Smart Cycling- Live to Ride Another Day

This is the philosphy for Smart & Safe cycling that I was taught when I first began cycling and they have kept me safe. Enjoy!

"Cycling by its very nature is an individual sport. Yes, there are cycling clubs and racing teams, but for most of us, riding our bike is something we do on our own, or at most, with a friend by our side.

Remember when you rode for the first time with one other person? Remember how you had to get use to them slowing down or even stopping in front of you without any notice? Or when they decided to pass you at the same time you decided to turn left to avoid something on the road? Remember the words exchanged, like, "hey, watch where you're going"? It took time for the two of you to get use to each other's individual riding styles and learn how to communicate your intentions. Now when you ride together you think like one.

This scenario provides a base for our conversation about Smart Cycling. AIDS/LifeCycle is an event that attracts every age, degree of athleticism and riding styles. We love the diversity and we love the passion of the people who choose to do our event. Our goal for each of you is to enjoy your ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a safe and injury-free manner.

Smart cycling is about you and your fellow participants' safety. We want you to learn how to ride with over 1000 people by your side just like you ride with the one person you know like yourself. We divide Smart cycling into three categories; Street Smarts, Mental Smarts and Learned Smarts.

Street Smarts: We will be riding through every kind of terrain and weather condition California has to offer. At different times we will travel through small and large communities, rural countryside, foggy roads along the coastline, rush hours in the cities, narrow bike paths through community parks, the heat of inland farm country, with an occasional animal slowly crossing in front of you. We will pass farm vehicles, semi trucks, cars, and, at times, cheering and unpredictable children! At times you will be riding with hundreds of fellow cyclists in close proximity and other times you will have a stretch of road all to yourself. You will be parking your bikes in rest stops, sometimes on hot payment, other times on gravel or grass. Your senses will be overloaded by majestic mountain views, fields of strawberries, wine groves, river beds, hot springs, the intense pacific ocean with schools of dolphins and groves of century old trees. You will experience seven days of beauty most of us have only seen by car, and all from the seat of your bicycle. You will experience mental and emotional highs and lows and you will find your mind wandering at times to almost a daydreaming like quality of peace and serenity.

Sounds pretty amazing, doesn't it? It is all that and more. To ensure that this experience continues to be amazing you will need to be vigilante and deliberately conscious of your surroundings and some of the perils that come with riding a bicycle. Safety starts with each us taking responsibility not only for ourselves but for our fellow cyclists.

The state of California has rules and regulations that we by law must ALWAYS adhere to.

California State Law Requires:That a bicycle be considered a vehicle with the same privileges and restrictions as a car. That you obey all traffic laws, traffic signals and stop signs. That you ride with the traffic -- NOT against it. That you use hand signals to indicate your intentions. For more information on California Bike Laws visit their website.

Hand and Verbal Signals. Since bikes are not equipped with brake or turn lights you must use your arms and hands to indicate your intentions:

Left arm straight out to the left indicates left turn.
Left arm at right angle with hand pointing up indicates a right turn.
Left arm at a right angle with the hand pointing down indicates slowing and stopping.

The 3 signals above are required by law. WE go the extra mile in safety signals by using our hands and vocal chords to do the following:

Point out road obstacles i.e. rocks, gravel, broken glass, drainage grates, and pot holes. Using your right arm to point, and then call out, car right when you see an automobile exiting from a driveway or intersection. Always use your arms as pointers and your voice to draw attention to any impending obstacles. Never think that someone else is loud enough for the cyclist in front of you to hear them, always add your voice and "pay it forward or backward" -- depending on the situation at hand. For example, when coming to a stop with 20 fellow cyclists, ALL 20 cyclists should be calling out, Stopping! This keeps everyone alert and being alert is "smart cycling".

"Car back" -- used when you hear a car approaching from your rear. When you hear a fellow cyclist saying "Car back" you must also say it so the cyclist in front of you can hear it, and on up the line. "Car up" -- used when riding on a narrow roadway and you have a car approaching you. "On Your Left" -- used EVERY TIME you pass another cyclist. Always check behind you before passing and call out your intention BEFORE you are alongside the cyclist you are overtaking. NEVER pass another cyclist when a car is approaching from behind you. If you are being passed by another cyclist please move as far right as is SAFELY possible. You must pass in single file, never in tandem or more -- this is very unsafe as you will be crowding into the oncoming traffic lane.

"Door" -- used when riding along parked cars. Watch all cars that are parked and if you see someone in the driver's seat call out "Door" to signal to the cyclists behind you that a car door could open at anytime.

