FOGBEES

Harpeth Bike Club Skills Clinic

This clinic is worth the price of a year's  membership.

REMINDER --- Paceline/Cornering/Contact Skills Clinic - April 29 The HBC is offering the first of our skills clinics for this season: Paceline/Cornering/Contact Skills Clinic -- April 29 Ravenwood High School, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm There will not be a Pancake Ride on April 29; members are encouraged to attend the clinic instead. After the clinic, at 12:00 noon, we will have a club ride for participants in the Clinic and anyone else who is interested. This clinic is a "must" for all HBC members, even if you have been cycling for many years. We guarantee there will be several "a - ha" moments. Understanding the dynamics of group riding is essential to promoting safe cycling opportunities . . . which is what the HBC is all about! The clinic will be held on the parking lot.  Most of the time will be spent on practicing skills.  All you need to bring is your bike! Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing Phil Scharre, HBC VP, at pscharre@comcast.net There are three parts to the clinic: Cornering Skills: We discuss steer vs counter-steer, proper weight placement, looking through the turn, single rider apex, and touch on apex relative to others in a group. We do drills focusing on each aspect of what we discuss and share thoughts and experiences. The purpose is to put terminology to concepts that people are already practicing so that improvement can be made easier. Contact Skills: Do you get nervous or feel uncomfortable when you find yourself surrounded by other riders during a group ride? Do you know how to react when you have riders on both sides and you encounter pot holes or even worse, the dreaded “road kill” in your lane? The class is designed to build your confidence in group riding. The clinic will teach skills and conduct exercises and drills that we guarantee will make your group riding safer and more enjoyable. Paceline Skills: New to paceline riding? It’s great fun, and lets you ride farther and faster with less work. Done well, it’s poetry in motion. Done badly, it’s nerve-racking and can be dangerous. Pacelines do have some inherent danger and require communication among the riders. The riders have to be confident that the others in the group will communicate well and ride safely. There are three essential characteristics of safe paceline riding: be smooth, be predictable, and be courteous. While several HBC members will serve as instructors, we can always use more folks. If you have significant experience and skills in one or more of these three areas, your participation will be welcomed. We plan to offer additional clinics throughout the year. HBC clinics are open to club members only. This clinic is not intended for beginner cyclists. We will hold clinics for beginners in the near future.