Hey everyone, it is Nicole from NITB, so I've been getting a lot of requests to make this video. So let's get to it. Here are my top tips for beginner cyclists. Cycling is so amazing for your heart and your lungs, but it's also an amazing sport because it is a low impact exercise, and it's a lot easier on your body compared to something like running. So there are three main types of bikes out there. Your mountain bikes, road bikes, and then hybrid bikes. And in this video, I'm going to be focusing on road bikes. So let's start from the beginning. How to buy a bike. The most important thing when buying a bike is to make sure that you buy a bike that fits you. Most bike shops, you can get your bike fitted for you, and that's something that I definitely recommend. It's a little bit pricey, but worth every penny. Not only are you going to be more efficient on your bike by getting your bike fitted, but you're also going to prevent injury this way, and it's going to be overall more comfortable. So you're going to want to get out on your bike more. So my next tip is probably the most important tip that I can give you, and that is to not leave the bike shop without buying a helmet. The helmet is the most important piece of safety equipment that you can have. It doesn't matter how long or how short your bike ride is, do not leave your house without it. Majority of accidents happen close to home. So even if you're just going down to the grocery store and back, wear your helmet. So the correct way to wear your helmet is to make sure that it is centered in your forehead. You don't want it to be like this. You don't want it to be like this. And to avoid that from happening, one way is going to tighten it, and one way is going to loosen it. And you want to have it, you know, not so tight where you're getting a headache, but just snug enough so that it's not moving all over the place, just like this. You also want to make sure that this is flipped in. So this is a perfect example of it being too loose. You don't want it to be able to slide over your chin like this. You also don't want it to be too tight. A common mistake is that it's too tight and when you're looking down, it kind of feels like you're cutting out blood circulation. So you have to try it on yourself and make sure that it's not too loose or too tight. So my next and very important tip is to invest in a floor pump. Hand pumps, they're all right. You know, they get the job done, but I think it's worth the money to invest in a floor pump because you want to be pumping your tires every single day. So many people start riding and forget how important or just don't know how important it is to pump your tires every day. And it's important for a couple of reasons. When it's really bad for your rims, if you're cycling with low pressure, it can damage your bike, and damage your rims. And second, you're going to be a lot more efficient on the bike if you have your tires full. And very lightly on the set of your tire, you'll be able to find your PSI. So you might notice that I have a pair of clip-on pedals on my bike. This is definitely not something necessary to begin biking, but I do recommend to start thinking about investing in a pair and to start practicing with them because as soon you do that, the better of a cyclist you are going to become. So without clips, you're only getting that down motion, whereas with clips, you're getting both the down motion and the pull motion. And this is especially helpful if you are climbing uphill. So this is what most road bike handlebars look like. Minus this piece in the middle. I actually do a triathlon, not so long ago, and that's why I have these on. But you have three main positions for your bike. One, two, three. So another thing that I recommend investing in is getting a pair of cycling shorts, especially in the beginning, it can make a huge difference when you're just getting used to the saddle. Don't expect it to completely alleviate your discomfort, but it definitely will make a difference. Another thing worth investing in is a pair of cycling gloves. If you're riding and you have a little crash, it's going to prevent some road rash from happening on your hands. And also if you're going on a really long ride, sometimes your arms and your hands get numb, and this can help with that. And another big one is getting a pair of lights, red one in the back, white one in the front. This is important, even if you're riding in the daytime because you never know you can be out and you can start riding, you can get really cloudy, and it's really important for your safety for all vehicles to be able to see you. So if you're out cycling and you need to stop, it's important that you put your right leg down and you stop with your right leg versus your left leg. If you're stopping with your left leg, then you're going to be stepping into the traffic. Of course it's different if you're cycling in somewhere like South Africa. Once turning right, you want to keep your right knee up and the same if you're turning left, you want to keep your left knee up to avoid hitting the ground with your foot. So when you're out cycling, you want to think of yourself as a car because bikes do follow the same rules as cars. Obviously not if you're on a highway, but if you're in an area that doesn't have bike lanes and it's very unsafe for the car to pass you, you want to be in the center of the road. It's also very important that if you are cycling with a buddy and you have a conversation together, that you keep your head straight and you're not talking and turning because it's very common that you turn your bike wherever your head turns. And it's a lot more safe if you just speak up louder instead of turning your head to try and get your message across. And my last tip, which really helped me start to get into cycling, is to get on Strava. Strava is kind of like the Facebook for athletes. And it's super cool because you can track your fitness and you can set goals for yourself and do challenges and find different segments in your area that you can try and improve on for next time. And it's also a great place to meet new athletes. So thank you guys for watching. If you guys enjoyed this video, found it helpful. Want more videos like this? Give it a big thumbs up. Let me know if you have any other questions in the comment section below. Don't forget to make your day wonderful and I will see you soon. Because half of my TV wants to and half of my TV doesn't want to. So anyway, I thought it, I think it's important that we communicate to our viewers where we stand.