How to have a great bicycle ride

1) Go out and ride your bike
2) Lots

After a while you will notice some rides are better than other rides. Analyze this and seek out better rides. One day you will finish a ride, and your brain will be sending you a message that says that today's ride was the best ride ever.

Which does not mean that you should now stop your search for your best ride ever. Au contraire, you need to keep riding. And you will find another greatest ride ever. And again and again, until every ride is a great ride, and the whole idea of "best ride" becomes meaningless. The act of riding itself is great. By now you are "one with the bike," and the bike has become an extension of your body. Note: do not sleep with your bike, that's what other humans are for.

Now we are ready for the next level.

Achieving the state of "Fun."

Riding your bike should induce a state of jubilant glee. This can annoy the non-cyclists among us, but we don't care. This is fun and we're having it. You may need to adjust ride terrain and distance, bicycle fit, level of on and off-season training, mental attitude and expectations, and of course the weather, but it's worth it. We're talking jubilant glee, after all. Not many people can just go outside and get some, so consider yourself extremely lucky.

Any other tips for happiness? Smile and wave when passing other people, and maybe buy a bike bell to ring at human obstacles instead of shouting or swearing? Civisme is a good thing, and it will make you feel better, we promise.

Pain is no fun, Bicycling magazine offers seven useful tips for reducing pain in a variety of your body parts. If it is the bike seat-crotch interface that causes some discomfort, rubbing chamois creme (or vaseline or bag balm) all over the bike-short pad before riding can make a big difference in reducing friction where you do not want any friction!

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A great ride requires a great place to ride. Montrealers have excellent urban cycling, but when you cross the river and leave the island of Montreal you are entering a cycling paradise we call the Quebec countryside. Explore it (there's a LOT of it), in search of lots of great bike rides, and the search for your best bike ride ever. (our own personal search for the best bike rides in Quebec is the reason we started this blog)