Wish I'd known that!

[Ern1e]

Pump your tyres up and raise the seat.

Same for me

 

[Supersuperleeds]

If drinking whilst riding, pour your Stella into a water bottle and safely dispose of the bottle/can before you set off.

 

[doog]

If drinking whilst riding, pour your Stella into a water bottle and safely dispose of the bottle/can before you set off.

are you on waccoe mate ?

 

[Supersuperleeds]

are you on waccoe mate ?

Yeah, though don't go on as much as I used to

 

[DooDah]

When tweaking nipples, overshoot by about 50% before returning to the desired position... I'm talking wheel truing
I am learning something new everyday

Thermal skin suit. Warm & good fitting over a massive temp range without movement restriction...

Great until you need to pee

 

[Salad Dodger]

If you're not very mechanically minded, get a book or watch some youtube videos and teach yourself some basic mechanics. Not how to build up a whole bike, or "true" a badly buckled wheel, but just a few simple things like how to mend a puncture. Or how to adjust your brakes, if the levers are pulling back nearly all the way to the handlebars. Or how to adjust your gears if they are slipping and not changing cleanly. As Ray Mears says, knowledge weighs nothing.

And for cold weather, try to get hold of a "Buff" or similar sort of neckwarmer tube of lycra type material, which converts into a hat or a headband. You can wear one under a crash helmet to keep the head warm on a cold day, or round the neck to stave off cold drafts. They don't weigh much (neckwarmers, not drafts!) and can make bad weather riding a lot more bearable.

 

[Nick Stone]

Get past the act you could and will probably fall off and you'll enjoy it more

 

[mr_s81]

Garmin 500. Bought one just after I started cycling and wouldn't be without it now. All (and more) info than I'll ever need, and it satisfies my inner geek!

 

[XRHYSX]

I don't mean this in any way to be disparaging of the much good advice that is available, but I'm very glad that when I started cycling, no one gave me any advice. So I just started pedalling and got on with it. I cycled round my university town in whatever clothes I happened to be wearing ... then I started cycling longer distances on the same bike wearing the same clothes ... then when a mate and I decided to do LeJog, I just wore pretty much the same clothes, and I didn't even have toe clips let alone clipless. No one had told me it was complicated or technical, so it wasn't. I'm pleased to benefit from lots of good advice now, not least from some of you, but I'm even more pleased that my introduction to cycling was as uncomplicated as possible - just get on and cycle somewhere, anywhere, anywhere that takes your fancy.

I go on local Skyrides from time to time and feel really put off when I turn up on my old MTB and casual clothes and everyone else is in full Lycra and hundreds of pounds worth of bikes, and then are really impressed how well I can keep up

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I don't mean this in any way to be disparaging of the much good advice that is available, but I'm very glad that when I started cycling, no one gave me any advice. So I just started pedalling and got on with it. I cycled round my university town in whatever clothes I happened to be wearing ... then I started cycling longer distances on the same bike wearing the same clothes ... then when a mate and I decided to do LeJog, I just wore pretty much the same clothes, and I didn't even have toe clips let alone clipless. No one had told me it was complicated or technical, so it wasn't. I'm pleased to benefit from lots of good advice now, not least from some of you, but I'm even more pleased that my introduction to cycling was as uncomplicated as possible - just get on and cycle somewhere, anywhere, anywhere that takes your fancy.

I was in the same boat, when I started out as a young child I just enjoyed my bike, 30 plus years ago coming back into cycling after a ten year break, I moved on to motorbikes then back to cycling, I just rode my bike and learnt what I needed as I went along, when I first started club riding, about 25 years ago, I learnt from my club mates as well working out things for myself, its probably why I don't sing from the same hymn sheet as others on here, I've never used padded shorts, I've always worn underwear and I'm no fan of clipless pedals. Theres an amazing amount of knowledge on here so keep the tips and advice coming, we may not take the advise every time but even an old hand like myself can sometimes learn something new.

 

[citybabe]

Pump your tyres up and raise the seat.

Certainly worked for me

 

[GrasB]

Great until you need to pee

The full length zipper makes it easier than high waist bib-shorts/longs... you're not embarrassed about your torso are you?

 

[Rob3rt]

Great until you need to pee

Because zip's are hard to undo

(Or if a Castelli skin suit, you can get you wang out without unzipping as they are simply a pair of bib shorts without the bib, stitched to a skin tight jersey so there is an opening at the front that can be used for bio-breaks, btw it is intentional!)

 

[SteveBM]

Best advice - The Mickle Method, Learn to change a flat tyre before a big ride, Raise the seat, and don't overlap your front wheel with the rear wheel of the guy in front.
Best kit - Gilet, Arm Warmers, Overshoes

 

[theloafer]

Garmin 500. Bought one just after I started cycling and wouldn't be without it now. All (and more) info than I'll ever need, and it satisfies my inner geek!

while these garmins are good ..I have a edge 800 ...you can`t beat a proper map there is a wealth of info in one you just need to learn how to read it some are better that books..