Ghost Factory Shop

Ten steps to happier and safer cyclingTen steps to happier and safer cycling

1 – Wear a Helmet

Head injuries are the cause of over 60% of cycling related deaths, proper head protection is therefore essential in minimising this. Good quality Helmets not only offer essential protection, they are light weight, fit snuggly and are well ventilated to keep you cool.

Cratoni 100% head protection is light weight and has the perfect fit for you.

2 – Make sure you get the right size bike

There are very accurate measuring formats that can be used to determine what size bike would be compatible with your build/height. Most often an inseam measurement is used to determine which bike size is right, but it’s still important to have a full bike set-up done to make sure you are comfortable and efficient.

GHOST Factory Shop has proper bike Set-up facilities to ensure comfortable and happy riding on your new bike.

3 – Pick the right Seat

One saddle doesn’t work for all people; we are all very differently built, and with this in mind, correct saddle selection is of vital importance to your riding experience. A saddle should be “firm” not soft, there should be a slight groove or slit in the middle of the saddle to avoid pinching of nerves which run under the pelvis. If there isn’t a groove the saddle should then be quite a hard saddle. Sitting on a saddle and pain from sitting on a saddle for prolonged periods of time is similar to going gym for the first time and having aching muscles for days afterwards. The more you ride the more your butt gets used to it. If you find that, even though you have been riding regularly, you are moving around on the saddle to find a “comfortable spot” to sit within the first half hour of riding and just can’t get comfortable; chances are you need to change the saddle.

4 – Be realistic

If you are a beginner, don’t try attempt 5 hours on your first ride. Start off with a reasonable time on the bike like 30 minutes to an hour, as your fitness improves, gradually increase your time on the bike. Riding in a group also makes it easier to ride longer as well as safer, and riding with friends helps broaden your knowledge of trails in the area, which keeps you from getting bored of riding the same roads/trails day after day.

If you want to take your training a bit more seriously, investing in proper coaching will go a long way in reaching your goals. Our resident coach Henry Uys can help you with a training program.

5 – Comfortable cycling clothes

The main point here is ride in something that is comfortable for you, cycling shorts and bib-shorts are designed to help with easing the discomfort the saddle creates initially, but more importantly it is designed to keep you comfortable while in the saddle enjoying the outdoors. A cycling/bib short should fit snug to avoid “creeping up” of the pants and chaffing in various areas. A cycling/bib short should also not sit too tightly for obvious reasons, to avoid cutting off blood circulation, resulting in reduced performance. Cycling shoes should be comfortable from the second you put them on, if you put a pair of cycling shoes on, and they feel “fine” but there’s a bit of pressure here or there, it’s not the right shoe for you.

Decca cycling clothing is high quality imported cycling clothing, made for the racer and perfected for the enthusiast.

6 – Bright when early, bright in the night light

Most cycling related accidents occur in the early hours of the morning and late afternoons into the evening. It is essential to make sure you have some form of reflective attire as well as a front and rear light which is clearly visible, either on flashing mode or bright, so that the vehicles and pedestrians can see you. It is also smart to wear bright clothing or have some form of lighting while riding during the day.

Your local bike store should stock these items

7 – Be a good road user

It’s a guarantee that if you obey the laws of the road and you are courteous toward the other road users you will be safer. Getting carried away and making gestures at motorists won’t help your cause, a 2 ton car will break your bones and your bike. When riding in a group, if you feel the need to ride next to a fellow rider, do so inside the yellow lane or bicycle lane. It’s just safer that way, fact! Use common sense, if a taxi comes past you pay attention, it might pull over suddenly and stop. If you approaching a traffic light, and it turns yellow while a car is coming from the opposite direction or is waiting to turn across the road you’re travelling on, STOP to prevent the off chance that they probably didn’t see you and just wanted to get across the road as quick as possible. In traffic, everyone is in a hurry, taxis and cars are pushing and squeezing through spaces that don’t exist. If you are riding in traffic congested roads, please know that you have to be alert and expect anything, calmly go about your training, be tolerant and stick to the rules. It’s just common sense.

8 – Right gear at the right time

Being in the right gear at strategic parts of a ride will make it easier, if you get stopped at a traffic light and you’re in a massive gear, pulling away takes a big effort and it looks odd. On your training route, be sure to pre select the appropriate gear whilst approaching the start of a climb. There are times when you need to ride bigger gears and times when you need to ride smaller gears, generally it is the normal to pedal at an average of 60 to 80 RPM cadence.

9 – Don’t Coast

During your training try not to “free wheel”, this has a negative effect on your riding rather than helping you recover. If you are going down a hill rather pedal lightly to keep blood flow optimal and reduce lactic build up in your legs. This technique will improve your performance as you will become used to constant pedalling.

Bryton GPS units are perfect training tools for monitoring your cadence as well as your effort level so that you don’t go too hard and build up lactic acid.

10 – Measured braking

There are a lot of different opinions on how best to brake/stop. In my opinion if you are riding and the traffic light ahead is already red, reduce your pedalling and free wheel toward the red light, as you get closer start applying brakes and increase the braking pressure until you stop at the red light. Don’t race up to the light and hope it’s going to go green before you get there. There may be a taxi parked and a passenger about to get off and step out in front of you, you then have to slam on brakes or swerve or end up colliding with the person getting off the taxi. You probably thinking to yourself, but the guy getting off should have looked, the fact of the matter is we live in a country where this is a reality and racing toward a red light and hoping it will change is not common sense. When cornering, if you haven’t been through a specific corner before, rather go through it slower to avoid crashing, going into an oncoming lane. If you have been through a corner before and you know how fast you can go through it, brake before the corner and only pedal once you are through the corner and not leaning into it anymore.

The main point to remember whilst riding is this, use common sense and pay attention to the vehicles and their behaviour, this will make them more predictable and hopefully keep you from ending up becoming a statistic.

Come visit us at the Ghost Factory Shop for all your cycling needs.

Unit 3CKimbult Industrial Park

8 Zeiss RoadLaserparkHoneydew

2170JHB

Office: +27 11 023 4478