My Top Cycling Tips

Spring seems just around the corner here in Boston.  Sunset is around 5 PM giving a little bit more light -- and safety -- to my rides home from work.  One of the nice things about bike commuting is you get to meet other cyclists.  There's a whole bunch who I've met and even exchanged emails with.  

The motorcyclist bike commutes most of the time!

One recent acquaintance is a bit new cycling and he's signed up to do the long route for the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC).  That's a really big charity ride with thousands of cyclists.  I sent him some tips about doing long bike rides and I thought it might be a good subject for a blog post.

This is all oriented towards doing long rides.

• Increase your weekly mileage gradually.  You should get up to doing 60-75% of the event mileage a couple weeks before the event.
• Long cycling events are eating & drinking contests with some cycling thrown in.  Eat and drink a lot on the event.  Everybody's different so spend a little time finding out what on the bike food works for you.
• Be prepared for bad weather.  Bring arm warmers, knee warmers, and a vest.  You never know when the forecast is going to be very wrong.
• Train with the bike and clothes you're going to use on the event.  No magic beans for your event!  Your saddle, shoes, gloves, and bike shorts should be old friends with you on the big day.  The bike should be dialed in for you.
• Get quality rest for recovery.  This is true during training and in the period leading up to your event.  I'm very careful to get my eight hours of sleep nightly.  It's a priority.
• Have fun on the bike. Please! The rest follows.

Pit stop on Outriders

Eat & drink! and bike a bit.

People have written tons of magazines and articles about training and nutrition.  The above just seems like good rules of thumb to me.  

It's worth spending time reading articles by Selene Yeager aka The Fit Chick.  Dr. Joel Friel has written a number of good books.  I particularly liked "Fast After 50".

Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains of the moon.