Tag: advices

on by

Sunday, the last day of every week, the highlight of any week for most cyclists I know, and still…I don’t feel too delighted on every sunday ride for various reasons. I mean, there might be great reasons for riding on any given sunday, just like I wrote in the last blogpost,“Why Sunday is the best day for cycling!”. However, if sunday is the perfect day for cycling, then why do I feel so angry and unhappy most of the time, when I return home from a sunday ride?
Well, I’m going to answer this question today! Here are some reasons for why I don’t like to go cycling on sundays:

–Popular places in town are so crowded by people!

On a sunday ride I usually like to do a quiet ride, with places and routes, that are impossible to visit or ride during the week, because of traffic or construction work for example.
However, everyone who ever tried to visit the Phoenix Lake or Phoenix West in Dortmund on a sunday afternoon knows, that it’s best to just stay away from those popular places, too. It’s noisy, overcrowded by people, the traffic is insane and it’s just no fun to ride bicycles in such environments.

-Sunday is the day after Saturday!

Saturday afternoon and evening is party time! That’s a worldwide phenomenom. Party time in summer time, means it’s outdoor party time, which leads to outside garbage, broken bottles and shards all over the town. As a cyclist on a sunday ride, you have to be so aware of shards and other garbage, that just waits to cut your tires wide open. There’s no time to enjoy the views at all, because of all the threats on the ground.

-“Sonntagsfahrer”!

The german word for unexperienced car drivers, who don’t drive cars on a daily basis, but like to drive on sundays to visit places for a walk or do a weekend adventure, because traffic is low and the streets are free.
They are not necessarily bad drivers in terms of skills, they just drive cars differently compared to commuters or daily drivers. As a cyclist on a sunday ride, you always have to be prepared for unusual driving and be ready for an unusual reaction on your bike. Keep your eyes on the road, there’s no time for enjoying views and landscapes!

-Long rides on the weekend take a huge part of your weekend time!

Spending the larger part of the weekend on your bicycle means you’ll miss every awesome roadbike race on TV. Of course, you can watch the highlights later in the evening, but it’s only live once. They don’t give you all the expert insights in the highlight show and there’s also no time for all the historic buildings and background knowledge to the race’s region and culture.
Besides, you’ll probably going to miss or at least be late for every summer BBQ with family and friends.
It’s a shame, but you always have to estimate carefully on what’s more important to you. Luckily, there’s the good old german summer. Heavy rain and strong winds in combination with a nice summer storm can have a huge impact on that decision from time to time…

Of course, not everything’s bad on a sunday ride. I had a lot of great sunday rides on the bike, roadbike as well as gravel and mountainbike and I know, that sundays are perfect for outdoor time on a bicycle. So, you shouldn’t take this article too serious. However, maybe you’d like to read about the great and awesome things of a sunday ride instead, here’s the link to the last blogpost:“Why sunday is the best day for cycling!”

-Dennis

on by 1 Comment

For most people in Europe and Northern America January means one thing: Winter has come! And although there are many cyclists, who just don’t care whether it’s 20°C or 2°C outside, many cyclists, myself included, are struggling to keep on cycling outdoors.
However, if you don’t want to lose all the progress you’ve made over the last year, indoor cycling on a smart trainer is a great way to keep on cycling and stay fit and strong, in times when it’s impossible for you to ride outside.

This is my second winter on an indoor trainer and there are a lot of things I’ve learned and changed compared to my rookie indoor season. You’ll probably discover most of these things for yourself in time, just like I did. However, the following advices may still help you getting started on an indoor trainer even better:

#1. A fan is a must have, it’ll keep your sweat output under control and prevents you from overheating. Don’t forget about getting some fresh oxygen though and open your window!

#2. However, you’re going to sweat … a lot!
Sweat bands on wrists and head will help you stop dripping sweat all over the place! It’s hard to hold on to your bars with sweaty hands, plus the smell is going to stick in your room forever. Just put on some sweat bands and you’ll get the 80’s fitness workout look on top … for free!

#3. Don’t forget to clean your bike after every session or the sweat will eat up your bike! Sweat is full of salt and this salt is going to destroy your bike’s painting, bottom bracket, chain and possibly everything. Just clean your bike after every ride to make it last longer and have a nice looking fresh bicycle to start the season in spring!

