Recovery Tips: What Not to Do After a Ride

What happens after you get off the bike is just as important as anything you do before or during the ride. After a ride, you may be tempted to just lounge around, eat a sticky bun, or watch some TV. However, we suggest making these changes to so you get the most out of your ride.

Recovery Tips for After a Ride

• Don’t Marinate – You, like so many of us, may like to move a little slower after a ride. You might like to make yourself a smoothie, check Instagram for recent posts, or return missed phone calls, but there’s something you should always do first: SHOWER! Don’t ever let yourself marinate in your riding clothes as it can cause health problems and seriously cause a stink. You’re risking infections, saddle sores, and illness if you don’t take off the sweaty clothes and shower first thing.
• Don’t Neglect Your Bike – After you’ve taken your shower, it’s your bike’s turn. It’s important to make sure your bike is always taken care of and clean, especially after a dirty ride. If your bike got dirty, dusty, muddy, etc. during your ride, you should wash it. Keeping your bike clean can prevent costly bike repairs in the future.
• Don’t Forget to Stretch – Stretching after a workout, especially cycling, is key to maintaining your mobility. Cycling causes you to hunch your back a lot more than other forms of exercise, and as such can cause problems down the road. After a ride make sure you do some stretches to keep limber. Pinch your shoulder blades together, and do some windmills with your arms. Stay loosey goosey.

Follow these recovery tips and you’ll start to get more out of each ride. For more tips and useful cycling info, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.