Whether you are still young or you are already an adult, an athlete, or you are living a sedentary lifestyle, the act of bicycling is one of the most enjoyable and healthy ways to travel. Apart from that, it is also one of the top ways to enjoy the outdoors. If done vigorously, cycling brings about enhancement in the heart and the entire circulatory system.
Do you know that every workout session specifically through cycling could help you burn more than 500 calories in one hour? The advancement in the production of new bicycles that functions to combine the speed of a road bike to the ruggedness of a mountain bike has made cycling more comfortable, and more enjoyable.
What’s more, cyclists now enjoy the availability of more places to ride. If you want to improve your safety, performance, comfort, and overall cycling experience, then follow the below strategies to cycle in a better way.
Start Slowly
If you discover that you are out of shape, then its best to begin slowly. For the first 3-4 weeks, you could continuously pedal on flat terrain for about 30 minutes each day. With time, you’ll work towards increasing the intensity of your riding. Then, you can also think about switching the terrain.
At this point, you can consider the addition of hills in order to achieve a better workout. More so, you could train yourself amid others in order to circulate the fun. Cycling with a group of people brings about motivation. You tend to zip bye faster and be motivated towards becoming a better cyclist.
Dress for Comfort
If you are the type that enjoys cycling a lot, you could consider putting on a pair of sleek short for cycling. These kinds of shorts usually have fewer fabrics. So, there is a reduced chance of skin irritation. For extra protection against skin irritation, you could consider selecting cycling shorts with no seams at the crotch or the ones with special lining or padding in order to help against perspiration.
If the pedal of your bicycle is clipless, you’ll be required to wear specific cycling shoes that have cleats fitted to the sole. These types of shoes help to lock into a mechanism, thus, holding the shoe appropriately in place. Surprisingly, it could be a bit challenging to get used to this method, but it helps you to pedal efficiently and more powerfully.
Use Good Road Sense at All Times
Ride in the middle of traffics! Give cars and pedestrians the rights of way! Use the signals of your hands effectively! Obey all traffic rules. Communicate with other road users! Those are some of the strategies involved in becoming a better cyclist.
Whenever you turn, use your hands to keep other road users informed. Stay out of the blind spots of drivers. Make eye contact with drivers and other road users while making a turn or intersection. With this, they’ll be aware of your intentions on the road. Desist from riding side by side with other cyclists. Keep an eye out for cars, bikes, pedestrians, and other potential hazards.
Help Your Muscles
After you have been able to achieve the faster pace of a long uphill on your bicycle, do not relax and move down the coast without pedaling. Do you know that there is an occurrence of lactic acid buildup during that process? The accumulation of lactic acid in the body could contribute to the soreness of the muscles. While coasting the downhill, you should endeavor to pedal lightly and continuously. This could help eliminate lactic acid, thus preventing muscle soreness.
Change Positions Constantly
While riding on your bicycling, you should endeavor to vary your hands and frequently change your body position. This could help improve the angle of your arms, necks, and back. With this, the pressure will be exerted on different muscles and different nerves.
Prevent yourself from the usual act of riding with your hands on the curved part of your handlebars for an extended period. This could result in cramping of your shoulder, hands, and necks. Ensure that your arms are relaxed while cycling and your elbows are not locked. This will also aid in faster absorption of bumps.
Grow Bright When In Low Light
Night riding of a bicycle isn’t ideal. Most of the occurrences of death during cycling occurs between the hours of 6 pm and 9 pm. However, if you’ve chosen to cycle in weather condition that offers low-light, you could put on brightly colored and reflective clothing. Apart from that, you should ensure that strong headlights coupled with strobe-type, blinking red-tail lights are accurately installed on your bicycle in order to aid proper vision while cycling at night.
There you have it! Perhaps a few of the strategies to become a better cyclist. Becoming a fitter, faster, and the better cyclist doesn’t need to be an experiment in self-torture. Cycling is fun. You only need to light up the fun by following the earlier discussed strategies. Set some goals. Plan your riding, and you’ll record improvements!