"Tracks" -- used when approaching railroad tracks. Always cross railroad tracks at a 90-degree angle to avoid getting your tires trapped in the tracks.

"Slowing" -- used when slowing to make a stop or beginning to pull off the road to stop.

"Stopping" -- used after you call out slowing and are ready to come to a full stop. If you are stopping to rest or stretch or even, god forbid, change a flat, it is crucial that you pull completely off the bicycle lane of traffic.

"Clear" -- used when passing through an intersection that has NO stop signs on any corner. This is potentially a very dangerous situation. So slow before you proceed and look both ways before calling out "Clear."

"Turning" -- used when making any type of turn and always in conjunction with the appropriate arm turn signal.

"Merging" -- used when you have been stopped and are getting ready to rejoin the bike lane of traffic.

Words of kindness and concern:
Good morning/afternoon How are you doing Looking good Nice legs You can do it Hydrate Everything okay? Let me help you We are almost at the next rest stop, you can do it.These might seem corny, but during these long days on the road anyone of us will feel tired or lethargic from time to time. Friendly comments can be just the catalyst to spur someone up that hill or bring them out of a funk they might be experiencing. Riding a bike such long distances can be hard even for the most experienced rider.

We all love to be complimented and we all love to know that we are not alone. Singing a song can become infectious and you might just create a choir.

Mental Smarts: As we have mentioned before, Cycling is by nature an individual sport for most of us. That isn't an accident. There is something about riding a bike that relaxes the mind and soul and for the most part our body -- no, really, the body does relax. Remember, most of us don't ride long distances and we often feel physically relaxed when we finish our afternoon rides. So, what is Mental Smarts you ask? Have you ever gotten in your car to go somewhere and you are thinking about work, or what you are going to do when you get where you're going, or thinking about someone you love? When you arrive, have you ever thought to yourself, wow, I am already here -- that didn't take as long as usual! Can we all say... pre-occupied! It happens to all of us at one time or another. So, when we go for our afternoon bike spins, we want to just relax and oftentimes let our minds wander. But on a bicycle, that kind of mental relaxation is dangerous.

You must at all times be aware of your surroundings and alert to all possibilities. In June, you will be riding with hundreds of people in front and in back of you. You will also be riding alongside vehicles of all sizes. Put yourself behind the wheel of a car that approaches several hundred bicycles. While those vehicles might make you nervous, the sight of all these bike riders will make them nervous and, at times, tense.

Given the possibility of so many nervous actions by cyclists and automobiles, it is crucial that you stay alert and ride smart, predictably and deliberately. Be prepared to stop at any moment. Be aware that each of your actions will dictate how the person behind you or the automobile beside you, reacts.

Mental Smarts goes beyond just life on your bike. You may also be challenged by camping and eating outdoors. And still more of you might find losing the comforts of home a little daunting. We don't normally stand in line to use a port-a-potty. Many of us are quite used to having our own special coffee blend brewing for us automatically when we get out of our comfortable beds. When we lose those creature comforts, we can get a little cranky! Be aware of your own moods swings, we all have them from time to time. Respect those around you and recognize that someone else's frustration is most likely not directed at you. It is more likely frustration with themselves. A simple smile, a hand on the shoulder, even a hug, can make the sourest situation dissipate. Offering to stop and change someone's flat tire could be the catalyst that inspires that rider to complete the day's mileage. Some of us need alone time to process our emotions. If you see someone who is feeling sad or frustrated, ask if you can do something for them. It might be as simple as changing their flat for them, sharing your energy bar, carrying their gear to their tent, or even setting up their tent. One truly great aspect of our event, is that we are all experiencing this together. We have a common goal and we will have common frustrations. But with each of us looking out for one another we will form a community and friendship that will carry us forward the rest of our lives.

In short, Mental Smarts is not only about handling you and your bike in a safe manner. It is also about how we interact and care about each other's safety and wellbeing.

The rewards will be both tangible and, at times, elusive. Your experience will be enhanced by how prepared you become in the coming months.

