A Few Things I've Picked up

There are a few things I've picked up in the two months I've been riding that have given me some insight into cycling. I figured I'd share them. Any of this info can be found online or in magazines, so I’m not exactly reinventing the wheel here, but feel free to list any thing you (the reader) have picked up along your way.

"Cyclists" Are Assholes

To be fair, I've met so many more nice people than douche bonnets while riding, but as a whole, I would classify cyclists as assholes. From the guy with the $10,000 bike who looks down on everyone else who doesn't at least have a carbon frame to the guy who was riding two abreast and called me a "fucking asshole" because I got to close to him, to the amateur and pro racers who don't say a thing as they pass you then cut you off... they're just pricks. Judgmental, classless pricks. If I had a choice between riding with a group a guys who think that every ride is a qualifier for the Giro, or a group of guys with mountain pedals and a seat bag on their road bike, I'm taking the "uncool" seat bag/Mt. pedal group. At least I know that they wont have their front tire two feet up my ass when they're drafting me. Speaking of which...

Drafting

The sooner you try to get used to doing twenty miles per hour a foot behind the rider in front of you the better. It's uncomfortable and down right nerve wracking to a person who's not even comfortable on their own bike, but it's a must for riding with a group. Just remember to look as far ahead as possible (sometimes that's only the jersey in front of you) and not at the tire in front of you.

Climbing

Why people want to climb is beyond me. The rational part of me what's to go "Fuck this shit, I'm walking." about three rotations into a climb, but there's some part of me that needs to prove to myself that I can do it. So much so that I crave it some times. Like cold Pizza, only I'm probably more likely to throw up from the climbing. In my attempts at climbing, I've found a few things that make it so much easier.
1) Breathe with your stomach. I didn't even know what that meant until Jen started her Yoga Teacher Training course, but it's something I used to do on long runs that I was completely forgetting to do when climbing. Now I breathe like a fat guy taking the stairs. It's okay though. I'd rather sound like I'm about to give birth, and make it up the hill than breathe silently and have to get off my bike.
2) Pedal all the way around. When I first started riding, I would only push down on the pedals. But part of the reason you shelled out so much money for them fancy shoes and pedals is so you can take advantage of the upstroke as well. This makes a huge difference is how long you can climb.
3) Calm down. I found I was so tense climbing that I would forget to do things. Like breathing. I would also Tense up my back and have a death-grip on my handlebars. So I started a check-list in my head for when I start a climb. Breathe, sit up a little and relax. Relax is relative because my legs are screaming at me, and no matter how deep I breathe, I never seem to get enough air, but my back no longer hurts half way up and I get enough air to make it to the top.
4) The only way to get better is to do more hills. Jen likes to tell me that I should go to the gym more and lift weighs to help my climbing. I've found that the more I do hills, the easier they become. There's a hill by us that is a quarter mile long and is a nine percent grade until the top when it only gets steeper. The first time I did it I had to stand up at the end, and I could barely move after that. The second time I made it up just as fast, but I got there sitting the whole time and I was able to ride like normal afterwards. I was tired and a little out of breath, but I could ride.

Learn/use call signals

If you're riding in a group, this is a must. The first time I heard someone yell "Rider up!" I had no clue what was going on. I learned what they meant, and then never used them. This caused a lot of confusion to the other people I was riding with. Since I'm very soft spoken and It's impossible to hear me while riding, I just use the hand signs when I'm leading. I even use them when I'm riding by myself. Mostly to keep myself in the habit, but also because some times I never know when someone has snuck up on me. It helps the strangers know what I'm doing. And maybe they just think I'm nuts and back off. That's fine too, as long as no one runs into me.

Practice the easy stuff

I had the hardest time clipping in and out of my SPD pedals. Mostly getting in, but I've had at least one spill where I just forgot my feet were locked in and I fell right over. I started practicing clipping in and out on the trainer, just to get used to it. It helped a lot. I also would ride to a parking lot and practice things like riding in a figure 8, or riding with one hand. The more you do it, the better you'll be at having to do it when you need to.

Ride with one hand/ Learn to drink while on the bike

I didn't used to drink unless we stopped when I first started riding. That's very bad. I knew I should drink more, but I was never comfortable enough in a group to take my hand off the bars. Dumb. Add "drink while riding" to the practice section above. Once I was comfortable, I had a hard time figuring out when I should be drinking. I was so excited and scared to be in a group that I would forget to drink. To cure this, I would just drink when the person in front of me did. They're slowing down, so It's an opportune time for me to grab a quick sip too.