Getting fit

To reduce post ride stiffness, before every ride do some warm-up exercises to get your body ready to perform. Start with some easy warm-up limb exercises – stretching, bending, twisting and swinging your limbs through some light movements. Five minutes is usually enough to warm up for a casual ride. When you first get on the bike, start off slowly, gradually increasing your speed over the next 10 minutes. When you are finished riding make sure you ‘warm down’ with three to four minutes of light stretching and relaxing exercises. To get fit to tackle longer distances, it may take several months of regular rides (two and three times a week) to strengthen your body and get your seat (bum) ready for long hours in the saddle. Adopt a regular exercise habit and don’t try to cover too much distance in the first few weeks, just extend yourself a little beyond your normal riding until you are achieving distances similar to your goal. Seek advice from your doctor or an appropriate instructor and don’t do it alone, find a buddy to make it more fun.

Stay injury-free

Overuse injuries are all too common among those who participate in repetitive sports activities such as cycling whether competitively or recreationally. Overuse injuries involve the gradual breakdown of body tissues resulting from repetitive motion over the course of days, weeks, or even months and as such, injuries are quite different from so-called acute injuries like ankle sprains. The classic cycle training error is doing too much too soon. Beginning athletes suffer the most overuse injuries per hour of training, because their bones, muscles and connective tissues aren't well adapted to the new activity. When taking up cycling or when starting over after a layoff, it's important to increase activity very slowly, beginning with gentle, manageable rides and increasing their duration and/or intensity gradually over the course of many weeks.

Following an accident

If by a stroke of bad luck you come off your bike and get mildly or badly shaken up in the fall, there is one heath measure you should follow to get back on the road to a fast recovery. As soon as possible after you are back on your feet visit your GP, chiropractor or physio for a “post accident” check up. This visit should check out your spinal alignment, limbs, joints, muscles, neck and shoulders for any misalignment, injuries or possible tissue damage. Also if your prang is the subject of a future claim you will need this report to support your case.