Cornering, AKA turning is one skill that scares a lot of new riders.  This is a essential skill that will build your confidence and make you a safer rider.  Here are three tips to help you become a more confident, powerful cyclist.

​1.Apex of the turn.

Picking your line through the turn sets you up for success.  Finding the apex of the turn gives you the fastest,  straightest, and safest line through the turn.  Picking a line that is to early, late, or missed will slow you down or worse.

​2. Look though the turn.

Your bike will go where your eyes lead them.  You want to look where you want the bike to go.  It's also important to keep a level head.  In the image to the left notice the head position of the riders.  You want to keep you eyes parallel to the ground as you are looking though the straightest line through the turn.

​3.Controlling the bike.  
There are a few ways to actually position your body on the bike to take a turn from the image below.  We will cover these in more details during our outdoor riding classes.  One thing to note is that the outside leg, the leg farthest from the turn is down and the riders weight is pushing into the pedal.  This retains even weight on the tires and keeps you from clipping a pedal in a turn.  Clipping a pedal means the inside pedal hits the ground and kicks the wheels out from under you...NOT GOOD!
 

To learn skills like cornering, descending, climbing, and just becoming a more efficient cyclist, check out our outdoor training classes.  Become a better rider!

Now that the weather is getting warmer and you're getting your bike off the trainer, there are a few tips I use for the start of the outdoor season.

​1. Focus on cadence.  Do not worry about speed or average speed, just enjoy the ride.  Give your legs time to acclimate to outdoor riding again.

​2. Hit the hills.  Don't be afraid  to ride the hills even if you're a little slower then last year at first.  Your legs will adjust to the increased power.  Start with smaller hills and increasingly add bigger climbs.

​3. Patience.  After a long winter of not riding or riding a ton of trainer hours, it's important to be patient with your legs as they acclimate to outdoor riding.  If you did train, you should have a good base.  Once your power catches up it should be a whole new race!