As for biking advice for a newbie!
OMG! YES! DOES WRITING IN
ALL CAPS MAKE ME SEEM EXCITED?!11!! IS THIS POST ABOUT TO GET UNNECESSARILY
LONG?!?!?
YOU BET IT IS!!!
I ride a Specialized (brand) Dolce (model) road bike which I
got for about $400 along with a 5 year service plan for about $80. I have
ridden it for about 5 years now, booked two centuries and a host of other
events on it, and love it.
I originally had a very low-end Trek mountain bike,
Jazzy, who I still love very much. I still have Jazzy.
When in training, I ride 2-3 times a week based on an actual
training plan (that I sort of made up based on science). I am an endurance
rider, not a racer, so I will book upwards of 50+ in a single long ride and 25
in a short ride. I mostly ride alone so my advice is all geared toward being
safe, fueled and self-sufficient.
I would grade myself a C on accomplishing this but A for
looking like I have it together. Ok, D.
I don’t know what will be provided for you on your ride, and
depending on how much you want to ride before (or after or again), you will
need different things.
Here is a basic list and some prices based on what I get:
Bike
Duh. Prices
and sales vary but a good bike store can find something in your budget and to
fit your needs. I visited a couple stores and tested a lot of bikes. I would
strongly suggest not buying something at Walmart or something.
Go to an
actually bike shop, they will help you and also fit you for the bike so your
body is in the right position – which is SO important.
Helmet
I think I
paid $20 for mine and I have had it forever. I also have a backup because if
you have a bad fall, you need to toss it because the integrity is ruined and
you want to protect your brain.
Your brain does a lot of interesting stuff that
is important to being alive.
Water Vessel
I
use a hydration pack that carries 2 liters of water (and my stuff) because when
I am training, I don’t know when I will come across water or food. I think a
good hydo-pack runs about $30 minimum.
If you are doing and even that is fully supported, you can
refill a water bottle frequently and probably don’t need this. . .unless you
like to carry stuff.
Bike Gloves
I
use Pearl Izumi gel gloves, they are running about $15. If you fall, they will
protect your hands and if you ride a lot, they prevent a mostly harmless but
annoying condition known as handlebar palsy (I have it RIGHT NOW!).
My gloves last about a year of hard riding. There are better gloves out there. Once you hit
about 10 miles, you want gloves for protection.
Biking Shorts
I
have been committed to Canari Cyclewear Women's Gel Cycle Liner Padded Cycling
Brief which run about $15.00. However, I bought a pair of Castelli Velocissima
Shorts $81.84 and took the plung and got the Women's Black Padded BibsCycling Modest Performance Road Bike Shorts which I am super liking.
Bike shorts cushion your butt and inner leg
area – because, yeah, that’s going to get a little sore. The type I wear is
super cheap and there are much better types out there. I just really like them.
If you want to know more about your future ouchies, I will tell you everything
riding over 5,000 mile has taught me.
Eye Protection
Aka Sunglasses. You want to protect your eyes from anything that might be
flying at your face and the sun. I ride a lot, so, I use RIVBOS UnisexPolarized Sports Sunglasses because they have interchangeable lenses from clear
to stuff for BRIGHT SUN.
They cost about $20 and are super hard to break.
Shirts/Other Clothes
You can get away with t-shirt and whatever workout stuff you have. I like
anything that has sweat wicking and UV
protection for long rides (and a sexy farmers tan) in the summer.
Cycling
specific shirts will be longer in the back and have pockets for stuff, too,
which is cool for carrying your phone or whatever. I like a built-in bra,
myself.
I also wear stupid bright colors and never match anything so I stand
out like the obnoxious armature I am. You are going to need to layer if the
temperature is going to drop below 60. I have ridden in 22 degree weather and I don't recommend that.
Don’t be like me.
If you need other clothing advice, hit me up. I’m damn cheap.
