Introduction
A Bicycle (or Bike) is a mechanical form of transportation which has two single file wheels that are often powered by human strength. The process of riding a bicycle is called biking.
The first bicycles obviously had two wheels, but no pedals and they were driven as your feet walked on the ground. Later bicycles were driven with pedals, and finally chain driven bicycles were invented.
Bicycles can be used for many recreational purposes, spanning from leisurely rides and touring to hard core bike racing! Bicycles can also be used for main sources of transportation as well.
This WebQuest will be focusing on how to improve your speed while biking
Task
There are many ways to try to increase your speed while biking, but there are 5 ways to improve your speed that do not involve hard-core physical training. These 5 methods are:
- make sure your tires are not underinflated or overinflated
- wear tight fitting clothing
- tuck your elbows in and use the drop handles
- take care of your bike,
- don't brake all the time.
Other methods are to listen to music, to ride with others, building balance with a track stand, using wind to your advantage, losing weight, training with intervals of bursts of speed, building muscle, and using aerodynamic bicycle parts. This WebQuest is only going to focus on the 5 methods listed above in point form.
It is important to know what the average biking speed is before you try to bike faster. In the USA the average speed for males is 24.35 km/h, and for females the average speed is 20.51 km/h.
Process
If you want to improve your speed while biking, make sure you try these 5 methods before you go into hard core training, for this could be what has been slowing you down.
To make sure your tires are inflated properly, check the suggested tire pressure measurement for your tires. This information should located on the sidewall of your bicycle tires.
To get faster, make sure you are wearing slim-fitting clothing, not clothes that can flap in the wind or trap wind.
If your have a bicycle with drop handles, hold on to them and tuck your elbow in towards you. Make sure you do not sit straight up but bend down so you will be more aerodynamic.
Make sure that your bike is well maintained, so that you will not have problems due to lack of maintenance that could slow you down,(dirty chain, anything rubbing, etc.).
Often bikers will put their brakes on if the feel out of control. This is good, but if you want to improve your speed, you will need to become more confident in biking fast and turning quickly. Once you are confident, do not brake, use speed to your advantage, and your will go faster.
Evaluation
If you are having trouble with the 5 methods to improve speed without hard core training, make sure you have done these things.
For pumping up your tires, make sure that you tire pressure is around the recommended pressure for that tire. This information should be located on the sidewall of the tire. You do not want you tires underinflated, for this will definitely slow you down, but make sure your tires are not overinflated as well, for this may cause you to loose traction.
For wearing tighter clothing, make sure all the zippers on your coat on done up so that no wind can get caught in you coat, and make sure that you wear slim-fitting clothes that do not billow in the wind. If you are having trouble biking faster, perhaps you biking clothes are still creating too much wind resistance.
For tucking in your elbows, make sure you are riding with your hands on the drop handlebars ( if your bike has them), and tucking in you elbows towards your body the best you can. Also make sure you are bent over your bike, not sitting straight up to it. This posture should help you go faster.
For taking care of your bike, make sure the chain has been oiled so it will not be stiff, and most of all make sure that nothing is rubbing! This will definitely slow you down.
For braking less, make sure you practice being able to handle biking at higher speeds and to turn corners quickly. Then you can practice braking less and avoiding braking just for comfort.
Conclusion
There are many more ways to improve your biking speed,but these 5 methods to get faster are just some ways to bike quicker without hard core training.
If you are interested in joining a biking club, the Cycle Canada Directory has lists of bike clubs all over Canada, and if you are looking for recreation, touring, or race events for bicycles in Ontario, there is a list of most events at Ontario By Bike- Cycling Events.
I hope this WebQuest has been helpful in learning how to bike faster. Happy cycling!