10 Tips to Create the Perfect Bike Ride

photo credit: kevindooley

Everyone wants that “perfect” ride. The one where you feel as good on the last 5 miles as you did on the first. The one where you are in love with the feeling of the road beneath your tires, the wind in your hair, and you feel like you could ride forever.

I’ve had a couple rides like that ~ here’s some tips to hlep you create your perfect ride.

1. Make sure you choose a day when you’re not really feeing very motivated. Those low motivation days can quickly escalate into perfect rides.

2. Make sure you’re pulling a toddler in a trailer behind you. The extra drag is a key element to the perfect ride.

3. Oh ~ and make sure when you go to hook up said trailer, it has a flat tire. Of course if you can’t find a pump that only adds to the perfection of getting started.

4. Also you want to make sure you pick a day where the wind is blowing really hard. Now for a beginner that may only be 5 or 10 miles an hour, but for an experienced rider always make sure you pick days with 20mph + winds.

5. Don’t eat. Plan an early ride, and then get really busy until you find it’s afternoon before you get on the road and realize you haven’t eaten all day.

6. Clean and fill your water bottle with icy cold water, and then leave it on the table to make a nice water ring on your antique wooden table.

7. As you’re pulling out of the driveway stop and check the mail and find some new bike shoes. Get really excited they have arrived and decide it’s a good day to try them out. It’s best if you find 5 or 10 miles into your ride that they REALLY hurt your feet.

8. While you’re driving down the road to get to where you’re going to ride notice your bike seems to be bouncing an awful lot in the bike rack. Worry about your bike the whole way.

9. What really makes for a great bike ride is as you are going really fast down a hill have you bike computer pop off your bike while you’re trying to check how far you’ve gone thus far.Watching it bounce and roll down the hill in front of you can really add to the ride.

10. To top it all off, make sure you are trying a new pair of bike shorts. You know the ones you thought were a smart buy because the padding was nice and thick, you thought it would give your butt a break. However, in the end they just end up rubbing every spot the wrong way.

There ya go ~ 10 tips for the perfect ride. If you manage to get back on your bike tomorrow after this perfect ride it’s true ~ you have seriously been bitten by the biking bug, and there’s probably NOTHING that will ever get you off your bike again.

Related posts:

1. How to Succeed Climbing Hills ~ 10 Tips for Easier Hill Climbs
2. Today’s Ride ~ 8-30-09 ~ Endurance
3. Walnut Valley Metric ~ My First Bike Ride!
4. Bicycle Century ~ 15 Tips to Finish Your First Century
5. Women’s Cycling Shorts ~ Tips for a Good Fit