Finally, carry gear to change a flat tire, and learn how to use it. There’s no
cycling equivalent of the auto club to come save you.
Cycling the right way ........................................................................
To protect your knees from injury, position your seat correctly (ask your
salesperson for advice) and pedal at an easy cadence. Cadencerefers to the
number of revolutions per minute that you pedal. Inexperienced cyclists tend
to use a higher gear than they can handle, which forces them to turn the pedals
in slow motion; their legs tire prematurely, their knees ache, and they cheat
themselves out of a good workout. Set your bike’s gear so you’re pedaling at
a comfortable cadence.
Road cycling can wreak havoc on your lower back because you’re in a
crouched position for so long. Relax your upper body and keep your arms
loose. Grasp your handlebars with the same tension that you’d hold a child’s
hand when you cross the street. Pedal in smooth circles rather than simply
mashing the pedals downward. Imagine that you have a bed of nails in your
shoes, and you have to pedal without stomping on the nails.
Cycling tips for rookies .....................................................................
You can learn a lot about cycling — and get faster in a jif — by riding with
a club or friends who have more experience. Here are some pointers to start
your cycling career:
Remember that you are a vehicle and are required to follow the rules
of the road. Ride with traffic, not against it.
Stop at all signs and lights, and use those hand signals you learned in
driver’s ed.Don’t trust a single car, ever. Assume that the driver doesn’t
see you, even if he happens to be staring you in the face.When you go off-road, start on wide fire roads rather than narrow
“single-track” trails that require technical skills. And don’t think that
you’re immune to injury because there are no cars. More crashes
happen on mountain trails than on the road because there are more
obstacles and riders get careless and cocky.
Head into a turn at a slow enough pace that you maintain control, and
never let your eyes wander from the road or trail. Never squeeze the
brakes — particularly the front brake — with a lot of pressure. You’ll go
flying over the handlebars, a maneuver known as an endo,and go right
into a face plant,a maneuver that we think is self-explanatory.Chapter 10: Exercising Outdoors 153