Riding road or a mountain bike requires you to put on too many effort and energy into it that is why you have to be fully prepared to ride it like a pro.
If you wish to ride long trails and train your body to endure and be much stronger, you have to train yourself to abandon some of you old habits that stands between you and your main goal. Some of these habits are:
1. Drinking Lot of Water before Riding:
Drinking either lot of water or only some water that doesn’t satisfy your needs is one of your worst habits at all.
Many riders tend to drink lot of water before riding their bikes, thinking that it will last for long and they won’t have the need to drink every once and awhile. What you don’t know is that drinking every once and awhile is the best option for you.
Your body is so delicate, so when you through that entire amount for water into it at once you might get yourself sick with a serious and rare condition called hyponatremia that might put an end to your life.
Not to mention that drinking too much water will cause you to stop every once and awhile for a bathroom break, which can be quite annoying.
2. Consuming Foods that are High in Fibers and Fat:
Foods that are high in fibers and fat such as salads and soups are quite hard to digest, so they are hard some time to be processed in the stomach. If your planning on riding, you need to stay away from these foods completely because it will make you lazy and feeling stuffed. When you cycle with these foods in your stomach, it will get you sick and you will have that need to vomit not to mention that your stomach will hurt for a while.
To save your time and keep yourself healthy, go instead for lean proteins, carbs, fresh fruits and veggies that will you give all the energy you need without hurting you.
3. Not Stretching Your Body before Riding:
As I mentioned earlier, cycling takes lot of energy and strength; it is almost like running on full speed.
Before getting on your bike the first thing you want to do is to stretch. Warm up you body first by some stretching and pulling to ready it and get it to accustom to the effort you will be making.
You can also replace stretching by simply pedaling for 10 min with a slow pace without putting too much effort into it to introduce your body gradually to what to come.
4. Not Checking out your gear carefully:
Everybody is on hurry and nobody want to give his bike sometime to inspect it and see if there is something wrong with it. If you are one of these people, you should cut it out. Just like you give some time to yourself to get dressed and eat something before hitting the road, you should give your bike the same treatment. Give it at least 5 min every time to check and see if there is anything wrong with it before riding.
By not doing that, you might end up in some serious trouble someday. Imaging yourself going on your bike to work but suddenly it stopped functioning appropriately and you are stuck with it in the middle of the road because the tire is flat or the brakes are loose. What will happen is that you will be late for your work and you will end up arguing with your boss, you can then imagine how the rest of your day will go.
Those 5 min will save you from many troubles and unnecessary stress.
5. Not leaving a Note Telling Where You’re Going:
One of the worst things you can do is leaving somewhere and not telling anyone where you are headed, it is simply plain stupid.
Accidents are bound to happen and if no one knows where you are then no one can help you even if they wanted to. There is nothing wrong about writing for someone who lives with you or talks to someone to tell him where you are going and for how much you might stay.
If god forbidden, you had an accident or you were badly injured and you couldn’t go back, there is a huge chance that the person you told will come looking for you and help you. Phone batteries tends to die quickly, so don’t put too much hope into it.
Unfortunate things happen to many people everyday and you are not an exception, by following these tips you will be prepared for whatever is coming and you can always beat danger with one step ahead.
