The best cycling tips in the world...ever!

[tomdavis80]

Originally posted by ldrichar
How much energy? 0.6 kcal for every degree below 37c for a full water bottle. That isn't much. If the water temperature was at 10c the energy in a single teaspoon of sugar would heat it up to room temperature.

I agree with you completely on this, and like I said before, if you think that having water at 98.6 degrees on a day of 85 degrees or hotter or even 90-100 degrees like we have in Arizona helps, you're kidding yourself. That's a recipe for overheating as well as rapid dehydration. You'd benefit more by having the drinks cold at the beginning of the ride and secondly, the drinks will warm up quickly when you're riding. Your body heats itself naturally when you're pushing the pedals and the water is designed to keep the body temperature stable so of course, cold water helps you out more than it hurts especially on a bloody hot day in the desert.

Thomas Davis

 

[saso]

Your body must equalize the temp of water bf it is absorbed. Cold water does not help. As far as my knowledge goes.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Originally posted by kmccormic22
I would suggest lining cleats up as your old ones were. I recently replaced mine too, made the mistake of having them off some and paid dearly for about four days. As soon as I straightened them out correctly I was fine.

Find a bike shop with a fitting system; my local tri-shop has one and it makes sure the cleats are on correctly.

Originally posted by craigstanton keep a riding journal!!!!!

But only if you know what you want to learn from it.

 

[LiquidOps]

When going down a steep hill, never... I mean NEVER, squeeze the front brakes too hard

 

[Brizza]

Should you need to brake heavily while riding down a steep hill, move you body back past the saddle and post. This will move your centre of gravity past the middle of the bike and also give your rear wheel more brakeing power.
If nessesary drop down so that the saddle is around you waste.
It's a XC technique.

Brian

 

[kswannie]

Before afixing your new cleats, get a permanent marker and trace around your old ones on the sole of your shoe. This way, you'll know exactly where to put your new cleats. Otherwise, as a guide, begin by putting your cleats so that the ball of your foot rests above the pedal axle and adjust from there until you find something comfortable.

Originally posted by Guest
any one know a good position when riding into the wind now that winter is upon us in south africa the wind will be a big problem any ideas other than the obvious make your surface area smaller. and another question when replacing your cleats is it vital that you line them up like your old ones were cos i tried but ever since i replaced mine i have struggled with illitibial band problems. :-/

 

[cruzge]

When on technical STEEP downhills - keep the speed up (your front wheel will roll much better over narley stuff), get you ass way back (more weight over rear tire for traction), stay off the front brake as much as possible (a locked up front wheel is unsteerable), keep focused WHERE you want your front wheel to go (dont look where you DONT want to go - if you do YOU WILL HIT IT), be cautious but dont be afraid (fear will make you tense up and you will grab too much brake), dont hold your breath, make sure you breathe to help remain cool and calm, use just enough brake (rear mostly, and a bit of front) to control speed without locking them up - locked up wheels skid, they dont roll over things.

VERY IMPORTANT - be very sure you can get out of your pedals quickly when you want, if you endo you dont want a bke attached to your feet when you are tumbling down a hill.

georgie

 

[JuneBug]

Originally posted by Guest
any one know a good position when riding into the wind now that winter is upon us in south africa the wind will be a big problem

I get in my drops and figure out my head position I check my mph .......then without raising up my head at all...I get my hands back on my hoods and kinda have a 'aerobar' feel with my forearms resting just slightly on the handle bars behid the hoods... and my hands over stretching the hoods. You know you are doing it right if the mph stays about the same. Really concentrate on bringing your knees up it feels kinda scrunchy but you get used to it . keep aero. Imagine looking like Lance or someone with the back flat and the head still.
Cut Away!

 

[Adam-from-SLO]

Originally posted by cruzge
When on technical STEEP downhills - keep the speed up (your front wheel will roll much better over narley stuff), get you ass way back (more weight over rear tire for traction), stay off the front brake as much as possible (a locked up front wheel is unsteerable), keep focused WHERE you want your front wheel to go (dont look where you DONT want to go - if you do YOU WILL HIT IT), be cautious but dont be afraid (fear will make you tense up and you will grab too much brake), dont hold your breath, make sure you breathe to help remain cool and calm, use just enough brake (rear mostly, and a bit of front) to control speed without locking them up - locked up wheels skid, they dont roll over things.