Learned Smarts is just what you would expect it to be. It's taking a subject matter that we either know little or nothing about and then learning and practicing until we become proficient. Our goal is to make our actions on the event, whether they be physical or nutritional, as intuitive as possible. To accomplish this we must learn new lessons and practice, practice, practice
Nutrition/HydrationFirst things first -- this is NOT a time to go on a diet. During your training, and on the event itself, you will find that you will be hungry all the time and most likely consume more food than you ever thought possible. You will also find that you burn up that food faster than you are used to. It's hard to break years of eating habits, i.e. " I don't usually eat breakfast". While training and definitely while on the event, you need to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack often between all meals! For some of you this is a totally foreign idea. So how do you re-educate yourself? Start off slow. If you are one whose breakfast usually consists of coffee and a bagel, then start there and add a piece of fruit to the routine. As you ride more miles during your training, your body will start telling you when you are hungry. Think about this: If you were planning to go for a 50-mile drive and you got into your car to find the almost empty light was on, you most likely would fill up the tank. The same must be true for you, you are the engine that will drive your bike. don't start that 50 miles before filling up! Always keep an energy bar and/or a piece of fruit with you while you are riding. If you have any hunger pangs, don't ignore them! Stop and a take a few bites.
Most of us have spent years eating and drinking in a certain way. To suddenly start eating and drinking LOTS more is just a foreign and confusing concept. To reach the peak shape you need to be in for the ride in June, start training yourself in this new concept -- "Eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirsty". If you can master this, you will be very thankful, come June. Your body might be able to operate on less, especially during your early training. But once you start putting in longer miles and most definitely in June, by the third day your body will most likely rebel on you if it decides you have not given it the proper fuel via healthy food, water and electrolytes. And, YES, your body does have a mind of its own!

Read more about Nutrition and Hydration.

Physical Training. Which category do you fall into? "I joined the gym, but realized I never went until I got the expiration letter" or "I live at the gym 6 days a week." For many of us, exercising is not the most entertaining way to spend our free time, and for the rest of us, we can't get enough. Under-training or over-training both have pitfalls. Balance is everything! But for us human beings, balance can be tough. Many of us are procrastinators by nature, especially when it comes to doing something that requires large amounts of time and physical energy.

Just like proper nutrition and hydration, physical training must be done in slow increments. The great part about a slow training regiment is that we get to see positive results without the risk of being burned out or incurring injuries by doing more than our body wants us to do. Remember, your body has its own brain and it will definitely let you know when you have pushed it too far. And it most likely won't be nice about it!

So where does one begin?

Organized Group Training Rides. Since most people don't ride in groups, we tend to think that training on our own is perfectly okay. And in some cases, you will want to go out and ride by yourself or with just one other person. But you'll need to practice riding in groups to get the necessary skills for riding while surrounded by hundreds of cyclists.

Choosing the right training ride. We will have a multitude of rides for you to choose from. And though our rides are designed with all levels in mind, it will be your responsibility to choose the best ride for you, based on your own level of cycling ability.

We rate our training rides based on distance, pace and terrain. The distance is the easy part. The pace, on the other hand, might be difficult for you to judge. Let's say we rate a particular ride at 11-14 mph average. This terminology could be totally foreign to you. How does one know how fast they ride if they have never measured it before? To determine this without the use of a bike computer you can drive an area you are planning to ride and check the mileage. For example, you find a ride that is 20 miles long. You then ride the 20 miles and clock the time you spend ONLY while riding (subtract the time you make for stops longer than 4 minutes). Let's say the ride takes you 2 hours of actual riding time to complete. That means your average is 10 miles per hour. Armed with this knowledge, you can then determine what ride to attempt from our Ride Calendar. The other important consideration to make is the terrain rating. The higher the level -- the more hills involved, and the more challenging the ride will be.
To decide what is appropriate for you, don't attempt a ride whose rating is higher than your present average speed, or a ride that is 10 miles longer than you have previously attempted, or one that has steeper hills than you have climbed before. Our ride leaders will discuss the route with you prior to riding out. Listen to their description, and if you feel you might have been too aggressive in your decision to join, be smart and trust your instincts. The best way for you to determine if a ride is appropriate is to call your Participant Representative and discuss your options. They will be more than happy to help you decide what scheduled rides are appropriate for your present skill set.

Benefits of riding in a group. The benefits are as varied as the individuals in your group, and include, but are not limited to:

Learning how to anticipate what others will do. Gaining important strength and endurance skills Practicing the mandatory safety rules Practicing passing and stopping with several people at once Sharing personal stories Making new friends Getting tips from veterans on what the actual event is like Becoming part of a community Having your own cheerleading squad on those tough days Helping with flat tires.

Cross Training. You should spend most of your training on your bike. Nothing will prepare you better than actually riding. Your body needs to experience the feel of the road, the bumps, the wind, uphills, downhills, cornering, stopping, mounting and dismounting. It is also the single best way to toughen that posterior region. There is NO cross training that will help condition that area like time in the saddle. And for most of us, that is the area we will complain about the most and the one area if not properly trained will take the enjoyment out of our riding experience.

