Stay Hydrated with CamelBak

You should stay hydrated when riding, especially when you're having a long one. It is recommended that you take a sip every 15 minutes or so.

Usually cyclists bring their water in a bottle that can be placed on the bike frame. But sometimes this is dangerous, especially when you are riding on uneven or busy road, because you have to ride one handed. You need a better way to rehydrate yourself.

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Enter CamelBak, the most popular hydration pack that can be carried on your back. You can drink through the provided tube. I recommend the 1.5 L if you have regular riding sessions. It is compact and lightweight so that it won't hinder you. You'll need bigger one if you ride for longer than few hours, though.

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Other than carrying water, CamelBak equipped with small front pocket to store your phone, iPod, or energy bar. It is also equipped with reflective strip for low-light visibility.

Check that one out for easy hydration and see you on the next one!

Dress (Not Just) to Impress: Jersey

So you've got your cycling shorts and basic items, you're good to go, right? How about considering to add one more apparel to support them? Let's talk about cycling jersey then.

"But," you might protest, "it's just clothes to cover my body." Well, there's more to it than that.

If you've tried riding with a sweaty t-shirt, you would have experienced the discomfort of wet clothes clinging to your skin. Good cycling jersey is made with moisture-wicking fabric that keeps you comfortable even after hours of riding.

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Moreover, some jerseys are equipped with back pockets. You might notice pro cyclists store their bananas and energy bars there for quick access. It is a nice feature to have, in case you need to bring something you need to grab while riding.

One more thing, make sure you choose a jersey that increase your visibility. Black is cool, but yellow is safer for you.

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I recommend the jersey from Tenn. It is made from polyester to remove moisture, complete with odor control and UV blocking properties. There is an additional zipped phone holder along with three elastic pockets. It comes in yellow and black. Even though it has reflective prints to increase visibility, I still recommend choosing the yellow one.

So check that one out, see you on the next one!

Bad Weather Outside? No Problem!

So you've donned your jersey and shorts, put on the shoes, and strapped the helmet. And it's raining. Or snowing. Or [insert any reason not to go out]. But don't let them hinder you. You have to pedal! After all, that's why you have your bike, right?

Hold on, before you go out and brave the storm, I don't mean you have to pedal outside. You can do it inside! There are 2 recommended ways to pedal at home: Trainer and Roller.

Basically, trainer is a reinforced bicycle stand strong enough to hold you and your bike upright (tip: don't use regular bike stand as a trainer). While there are many bike trainers, you should select one with variable resistance to simulate different terrains.

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Try the magnet steel trainer from FDW. It has strong steel frame but compact enough to bring on your travels. And as I said, it has 5 different resistance settings created by using magnets. The frame fits road or mountain bikes with 26", 27", or 700c wheel. You can put your bike's rear wheel on the slot, adjust the position using its micro-adjustment knob, and just pedal.

The other item, roller, looks like a treadmill made for bicycle. And it does function like treadmill. While trainer hold your bike upright, roller doesn't. You need to keep your balance, just like riding normally. For some people, this feature makes it worth to buy.

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My advice is to buy roller with adjustable length, like the parabolic roller from Conqueror. Other than adjustable, it has parabolic rollers that are safer than the straight ones. The rollers are also equipped with sealed bearings to make the rolling smoother. It is made for 27" and 700c wheels only though.

So, no more reasons. You have to burn those calories and train those muscles!
See you on the next one!

Amazon Tap: Music on The Go

Do you ride with music? There are times that we want to hang out together with our friends after a ride. What would be better than music to make it livelier?

Listening music on the go can be done with bluetooth speaker. Battery powered bluetooth speakers are usually compact enough to bring everywhere. But on the down side, they still require you controlling the playback device, e.g. your phone, because they are just, you know, speakers.

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Then enter Amazon Tap, bluetooth and wi-fi enabled speaker with voice command. It can stream all your music from your phone or tablet no matter what the OS is, whether it's Fire OS, Android, or iOS.

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When connected to wi-fi, Tap can stream directly from Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, or other streaming services. Not only that, wi-fi will also enable the Alexa Voice Service, a cloud-based voice service that always learning. You can ask it to play music, news, search for info, order pizza, open your garage, requesting Uber ride, or more.

On the sound quality, the smart speaker packs quite a punch. It is equipped with dual stereo speakers with Dolby processing. This tube-shaped speaker will give you 360° omni-directional audio.

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So how portable is it? With 6.2" x 2.6" x 2.6" body, it is small enough to put inside your backpack, or with the carrying sling, you can just clip it to your bag. The sling will also act as a protector when you carry it around.

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But it won't be fun to carry around if it doesn't have long battery life, right? So that's why it provides you with 9 hours of continuous playback with a single charge. Oh and it uses a charging cradle (sort of docking port) to charge, so no trying to plug the charger cable nonsense. You just put it on the cradle to fuel it up.

