Coaches Aren't Just for Racers

by client Garth Powell

Most club and recreational riders have likely never considered hiring a coach. Okay, if you’re reading this it may have crossed your mind, but you’re not sure? That’s understandable. After all most of the training programs and even the language seems to be centered on cyclists who will be or are currently racing. That’s to be expected given that serious competitive athletes need coaches to help them train.

Then there are cyclists such as myself. I’m middle aged, have no intention of riding competitively, and I have to juggle cycling with a busy job, family, or other responsibilities. Why would I need or want to hire a coach? First some background…..

I got the road cycling bug early in my teenage years and loved riding all day up huge hills and mountains in the California Central Valley where I was raised. This was a time when the sport was still somewhat rare in the United States. The local bike club consisted of eight riders. We had expensive pro-tour level bikes we were very proud of, but we knew absolutely nothing. We read books and magazines, saw a few seconds of the Tour De France on Wide World of Sports, and road in floppy t-shirts and Levi’s cut-offs! For all the thousands of feet we climbed, none of us ever got out of our saddles for leverage, we’d never seen anyone do it up close and we didn’t know how. There we’re no professionals to show us the way, no instruction. Still we had a great time.

I gave up the bike when I went away to college and regrettably didn’t return to the sport for 25 years. About two years ago I decided I wanted to get healthy again and I really missed cycling. I purchased a bike that would be comparable with the one I used to own, got a fitting, shoes, cleats, helmet, and rode off to rediscover my youth.

Within three hours of blissful riding I encountered my first serious down hill descent (a curvy, 12% grade, two miles long). I’m lucky I didn’t spill!!! My old Masi may have been light steel with tubular tires, but compared with today’s aero, ultra-low rolling-resistance carbon bikes it was a beach cruiser. Within a quarter mile of the descent my highest gear would not offer enough resistance for pedaling and I was still accelerating fast. The next thing I noticed was that the slightest provocation offered from my hands to the steering mechanism would throw me either into the middle of the road, 1000 feet of a cliff, or; might throw me off the bike like a child mounting a stallion. Somehow I made it the bottom of the descent (knees shaking for the next ten minutes). This was when it occurred to me that some instruction just might save my life.

Granted, many reading this aren’t in that position. You’ve been riding for years and relish technical rides. Still, have you ever wondered how it is that the front riders on a century or double make it in hours before you? Do they have some God given gift, or have they been trained properly? Is your bike handling all that it could be, or is it a collection of tips and observations throughout the years? Many riders I’ve spoken with assume a coach is about discipline, someone to bark out orders and keep you in peak condition. Though that can be arranged, a good coach can enhance your entire experience on the bike. After less than a year with my coach I can ride much faster with no increased effort, I’m stronger, a far better climber, I can hold a pace-line and draft properly, corner well, and make it through a 50mph descent without shaking.

Any activity that’s worthwhile requires skill and experience. The mistake many of us frequently make is assuming that they are one in the same. Though there is value in years in the saddle, it is not a substitute for good efficient technique. A coach does not necessarily need to be a task master, they can be a facilitator guiding you towards the rider you aspire to, or never imagined you could be.

Garth Powell is coached by Laurel Green