Training Tips

    Pedal Off the Pounds. Distance cycling is definitely the way to trim your waistline. Stay at a lower intensity to accelerate your metabolism and aid fat-burning. Ride an hour or more 3-4 times a week and kick it up a notch with a 2-hour-long weekend ride.     If you're running short on fluid, guzzle it all. It's better to be hydrated for a while than to ride on a continual shortage.     Pedal with one leg at a time to become better at applying force all the way around the pedal circle.     Even if your brakeshifter system is designed to work lubeless, you might want to lay a thin layer of lube if you ride often in wet conditions.

    Your body accounts for 70% of air resistance. In the wind, hunker down on the drops or bar-ends.     Spinning in the saddle for the bulk of the climb, then shifting to a bigger gear and standing up to blast over the top is a classic technique for dropping other riders.     Train your legs for faster pedal turnover on flats and climbs by spinning out while pedaling downhill.     Eat the same in training as you'll be eating in an event. You aren't just conditioning your muscles, you're conditioning your stomach.     Wear sunglasses to feel fresher on long rides. Sound silly? Squinting into the sun and wind taxes the muscles of your eyes and face, which contributes significantly to fatigue.

    Get Fit Bicycling: If you are 150 pounds, sleeping burns 61 calories an hour, tap dancing burns 326 calories, and bicycling at 15 MPH burns 680 calories an hour!     If your back hurts when you ride in the drops, raise the stem until the handlebar is less than an inch below the top of the saddle, or even with the saddle.     To easily adjust a borrowed bike, memorize the distance from the center of your crank to the top of the saddle.     Check brake pads for wear or embedded objects after every wet or muddy ride, or every 3-5 rides in clean conditions.

For many of you cyclists, weekend rides is your time to get away from weekly duties to fulfill your obligations for long rides on Saturday and Sunday. However, there are rules and guidelines you have to go by when riding.

  • Always wear a helmet
  • Obey all traffic controls
  • Ride your bicycle near the right-hand edge of the road
  • Never carry another person on your bicycle
  • Always use hand signals when turning or stopping
  • Look out for cars at cross street, driveways, and parking places
  • Be careful when checking traffic and don't swerve when looking over your shoulder
  • Give pedestrians the right-of-way
  • Keep your bicycle in good condition
  • Always ride carefully

Remember a bicycle is a vehicle! Click here to map your bike route for your local area