Ride for the gold

When going on a ride, whether it’s a long one, or one around the block, I make it a habit to think about what I want out of the ride before I get into the saddle.

That’s because I’ve found one of the most gratifying parts of a ride is the reflective time afterward, feeling that because of what I worked on, I became a better bike rider.

This can happen in small ways and big ways. I always think about what the challenges of an upcoming ride are likely to be, then focus on ways to work on them, instead of being bothered by them.

Like if there are going to be headwinds on the ride, one of my least favorite things, or excessive heat, I have a little talk to myself.

For wind, I decide that I’ll draft behind any rider that’s got a good pace, to get through it as painlessly as possible. Or if there’s nobody to draft with, I decide that this is just like a climb, and that it is just adding to the workout. Somehow, that makes the headwind seem like it’s helping more than slowing down the ride.

For hot rides, I make sure I have enough water that I regularly drink. And I wear a sweatband on my forehead to keep sweat from dripping into my eyes, which is no fun at all! If I do those things, and take electrolyte gel caps for hot, sunny climbs, I can usually tough out the conditions without quad and hamstring cramps and help myself get generally stronger.

Another challenge to a ride is having to drive in traffic with a lot of cars. Surviving riding with traffic is its own reward, but it takes heightened awareness to stay out of trouble. The best policy in traffic is to consider yourself on red alert at all times.

I have to tell myself to slow down in traffic, since I noticed that when I’ve been in a hurry to get through it, it seems like I’m more likely to make risky, unsafe moves with the bike. If I just relax and take my time, and I’ve heard other riders talk of how this benefits them, there’s more reaction time and a better chance to ride safely with traffic. Using hand signals, going with traffic flow, and generally assuming that drivers can’t see you, is a good way to go. Most drivers don’t realize how fast bikes move – especially a road bike -- and often try to beat them to a turn, or an on ramp, only to cause a possibly turn too closely in front of the rider. 

The best way for a rider to beat that is to stay out of right hand turn lanes if you’re going straight. That means you’ll have to check over your shoulder, and if you have space, merge into the second inside lane before the turn comes up. If you look before you switch lanes and use an arm signal, most drivers coming behind you get that, and give you room. That clears you out of the turn lane and away from a conflict with a turning car.

And, if a car is about to pull out on the right as you approach, look at the driver to see if they see you and make arm motions if you need to get their attention. If they look like they’re about to pull out in front of you, slow down and veer to the right behind them if possible. Don’t go left, that’s where other cars are and that’s pure danger.

Other much more fun challenges on rides are to pick areas you want to improve upon on during an upcoming ride. If you’re on rough roads that are annoying for the unexpected jars they produce, think of it as an opportunity to improve your bike handling skills in choosing the smoothest line on the road. Sometimes that’s tricky, because the bike lane – if there is one – can often have gravel or rougher pavement than the main road. So if you use the edge of the main road, you can be putting yourself too close to passing cars, trucks and semi-trailer trucks.  But finding the happy medium will improve your bike handling skills, and they come in handy when you have to make a quick maneuver on the bike to keep from crashing.

Another fun challenge to improve your fitness is to work on riding faster and building up your cardio fitness. One fun way is to see how many other riders on your route you can pass. Or see if you can catch a particularly fast rider ahead of you. Or you can time yourself on a stretch of ride you do often, such as a long flat segment, or on repeated small climbs. My Garmin bike computer shows me how much faster or slower I am on comparable rides.

So setting personal goals before any ride will let you finish with a review of what you did, and many times help you feel like you got the most out of a ride. 

And even when you have a tough ride, checkered by a flat, or sluggishness or other annoyances, remember you can always learn something on those rides, too! Always remember they can add to your riding knowledge, even if they seem ridiculously challenging, as they sometimes do!

Til next time, always strap on your helmet before a ride, and most importantly, work hard to keep the rubber side down!

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf