Clip In, Hop On and Hit the Road
Bike
A complicated sport, that offers you the beauty of early mornings, hitting the road while the sun is rising.
Tips for Getting Started Cycling
Don’t let the amount of equipment and fuel needed for cycling to stop you from enjoying this amazing sport. With proper preparation you can have a blast being on the road away for hours.
Practice clipping in and out. If this is your first time with clip in shoes, practice in near your house slowing down, clipping out. It can feel unnatural at first, but some practice it’ll come second nature.
Take it easy. If you are looking to race a 70.3 or full Ironman, realize that most of your racing will be low/medium effort as you’ll need to sustain this for 6+ hours. Practice this effort in your training.
Join a group. Long rides may become boring if you are always solo, shake up your routine and find a local bike shop that offers group rides. It’s great way to meet other cyclist and have the time quickly pass (be sure to look up group riding rules first).
Make a preparation list. There are A LOT of elements to cycling, shoes, outfit, flat kit, helmet, food, hydration… you get the point. Before you long rides prepare everything the night before, calculate the amount of food and hydration you’ll need so you can enjoy your morning and be ready to ride.
Is one better than the other?
Outdoor vs. Indoor Riding
Short answer, yes. Outdoor riding.
Long answer, it does not have to be exclusively outdoor riding. I live in the Midwest and riding outdoors in winter months is just short of impossible to ride outside and can be dangerous. We have to work within our limits of what is reasonable and I ride inside from November - March. You can do plenty of indoor riding and prepare your body to get race ready, but there are so many elements to road riding that you cannot duplicate on a Peloton, indoor trainer or gym bike.