Braaaping for endurance
Lee
Just wanted to say thanks. Your teachings helped me to finished my first hundie, the Cohutta 100, and all I have to say is braaaping saved me untolds amount of time and energy.
During the endless suffering I quoted “the book” chapter and verse. I pumped every feature for free speed. I carved turns like Thanksgiving turkey.
And while there is no substitute for training hard, I believe that riding smart is part of a balanced training diet.
Thanks again. Erik
 Fall 2003: Specialized’s Brandon Sloan leads an all-star cast on an epic adventure in NorCal’s Henry Coe State Park. These guys braaaped every moment of that 6-hour ride. |
Hey Erik,
Right on!
Braaaping, aka riding with solid skills and effective aggression, does a few things for you:
Saves energy. You aren’t bouncing off obstacles and struggling through turns. Rather than statically absorbing violence, you’re actively creating flow.
Increases speed. You reap the dual benefits of backside pump and black-belt smoothness.
Improves mood. Driving your bike, rather than merely riding it, gives you something proactive to focus on when you’re suffering. Don’t just hang on — rip it!
Braaaping makes every section more efficient, faster and more fun. And that really adds up over 100 miles.
Rip it!
— Lee
 Curtis Keene, now one of America’s top DH racers, gets some in the middle of an all-day epic. Ripping every section of a long ride is fast — and fun. |
Know more. Have more fun!
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Perhaps the best improvement I was able to realize after reading was in cornering, I must admit to random braking in corners! After a long winter on the bike riding snowy streets I feel like i’m now rippin’ through corners and exploding out the other side!
The book has helped make my riding so much more efficient.
I’ll never leave another back-side un-pumped,
Thanks!
“I’ll never leave another back-side un-pumped.”
Words to live by!
Guys who passed me on some of the uphills were stunned that I was was passing them on the down hills and making up many seconds and even minutes on some of them.
I am now working on transferring my newly acquired braaaptastic skills to our local road bike downhill time trial series. Driving hard through switch back corners is alot scarier on asphalt but I am finding the same principles apply.