10 Tips for new cyclists

It was long believed that only after years and years of base training, cyclists would then hit their peak. Well doesn't that just suck. This isn't encouraging at all for those of you who have just purchased your new bike and rolled it out of your front door on a chilly winters morning. Theres hope for you I say, take heart. Heres 10 tips to get to where you want to be:

1. Get on Strava:

Strava is an online cycle program and data base where you can track your training, keep an eye on all the places you have been and see just how much you improve. I recommend you switch it on from day one. You will be surprised how much fun it is to get home, upload your training and relive it like a little kid in front of your computer screen. A bonus will be looking back after a couple of months and seeing just how slow you were when you first started.
Personal Experience: I cycled across South Africa last year in December. I uploaded all my trainings and when I finally got home from the month's adventure, analyzing every ride was so much fun. It brought back many memories of where my trusty stead and I had been together.

Track your rides and see what your friends are doing

2. Get a cheap heart rate monitor:

If you haven't got a Heart Rate monitor, get one! It is possibly the most effective way to track your fitness. For dummies, the idea is to get your resting heart rate as low as possible. Rides you were also once doing at 90% of your maximum you can now easily do at 60%, "KABOOM"...you're getting fitter. Expect not to pay to much less than R1500 for a basic entry level watch, will be the best thing you have done.

Its fun and very important to keep track of what your heart is doing

3. Time, Time, Time:

People often get consumed in the distance. I have to ride x kilometers a week. I have seen far to many riders, including myself, become discouraged, knowing they're  not reaching the distances they had covered when they were on top form. So forget about it, especially if you are a beginner. 3 hours on the saddle, legs turning over is of far more value than you think. The more comfortable you become on you bikes and in the saddle, the better you will perform when your training increases. Do your time!

Time in the saddle is sometimes more important the distance we are doing

4. Stay hydrated:

I recently returned from a race. My dad had done the Nissan Trailseeker #3, the 7okm race. When he got back in and we met at the car, he had only finished about 300ml of juice and water combined, out of a possible 1.5l on a 3hour ride.
 "I had no time," he said. Its unacceptable, theres a old saying that goes,"we don't drink for today, we drink for tomorrow." We might be fine for today but what about the next days training. Heres a thought; it takes a full three weeks to recover and get back to full performance after a bad spell of dehydration. I experienced this in the ABSA Cape Epic. Discipline yourself, drink it down!

Drink for the next day, its a discipline.

5. Look in the mirror:

 You are about to be transformed! Say goodbye to those skinny shapeless trunks and hello to that well defined lean leg mass. Take a picture of what your body looks like, if your goal is to lose weight, you have come to the right place. This will motivate you to keep going. You must do your time though.

You have the opportunity to change and you will

6. Supplements:

I have a trio of supplements that keep me recovered and moving forward regardless of what distance I had hammered out the day before. From a 225km from Balfour to Kroonstad, to a 40km hill repeat session, the formula is the same. Whey protein, L Glutamin powder dissolved in your shake and a Branch Chain Amino acid (Bcaa) will get you going again. Its all protein based and assists in the rebuilding of your muscle breakdown.

The ultimate recovery 

7. Gym:

"I need to stay out of the gym, I don't want to get big," Don't be silly. It takes time and effort to become that big, you would be so lucky to see the transformation over night. Ask any of the riders winning Tour de France, The Giro, The Mountain bike world series...they are all being conditioned in the gym. Resistance training in the gym protects your muscles agains breakdown and fatigue in races...if you can squat, how can a little hill on the bike break your legs. Resistance training also assists in fat burning throughout the day.

Although Lance Armstrong was on a lot more than gym, he often spent hours conditioning his body

8. Forget the equipment:

Forget the fancy stuff, get on what you have and cycle your ass off! You will know exactly when you get to a point where your equipment is letting you down. But its not in the first 8 months of training I can guarantee you. Stop comparing yourself to the skinny racing snake lining up next to you. Ride what you are comfortable in, its an adventure, keep it that way!

I promise, your local "Sir Brad Wiggins" won't be judging you on what bike you are riding

9. Join a club

Whether its a social riding group or an organized club set up like the one I belong to, MTN Club 100. Get involved and mix with guys with similar mindsets. They will push you forward and encourage you. Natural competition is good. When you don't feel like a 50km Saturday ride and John, who weighs 180kg, shows up with the club at your front door, I assure you, your mind will change very quickly.

There are some interesting people to meet in our local clubs

10. Smile, look around and protect our culture:

Theres no time for stubborn, arrogant road bike bunnies in our sport and I fear we are getting to that point. Stop shouting "Track, track, track," from your position on the single track. Stop racing past abandoned soldiers patching their tubes, it doesn't matter if you are leading or losing. Stop brushing off officials who have been holding those bloody flags all day waiting for your slow ass at a corner in some desolate part of South Africa...please just raise your hand and acknowledge their presence. Change your attitude, you are part of the family now, bring courage, advice and love and leave your ego at home when you come on a ride. 

The friends, the health, the views and the time on the bike it the most important thing, remember that. 

You're ready for action! Get signed up to some races. We hope to see you in action soon.

Keegan "Kunjani" Longueira