Or rather, up the hills. Which I find more and more appealing, and a true source of teachable moments.
Especially off-tarmac and on compacted paths or even the proverbial gravel, balance is trained because well needed, on my racer with only 32mm wide tires.
Add a steep gradient (in parts peaking at over 20%), and you have good reason to learn as much “souplesse” (or, “the art of perfect pedalling”, i.e. constant power to the cranks) as you possibly can.
Getting out of the saddle is not an option, because 32mm rubber will just not deal with your power peaking on those paths. But even when you try that (and fail), you learn how to very quickly click out of your pedals to avoid some of that gravel making its way into your skin.
Admittedly, I am just really, really happy that my power numbers – f-it, who cares for those – my health and fitness has mostly recovered to the point where it all went to zero, right after my private bike camp on Mallorca in the Fall of 2022.
And again, numbers are only there to surprise me, not for me to chase after – so, know that only 89 riders had ridden up that segment at the time I randomly discovered this lovely, lonely alternative to the treaded and dreaded tarmac alternative.