Bike Pump
The
less flat your tires are, the easier your ride. You should check your tires
before every ride. You will lose about 2lbs of pressure every day and that can
add up. If you ride in a group, someone probably has one. You can really get by
without it for a little bit. . .but, if you are going to be biking a lot, you
should get one.
I am an endurance rider and I will book up to 50+ miles
unsupported so I do things differently when training.
On an actual supported
ride you don’t need as much as I carry with me.
Bike multi-tool, bike
pump, extra tube, tire patches, Co2...
No idea how to use this stuff, I just
hope if I do, someone will be there. I bike on hope more than raw skill. I
bought Kevlar lining stuff for my tires to prevent getting flats. I also keep
my bike well services.
*fingers crossed*
Hydration Tablets
Sometimes called salt tablets. I use NUNN brand tablets. You drop them in your
water and they will give you electrolytes, salts and all the stuff you will
sweat out. It’s like Gatorade but better.
If you are going to be sweating (or
hungover) these things make a HUGE difference.
One of the things you might not
notice if you are biking is how much water your body is processing because you are
sort of self-cooling as you ride. If it’s a hot day and you are working out,
get some hydration tablets.
Lights
Light are
for the right time, not just for night time. Not that I ride at night. It’s
about being visible – you can get real invisible real fast outside.
On the
front of my bike, I have a Cateye HL ($18) which does a direct light and strobe
thing. It is less for me to see and more to be seen, again. I buy a rear light
every year and promptly destroy it ($20) because I never secure it right. I had
a light that attached to the frame of my bike and lights up the road under me
with colors.
Anyhow, pretty much once 3-4pm hits, you want to have something
flashing on your bike if you are going to be around cars.
You can probably get
a light set for $20-30.
Bike Fanny-Pack
I don’t know what they are called. I have a little pouch under my seat to carry
junk. I think actually only my metals are in there and my multi-tool right now
because I am unprepared for the future.
It’s not bad to have one because you
can fit an emergency sandwich in there.
Energy
You need
a lot of energy (calories) to ride a lot and prevent something called “bonking”
- when you don’t have enough sugar in your system and you get real dumb and
pass out. I happen to like Clif Gel Shots and I get a box of like a million for
like $100.
I also pack have a spice cake.
Previously, I use PopTarts. You can get all sorts of fuel to carry. And yes, you are going to be eating while on a ride.
By the time you hit 15-20
miles or have been riding for an hour you need to start taking in fuel
(calories). If not, you’ll suddenly feel dizzy, forget what your name is and
then be on the ground.
Odometer
I use a
Sigma brand thing that has wires and stuff to tell me my speed and distance
based on my tire size. I don’t use something that attaches to GPS or my phone
because. . .the one I have is like $17 rather than $50 for other technology.
This does help with pacing and if you know the next rest stop is 10 miles away
and you just rode 20 miles, it helps prove you took a wrong turn.
Identification
I wear my
emergency information on a set of dog tags or on a wrist band EVERY RIDE.
I use
Road ID brand stuff because it’s an awesome company and fantastic product.
Emergency information is any drug allergies, phone number of someone who can
make medical decisions for you (or who cares if you die), year of your birth,
name, and any health conditions you have. EMTs are trained to look for these
things in the event of an emergency and that is what they want to know. If you
want to see what I got – pop on over.
Headphones
I can
speak highly of Dislot Wired Earphones In ear Headphones ($15). I actually used
them once on a ride and I don’t like them because I like to have my ears open
to hear stuff around me.
If you do want to listen to music while you ride
outside, they are pretty good. I use them on the treadmill which is far more
bouncy then biking. They are tougher than normal headphones and work with a lot
of devices and even in rain (IDK actually, I was out in the rain with them and
they still work).
Plastic Bags
I
ride in all weather conditions. I always have a couple Ziplock type plastic bags on me for
my phone and medication bottle (because I dope).
Also for other people who are
freaking out that their phone is getting wet.
Sharing is caring.
Mace
I carry
mace on the strap of my hydration pack where I can get at it. Can’t be too
careful.
If you decide to carry self-protection stuff, you do need to know how
to use it and be able to get at it when under duress.
