Bike Tours: Cycling Shoes & Helmets

Video Transcript

"And the shoes that you'll use in cycling vary. This is a cycling specific shoe. You know, it's got a pretty stiff outsole. The idea there is to be able to transfer as much power to the pedal as you can. And this is more kind of a racing design, on this shoe. Cycle tourists are looking for a little bit more comfort. So, cycle tourists might choose, opt for a more comfortable shoe. But this shoe mates with a clipless pedal, in such a way as to, kind of maximize your efficiency, while pedaling. The other option is just to ride with, you know, kind of one pair of shoes and use pedals that have clips and straps. I've done that on tours and find it to be really comfortable. So there are many options with pedals and shoes. But, whatever you do, I would suggest strongly, that you wear a helmet at all times when on the bike. You never, you never really need the helmet until you need the helmet, if that makes any sense. Traumatic brain injuries can really ruin a tour. So, wear your helmet at all times, you want to have a helmet that is Snell, ANSI approved. Those are the two bodies that have the, you know, that, legally sort of define what it means to be a protective helmet. So wear a helmet that's comfortable and fits you tightly. You want it to fit pretty tight. With my helmet I often times, wear a, I always pretty much wear, some kind of headband. This one's nice because it has a, a inner layer, that kind of, it's kind of, acts like a rain gutter, and it channels the sweat away from where, from where your sunglasses would be, where your face is. Which is just a wonderful, wonderful thing. So headbands like this can really, really help. Finally, cycling gloves, are another safety issue. They're comfortable, they'll, they'll keep the sweat from being all over your brakes, and all over your handlebar. Because you know, they end up, the sweat ends up going into the glove. But also if you ever were to make contact with the ground, usually the first thing that makes contact to the ground is your hand or your knee. And the hand can get really, really painful if you put a hand down onto the pavement, without a cycling glove on. So make sure that you wear cycling gloves."