Learn to Speak Bike

What could an urban e-bike cyclist and an unassisted racer who’s logging km to prepare for their next goal possibly talk about? Here’s a short, non-exhaustive list of typical cycling expressions, so the former isn’t completely lost when the latter speaks.

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: Pixabay / Publicdomainpictures

The experienced cyclist sometimes uses very specific jargon.

The racer in training is doing the work, alternating strength and cadence to gain watts before the next criterium, club sportive or road race. They power up climbs with a big gear until their legs are burning, before recovering with legs in the wool.

They intend to build their engine, to get into the first echelon and avoid getting caught in the crosswinds and eating gravel. When they’re not chasing KOMs, they’re spinning and working on their dead spots to have light ankles. In a race, they’re there to go for the win and bring home the bouquet. No question of finishing 2nd, let alone finishing ahead of the broom wagon or bailing out. Nose to the handlebars and saddle up their ass, they cling to their opponents with everything to the right, even if it means sucking wheels before jumping them at the line. Their anxiety is having heavy legs because they haven’t done enough intervals and overcompensated, resulting in two left feet, even if they feel sharp as a blade. The magic of electric assistance means the e-bike cyclist can change gears and smoke a pipe while spinning their legs, and even climb steep hills on the big ring without feeling like they have a chain on their bike. And pedal with ease.

There’s no age limit to getting into cycling and mastering its codes.

Glossary:

– Logging km: accumulating kilometers on the bike, riding a lot and often.
– Preparing for their next goal: physically and mentally preparing for an event, a race.
– Doing the work: training regularly and seriously, taking care of sleep and nutrition, to be in top form.
– Strength and cadence: Alternating slow pedaling with strong pressure on the pedals with high-cadence pedaling to gain power.
– Gaining watts: improving one’s ability to produce power (through better physical condition).
– Criterium: a race on a small circuit with a high number of laps to complete.
– Club sportive: a gathering or mass event with several categories of participants, on a more or less long course, organized by the cyclist’s club.
– Road race: a competition on a long course that connects two distinct locations (from point A to point B).
– Powering up climbs with a big gear: climbing hills with a large gear ratio, pedaling at a low cadence.
– Legs are burning: experiencing intense leg pain during exertion.
– Legs in the wool: resting muscles by avoiding standing, and/or covering them to keep them warm.
– Building their engine: improving physical capabilities through well-conducted training.
– The first echelon: when the wind blows from the side on an open road, riders position themselves to fight the wind by sharing their efforts, through a well-ordered movement of changing positions, like a rotation viewed from above.
– Getting caught in the crosswinds: not having space to join the echelon, and thus being in single file behind it, trying to hold on, very close to the side of the road.
– Eating gravel: staying in the crosswinds for a long time without being able to change position due to the speed imposed by the echelon.
– Chasing KOMs/QOMs: attempting to break records on Strava community application segments.
– Spinning: turning the legs quickly while pedaling, with low resistance.
– Dead spots: during the pedaling cycle, when the foot is in its lowest or highest position (during the transition between the pushing and pulling phases of pedaling)
– Light ankles: an easy pedal stroke, with no apparent effort.
– Going for the win: being a serious contender for victory.
– Bringing home the bouquet: finishing a race as the winner, and being rewarded with the bouquet of flowers presented on this occasion.
– Finishing 2nd: finishing second (also applies to third, fourth, etc.)
– Finishing ahead of the broom wagon: arriving among the last.
– Bailing out: abandoning an event.
– Nose to the handlebars: riding with head down, with only the cockpit or front wheel in view.
– Saddle up their ass: going all out, and having to pedal on the nose of the saddle.
– Everything to the right: riding very fast, with a very large gear (the chain positioned as far to the right as possible on the drivetrain).
– Sucking wheels: benefiting from the slipstream of opponents, and not taking turns at the front against the wind to save energy.
– Jumping them at the line: sprinting and overtaking an opponent at the last moment on the finish line.
– Heavy legs: having heavy legs.
– Intervals: a training method that involves alternating phases of intense effort with phases of recovery.
– Overcompensating: recovering after an effort/training/race and taking advantage of the body’s adaptive capacities to improve.
– Two left feet: not having good muscular sensations.
– Sharp as a blade: having very little body fat, with very visible muscles and tendons.
– Changing gears: changing gear ratio using the derailleur.
– Smoking a pipe: pedaling very easily.
– Spinning their legs: spinning, pedaling without forcing.
– Climbing steep hills on the big ring: climbing very steep hills with the large chainring.
– Not feeling like they have a chain: pedaling with no apparent resistance, as if there were no drivetrain.