How to Get Better at Cycling the Easy Way

Are you looking to get better at cycling the easy way?

There is the hard way. The way where you scream profanities at the wind or a steep grade hill while questioning your life choices.

But there is a much easier way. That is, you take advice from fellow cyclists who have already done it multiple times and would love to show you how not to do it.

Hey You…Psst… Learn how to get better at cycling the easy way with this free guide.

Really! It’s free. But I always welcome you to buy me a Coffee because I LOVE COFFEE!

Get Better at Cycling with the Right Cycling Gear

If you want to get better at cycling the easy way, you need to get better cycling clothing and gear.

PADDED BIKE SHORTS – Spandex bike shorts with a big butt pillow added to them (chamois) are what make the world go around when it comes to easier cycling. It’s not an 80’s fashion statement, it’s a butt saver. Bib shorts are better. Don’t wear anything under them. Tighter ones are more beneficial. Get kitted up and enjoy easier cycling.

WEAR A FKN HELMET – There are no excuses for wanting to be mentally handicapped when you weren’t born that way. Wreck without a helmet, and you might be eating through a tube, or you might just die. A lot of cyclists who get injured without helmets usually die. My guess is that sort of death usually sucks and probably hurts before it happens. Get a bike helmet. Spend some money on a good one. Wear it every ride.

CLIPPLESS PEDALS—Get clipless pedals. I didn’t want them at first, but then I stood up to ride, slipped, and racked my boys on the top bar. Clipless pedals would have prevented me from practicing my opera singing while dressed in spandex and riding down a busy road. It’s not just for the boys; it’s mainly to make pedaling more efficient.

MTBERS: USE PROTECTION – If you plan to ride a mountain bike on mountain bike trails, you might want to up your protection game. Knee pads. Elbow pads. Neck guard, Full-face helmet. You might need all that, especially if you plan to do fast downhill stuff. Otherwise, you might need to pick out what tube you want to be fed for the rest of your life. Purple or blue?

CYCLING SUNGLASSES – Get some shades on those eyes. Make sure they’re protecting you from UV rays. Most importantly, it’s nice to have something to stop stuff from going into your eyes, like bees, tree snags, spit from the rider in front of you, and stuff like that.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of cycling apparel and gear to get, but it does cover the basics that will help you get better at cycling, and that’s what’s really important here.

Learn Some Basic Bike Maintenance Skills

Learning some very basic bicycle maintenance skills will really help you get better at cycling. You’ll be riding more and spending less money taking your broken-down bike to the shop for weekly repairs.

GET LUBED UP – Your chain!!! Get your mind out of the gutter and lube up that chain. Try to check it every other ride, especially if you ride in the dirt and rain. You might need to reapply chain lube every couple of rides. Doing this will give you the most value out of your chain, too.

CHECK TIRE PRESSURE RELIGIOUSLY—Before every ride, check your tire pressure. Not only will it prevent you from tearing up money, which is what tires are these days, but it can also keep you from wrecking your face into something if your tire blows. Air is free, too!

USE FENDERS – I know I’m going to get some crap for this one. Use fenders if you want to keep your bike, components, and your body cleaner on rides in wet and muddy conditions. Fenders aren’t cool for a lot of people but if you’re lazy and don’t want to spend your post-ride cleaning mud off your stuff, then fenders aren’t such a bad idea after all.

CLEAN IT ANYWAYS—Yeah, I mentioned fenders above, but you still need to clean your bike. Try to keep it clean. A cleaner bike and cleaner components last a lot longer. Too much dirt can lead to erosion, which could lead to a cracked frame. I don’t know about you, but cracked carbon fiber isn’t very cool unless you are getting paid to fix it.

MASTER TIRE REPAIR—Your biggest mechanical issue in cycling will be flat tires. I remember getting three in one ride. I thought maybe I ran over a frog, and karma was giving me three kicks to my behind. Luckily, I knew how to fix them and was back riding within minutes. Practice makes perfect when it comes to mastering tire repair, too.

If you master these extremely basic bike maintenance skills above at an expert level, you will soon improve at cycling.

Get Better at Cycling by Fueling and Hydrating Better

If you want to improve your cycling, you have to improve your self-care. Proper hydration and fueling will not only improve your cycling but also prevent injuries and illnesses.

STAY HYDRATED—As a cyclist, you must stay hydrated. You need to drink plenty of water before, during, and after your ride; otherwise, you can expect health problems and poor cycling performance. Bring 2-3 bottles of water on your ride and end it with all of them empty.

STAY FUELED—Much like hydration, it’s important to stay fueled, too. You need to have fuel before you start riding, while you’re riding, and after you ride. Eat before and after your ride. Bring some snacks too much on during your ride, and it’ll be a good reminder to drink as well so you can wash down your food.

