Cycling Tid Bits

TB – 1 Make Room in Your Life for a New Activity

Wow, so you’ve decided to cycle, explore, and strive for improved health.  Great, now let’s be sure that 30 days from now you feel the same way and your bike isn’t just another dust magnet!  Riding for a desired time or distance will be one of the first challenges that comes to mind.  But wait!  That’s not your primary goal.  Your goal is to recognize that if you want to cycle today and tomorrow you’ll need to change your routine. But how do you keep at it when their are times ‘I don’t have time for riding’?  You start by recognizing that you will be replacing something you already do with cycling. Cycling shouldn’t create anxiety with one more thing piled on your list of “To Do’s.” In other words, decide to make it a routine part of your day and to help succeed you will sacrifice time spent on something else you deem “less important”. Many have found that when you make cycling a part of their routine that the routine drives you to want to ride….because you’ll miss it.

TB – 2 Look Up and See What You Are Missing

If you’re like most people walking around we generally look down…even when you are not looking at your phone.  Cycling provides a great diversion for your mind, a chance to see the world around you, and to experience.  How can you realize all this if you are constantly looking down?  I get it if you are mountain biking on a trail, but for many we’re just on flat pavement.  Look up and see what you are missing. Be aware of your surroundings for safety sake, watch out for others, listen for cars around you, and from a cost perspective….enjoy the free scenery you pay to see on vacations!

TB – 3 Unplug While Riding

OK, here we go.  I know that many use music as a way of ‘unplugging’ and if it helps you keep cycling keep doing it.  Alternatively, give your brain a rest, do some thinking, soak up what’s around you, and from a safety perspective you stand a better chance of hearing other riders around you, people nearby, cars that can hit you, and the list goes on.  I get the feeling that avid music listeners probably don’t need to be connected anyway.  They most likely have the music memorized in their head!  Imagine that: play what you want, when you want, and no need for headphones!!!

TB – 4 Hydration

How much is enough?  The answer may seem simple…just drink some water along the way.  Well no, it’s not that simple and if you get a little dizzy along your ride you’ve already gone too far with too little fluids.

Are you just going for a casual ride or hustling it for an hour our more?  On the flats or are you looking up hills with some climbs?  Is it hot out where you will be sweating a lot or are you bundled up because it’s cool out?  In the end, you need to bring what ‘you’ need for the ride you anticipate.  Here is what I’ve learned about my body.  On rides less than 90 minutes I consume one bottle of water.  Remember, I’m not a high-end cyclist, just a casual long-distance rider. On rides greater, I bring two bottles with one of them filled with an electrolyte (like Gatorade). Don’t be afraid of sodium or sugars in the electrolyte drinks.  You’ll need and burn them off with the energy demand of your ride.  That means on rides longer than a couple hours I plan my rides to where I can get a refill.  

Hydration involves three phases.  It begins before the ride, of course during the ride, and finishes up after a ride. I was like a lot of cyclists that are hydration gulpers at 20-30 minute intervals.  I’ve transformed over to a sipper every 10 minutes or so.  The sipping helps keep my hydration level more steady which becomes more important during warm weather rides or when you are expending a lot of energy.  We all have a built in mechanism that is a finely-tuned hydration sensor: our perception of thirst.  Listen to it.  The best lesson I’ve learned from other riders about hydration is to unplug while you ride.  That goes back to Tidbit 3: if you’re listening to your music that means you aren’t listening to your body!  

TB – 5 Cycling Curtesy

I’ve heard it too many times from various cyclers: “Everyone should accommodate the cycler.” Let’s not go to far and say every cycler is like this but a percentage do think this way. I think there is an alternate approach that leads to much friendlier and safer results. When you come up behind someone and you’re going to pass them say “On your left” or something that tells them you are approaching them. Then complete the pass by saying “Thank You”, “Enjoy your walk”, or just plain something courteous. When you cross an intersection don’t look at the car look at the driver and make sure they see you. When I make eye contact I always wave or nod my head at them in thanks for seeing me. Remember, you are sharing the road, sidewalk, or trail with everyone else….you own nothing. Be kind and acknowledge and you’ll be potentially riding much longer and safer!

TB – 6 Don’t Over Do It

Coming soon!