However, cross training has its benefits and we suggest that you add them to your total training program. There may be times that the weather won't allow you out on the road to train or, quite frankly, you need a change of venue. Taking a spin class at your local gym will be your best resource. Spin classes are terrific at building endurance. But don't limit yourself to this type of cross training. What you want to do is anything that is aerobic, such as swimming, walking, and running, to name just a few. Most important, find something you enjoy.
Once again, you must start off in slow deliberate increments to achieve the best success.

Injury Prevention. There are many injuries we can totally avoid by following a proper training program. Coupled with deliberate incremental training, you must stretch those muscles before you use them in a workout. And you must stretch them again once you are finished.

Most of the injuries we see on the event are related to knees, feet, ankles, tendons and muscle groups. To a lesser degree we see sore necks and backs and some hand numbness. All of these are totally avoidable.

The single most important thing you can do to prevent most of these injuries is to have your bike professionally fit to you. An improper seat height alone can create knee, leg and Achilles injuries. The scary part of these injuries is that they don't just happen. It is the repetitive nature of cycling on improperly fit bikes that creates the injuries. So one day you could be fine and the next day your knee is sore. This didn't happen based on one day's riding. Your body is resilient and will try to heal itself until pushed beyond its own limits -- remember your body does have its own brain!

Secondly, do not push yourself past your own ability or endurance level. For example, you find someone you like riding with, your average mph is 10, theirs is 15. While it is good to ride with someone who will help you reach a higher level, it is very dangerous for you (using the above example) to try and keep up with someone who is that much faster. Your knees will be the first part of your body to let you know this wasn't a good idea. The injuries that could occur will most likely stop you from continuing your training while you heal -- valuable time lost that you won't get back.

Hill climbing is another area that causes problems even for the most avid of cyclists. Your wisest decision is to spin (using your easiest gears) up a hill, which will do more to prevent knee injuries than anything else you can do, other than walking your bike. Power riding up a hill might work for one or two days, but remember, you will be riding for seven days and over MANY hills. Unless you are an avid multi-day, long-distance cyclist, no matter what your skill level, you will more than likely incur injuries trying to keep up this aggressive pace day after day. The smartest thing for you to do is to always spin up those hills. It needs to be a learned skill. We all want to ride faster, it is a natural goal. But aggressively pushing yourself past your limits will more than likely stop your riding, not increase your speed. Steady and incremental training will eventually make you faster. Be smart and don't overextend yourself.

Almost every single one of us wants, or at the very least, enjoys being part of a group. Our event attracts every type of personality. From outgoing to shy and reserved, from veteran rider to Newbie. At times it can be intimidating, fitting into a new group of people. For those of you who are new, it can especially be intimidating. Veteran folks of our events are very tightly bonded. Veterans have shared the emotional and physical bond that comes with spending seven days together accomplishing something extraordinary. Looking at them from the outside, you might mistake them as unapproachable types. Nothing could be further from the truth. What you are seeing is pride in their shared accomplishment. You don't spend seven days and nights on the road in extraordinary circumstances without creating friendships that are often stronger than the closest of families.

As a Newbie (we use this term with total affection) you are most likely going to feel overwhelmed with what is ahead, and maybe a little shy and maybe even a little intimidated by the veterans. REMEMBER -- those veterans were exactly in your position during their first ride. Introduce yourself, tell them this is your first time. They will most likely overwhelm you with their welcome and give you advice on everything, whether you ask or not. It all comes from the heart and in some cases it comes from their own learned mistakes.

For you veterans out there, remember what it was like on your first ride. You most likely will recognize someone new to our event. Your approaching them first will go a long way in easing the anxiety. Remember the anxiety and, in some cases, the absolute fear -- "What did I think I was doing, signing up for this?!" Remember your first time and give out the support only you as veterans can do.
For those of you joining us for the first time, enjoy each day, even the tough ones. Be deliberate in your training and always ask for help when you need it. You are embarking on the experience of a lifetime. We want you to succeed in a smart and safe manner. We want you to enjoy not only the seven days in June, but all the days of training leading up to it.

Begin today in laying the foundation for your success."

from: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/training/smart.html

Smart Cycling- Live to Ride Another Day

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Helmet Statistics from The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Helmet Safety

Sunday, November 2, 2008

SMART Cycling = SAFE Cycling

Followers

Blog Archive