USE ELECTROLYTES – Electrolytes are important for cyclists. They will put sodium back into your body, which you will lose while riding. Whether you sweat or not, there is a loss of sodium during your riding activities. That can make you dizzy, fatigued, and sickly feeling. Electrolytes will replenish your sodium and ensure a better and safer ride.

REFUEL AS OFTEN AS NEEDED—A short ride will not require much refueling. A longer ride or one in hotter weather will often require you to refuel consistently. I recommend eating a quarter of your snack every 30 minutes and taking three big gulps of your hydration. For longer rides, make sure you stop for lunch or a snack from a café to properly refuel yourself.

DRINK COFFEE – Coffee is a great way to get energy for your bike ride. Black coffee tends to be better for you, and you should limit the amount you drink as it may increase the need to use the bathroom. But it’s a great reason to stop, refuel with a café snack, and regain some of that lost energy.

EAT BEFORE YOU RIDE – Unless you’re fasting and doing it with common sense in mind, you should always make sure you eat before your ride, especially a longer ride. You need that fuel and energy for your bike ride. You’ll burn it off quickly and require more, but if there is nothing to burn, you might bonk out pretty quickly.

Hydration and fueling are very important when it comes to bettering yourself as a cyclist. It’s something you want to get really good at to get the most out of cycling.

Cycling Safety is More Important Than Ever

A lot of cyclists are getting injured more and more and even being killed more and more. You will ultimately get better at cycling when you get better at being safe while cycling.

COMMUNICATE – Communicate whether you ride alone or with others. Use hand signals so that drivers know your next move. Point at potholes so that riders behind you see hazards in their path. Let walkers, other riders, and runners know you’re getting ready to pass them.

GET STREET WISE – Learn how to ride on the roads with other vehicles by paying close attention during your ride. You’ll get better at cycling when you pay attention to how other users act around you. This will strengthen your ability to bike on the road with vehicles and other users.

DON’T SLAM THE BRAKES—Try not to hit the brakes too hard on your bike. If you’re not careful, you can wreck. Ease the brakes and try to use both the front and back together to come to a quicker stop when needed.

TURN BETTER – Don’t make sudden turns with your bike. You’ll likely wreck if you do. Watch ahead and slow down before a sharp turn is coming your way. Only make a sudden turn to protect yourself from significant injury or death.

RIDE IN A GROUP—You’ll become a safer cyclist if you ride with other cyclists and learn from them. Just make sure you choose a group that actually considers the safety of others and their own.

RIDE PAIN-FREE—Ride pain–free by ensuring you have a bike that fits you. Wear padded bike shorts. Make sure your saddle/seat is adjusted properly. Stretch before and after your ride. Stay fueled and hydrated. Wear gloves on rides that give your hands a lot of shock.

AVOID DISTRACTIONS—Avoid all distractions while you bike. Do not wear earbuds or use your phone while riding. Also, always be paranoid about drivers around you.

PLAN YOUR ROUTE—Plan your bike route to be a safer cyclist. This can help you choose safer and more bike-friendly roads along your route.

Safety is more important than anything else when it comes to cycling. Many safety hazards threaten the cycling community daily.

Get Better at Cycling by Improving Your Technique

Improving your technique and riding skills is the best way to improve your cycling because you’re effectively developing yourself as a better rider.

SIT COMFORTABLY – Adjust your saddle height correctly. If your heel is on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke, your leg should be almost fully extended but with a slight bend in your knee. Your sit bones should connect with the saddle, and your hips should be at the back of your saddle. Try to maintain a neutral spine and back position.

GET A BIKE FIT – If you want ultimate comfort (and you should want that), you should get a bike fit. Most local bike shops offer this and most don’t charge for it, either. Go to your local bike shop and ask for a bike fit so that you know exactly what bike and adjustments to make.

IMPROVE YOUR WORST – Whatever you’re bad at in cycling should be what you focus on improving. Don’t ignore your biggest cycling failures and move on to something easier to do. Instead, focus on improving the things you’re bad at so that you can be good at everything when it comes to riding your bike.

NO CHAIN STRESS—Try not to do anything that puts too much stress on your chain. A great example is riding in a bigger gear while going uphill. You’ll want to get into a smaller and easier gear as you climb to make it easier on you and not stress the chain.

GROUP DRAFTING—Try riding with a group and practicing your drafting skills. In this situation, you ride in close contact with other cyclists in front and behind you. This allows everyone to share their draft and basically pull you during the ride. Practicing this will ultimately make you more aware and make cycling a lot easier.

CLIMBING TECHNIQUE—Focus on improving your bike climbing technique. Get better at your gears as you start to climb. Practice moving your bike in a zigzag position to help you climb steeper climbs. Try to stay in the saddle as much as you can. Keep trying to climb tougher hills to master your climbing abilities.

