Cycling Tips - Hide Behind Your Helmet

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I have plans to do a training ride on my road bike after work today and when I checked the weather report it has the wind at 20-25 mph. In the past, I would likely say a few choice words and then either plan to ride my mountain bike or go to the gym (nothing wrong with riding a little dirt it is just that I am training for an event coming up and need to spend as much time on the road bike as possible).

Simply put I just do not like riding in the wind! When you are climbing hills at least you can look forward to getting to the top, but that blankety-blank wind is just relentless. It never quits! Yes, I know that on any given ride as you make turns you aren't always riding into a headwind - it just seems that way! However, a couple of years ago I was really looking for some "tips" about riding in the wind so I asked a much more experienced cyclist what he does. I was thinking that he would impart the secret technique (besides hiding behind one of my riding buddies which may work for a little while, but eventually those inconsiderate so and so's actually expected me to take my turn breaking the wind).

In any case, my mentor gave me a wry smile and said "you just have to hide behind your helmet". At the time I remember thinking "thanks a lot for that really helpful bit of advice". However, as time has gone by I think I understand what he was trying to tell me - the wind is a natural part of riding a bike so you need to learn to accept it. It is really a mental thing and you just have to get your head around it. In fact, while I don't mean to say I look forward to riding in the wind, I do look at it like hill repeats - while I do not like doing them, they are a challenge and will make me stronger.

So the next time the wind is blowing hard accept the challenge. In fact, you may decide to do an organized road bicycle ride in the future and if on the day of the event the wind is blowing like crazy you will be ready because you know how to "hide behind your helmet".


About the Author:
Alan is an emarketer for an online bike shop that carries over 30,000 bike parts and bike accessories for road bikes, mountain bikes, commuters and cruisers. Visit us online at http://bikepartsexpress.com/



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