Basic Equipment to Get Started

The very first thing you need is the right bike. Not sure where to start? Check out our guide here.

Once you have your bike sorted, next up is a good fitting helmet that will protect you. It is essential that your helmet is the right size, sits well on your head, and that you buckle it up (check out SCOTT helmets here).

The second investment we would suggest is a good pair of cycling shorts, that include a padding. Believe us, your bum will thank you! (check out SCOTT cycling shorts here).

Finally, you might want to consider a basic repair kit, just in case. Even if you may not be able to repair a flat yourself (yet!), someone could pass by and help you. Get our tips on this topic here .

These are just essential picks. You can of course find A LOT of equipment and specific clothing for cycling in different conditions and disciplines.

Finding riding buddies

With a strong community spirit, cycling is a very good sport to meet new friends. Here are a few ideas on how to get in touch with fellow cyclists:

Facebook groups: start by looking for your local bike community on Facebook. You will most likely find one or more groups that you can join to connect with cyclists in your area and stay tuned on what is going on (new trails, road closures, or group rides). Don’t be afraid to ask questions and join the conversation. Remember: everyone has been a beginner at some point! And if you feel more comfortable in women only groups, there are plenty of those too!

Ask your local bike shop: most bike shops organize group rides and know what is happening on the local bike scene.

Bike clinics & workshops: bike clinics and workshops are a great way to meet people while learning new skills. You can find classes on how to fix a flat tire, how to improve your riding skills, or even how to take good biking pictures. Check with your local bike shop to see whether they have something coming up, look up brands’ websites or Facebook pages, or ask the members of that Facebook group you’ve just joined.

The most important thing to remember is that bikes are primarily made to HAVE FUN! So don’t apologize for not being fast enough, for needing a break (to catch your breath, fuel up, take a picture or pee…), or for not knowing the latest tech talk about “slack head angles” or if “27.5’’ wheels are better than 29’’ ”

Just get out there and ENJOY!

Finding Trails and Routes

The fear of getting lost can be an obstacle to some of us, especially when riding alone. If you are new to biking and aren’t the adventurer type, we would suggest to start by finding a nice “home loop” that you enjoy riding and on which you feel safe to ride on your own. we see at least 3 reasons for that:

1. Having a standard home loop can serve as a benchmark to measure your progress and keep you motivated. As you are improving, you can adjust your loop by adding distance and difficulty.
2. It feels good to have a comfort zone, especially on those days where you just want to get out and spin the legs, without thinking too much.
3. You want to be an independent rider and not always wait for someone to come with you in order to have fun on your bike.

Whether you are looking for trails and roads to create your home loop or looking for new routes to explore, here are a few tips to get you started:

Apps:there are many apps available to find trails and create routes. Some good apps to start exploring on your mountain bike are: Trailforks, MTB Project, Alltrails, Outdoor Active. To plan road bike tours, Garmin and Strava are very useful and reliable.
One thing to keep in mind is that most of them are users-generated and therefore subjective. Pay attention to the number of reviews and their dates, and do not take all the information for granted, especially for mountain biking trails. Trails, as everything in nature, transform and sometimes disappear... Also, what one person finds good isn’t necessarily what you will enjoy. But you don’t know until you give it a try!

Official trail centers and bike parks: if you don’t feel like taking the risk to go exploring, there are now plenty of official bike itineraries, bike parks and trail centers. You will most likely find all info about them on the internet, by browsing the region you are interested in.

Finally, here are a few more recommendations to consider when planning your next bike tour:

Understanding trail and route difficulty level: usually, bike tours and segments are ranked on a difficulty scale represented by colors. It has been largely agreed that green are easy trails, blue are intermediate and black are difficult to very difficult trails. Sometimes you will also find red, which would be between blue and black (advanced level). However, each map has a certain way of marking trails and roads (using other colors or dotted lines for example), so be sure to check their own rating scale and map key before planning your tour.

Do not underestimate terrain and elevation: obviously, riding 20kms on a flat asphalt road isn’t the same as riding 20kms on an uphill fire road. Don’t forget to take into account the elevation gain as well as the type of terrain you’ll be riding on. Trails aren’t as fast as roads!

More time is better than not enough: our recommendation is to always plan that your tour will actually take 25% more time than what you expect it to be.

Learning by doing: in the end, experience often turns out to be the best teacher. A good way to be aware of what you are capable of is to track your rides (use a tracking device or a download a mobile app). That way, you will have data you can base yourself on when planning your next ride.

Safety Tips

Like many outdoors activities, there are a few safety aspects to consider before hitting the road or the trails, especially if you are riding alone.

Bring water, snacks and maybe some cash: needless to say, hydration is essential. If you don’t want to carry a backpack, mount a bottle-cage on your bike and make sure it carries a bottle full of water before heading out. If you are planning to be out and about for more than an hour, I would suggest bringing a few snacks, such as energy gums or bars. I personally always carry a little bit of cash too, usually just enough for a drink or a small snack, in case my ride ends up being longer than planned!

Put lights on your bike: if you’re road biking it’s always better to be well seen by cars or the other road user. It’s even more important when it gets dark. We recommend to put a red light at the rear of your bike and a normal one at the front.

Check the weather: cycling is an outdoor sports, so you really want to know how to prepare. Sunscreen or rain jacket? Short sleeves or long sleeves? Weather has a great influence on your ride, so don’t ignore it and be smart about your decisions.

Make sure your phone is loaded: there are many reasons why you want to bring your phone on a ride: take pictures, navigate, find the best coffee shop for a break, or even make a phone call! So make sure it is fully loaded and if you are using it for different purposes, remember to keep an eye on the battery. You do want to be able to make that phone call in case of an emergency.

Tell someone where you are going and roughly when you’ll be back: keep in mind that even now, there are still many places without phone coverage if you need to call for emergency. It’s always better to let someone, who will not be part of the ride, know where you’re going.

Etiquette

Now that you are a cyclist (mountain biker, road biker, gravel biker, e-biker or even commuter), you represent the community whilst on your bike. Please be mindful of your behavior and apply these basic rules:

• Be respectful of other users

• Respect nature

• Play be the rules (trail signage, traffic rules, bike lanes, etc.)

• And last but not least…have fun!