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Essential Things Every Biker Should Own

Essential Things Every Biker Should Own

Once you get into the world of cycling, it can be hard to stop. Biking is a fantastic workout, helps you by-pass morning traffic, brings you to work in less time, gets you outside more, and is easy on your joints. There’s nothing quite like a leisurely bike ride on a Sunday afternoon to leave you feeling refreshed and energized for the week.

Of course, if you’re often biking, you might find yourself in need of a few more items than just a bike or bike mount. The following will explore some of the things that can make a biker’s life easier and more comfortable.

Non-Negotiable: Helmet

In most places, it’s illegal to bike around town without a helmet on. Every year, more than 300,000 people are hospitalized from bike-related injuries, —1000 of which die. Wearing a helmet can help protect your head from damage in the unfortunate event you get into a cycling accident.

If it’s the style of helmets that you have put off, know that new fits, shapes, and sizes of bike helmets have been released in recent years. If you peruse the internet, you’re sure to find one you like enough to wear while biking. Hang the helmet on your handlebars when your bike isn’t in use to remind you to put the helmet on when you leave with your bike. If you share the use of a bike, you might also want to get an additional helmet for the other rider(s). Helmets are not a one-size-fits-all deal.

Highly-Recommended: Bicycle Water Holder

Staying hydrated is crucial for all aspects of our body to function. Having enough water in our system can improve our sleep, memory, focus, energy, brain function, mood, digestion, metabolism, physical performance, and work performance—that’s a lot of benefits. Drinking enough water also reduces oxidative stress (which can occur during higher intensity workouts) as well as headaches.

Staying hydrated while exercising is even more critical, as your body is under stress and needs fluids to manage muscle changes, among many other things. Having a water bottle holder on your bike can ensure that you’ve always got a bottle of water within reach. Studies have shown that keeping water near you is one of the best ways to ensure you drink enough of it. It turns out that we’re far more dehydrated than we’d like to believe, only we’re so used to it we don’t notice. If you still struggle to drink enough water, consider tossing in some strawberries, mint, lime, or lemon to give the water a little boost of flavor.

Non-Negotiable: A Bike Pump

If you’ve been biking for a while, you know that your tires lose a little air over time. If you’re new to biking, you might think it’s unlikely that you’ll need to deal with inflating your tires too often. Get yourself a bike pump that you can use periodically to ensure your bike tires are inflated optimally. This will make the maneuvering and handling of the bike much easier on you and improve your bike’s lifespan. It’s a win-win.

Highly-Recommended: Stationary Bike Converter

Yes, it’s 2021 now, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still dealing with the remnants of 2020. For many of us, going outside as much as we used to isn’t possible. Ironically, we need our exercise more than ever. Workouts help boost our mood, which people are struggling with worldwide because isolation is one of the worst things for humans, according to every study ever conducted on it. There’s a reason solitary confinement is considered a form of torture—it’s the fastest way to make someone feel like they’re losing their mind.

Exercise can also boost our immune system. Given that there’s a pandemic going on isn’t going to hurt anyone— working out can help your body deal with viruses and bacteria more effectively. Many people are relying on the vaccine to sort out our situation—but you know that not everyone will get it, right? We also have no idea if coronavirus is like influenza and adapts so quickly that we need a new vaccine each year.

So if cycling is more important than ever before but we’re not allowed to go outside, what can we do? New fangled bike accessories will enable you to convert your regular bicycle to a stationary bike, meaning you can bike inside your home for as long as you want. Cycling while watching television? Yes, please.Essential Things Every Biker Should Own

The above list of biking equipment and accessories is by no means exhaustive. There are tons more nifty add ons that can make biking even more comfortable. If you’re planning on going great distances in the countryside, it might be wise to include a small first aid kit on your list, just in case.

 

 

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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