VERY IMPORTANT - be very sure you can get out of your pedals quickly when you want, if you endo you dont want a bke attached to your feet when you are tumbling down a hill.

georgie

Georgie,

The be cautious but dont be afraid (fear will make you tense up and you will grab too much brake), dont hold your breath, make sure you breathe to help remain cool and calm , sounded like a lesson in hooking up with a Lady , 101 course

 

[cruzge]

Originally posted by Adam-from-SLO
Georgie,

The be cautious but dont be afraid (fear will make you tense up and you will grab too much brake), dont hold your breath, make sure you breathe to help remain cool and calm , sounded like a lesson in hooking up with a Lady , 101 course

You're right!! - maybe I got my posts confused - this one was for that other forum I visit - "Relationships and Technical Mountain Bike Riding"

georgie

 

[Adam-from-SLO]

Georgie,

Yeah.... I love how people write to explain how they know/feel how something is supposed to be done- right, from a technical perspective.

But then, if you read between the lines, from what they are writing about.... you can apply that same info. to other aspects in life.

Kinda interesting.... to say the least

 

[diddyman]

If you cycle to work and don't have the use of a shower you can use babywipes to freshen up. They come in handy little dispensers and are very convenient for those sweaty areas.

 

[firegooroo]

Originally posted by Guest
any one know a good position when riding into the wind now that winter is upon us in south africa the wind will be a big problem any ideas other than the obvious make your surface area smaller. and another question when replacing your cleats is it vital that you line them up like your old ones were cos i tried but ever since i replaced mine i have struggled with illitibial band problems. :-/

Need to be careful with the types of cleats you have. You might have a set of cleats that don't have rotation on them and that will give you problems. I suffer from IT band tendenitis and I ended up with a pair of fixed cleats that made my knee problem worse. I then got a different pair that had a 9 degree rotation to allow proper positioning. Look into that. Also consider getting a cleat analysis to determine proper alignment.

 

[EoinC]

4 little tips to help your riding style :-
1) When riding a track bike on the road, don't take on a steeper descent than you can hold back on - ask me how I know!
2) When taking off at the lights trying to get the holeshot on the traffic with a big stand-up effort (again with a fixed-wheel track bike), it is a good idea not to have worn-out cleats. When one foot comes out and the other one stays in, a strange sort of wobble develops which ends up throwing you over the bars in front of rather baffled onlookers - ask me how I know.
3) When you ride rollers for the first time, it may be better to hold onto something until you get your balance right before changing to a high gear to see what it's like when you do a full out effort. This is particularly prudent when you have chosen your mother's bathroom as the site of your inaugural ride - ask me how I know.
4) When you are young (a long time ago) and you offer to ride your mate's bike down a long winding hill, with a big drop-off on the left, a high bank on the right, rough-chip surface and ending in a T-intersection, perform your pre-start checks. Always check to see that the stick you put in place to retain the back-peddling brake's torque arm (after the bolt fell out) is firmly in place. It is a good chance to be reminded of the consequences that may befall you if the stick falls out. They run in this manner : Sinking feeling - Sudden assessment of ongoing acceleration - Sudden assessment of nasty alternatives to left, right and ahead - Survival manoeuvre to push off handlebars in the hope of dropping off the back of the bike - Immediate sense of having provided insufficient input to the manoeuvre when hot-spot tells you that you have landed on the back wheel and are now accelerating towards the seatpost - Strange sense of "wellbeing" (very relative concept) when your feet hit the ground and immediately propel you into a series of forward rolls, parting you from the bicycle (like a spent booster on an Apollo mission) and cushioned by the welcoming rough-chip road - Upon pulling up to a halt, an overall sense of bafflement takes over as you gaze through the haze of the smoke coming off your ruptured jeans to where your mate's bicycle went over the cliff-of-death into the pine trees below, and wait for him to come running down the hill to tell you what he thinks about what you did to his bike. Some friendships just weren't meant to last - ask me how I know.
Follow these tips above and all your cycling experiences will be happy ones.

 

[JuneBug]

Originally posted by firegooroo
Need to be careful with the types of cleats you have. Also consider getting a cleat analysis to determine proper alignment.