DESCEND FASTER – When you start to descend from climbing up a hill, you’ll naturally want to coast and not pedal. Don’t do that. Instead, start adjusting your gears to get a pedaling grip and descend faster than you would if you just coasted. Fast descents also help when needing to climb another hill at the bottom.

RIDE IN BIGGER GEARS – When on the flats or route with no hills, try to ride in your bigger gears. This will strengthen your riding technique and muscles used to ride. This will also make you more of an efficient rider.

RIDE INTO THE WIND—Practice getting better at riding into the wind by choosing a route that makes you ride most of the time into the wind. Wind is a pain to ride in, but the more you do it, the easier it will be for you to do it the next time. It will also significantly improve your workout and fitness routine.

MOTIVATION BOOSTING—Try to improve your motivation to ride. If you don’t feel like riding one day, try forcing yourself to do it by focusing on what makes you happy during your ride. Make cycling habitual and a big part of your life.

SMILE AND ENJOY – When cycling, try to smile and enjoy it. If you can’t enjoy cycling, then you shouldn’t be doing it. Cycling is supposed to be fun and something you love to do. As I write this article, I want to quit writing it and start riding my bike. That is how you should feel when you think about cycling in any way.

By improving your technique, you’ll not only get better at cycling, but you’ll also fall in love with cycling more and more.

Get Better at Cycling with Proper Training

Training is probably the best way to improve your cycling because you’re doing things to improve your skills for future activities.

SPIN—Start spinning to improve your cycling. This is when you choose a lower gear and spin your pedal revolutions at a faster pace. Focus on your cadence and spinning, and you’ll become a better cyclist.

CORE WORKOUT – Try to work out your core muscles. This is the trunk of your body, which includes your stomach, glutes, and chest. This helps your back and spine remain healthy. It will also improve your cycling abilities as it strengthens.

OFF-BIKE FITNESS—Make sure you work out off the bike, too. Do some weight training, swimming, running, hiking, and high-interval training. The more you exercise off your bike, the better it will be for you once you get back on your bike.

RIDE MORE OFTEN – Try to go cycling more often than you’re used to. If you get some extra time to go for a ride, then use it and go riding. The more you ride your bike, the easier it will be to get better at cycling.

RIDE HARDER AND LONGER—As you progress, try to choose harder routes for cycling. You should also look for harder routes that are longer in length. Train yourself to be able to ride any route and any length.

COMMUTE – If you can go by bike instead of car, then you should do it. Bike to work. Bike to get groceries. Bike to see friends and family who live close by. Bike to go pay the water bill, even if you can do it online. The more you commute, the better you’ll get at cycling.

TRAINING PLANS—Numerous training plans for cycling are available. ChatGPT can even create a custom training plan to meet your exact needs. If a training plan can help you improve your cycling, then you should follow one.

TRAINING LOG – Keep a training log. Log all of your rides, miles, heart rate, metrics, and anything unique about your ride. You could even start a blog and use it for that so others can see it for motivation. A training log will help you focus on activities within your ride that will make you better at cycling as you improve them.

SET A RIDE GOAL – Set a goal for every ride you go on. Maybe it’s to beat the last time you rode that route, or maybe it’s to get a new average speed. You should set a goal for every ride and attempt to complete that goal. Just make sure you set realistic goals; otherwise, you might burn yourself out, setting expectations that are too high to achieve.

CYCLING COMPUTER – Get a cycling computer to help you train better for cycling. It will show you how fast you’re going, elevation and grade, and other metrics depending on which one you get. It will also record your ride data so that you can monitor how you have done. It’s great for training and motivation.

RECOVERY – Avoid bonking and burning out by allowing yourself to recover from time to time. You don’t have to take too many rest days with cycling, but you should be taking at least one here and there so you don’t burn yourself out. Make it an active rest day and go for a hike instead.

SLEEP—Make sure you’re getting sleep at night. Sleep is one of the best methods of recovery. You should be getting at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep, with 8 being the better amount. Riding while tired from lack of sleep is only asking for an injury or worse.

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR – Ride indoors on a trainer when it’s bad outside. Ride outside solo or with a group when it’s nice outside. Be social, join spin classes, and ride with others at the gym or spinning studio. Just ride as much as you can.

COACHING—Sometimes, getting a coach might be your best option for motivation, training, and discipline. A coach will help you achieve your cycling goals and improve overall. It does typically cost money to get a cycling coach, but for some people, it might be worth it, especially if you want to get into competitive cycling.

The more you train to be a better cyclist, the easier it will be to improve, but it takes you to make the first step and maintain your motivation.

Final Thoughts

I hope you have enjoyed my article about easier ways to get better at cycling. Use the advice above, as well as what you learn on your own, and you’ll have no issue becoming a better cyclist in no time.

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I’d love to hear from you! Comment below telling me what the biggest challenges you face in getting better at cycling.

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