Planning on riding and hang out with friends? Put some music on!
Until next time!

Dress (Not Just) to Impress: Shorts

Ever wonder why cyclists wear those tight shorts? Why can't they just wear regular sports shorts?

Two reasons (mainly): Chafing and padding.

If you only ride your bike for short distances and/or time, like 5 minutes everyday, you wouldn't feel any need of those shorts. But riding long distances, especially with uphill climbs, will affect your groin. Prolonged friction with the fabric of your pants will chafe your skin, while the saddle of your bike will leave you in pain, especially in the groin.

So cycling shorts to the rescue! They usually designed with soft padding in the groin area so you can sit comfortably even after miles of riding. In addition, they usually made of special fabric designed to avoid chafing and pull moisture from your skin to keep you dry.

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Take for example the cycling shorts from Pearl iZUMi. On top of the aforementioned padding and non-chafing fabric, it has UPF 50+ sun protection and leg grippers to keep the shorts in place. And also, it has reflective elements to increase your visibility in low-light situations.

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But in case you are too self-conscious to wear those tight, curve-revealing shorts, there are other alternatives. For example the cycling underwear from Baleaf. It has all the important features to make your ride comfortable, plus it is designed to be worn as an underwear. But make sure you have a proper loose shorts/pants to wear on top of it.

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However, if you don't want to wear too many layers, Aero Tech Designs have the cycling cargo shorts. It is basically tight and padded shorts inside combined with rugged cargo shorts outside. Plus, you have two velcro-sealed pockets to put anything you need quick access to while on the road.

So there you have it! Long rides won't be a nightmare on your groin anymore with those sweet shorts. Have fun riding and see you on the next one!

Basic Safety Items Combo

You might already know this, but it is worth mentioning anyway: Safety First! For the love of God, please invest in your own protection!

So with that out of the way, let me list out essential bike accessories you should have, sorted by urgency:

Helmets

According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2014 60% of the cyclist killed in an accident weren't wearing helmets. To put that in numbers, 429 out of 720 deaths may or may not be related to not wearing helmets. To simplify that even more, if you have an cycling accident while not wearing any helmets, you would have better chance on winning a coin toss than surviving it.

Harsh truth, I know, but important nonetheless. So just grab one, but make sure it has all the correct specs. The most common one is like this:

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That is Giro Trinity Helmet as an example. It has standard features such as hard outer shell made of polycarbonate, with soft inner part called impact foam made of EPS foam. "Why is it so light and soft on the inside?" You might ask. Well, helmets, especially for cycling, are made to crumple upon impact in order to avoid making your brain smash into your skull, causing concussion. So do not expect a bulletproof-all-metal-world-war-2 headgear to protect you from falling of your bike.

Got that? Okay, move on to the next item.

Lamps

According to the same data as before (lower section), 49% of cyclist deaths happened during nighttime (6 p.m. - 6 a.m.) with 39% happened between 6 p.m. - midnight. That's more than a third! There are no data on lamp usage, but to be on the safe side, you'll need lamps if you are planning on riding after 6 p.m.

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There are many choices, I know, just pick the one that has both headlight and taillight, like this BV Bicycle Light Set. Mount the headlight on the handlebar, and the taillight under the saddle. Make sure they are visible from afar, and you're all set! Oh, and don't forget to turn them on though.


And thats all! Those are the bare minimum gears to reduce your risks while riding. Do not hesitate to invest on them, and see you on the next one!

Adjusting Saddle Height: The Simplest Way

So you've purchased a new bike, assembled everything, and it's ready to go, but you wonder how to find the best saddle height for you. Or you've been riding around and felt awkward when pedalling your bike, either you tried hard to reach the pedal or couldn't channel your power to your bike.

It's time to address the first thing a cyclist should know; how to adjust the saddle height.

"Why is it important?" You might ask, "Can't you train your body to adjust to the bike?"
Well, your body can and will adjust, but at the cost of risking injury when the bike is not set properly. Knee injury is the most associated injury with improper saddle height. And we all know that you need your knee for your daily life.

So, I've picked up the most basic way to find your correct saddle height. It won't be as accurate as a professional trainer's adjustment, but even the pros recommended this method for the best approximation.

On to the steps!

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1. Sit on your bike, make sure it is upright. You can use a bike trainer or bike stand or holding on to a table, chair, or wall.
2. Place the heel of the leg you use to measure on the pedal.
3. Pedal backwards until your leg reached six o'clock position.
4. Adjust the saddle height until your knee is perfectly straight.

Tip: adjust your saddle height in small increments and don't rush it.

So there you have it! Your saddle is set and you are ready to ride!

You might felt awkward at first, but let your body adapt. Correct saddle height will let you move all the correct muscles to pedal, hence more power to each of your strokes. But to be able to pedal powerfully, you must train your muscles.

Go ride and see you on the next post!