RECREATION / BIKING : Technique Tells Tale : Gearing, Drafting and Cadence Give Top Cyclists Their Edge

If you ride bicycles at all, chances are this has happened to you: You’re heading down Coast Highway, maintaining a steady 18 m.p.h., feeling strong, when without warning a pack of riders zips by, their seemingly effortless cadence a smooth 30 m.p.h.

In seconds, it seems, they are gone. And all you remember is the silence of the paceline, the way their legs seemed to move in total unison, the pack wasting no energy as it worked as one, each rider using the draft and taking turns at the front in balletlike symmetry.

This is cycling as it is supposed to be--the pack working as one, the paceline straight and the speed steady, the legs pumping in harmony, backs flat and heads low, elbows bent.

What these riders have that you don’t is technique. It’s not the $2,500 bikes they may be on but the knowledge of gearing and drafting and cadence that sets them apart and allows them to ride faster and longer and smoother. And unfortunately, it’s not something that comes naturally.

Put two riders side by side, the same age and in the same physical condition, both of them avid enthusiasts putting in 150 miles a week, and the one who will excel on the hills and keep it at a steady 30 m.p.h. on the flats will be the one who has paid attention to the subtleties of technique.

You can put in 200 miles a week and have quads the size of an oak tree, but if you take a hill in the wrong gear, or fall even so much as half a bike length off the paceline, that group riding in formation like the Blue Angels will leave you behind like some kind of wanna-be.

Fast road bike clubs see this happen all the time. They come upon a lone rider astride a shiny custom bike equipped with triathlete bars, who jumps on the rear of the paceline. Everything is fine until the first hill, or when the club picks it up on the flats, and suddenly that interloper is 100 yards back, exhausted and spent, the victim of too little attention to the things that make great riders great.

The lesson here is if you’re serious about biking at all and are committed to putting in the miles, you’d do well to pay attention to experienced riders and racers. It will go a long way toward improving overall performance--without increasing your mileage.

And even if your goal isn’t to keep up with the racers, there’s nothing like organized group riding to pick up some tips from the old pros.

Most bikers find it’s a small step from those lone rides with one or two friends to the excitement of group riding. It’s like going from a disposable camera to mastering a Nikon and setting up a darkroom in your garage.

Thanks to the popularity of biking here, Orange County offers a wide cross section of organized clubs catering to everything from the weekend recreational cyclist looking to put in a slow 25 miles to the serious riders and racers who think nothing of knocking off a 70-miler averaging a quick 25 m.p.h.

And because of the number of clubs, there seems to be something for just about everyone.

“The good thing about cycling,” said biking enthusiast Rudy Fernandez, 52, of Irvine, “is that no matter at what level you are doing it, you can find a club to ride with, no matter how old you are. There are people out there 40, 60 and 70 who don’t give an inch to anyone younger than them.”

Fernandez, who has been riding for years, has seen the sport through boom and bust times and said the current cycle is one of expansion.

“You have all kinds of organized bike tours, different types of clubs, the U.S. Cycling Federation racing, the touring clubs and then all the small clubs that take it quite seriously. There’s something for everyone.”

The largest local club is the Orange County Wheelmen, which boasts 950 members and offers training classes, rides for beginners and club-sponsored century rides of 100 miles.

If you’re into the social aspect of riding or merely want to increase your speed and distance while picking up some valuable tips, this may be the group for you.

The Bicycle Club of Irvine is a recreational, non-racing club offering over 40 rides a month. It too offers non-threatening rides for beginners and longer rides for the recreational cyclist, and you can learn something about pack riding and staying out of the gutter after a few trips out.

A slew of smaller clubs, many sponsored by local bike shops, offer everything from easy recreational rides (say 20 miles and a stop for brunch) to fast-paced 60-milers with no stops.

More demanding than the Wheelmen or the Irvine club and requiring a greater commitment--not to mention experience and ability--are clubs such as those sponsored by Bicycles Etc. of El Toro and BS Bicisport of Laguna Hills. Both offer coaching and emphasize technique and speed over distance.

Bicycles Etc. is a co-sponsor of the Nissan-Schwinn team that races competitively in U.S. Cycling Federation events. At Bicisport, former Romanian Olympic cyclist Marcel Calborn has formed a core group composed of racers and professional men--ranging in age from the mid-20s to mid-50s--who ride five to six times a week.

For those bold enough to think they can move with the best, there are several rides that attract the local elite. But be warned: Don’t bother even showing up unless you’re ready to ride like the wind. These men and women are fast.

Como Street: This curiously named ride (there is no Como Street in Irvine but apparently there used to be one in the area when the ride began in the 1950s) starts on Jamboree Road west of the Santa Ana Freeway in Irvine every Sunday around 8:30 a.m. The ride usually runs between 36 and 45 miles and has been known to attract up to 300 riders. The pack normally splits as the weak lose the draft and fall behind.

* Coffee Crew: This 7 a.m. Saturday ride follows a 35-mile loop and starts in Corona del Mar. Not for the weak at heart.

* Foodpark: This starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturdays at Foodpark in Irvine and runs for about 35 miles. Another fast one but not as demanding as Como Street or Coffee Crew.

And finally there is the “Ziggurat” training ride, a 1.4-mile loop around the pyramid-shaped Chet Holifield federal building in Laguna Niguel.

The “Zig” takes place each Tuesday and Thursday starting around 5:30 p.m. and ending at dusk. A pack of usually 50 to 60 shows up and does about 40 miles around the loop, taking 90-degree corners at 40 m.p.h. and riding so close you can read the label off your neighbor’s bike jersey.

Kal Szkalak, 37, a triathlete who now devotes most of his energy to bike racing, notes that the Zig can be particularly demanding.

“This ride is occasioned by world champions from time to time,” said Szkalak, who lives in Dana Point. “It is not unusual for pro riders to seek out the Zig or Como Street when they’re in the area.”

But with so many clubs and organized rides around, you don’t have to compete at the Zig to enjoy cycling. Still, with a little attention to technique, you might think you’d want to give it try.

Items about bicycling events, races, charity rides and related announcements and queries can be sent to Richard Beene, The Times, Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa 92626, or faxed to (714) 966-7711.