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| If you are making the transition from riding a couple
miles at a time around your neighborhood to longer
excursions, there are some things you need to consider. |
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Plan your trip... |
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Not all routes are "bike friendly." If
your
route includes riding on streets, are
there bike lanes? What is the traffic
volume? What about major hills? You
usually have choices in how to get from
"point A to point B," you just need to
choose wisely. The first thing you need
is a good bike map. These maps show
which streets are good and which to
avoid. Most bike shops will have maps
of your local area. Another great resource is
Google! Go to
Google
maps and type in the city in the search
window. If
you are near any metro area, the quality of the
maps will be good, and will allow you to zoom in
far enough to even see the bike lanes on the
streets! When I am planning a route, bike maps are not always clear on the
fine details. |
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Take tools & repair parts... |
You may be in the same position we once
were. We took short rides from
home, or from the car at the
beginning of a bike path. If we
had a problem we just walked the bike a
mile or two back to the car. Now,
on some of our rides we are 30 miles
from home! That is an awful long
way to push a bike! Be prepared.
Take a good selection of repair gear
along. We have actually had to use
ALL the items
listed below at one time or another.
They have saved us from some VERY LONG walks! I would suggest the
following things for starters:
1) Wrenches and screw
drivers that fit everything on your bike
(most things are the same size)
2) Tube repair kit (and /
or extra tubes), tire changing tools,
and a tire pump
3) Chain repair kit
(you won't need it often, but if you do
there is no substitute)
4) As a backup, a
"Leatherman" type multi tool, electrical tape &
zip ties
5) Individually
packaged "wet wipes" towels to clean up
after greasy repairs
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Here are a couple of specific products we are
really happy with... |
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There are many types
of pumps to choose from. The
important thing is just to have one, if you have a flat. My
favorite is the
"Turbo Morph G" by Topeak. We started
out with a different type, but it was
hard to put enough power into your pumping to
get above 50 psi. This pump is as
compact as any when stowed on the bike (far left
picture). When needed, it unfolds and
works much like a full size floor pump. With the foot
peg and downward pumping motion, you have no
problem getting up to any pressure level.
Also, the fold out dial type gage is very easy to
read. I've seen many similar pumps (even
other models by Topeak) but none that I like as
well. We purchased ours from our local
recumbent bike shop,
Coventry
Cycle Works (It's their favorite too). |
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| The more you ride, the
more you will encounter break downs. It's a good idea to
take along tools that enable you to fix
anything that may go wrong while on the
road. But at the same time, you don't want to carry an extra
ten pounds of gear! I like the MTB-3 by
Park Tool.
It's small & compact yet has most everything I need
including a chain tool, all in one package.
I do carry a few additional items, but this is a
good place to start. |
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Take care of yourself... |
Here are a few things we
suggest...
1) Water - On a hot day you need plenty. Some health resources suggest
one liter of water per hour of riding.
From my own experience on hot days I would
concur. On one of our 60 mile rides I went
through 6 bottles of water. On our tandem
we have 7 water bottle cages and we needed to
stop to refill them part way through our ride.
We have also experimenteding with the powered
electrolyte mixes to add to the water.
Medical folks say we lose more than just water
when we perspire. These mixes replace
those items. I have personally noticed a
substantial reduction in leg cramps when
drinking plenty of water, especially water which
contains those mixes. However, one thing
we did notice was that on long rides, we got
sick of drinking those beverages and just wanted
plain water. We knew we needed the
electrolytes, but only wanted water. After
looking around I found a product called Endurolytes by
Hammer
Nutrition. It contains the needed
electrolytes in capsule form so you can drink
plain water and periodically take the capsules.
So far we like that much better. (We talk
about our favorite water bottles on our
Accessories
page)
2) Sunscreen - If you are
not used to being out in the sun for hours at a
time, take precautions. I'm prone to
sunburn so I cover myself before a ride and
again in the middle of a long ride. After
hearing all the news items about sunscreen:
UVA & UVB rays, the best protection from
skin cancer, etc. we did a lot of label reading!
We found that Walgreens brand had all the
recommended ingredients, and was half the price
of most of the other name brands. That's a
good thing since we go through quite a lot!
3) First Aid Kit -
One last thing, just in case we
carry some basic first aid items. |
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