Do You Know What You Are Doing?
I had the good fortune recently to acquire a student. I taught my first class in the art of making glass beads. I have been making glass in a torch for nearly ten years now and I have gotten pretty good at it. I can even make marbles for those of you who may need replacements. The challenge was to take a good look at what I do and then tell someone else how to do it. This may sound easy but try it sometime, you may not know what you are doing even while you are doing it.
This was not my first time teaching but it was the first time I had to teach subtle physical skills tied in with a nearly alchemic science. So of course I thought about cycling and since this blog is about cycling we will head that way.
Today I went out with Sponge Bob. I did a 3 hour pull while he told me how well I was doing. Ya gotta love him. I told him I was ruminating about things we do without knowing about them and he agreed. A pair of semi’s passed us going opposite directions and we avoided the perfect storm shear of synchronized vacuum and gale, keeping us both in Texas and not whirling off to Kansas or someplace odd like Oz or DC.
Did it cross your mind that I tightened my grip on my handlebars, leaned forward to put more weight on the front wheel and kept the rear loose to compensate for balance shift? It skipped my mind too until I thought about it later. If I had had to think about it I would be on the way to Kansas. Last year I was bombing down a hill up by Fredricksburg. I hit 45 mph and a gust of wind came under me and lifted me completely off the pavement. I didn’t think about that at the time either, I was little busy negotiating a landing. I stayed tucked, did not over react, and came down on the pavement in nearly the same position as I left it. I was a bit farther down the hill but still vertical.
Think about it for a bit. Could you tell a new rider what to do if no one calls a 2 x4 and you have to run over it at 25 mph? How do you not wind up schmear if you blow out a front tire (130 psi Tubby) coming down a hill at 30 mph? What are all of the little adjustments you make to your body position to keep you comfortable over the distance of a hundred miles?
The other side of the equation is just as important. Are you really tracking in a nice straight line or all you all over the road? Are you aware of where you are in relation to the others in your group? Why are you so tired? Are you exhausted and all over the road? We have all been there some of us just never knew it.
So do you know what you are doing? Can you teach others to do what you do instinctively? Can you teach yourself to improve? It may sound simple but ask any educator and as soon as they quit laughing, they will be glad to help you experience the joy of learning. After all, that is what teaching is all about.
This was not my first time teaching but it was the first time I had to teach subtle physical skills tied in with a nearly alchemic science. So of course I thought about cycling and since this blog is about cycling we will head that way.
Today I went out with Sponge Bob. I did a 3 hour pull while he told me how well I was doing. Ya gotta love him. I told him I was ruminating about things we do without knowing about them and he agreed. A pair of semi’s passed us going opposite directions and we avoided the perfect storm shear of synchronized vacuum and gale, keeping us both in Texas and not whirling off to Kansas or someplace odd like Oz or DC.
Did it cross your mind that I tightened my grip on my handlebars, leaned forward to put more weight on the front wheel and kept the rear loose to compensate for balance shift? It skipped my mind too until I thought about it later. If I had had to think about it I would be on the way to Kansas. Last year I was bombing down a hill up by Fredricksburg. I hit 45 mph and a gust of wind came under me and lifted me completely off the pavement. I didn’t think about that at the time either, I was little busy negotiating a landing. I stayed tucked, did not over react, and came down on the pavement in nearly the same position as I left it. I was a bit farther down the hill but still vertical.
Think about it for a bit. Could you tell a new rider what to do if no one calls a 2 x4 and you have to run over it at 25 mph? How do you not wind up schmear if you blow out a front tire (130 psi Tubby) coming down a hill at 30 mph? What are all of the little adjustments you make to your body position to keep you comfortable over the distance of a hundred miles?
The other side of the equation is just as important. Are you really tracking in a nice straight line or all you all over the road? Are you aware of where you are in relation to the others in your group? Why are you so tired? Are you exhausted and all over the road? We have all been there some of us just never knew it.
So do you know what you are doing? Can you teach others to do what you do instinctively? Can you teach yourself to improve? It may sound simple but ask any educator and as soon as they quit laughing, they will be glad to help you experience the joy of learning. After all, that is what teaching is all about.
posted by Speedo at 2:17 PM
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