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Four tips for getting into cycling!

Step 1: Get a Bike.

The first step in getting into cycling is obviously to have a bike. If you don’t have one, then make your way down to your local bike shop to learn about the different types of bikes. There are a variety of bikes for different levels of skill and application. Want to go off-road? Get a mountain bike. Want to keep up with the fast groups on the road? Get a road bike? Something in between? Hybrid. While there your local bike shop employees can help you get set up with all of the necessary items you might need: Helmet, lights, water bottles etc.

Step 2: Chose a route

Next you want to figure out where you want to go. Again you could talk to your LBS to recommend you a route, or if you have friends who cycle talk to them. If you live in a big city with lots of traffic and activity, try picking a route that avoids this and goes through some easier terrain and scenery, especially if it is your first time.

Step 3: Find a cycling buddy!

Life is more enjoyable with friends. Cycling is the same. Going out on a beautiful bike ride, enjoying the scenery and getting some exercise in with your best buddies? What’s not to love! Although if this is your first time, try meeting up with someone or more people who are experienced and can teach you a thing or two.

Step 4: Safety First!

Riding a bike is an activity you can enjoy for the rest of your life, but there are certain precautions you can take. Number one, always wear a helmet, it can save your life in the event of an accident. Number two, always watch for cars; turn your head when changing lanes or crossing traffic, look both ways when crossing the street even on empty roads. These are the minimums. More proactive steps can include bringing lights with you in the event the sun goes down while you are out, or bringing two bottles of water and some food if you are going out for a longer ride. Don’t want to get dehydrated now that the days are getting longer and warmer!

I hope you enjoyed and learned something from my tips. I hope to see you out on the road soon!

Cycling Safety Campaign and Frozen Crime Blogs to join forces !

A couple of weeks ago I met with Adrian Munoz of the Frozen Crime Blogs to speak about the possibility of a collaborative effort between our two companies. The FCB is online content creator which produces true crime stories and I felt like it would be a great idea to join forces and see what we could do with the cycling community. So after a little back and forth we came up with the following:

  • Create a story series about cycling accident victims and their families
  • Create the “Crime Junkies Podcast” which will talk about athletes involved in accidents, not just cyclists.
  • Create a advertisement campaign where the Cycling Safety Campaign and Alejandro Cycling News will be advertised on the Frozen Crime Blog site and vise versa.

Another very exiting event that came out of this was our partnership with Miami Critical Mass. They will advertise Crime Junkies Podcast along with our other companies on their platform to their members. Since they have such a large audience, we feel like this will be a huge step forward in making the streets safer for everybody!

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.