This motion is similar to scraping mud off the sole of your shoe. If you want to feel the effect right away, try it on your next climb. With practice, it becomes instinctive, and your pedal stroke will become rounder and more efficient.
Climbing
Speaking of hills and hand positions: it’s usually best to take your hands off the drops when climbing. Hunching over compresses your diaphragm, making deep breaths difficult. Placing your hands on the brake hoods opens up your chest, allowing your lungs to expand more fully. This works whether you’re sitting or standing. If you want to get more air while seated, place your hands on either side of the stem, straighten your torso, and open your lungs fully.
If you’re standing to climb, relax. There’s no need to grip the handlebars tightly. Doing so only tenses your upper body, making it harder to react to sudden changes and increasing fatigue. Maintain a relaxed grip, let your legs and body weight do the work, and gently sway the bike from side to side.
Cornering
One crazy rule of cycling is: never look where you don’t want to go. It’s true — the more you stare at an obstacle, the more likely you are to hit it. On curves, this is especially dangerous. If you fix your gaze on the chosen line through the turn, you might end up drifting off the road.
I recommend looking toward the inside of the curve. And don’t just move your eyes. Actually, turning your head slightly lets you see the inner line of the curve — usually the edge of the road or the centerline. This makes navigating tight turns easier and helps you maintain a smoother line. Always prioritize safety. Practice cornering at low speeds until you’re truly comfortable.
Descending
As one of the most efficient machines in the world, it’s no surprise that a bicycle can accelerate rapidly downhill.
You can brake to regain control. But doing so can cause fishtailing, wear down brake pads, or even scare riders behind you. A smarter approach is to reduce speed by adjusting your body position.
Sitting higher or moving your hands from the drops to the brake hoods, along with slightly extending your legs, blocks more air — like an open parachute — helping you slow down. Of course, this only reduces speed slightly. If you really need to slow down quickly, use the brakes — preferably both front and rear, starting with the rear brake and adding more as needed.
Handling High-Speed Wobble and Vibrations
Many cyclists have had terrifying experiences going downhill fast when their bike starts to wobble or shake. The truth is, at certain speeds, bikes begin to oscillate side to side, sometimes violently. There are many causes, but usually, it’s not the bike itself. So knowing how to prevent or stop it is invaluable.
First, don’t panic and grab the brakes hard. That usually doesn’t help and can worsen the wobble. Instead, do this: bring your knees up toward the top tube, wrapping around the main triangle to stabilize the bike and stop the wobble. Then apply the brakes to regain control. Experienced riders often rest their knees against the top tube during fast descents to prevent wobbling.
Shifting Gears
Most people don’t shift enough, leading to premature drivetrain wear, knee pain (or worse), and exhaustion. Here’s how to shift: think of yourself as the bike’s engine. Like a car engine, your most efficient pedaling cadence is 70–90 revolutions per minute. To maintain that efficiency, shift whenever your cadence gets too slow or too fast. Following this principle, on undulating terrain, you should be shifting constantly to keep your cadence steady. By the end of the ride, those who shifted less will be gasping for air, while you’ll still feel fresh.
How do you know which gear to choose? First, don’t be overwhelmed by the many gear options, and don’t worry that “wrong” shifts will damage your bike — just ease up on pedaling while shifting (you must keep pedaling to complete the shift). Understand that the “right” gear is whatever allows you to pedal comfortably at any given moment. There’s no right or wrong, no fixed rule. Let your body tell you when to shift.
Press the right shifter slightly to make pedaling a bit easier or harder. Treat this gear lever as a fine-tuning device for your pedaling output. For example, when you're going down a gentle slope and your speed increases, you can press the right shifter 1-2 times to switch to a better gear ratio. The left shifter will make a significant difference in pedaling effort. If you enter a valley and want to ride out easily, and since you've just come down a slope with a high gear ratio, you can immediately make pedaling easier by shifting the left lever to move the chain onto the smaller chainring, thus providing a more comfortable pedaling feel.
If you're nervous about shifting gears, practice more. A good way is to hang the bike and secure it, then use one hand to shift gears while the other hand turns the crank, observing how the chain moves. Try it a few times, and you'll understand what happens when you press the shifter. Then, when you get back on the bike, you can shift gears with confidence.