Go For A Ride Day 2024 is on Friday, November 22, 2024: Planning a full day ride, but.?

Friday, November 22, 2024 is Go For A Ride Day 2024. Go For A Ride Day Go For A Ride Day

Choose A Ride Day encourages you to leave in to the world – visit your bike, to your vehicle, or just get the walking boots from storage and use a trip. Take it easy an excessive amount of about where you’re going, just benefit from the journey!

I would ride her today and see how she acts. Lunge her around and then ride her and see if she is acting how she does when she is in heat or just her self like usual. This is what I would do if I try to know when my horse is in heat : (I'm going to act like this is my problem). I would go out in the morning before the trail ride happens. I would feed my mare and give her water and give her time to lick her salt block. Then maybe 20 minutes later, I will go lunge her for 10 minutes with no tack on. Then I'll groom her and then tack her up. After all the tack and saddle is on, I'll lunge her for 20 minutes more. If she doesn't listen well while lunging then usual, then yes, she could be in heat. While I lunge, I do this : walk....................stop.......................walk..........................trot.................stop.....................walk..................trot..............canter......................stop................walk..........................trot............................canter............................gallop......................stop.............................walk................................trot..................canter........................gallop...................canter.......................trot.....................stop...........................back up.............walk........trot.........stop. DONE! Then after I start riding. First I just walk around, left to right, right to left. Then I stop her and then start walking again. Then I would walk her for about 5 minutes then start trotting. I turn every way and see how she does, and stop lots to see if she listens like usual. Then I'll do a canter, stop, then back up and do side passes and neck rein. Then I'll gallop.

I do lots more, but here's just a bit for you.

Good Luck and Have fun on the trail!

50 mile bike ride? 11 days to prepare?

50 miles is fairly long if you aren't used to riding. But here's a plan that allows you to decide for yourself.

- If you are basically fairly fit and can do the 11 mile ride fairly easily, consider doing the event ... but recognize 50 miles is MUCH harder than 11. If 11 miles is hard you probably shouldn't do the event.

- You don't need to have done a 50 mile ride before the event. The normal rule is, on the day of the event, you should have done a ride 60-75% of the event distance (i.e. 30-37 miles) at least 2 days before the event itself.

- You can build up to a 30 mile ride by increasing your distance on 7 rides over the next 10 days (e.g. 11 miles on day 1, 15 miles on day 2, 18 miles on day 3, 21 miles on day 4, 24 miles on day 5, 27 miles on day 6 and 30 miles on day 7). It would help if your friend would ride with you on as many of the rides as possible. You don't have to ride every day ... just most.

- You will probably find yourself sore after the first couple of days. If so, still ride the next day, but keep it light and don't go more than 10-15 miles. Increasing distance each day isn't essential, as long as you gradually build up. Listen to your body and judge accordingly.

- The biggest issue will be your butt. It takes time to get used to riding a bike for hours (so I highly recommend bike shorts .. see below) but monitor the situation and let the state of your butt decide for you. Even a sore bum won't prevent you doing the ride if you really want to finish ... but it WILL ensure you don't enjoy the experience.

- You shouldn't ride more than a light ride on the day before the event.

If at any point you find you can't do it you can pull out (e.g more than "normal" soreness) knowing you gave it a good shot rather than just said "I can't do that". My prediction is that, if you are motivated, it will be easier than you think.

Several things to do:

- If using a mountain bike you should make sure the tires are "slicks" (no treads) and inflated to maximum pressure.

- buy some padded bike shorts (and wear them without underwear to reduce risk of chaffing). Also wash them after EVERY ride. Get you friend or an experienced cyclist to advise you on fit/style. For a top, avoid cotton -- polypro is best since it wicks away moisture. Avoid too loose a fit since that leads to chaffing as the folds flap in the wind.

- pedal with a high cadence (called spinning. e.g. 70-90 revolutions of the pedals per minute) ... it reduces knee strain and requires less energy than slow cadence (mashing).

- Pedal with the ball of your foot on the pedal (not the arch). Shoes should have a stiff sole. Clipless pedals and proper bike shoes are beneficial ... but if you aren't used to them this may not be the best time to start (many people end up having at least one fall when they first start using them!)

- ride with a group if possible (it will encourage you to go further and make the trip more fun), BUT don't ride too close to others. Paceline riding is great, but best avoided until you have been trained and know the others have been too.

- You should ride every ride relatively slowly and take rest stops (10-15 min max) every 45 min or so. It's much easier to ride slowly for a long time than fast. As you ride more speed will increase, but don't push it. Distance is more important than speed.

- Stay hydrated (particularly if it's hot) and wear sun block.

- Wear a helmet -- it helps keep you cool (as well as safe)

- Have a snack (e.g. energy bar, banana, muffin) every 20 miles or so.

- Don't carry too much stuff. At most have something in case of rain.

- Ride at least one training ride in rain and/or wind ... it's great confidence builder.

The first time I did a long ride (105 mile) the furthest I had gone before in training was 50 miles. I made all the mistakes (wore new shoes, wore underwear under too loose shorts, carried too much stuff, went too hard early, didn't drink enough, rode alone, etc) and by 60 miles I was beat. But the biting flies kept driving me back to ride every time I stopped. Eventually I made it but it took me 2 hrs to find the energy to take a shower. However, the next day I rode the return trip (105 miles) and actually enjoyed it. So, you can do 50 miles ... the question is how much fun it will be.

Good luck ... and aim to enjoy the ride.

Are scooters safe to ride these days?

I know all about the scare stories, but it never stopped me riding. You've just got to keep a sense of proportion.

Sensible precautions to take include taking some proper training and getting some decent safety gear before you even think of venturing out. However, once you are all trained and kitted you still need to be safe on the road.

When I ride I have a few Golden Rules that operate above and beyond normal road-sense. You are more vulnerable on 2 wheels compared to being in a car, so you need to make sure that you're safe. You just can't rely on all the other idiots to look out for you.

My rules are as follows:

Observation, observation, observation: Always know what's going on around you. Don't just rely on your mirrors but check over your shoulders too.

If in doubt, don't: If it looks like a move won't come off don't even bother trying because it will hurt like hell if it goes wrong.

Watch for the asshole: There will always be one, so never assume that someone signalling to make a turn will do what you might expect of them.

Live to ride another day: Don't get proud. If standing your ground will mean you end up eating tarmac, back off and let them go first.

All that said, I would consider carefully if a 50cc machine really is enough for the journeys you're likely to make. Scoots of this capacity are fine, but they may be too slow to be safe on the bigger faster roads. You may find that you become a rolling road block and that in itself creates risk. If this is a concern, get the training needed to ride something with a bigger engine so that you can always keep up to traffic speed on all the roads you consider you may be riding on.