Like in diving, driving, or shooting a basketball…set your eyes on the path you want your bike to follow. (open road hitting pole story)
2. Ride with the Best
Riding with a peloton of cyclists that push your pace will consistently challenge you to bring your ‘A-game’.
3. Brake Less
Decide on the speed that you can handle before entering the turn. Once you are turning the brakes can decrease your control. Stay committed. (tandem story)
4. Do NOT wear underwear in your cycling shorts.
This chamois and spandex is designed to ride next to your body. Additional fabric can cause undersired friction. (and looks stupid)
5. Stay visible
Most motorist do not want to file the insurance claim of hitting a cyclist, so give them warning or your presence and allow them time to adjust.
6. Keep your gear clean
Shorts Daily, gloves Weekly, and Shoes Monthly. Not only do we minimize distasteful order, but it also keeps our skin healthy.
7. Warm Up
My biggest concern with group exercise is the tendency to go heavy to early. If your group jumps right into efforts, spend 20-30 minutes before joining them warming up those tendons, ligaments and blood pumping muscles.
8. Always Carry Cash
Credit cards are convenient, but especially in smaller towns, if you want a cold drink cash is the universal exchange.
9. Always Carry ID
Think in terms, “If I’m not able to talk, what does someone need to know about me to make sure that I’m taken care of?”
10. Race, at least Once
Racing opens the pre-existing thresholds that hang until you allow others to push them up to a new level.
11. Drink before you are Thirsty
By the time the mind registers you are thirsty the body is already @ least 2% dehydrated.
12. Eat before you are Hungry
By keeping up your blood sugar you are able to prolong that dreaded ‘BONK’
13. On longer rides, easily digestible calories are key
Ensure the consumption of complex carbohydrates and protein also. James Herrera, MS, founder of Performance Driven Coaching, has a favorite: spread some almond butter on whole-grain bread and top with sliced bananas and agave nectar or honey.
14. Minimize your time in chamois
A rock climber will wear the toe scrunching shoes while on the wall, but even wear breathable sandals while not climbing. Give your skin breathing time when possible.
15. Ride Hard. . .
To become faster, you need to ride faster. Intervals squeeze every drop of fitness from your time on the bike.
16. Listen to the Body
"No workout is set in stone," 56-year-old mountain-bike legend Ned Overend's says. "Your training needs to have structure, but it should be malleable based on how you're feeling." Which might explain why, 10 days before he won the 2011 Mt. Washington Hill Climb, Overend was surfing in San Diego ;)
17. Play the Terrain
Go hard on climbs and take it easy on descents
18. Ride a Different Style Bike
Explore the woods on a mountain bike, ride through town on a commuter bike, open up for top speed on a road bike. Mixing in different types of riding keeps you mentally fresh, boosts your skills, and reminds you that riding is fun.
19. Use those Shifters Often
You have lots of gears for a reason: to keep your cadence in the sweet spot. For silky-smooth gear changes, remember to shift before a punchy climb, sprint, or tight switchback.
20. Train Your Weaknesses
Professional endurance racer Mark Weir makes his living blasting through corners. But that wasn't always the case. "I was a semi-pro downhiller racing in Park City, Utah, and there was a corner that I thought just sucked," he recalls. "I told Jan Karpiel, one of my sponsors, about it, and he said: 'The corner doesn't suck, you suck at that corner.' I realized then that training my weaknesses is far more important than sticking with my strengths."
21. Check Your Tire Pressure
Here are some basic guidelines from Michelin.
Road/Commuter: If you weigh more than 180 pounds, inflate to the maximum on the tire sidewall. If you weigh 110 or less, fill to the minimum. Somewhere in between? Inflate to the proportionate psi in between.
Mountain Bike: Target 27psi for rough terrain and mud, 32 psi for cleared trails. Tubless tires ~25 psi..
22. Use Proper saddle height
If your knee hurts in the front, raise your saddle; if it hurts in the back, lower the seat.
23. Buy a Torque Wrench and Learn How to Use It
Critical for carbon parts, but will also extend the life of all stems, handlebars, bottom brackets, seatpost clamps, and suspension pivots. My favorite is Park's TW-5.
24. Learn to Bunnyhop
Doing an unclipped hop shows you how changes in body position affect your bike's behavior—knowledge that will boost your confidence on steep downhills, rough roads, and in corners.
A: Replace your clipless pedals with platforms and your cycling shoes with soft-soled sneakers.
B: Ride across a flat, grassy field at slightly faster than walking speed, standing on your pedals, cranks level with the ground, elbows and knees slightly bent.
C: Push down on the handlebar while bending your knees even farther so you are crouched over the saddle. Then immediately pull up and back on your bar as you shift your weight back to get the front tire up.
D: With the front tire off the ground, shift your weight forward as you push the handlebar ahead and hop up with your legs to lift the rear wheel.
25. Fitness Takes Time
No crash diet or hell week of training will magically propel you into top form. "You've got to work toward it all season long.
26. Take pulls at the front.
For anyone that rode with Lance they know this well. He demanded that everyone member of the team break the wind from front and keep the defined pace…if not ever to be labeled as the ‘choad’!
