Madeeha Syed

Get ready for cycling with Meri Sehat's guide. Explore tips on gear, safety, and essential knowledge for an enjoyable and safe cycling experience.

What You Should Know When You Go Cycling?

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Overview

While recreational cycling has slowly been making a comeback in Pakistan for the past decade, the sport experienced a boom during the <a href="https://merisehat.pk/article/the-types-of-covid-19-variants-and-the-effects-they-have-on-your-body">Covid-19 </a>pandemic lockdowns. Everyone and anyone decided to hop on a bicycle and take it for a spin. While some may have given up this activity once the lockdowns subsided, many have not. If you&rsquo;ve decided to take up cycling, this is what you should know when you go out: 
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take up cycling

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	<li>Wear Proper Gear And Protect Your Backside: All cycling shorts are designed with a pad to be worn next to the skin. You may feel naked the first time that you do this but you will get used to it very quickly. 
	It is then important to find the right position on the saddle: as you will be sitting more forward and a wide saddle may cause chafing between the legs. 
	All saddles should be level, not pointing up or down. If you feel that you need your saddle pointing down towards the front hub, chances are that it is too high in the first place and vice versa. It does take time to get your rear end used to sitting on a saddle for hours on end, but this too is all part of the training.</li>
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<ul>
	<li>Change Your Gears: It is always easy to spot an inexperienced cyclist. They are trying to churn a huge gear with their shoulders. You will see their shoulders move at least 12-18 inches with each pedal stroke. Bikes nowadays can have anything up to 33 gears. Even if you only have 10, use them to keep a nice steady economical cadence from the energy point of view. The average should be about 90 rpm on the flat and 70 rpm whilst climbing. 
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	<li>Bend Your Elbows: If your arms are locked all the vibration from the bars travels up along to your neck and shoulders which causes neck and shoulder pain. You are also less flexible if someone bumps off of you in a group. It does take a bit of practice but will be well worth the effort. 
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	<li>Clean Your Bicycle: Wipe it down after every ride and spend at least 30 mins once per week will keep your machine running much better. Brakes, gears, handling will all run a lot smoother when a bike is well taken care of. Chains and cassettes will not wear out as quickly and you will spot problems such as glass or thorns in tyres before they become an issue. You will also feel better as a nice clean machine whirring along underneath you will always lift your spirits. 
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	<li>Know How To Fix A Puncture: If you get a puncture, take off the wheel (if it&rsquo;s a rear drop it down into the outside sprocket first, as this will help you know where to hang the chain when putting the wheel back on). 
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Conclusion

Use your tyre levers to remove one side of the tyre and then pull out the tube. Pump the tube to see if you can find where the air is coming out. This will give you a good idea of where to check the tyre for the item which caused the puncture in the first place. Locate the thorn, piece of glass, thumb tack, or whatever and remove. Then check the rest of the tyre. 
 
If you cannot find anything whatsoever in the tyre and the tube has two holes very close together, this may be a &ldquo;pinch flat&rdquo;. These are caused by riding an under inflated tyre over a pothole or stone. Next slightly inflate your new tube and fit into the tyre. Reseat the outer bead of the tyre and finish near the valve. The reason for this is so that if a part of the tube remains under the tyre bead by pushing the valve back up into the tyre you can re-seat this properly. Now pump the tyre as hard as possible and refit the wheel.

A few other simple things are to always wear your helmet one inch above your eyebrows, not on the back of your head, call the potholes and obstacles when riding in a group and don&rsquo;t be afraid to ask other cyclists if you&#39;re not sure about something. It makes them feel important and you get the answer you are looking for. 
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