I test out my mace once a
year and often grab it during a ride so I know where it is. Yes, my father was
the head of the Secret Service in Philadelphia.
Sunblock and Bug Spray
I hose myself down before a ride but often do not have room to carry these
things. It is better to cover up skin that might get sunburned than reapply a
product.
Things you should care about but not panic about:
Etiquette
When
biking, you need to know how to use hand signals and how to call out to other
bikers. I don’t ride with cars that much anymore, but, it’s good to know basic
road signals and how to operate around cars and not panic. It’s also good to
learn how to “talk” to other bikers on a ride and listen to them. I can teach
you or you will learn on a ride with other bikers. The best place to get “car
sound” is Manayunk because the locals tend to know how to behave around bikers.
Falling
As an
avid crasher, it’s not THAT bad. I have clip-petals so I am attached to my bike
– unless I have time to unclip from it, I go where the bike goes. I don’t
recommend clips unless you are like “biking is my THING!” So, if you don’t have
clips, you can put your feet down if you are in trouble. Really, the key to not
falling is recognizing trouble.
Mechanical
I
have been shown how to change a tire like 500 times and I never did it once so
I forget. On a supported ride, someone will help you. If not, you just got to walk back. I also have a bike
rack, so, I don’t have to take off my front tire to load my bike. It’s good to
know how to take care of your bike or at least know where to go to get it taken
care of.
Training
Fully-supported bike events are cool because you can be as in shape or out of
shape as you want. Someone will pick you up if you don’t want to ride anymore.
Being conditioned to ride can make it much more fun even if you don’t want to
ride every single mile. Training should encompass muscle, cardio and how to shift
gears on the bike.
Food
Eating the
right foods at the right time can make a huge difference on a ride. What you
eat the day before can make a difference. This is coming from someone who once
hangerily ate a jar of peanut butter in the back of a car on the way to Shady
Maple.
Things you should not care about but people sometimes do but
you should not:
Leg shaving
Don’t matter. Trust me. You’re on a bike and that’s super cool. Take it to the
next level and dye that leg hair American colors because #murcia.
Gear tattoo
Chain grease has a magical way of semi-tattooing your skin. You might get some
on your leg in this three or four dot pattern from the gear. Don’t even worry
about it. It goes away and it also looks real cool.
Hair
Nothing is
sexier than bike-helmet hair. Carry some hair ties. I have found for longer
hair, pig-tails work best when riding because it won’t be a mass being pressed
into your head by your helmet but will also be off your neck.
Makeup
No one
needs that sh** in their eye. I rode over 20 miles with mascara in my contact
once. ONCE. No vanity is worth that torture. Don’t even pack it unless you want
to apply it directly into your eyes and mouth. Ick.
Stench
After a
certain amount of miles, you are going to smell . . .it’s called being FREAKING
AWESOME and everyone knows it. I once blamed my stench on New Jersey, so I get
it.
I look fat: My legs also look like stuffed sausage in bike
shorts because they are supposed to be tight. Biking shirts and stuff run super
small. What of it? You’re on a bike and there’s nothing better. ‘Cept eating
and sleeping. Your equipment is there to protect and support you. You’re riding
in Tour DaVita – you’re a rockstar.
Quitting
Yep.
There will come a point where you’re all alone and you hear “Hello, darkness my
old friend. . .” play in your mind. You will want to stop and quit. You will
get mad at mother nature when the wind blows really hard or it starts to rain
or you get a bug stuck in your nose.
You’ll see people with better bikes, better
gear, better conditioning and better attitudes flying past you while you start
to calculate if the devil will get you out of this for the price of your soul
(he won’t).
But there are few greater privileges than facing all of that on a
bike.
At the end of a bad ride or even a ride that you quit, you get to get
back on a bike and try again. You get to go home. On a charity event, you are
literally riding for millions of people who don’t have the ability to quit
their situation or go home.
On a bike, I have faced my greatest demons and
found my greatest peace.