My husband did htat to me once. It is QUITE painful.

oh you said CLeat

 

[Michael Ferebee]

Originally posted by craigstanton
Whether recreational or racing rider, when training use a heart rate monitor and a cyclocomputer (or a combined). Find a comfortable mix of RPMs and BPMs, and use this formulation to build your aerobic base. When not doing hills or sprints, I like to ride at approximately 92 RPMs, and I try to target the 145-150 BPM zone for heart rate. I find that this is challenging, yet still allows for endurance over extended distances. Find your anaerobic threshold, then listen to your body and find what's comfortable for you.

This

Also - keep a riding journal!!!!!

Why use a riding journal, I mean what's the pourpose?

 

[Michael Ferebee]

Originally posted by Rodney
Do not wear a cotton shirt because it will get soaked and defeats the purpose of the jersey.

Cotton shirts always way me down I use a breathable nike shirt that lets my skin breath and it wont hold me down I'll perspire but it feels so good on my skin.

 

[JuneBug]

If you got a really really long ride planned. Some gel companies sell that little flask to fill up with gel. and they dont work. UNLESS YOu put water in with it.
they dont tell you that.
If you dont have a 'little flask' but you got a lot of free gels at the race....... take your energy gel and OPEN them up before hand and SQUISH them into a small water bottle or flask.
My favorite is C.Shot * RazBerry. YUMMY! but any berry one will be good. ...now add just a little water and SHAKE !!!!!!

you put this in your extra cage or in your jersey pocket.
Now you got yourself a good solid energy source of non simple sugars that is a bit more intense than most of the liquid stuffs out there. easy to get to and more accessible than opening up a pack and all.
If you like and use gels ..you will probably appreciate this system of liquid gel. Its easy to access, nothing to throw on the street, easy to swallow! things like that.

Make sure you train first before you ever take on a new energy replacement system. YOu dont know if it might make you Gassy or something.

 

[JuneBug]

YOu know

peppermint makes you faster

there are bars with peppermint.
candy with peppermint

TEA ( if you get nervous tummy before you race..drink peppermint tea or put a bag in a water bottle..let it sit in there over nite and drink it on the way to the race) serious it works!

peppermint makes your tummy feel good, it makes your memory better ( hey I read that somewhere ~ but I forget where!!!!) and it makes you faster. LOL


peppermint.

 

[mxpilot]

Originally posted by EoinC
4 little tips to help your riding style :-
1) When riding a track bike on the road, don't take on a steeper descent than you can hold back on - ask me how I know!
2) When taking off at the lights trying to get the holeshot on the traffic with a big stand-up effort (again with a fixed-wheel track bike), it is a good idea not to have worn-out cleats. When one foot comes out and the other one stays in, a strange sort of wobble develops which ends up throwing you over the bars in front of rather baffled onlookers - ask me how I know.
3) When you ride rollers for the first time, it may be better to hold onto something until you get your balance right before changing to a high gear to see what it's like when you do a full out effort. This is particularly prudent when you have chosen your mother's bathroom as the site of your inaugural ride - ask me how I know.
4) When you are young (a long time ago) and you offer to ride your mate's bike down a long winding hill, with a big drop-off on the left, a high bank on the right, rough-chip surface and ending in a T-intersection, perform your pre-start checks. Always check to see that the stick you put in place to retain the back-peddling brake's torque arm (after the bolt fell out) is firmly in place. It is a good chance to be reminded of the consequences that may befall you if the stick falls out. They run in this manner : Sinking feeling - Sudden assessment of ongoing acceleration - Sudden assessment of nasty alternatives to left, right and ahead - Survival manoeuvre to push off handlebars in the hope of dropping off the back of the bike - Immediate sense of having provided insufficient input to the manoeuvre when hot-spot tells you that you have landed on the back wheel and are now accelerating towards the seatpost - Strange sense of "wellbeing" (very relative concept) when your feet hit the ground and immediately propel you into a series of forward rolls, parting you from the bicycle (like a spent booster on an Apollo mission) and cushioned by the welcoming rough-chip road - Upon pulling up to a halt, an overall sense of bafflement takes over as you gaze through the haze of the smoke coming off your ruptured jeans to where your mate's bicycle went over the cliff-of-death into the pine trees below, and wait for him to come running down the hill to tell you what he thinks about what you did to his bike. Some friendships just weren't meant to last - ask me how I know.
Follow these tips above and all your cycling experiences will be happy ones.

Now that's Funny ! You are bringing tears to my eyes.
That much I know.