As beginners, we tend
to make a lot of mistakes and that is all right as far as it doesn’t account for huge damage.
Mistakes are a part of your journey and making them is okay but what if we told you that
you can prevent some of them by doing just a few steps!
These are a few
things to keep in mind before beginning your trip:
Clothing
The clothing has to
be perfect. The clothing should be according to the day conditions that might
prevail. If it’s summer or humid outside, you should just bid a farewell to all
those layers and wear a simple comfortable tee-shirt that aids you in proper
ventilation. When it comes to winters or cold temperatures, all you need to
know is try getting as many layers as you can cause, layers come with an added advantage and that is, you can remove them anytime. If you feel hot wearing
3-4 layers you can get rid of one or two. You can go for warmer or an inner,
then a tee-shirt over it and finally a sweater if it’s extremely chilled
outside.
Rains
Rains or the monsoons
have to be a different category of mistake altogether. Cause with rains there
comes huge responsibility. Whenever leaving for a trip, not only check the
route but also check for the weather that may follow the remaining day. If it
rains outside, you don’t wanna go out cycling. But in case you leave your
homes, then do carry some rain-gear with you. Especially in countries like
India, where it gets warmer as soon as the rains stop, cutting down on the
layers part, is a much sensible option. Try wearing simple tee-shirt inside and
covering it should be your rain-gear. Moreover do carry an extra pair of
changeable tee or something, in case something goes wrong with your rain-gear.
Also, the roads tend to get a lot more slippery and especially the cyclists
with thin wheels tend to fall prey to such accidents more often. So do keep an
eye on the road and try to be as safe as possible!
Nutrition
Food plays a really
important role in the journey. There are a lot of chances that you might feel
dizzy or nauseated out of hunger. So you should carry some ready and easy food
with you on the course of your journey. Nowadays cycling tee-shirts are
available in the market which have pockets at the back for placing smaller
items like chocolates or smaller water bottles etc., so you can easily place a
protein bar or so in there or simply, have it your bag. Whenever you feel
famished, stop and have something.
So, what foods can we
carry?
Bananas, Protein
Bars, Chocolates, Nuts, Biscuits
Maps
Maps are extremely
crucial if you’re going somewhere you never have gone. We already know that
Google Maps is an excellent app if you’re looking for routes, traffic and other
surrounding utilities but apart from that, there is another app that can make your
cycling experience better! Yes, and that app is none other than Strava. Strava
is extremely helpful when it comes to mapping your journeys, saving directions
and paths to places someone else has already been to. Strava is the cycling app
you need to have if you’re a cycling freak. Strava also lets you meet other
cyclists from around the globe and share their travel experiences on the
platform.
Moreover before
leaving you should always consider taking opinion from someone about the route
and the destination of your choice because there are always chances that things
might not turn out to be the same how they seem to be!
Too much distance
As a beginner
cyclists, the most common mistake a lot of us do is that we try to cover too
much distance in the initial days of our cycling itself. As a wanderlust, there
is always adventure running in our veins but it is necessary to know the
capabilities of our bodies too. Some of us might even cover massive distances
in our initial days while some are happy cycling in their localities itself.
So, in the end, it completely depends on you and your body as to how much
distance you can cover. Moreover, if you’re a beginner do not try to go far off
places too soon in your cycling journey. Slowly and steadily increasing your
perimeter of destinations is the key to gaining stamina and strength for the
long-distance cycling.
Know your Destination
This is a mistake
that sometimes even pro-cyclists commit! Do some research at least of what kind
of a place is it where you’re going. How to get there and are there some things
that you need to keep in mind before or after reaching that place. All of this
should be researched well in advance so that there’s no hindrance in your trip.
A night before your ride always look out for things around your destination to
know more about the place. Or simply you can head over to YouTube & Strava
where people who’ve already been there must have uploaded some of their
experiences of the same place. Look-up and do your homework well!
Maintenance
Cycling can be fun only if your partner, the cycle supports you! So proper maintenance of your cycles
is an important part of cycling too. The cycles should be maintained and
checked for proper functioning of the gears, the brakes and the wheels
regularly. Some of us, don’t do it ourselves but if you want to do it somewhere
outside, you can give it for servicing as well. Simply oiling the parts and
checking for minor errors can help in keeping your cycle in good form.
Braking
When it comes to
braking, many of us fail to understand the basics. The brakes are simply used
to stop us or to slow us down. But the brakes are a huge enemy to the tires.
Whenever you brake, a significant portion of your tire gets scratched against
the road and the grip of your tire gets eroded. Seemingly with time, the more
you brake, the more erosion takes place and slowly your tire starts losing the
grip. So you need to take care of not braking too hard as it can burn off a
major part of the tire as it rubs against the road. Simply changing the gear to
a lower one can be implied to get a minor speed drop!
Rules
As a cyclist, traffic
rules don’t apply to us but there are some rules that we as good citizens need
to follow. Not all, but there are a few traffic rules that apply to cyclists as
well! Some common rules that we as responsible citizens can follow are, wearing
helmets, riding on the corners of the road, using reflectors and lights. We
know ‘Rules are meant to be broken’ but these are for our safety itself so why
not just follow them and play our part.
Company
Everyone here is
fascinated with the trend of ‘solo riding’ but is it really good for beginner
cyclists? Frankly speaking, NO! Being a newbie, you have almost little to no
knowledge about cycling and so it can be really risky to fall prey to
situations where you have no idea what to do. If you have a company, you know
where and how to go about if something goes wrong. So always try to go on a
ride with someone who at least has the basic experience of what to do when you
get stuck in the middle of nowhere, or how to change the flat tires!
Accessories
The Cyclones, are
someone who will never recommend carrying heavy loads, especially during
long-distance cycling. Cut down on some unimportant and unnecessary loads in
your bag while cycling. It only increases the load on your back and can lead to
complications later, but also the cycle making it vulnerable to faults may
be in the journey. Some accessories that we do recommend are your Bluetooth
headphones, extra water bottle, extra tee-shirt, protective eyewear, towel or
tissues and of course if you’re a photographer your camera! Camera can be
optional, but DSLRs should be avoided they tend to add unnecessary loads and
there are chances that the DSLR might get damaged if you fall or something.
Finally, we’d like to
say that, there’s absolutely no margin of error if you follow all these
suggestions! You always have to take care of yourself and never be afraid of
doing something you’ve always wanted to do! Rise and Shine as you have the
whole in front of you to explore!