#4. Put a cover on the ground and under your smart trainer.
It will protect the ground below and may even reduce the noise of the trainer a bit. When your neighbors start asking, why you keep washing your clothes every single day … in your living room, it’s time to use a noise reducing cover on your floor. I’m using the thickest pvc carpet I’ve found on the floor and it worked out great. However, I’m also thinking about a nice turf carpet to create an outside feeling for the next indoor session.

#5. Make sure your Zwift device is not mounted on your bars!
This advice is for everyone, who can’t afford a brand new laptop, screen or whatever to run Zwift on. I’m using Zwift on my smartphone and it works just fine. However, when I started to train indoor last January, I used to mount the smartphone on top of my bars, because it was the first and easiest idea that I’ve got. Zwift may run just fine on a smartphone that is mounted like this, some things will start annoying you in time for sure though:
First thing you’ll recognize is, that the screen will start rotating, everytime you sprint and shift, due to the vibrations, that are transmitted through the bike’s frame or the slightest movement of your bars. And before you start asking … a locked up screen, won’t fix this problem…
Next thing you’ll recognize is, that the position of your neck and head is not ideal compared to riding bicycles outside. Usually, you’re looking straight ahead to things that are in front of you. With a Zwift device mounted to your bars, you’ll be looking down to your screen most of the time. This position didn’t cause pain or anything, it just didn’t feel naturally and won’t simulate riding outside in a good way.
This year, I placed the bike stand in front of my roadbike and mounted old MTB bars on it, to put the smartphone on them instead of the bars on my roadbike. Pull the bike stand up high as possible and the smartphone will be placed right in front of your head. Personally I think, this is the best and cheapest solution for that problem and it works just fine.

These are the top 5 things I’ve learned during my time on an indoor trainer and probably the most important one’s and I hope they will help anyone who is just getting started on indoor cycling. Make sure to let me know what you think about it, in the comments below!

-Dennis

on by 3 Comments

The clothes are covered in mud and dirt after and before every ride, the roadbike looks like a worn out mountainbike and makes noises I never heard before and the tires gain cuts faster than me trying to sew together some old bike clothes…

All this can only mean one thing: The offseason arrived!

While the last couple of years usually consisted of me stumbling my way through the darkest time of year and keeping my head down low until the return of the first sunlight, it’s finally time for a new strategy … or any strategy at all.

So, here are my Top 5 advices for surviving the offseason:

1. Nightrides !

Finally something to look up to in that specific time of year. The days are short, the nights are long, which means you don’t have to stay up until midnight for a nightride. Also, there’s no such thing as bad weather conditions, if you can’t see it, right? … right?

2. Bike Wash !?

An advice, only for the toughest time of the offseason. When there’s snow, ice and a total white out on the other side of the window, this might be the perfect moment to make good use of some spare time. This might also be the only bike related activity that’s left, so you know … there’s nothing else to do anyway.

3. Use the weight bench more often …

Time to get rid of all the dust on the weight bench. I’m not the fastest rider in town, but I’ll be the strongest one next spring for sure! Let’s go…

4. Follow more blogs and channels from the opposite half of the planet !

Right here, in europe, the cycling season is pretty much over. Autumn arrived and soon it will get really cold with snow and all that stuff … however, this is not the case everywhere on this planet. The whole south half of planet earth awaits the arrival of summer in a few months, so I’m definitely going to make sure to follow some blogs and channels from this part of the world to get a decent amount of sunshine content.

( please make sure to drop your favorite blogs and channels from the summer side of the globe in the comments. Can’t wait for new content to follow!)

5. Keep on pedaling …

No one likes to start all over again next year. If you want to keep your endurance and stay in top shape, you need to ride your bike. It’s okay if you only ride half the distance, half the time, half intensity and half outside (is that possible? anyway…). Stay active and you’ll recognize the difference in spring!

Alright,what do you think? Looks like a decent strategy for the next few months. Can’t wait to try it out!

Feel free to tell me about your strategies for the offseason in the comments below!

-Dennis