8 Cycling Tips For Newbies

Cyc­ling has such a steep learn­ing curve for the novice cyclist.

You’ll need to know about equip­ment, racing, train­ing, etiquette in the bunch rides and where to ride. Main­ten­ance, what to buy and what not to buy etc etc.

Then there’s get­ting to know what licenses you need to race, over­com­ing the fear of racing because you’re unsure of what it takes.

So much to learn, but part of the attrac­tion is that depth to it. I’m still learn­ing on a daily basis, many years down the track.

Rest assured, once this sport sinks it’s teeth in there’s no going back. Very few people I know truly hang up the bike and move on from it.

So to keep you com­ing back for more, I writ­ten my top 8 tips for new cyclists

1. Don’t get the best of everything — Your first bike and equip­ment should be middle of the road. You don’t need the best. For example, some of the best cyc­lists I know still race on Shi­mano Ultegra rather than Dura-ace. It’s cheaper to buy ini­tially and when parts wear out, it’s cheap to replace. The same goes for equip­ment, work out what you like first. You don’t want to buy an expens­ive road bike, only to find out that moun­tain bik­ing is much more fun.
2. Bunch rid­ing — Bunch rid­ing is prob­ably one of the most excit­ing things you’ll do in the sport. It’s a great way to meet new people and then slag them off for beat­ing you to the cafe. Two ways to find bunch rides in your area.

• Con­tact Cyc­ling Aus­tralia and they will point you in the right dir­ect for your state.
• another option is Bunch Ride Finder

1. Train very hard — NOT! — It takes at least 5 years to become an excel­lent racing cyc­list. There are no short­cuts so why rush it? Think about your longev­ity in the sport and just enjoy cyc­ling. Improve­ments in fit­ness will come over time. Find some bunch rides, learn from the pro’s, read your books and watch how oth­ers do it. Don’t smash your­self into obli­vion every time you get on the bike.
2. Cloth­ing — Buy knicks with a good chamois. Only buy bib-knicks. Use chamois cream when rid­ing to avoid saddle sores — trust me you don’t want your gooch get­ting all funky. Wear gloves in case you come off the bike. There’s noth­ing worse than skin off you hands.
3. Rid­ing loc­a­tions — Stay away from main roads or roads with heavy traffic — There are altern­at­ives and drivers hate us enough as it is. Stay in groups and use lights at all times of poor light.
4. Local Bike Shops — Build a good rela­tion­ship with your local bike shop. I’ve had a prob­lem with LBS’s for a while but you’ll need them for main­ten­ance on your bike and spares. It’s good to get dis­count but once you get all friendly, don’t expect any decent level of cus­tomer service.
5. Racing — Don’t be scared to dip your toes in the racing scene. You don’t need to be fly­ing like Lance or Cadel to race. In fact get­ting dropped and com­ing back for more next week is part of the fun and the pro­cess of improv­ing. Start in the lower grades and just learn the tactics.
6. Main­ten­ance on your bike — Learn­ing the basics — how to change a flat whilst train­ing, keep­ing you bike oiled and clean, minor adjust­ments, tru­ing a buckled wheel. Buy a basic toolkit.
7. Take food on your rides — ALWAYS take a muesli bar or some sort of food on your rides. You don’t want to bonk out on the road hours away from home. Either that or take a wal­let and some money.
8. Take spares rid­ing — A spare tube or two and a pump is essen­tial. It’ll be an expens­ive taxi ride home otherwise.

There are loads more tips that I’m think­ing of as I write but I’ll save them for another post.

Are there any you can think of?

Photo credit MarkDM

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