A great way to spend your free time in summer is by getting out and about on your bike and heading out to do some cycling. It’s a great activity to do with friends or family and we love to get people out on two wheels so we’ve compiled some top tips that we hope will make the experience even more enjoyable:
Stay hydrated: It’s pretty much a given that you should be drinking lots of water so we thought we’d get that one in early! Cycling can be quite tiring and especially in summer when the weather is lovely and sunny – well, most of the time anyway – keep hydrated.
Choose the right bike: Something that is very important is the right bike for you, especially the size. The type of cycling you fancy will affect what bike you will need, for example for hilly, mountain areas, a smaller bike is better whereas doing cross country racing is better with a larger bike. There is something known as the ape index – this is your arm span minus your height and is a deciding factor in the type of bike you should invest in. A negative ape index means you should go for a smaller size while a positive ape index means you should go for a larger size. If this all sounds a bit alien to you, just pop into our unit and our Hub team will be able to help you out.
Correct Clothing: Clothing can be our saviour when it comes to sweat. When you exercise in summer you are bound to sweat a lot more than if you do any physical work in the winter. Cotton can be a nightmare since the sweat soaks the shirts making you wet and cold. This is why proper cycling clothes uses fabrics like Lycra are used because the allow water to move away from your skin and evaporate. Lycra is very common because it has enough stretch so that is doesn’t bunch up and so it moves with you. When buying shorts it’s important to look for padding. This acts as an extra layer of shock absorption that comes from the road and it also prevents chafing which we all know is not a pleasant feeling!
Maintenance: Bike maintenance can be a pain but it is really good for the long run, no one wants to be that one person who is constantly having problems with their bike. Your chain, for one, needs to be cleaned and oiled regularly, this will get rid of the dreaded ‘creak’ that is probably one of the most annoying sounds to a cyclist. The whole bike should also been cleaned regularly, silicone aerosols are especially good for the ones who don’t like to get dirty because this stops mud sticking on your next ride. Tyre pressure is also something to keep a check on, so for a long journey in would suggest you take a floor pump – you can thank us later or pop into our Cheltenham unit for a quick service and we’ll do all this for you!
There you have it, our top summer cycling tips, don’t forget if you’re looking for bicycle hire or sales in the Cheltenham area our Hub Team will be happy to help!
Happy Cycling!