27. Wash Your Bike
Especially after a wet or muddy ride. Mist it with a garden hose or soak it using a bucket of soapy water. Wipe it down and rinse, then dry it with a clean rag or towel. Don't forget to lube your chain!
28. Care for Your Chain
A well-maintained and lubricated chain could last 3,000 road miles or more, but check it every 500. Here's how: Take a ruler and place the 0 at the rivet of one link. If the ruler's 12-inch mark aligns closely with another rivet, you're in good shape. If it's more than a 1/16th of an inch away, replace the chain.
29. Respect Your Front Brake
Applying 60 percent front brake will bring you to a smooth, controlled stop. But on steep descents or during rapid decelerations, you'll want to rely even more heavily on the front to avoid wiping out.
30. Stick with Your Group
Whether you're embarking on a 100-mile charity ride or racing a stage of a Tour, there's safety in numbers. Teammates and friends can pull if you're feeling tired, share their food, or help fix a mechanical. "I've seen this so many times," says Chris Horner. "A guy is leading the race and is really strong and so he goes into a breakaway. But what happens if he crashes or flats? He is all alone. Stay with your group as long as possible."
31. Layer your clothes Like a Wedding Cake
Easily removable layers make it a snap to regulate your temperature. Booties, vests, and skullcaps, as well as arm, knee, and leg warmers, can all be stashed in pockets as the day warms up.
32. Keep Your Head Up
Looking far down the road or trail will help you see approaching traffic, spot the best line through corners, or recognize when someone's making a break ;)
33. Carry these mechanical essentials
A frame pump. And a spare tube. And a multi-tool with a chain breaker.
A frame pump. And a spare tube. And a multi-tool with a chain breaker.
34. Listen to Your Bike
"A click or pop or scraping noise doesn't heal itself," says Calvin Jones, director of education at Park Tool. Pay attention to the sounds emanating from your ride and you'll know when it's time for some TLC.
35. Have a detailed Training Plan
Fitness Improvement never comes accidentally. If you want to take your riding to the next level, you need to craft a strategy and set incremental goals to reach it. "Better yet, hire a coach to guide your way," suggests three-time Leadville 100 champion Rebecca Rusch.
36. Embrace the Rain
Unless you live in the desert, soggy rides are a part of life. Just dress appropriately: Layers and a rain jacket are optional in the summer, but become essential when temperatures start to drop.
37. Keep a Spare ‘Riding Kit’ in Your Car
You never know when you'll have the chance to sneak in a ride. Borrowing or renting a bike is easy, but it's harder to find a spare helmet, shoes, and chamois. Keeping a kit in your car all but ensures you'll never miss an impromptu ride.
38. It's Okay to Stop
Don't be afraid to pull over for a good swimming hole, hot spring, ice-cream stand, cafe, bakery, or micro-brewery.
39. Keep Your Perspective
Like most young professional riders, Ted King is learning how to balance the demands of training and family obligations with the extensive travel and training his job requires. Here's what he's learned so far.
When training, set a goal for every ride—even if the goal is recovery.
When racing, ride smart, don't chop corners, and remember that the local Thursday-Night Crit is not the World Championships.
40. Refuel Right
The key recovery window is the 30 minutes following a ride; that's when your body needs protein to repair muscles and help reload its energy stores, so make sure to get at least 20 to 25 grams.
41. Work Your Core
Most cyclists have weak cores. Planks, ab crunches, and kettlebell workouts help immensely.
42. Know What The Wind Is Doing
Pick a route that heads into the wind first.
43. Know Your Gear
"Don't ever use anything new in a bike race," says former pro racer and cycling commentator Frankie Andreu.
44. Get Fit To Your Bike
There is no faster way to improve your comfort or performance on the bike. "Your ideal position will change over time," says Andy Pruitt,EdD, director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Colorado. "As you get older—say, over the age of 35—you should consider a professional bike fit every few seasons."
45. Bring Beer
It is the currency of cycling. A cold one can serve as payment for a borrowed tube, a tip for your mechanic, or a way to celebrate another great ride.
46. Pass Fast
In a mountain-bike race, make your presence known, then pass quickly. And if someone's passing you, let him or her by.
47. Riding Hurts
Sometimes riders at the front aren't there because they're faster, but because they can suffer more. Train your legs for speed, but also condition your mind to embrace the pain.
48. Go—Even For A Short Ride
Head away from home for 30 minutes. If you're still miserable, turn around—you'll have logged an hour on the bike. Or, just keep riding.
49. Ride for Enjoyment
Fitness, hormone balancing, burning off the cookies…may be benefits also, but always Remember to ENJOY
50. BREATHE
Deep diaphoretic breathing keeps the blood oxygenated and your performance up.
51. Allow this time to be Therapeutic
We discuss and analyze gear, form, and goals enough. When you are able allow your time riding to meditate. Riding can serve as a healthy therapy!
52. Let it be a Dance
Conditions will change, the tempo will change, and so will our perspective…Let It be a Dance ;)
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