cycling

Longer days and better weather mean one thing: bike season! Time to bust out those two-wheelers and take advantage of the beaming sunshine. The only thing standing in your way is figuring out which route to take.

Safety should be a cyclist's number-one priority — public streets cause dangerous encounters between cars and bikes. Ride the City is a web (free), iPhone ($2), and Android app ($2) that helps velos locate the safest, speediest routes around town.

Enter in point A and point B, choose between the "safer," "safe," and most "direct" option, and Ride the City will calculate total distance, time, and elevation gain. It'll also show bike shops and bike share pick-up/drop-off locations along the way.

Our favorite feature is the map's color-coded bike lanes: green designates bike lane, path, or greenway, and purple denotes all other streets along your route. The map will show you bike routes, lanes, and protected paths without a starting point and destination as well. It's a great reference while you're figuring out your way on the road.

Ride the City has 39 cities all over the world fully mapped, so pull your bike out of the shed and get cycling!

That fact that it's National Bike Month and the warmer Spring days may mean you have cycling on the brain. Whether you're participating in Bike to Work Day or you're starting a commuting routine, here are some solutions to your newbie concerns.

1. I don't know my route: Finding a bike-friendly route is especially crucial if you're a cycling newbie, so before your actual commute, find out how the cyclists in your area do it, plan or map your route and test-ride it when the roads are not so busy. Keep in mind, the best (and safest) cycling route is not always the same way you get there when driving or on the bus. Read more about how to plan and prepare for your bike commute here.
2. I don't know what gear I need: Commuting by bike demands that attention is paid to what you're wearing and carrying. You know that a helmet is a necessity, so here are a few cute and functional bike helmets made for just women. But there's more; find out exactly which five essentials you need if you're bike commuting here.

See more tips on bike commuting after the break!

Cycling is a great pastime for your body: not only does it help strengthen the lower body, but it also helps raise the heart rate, power the lungs, and can calm the mind. But like any workout, cycling can lead to some unwanted consequences: hunched shoulders, tight hips, lower back pain, and a neglected upper body. If you're suffering from any of these, here are four workouts to complement cycling.

• Running: If cycling is your go-to cardio, then you may want to add running to your routine. Studies have found that cyclists may be at risk of developing low bone density or osteoporosis because of the sports low-impact nature. More load-bearing sports like running, however, will help strengthen bones. These treadmill workouts for all levels will help you start (or deepen) your running practice.
• Yoga: Focus on opening up the chest and hips to combat saddle posture by combining these yoga stretches for tight hips with these heart-opening yoga poses.
• Swimming: For a total-body workout that helps open up your body and gives the joints a break, try swimming. If you're looking for a workout to try in your gym's pool, then try this swimming interval workout.
• Core strengthening: Incorporating strength training that focuses on the abs will help protect your lower back when you're on the bike. Try this 10-minute ab workout that challenges balance and targets your deep core.

You may have thought about riding a bicycle before but never really considered the full benefits that cycling around town could bring you. (And maybe you've thought about the reasons why you shouldn't ride.) Whatever your stance on the matter, here are five reasons to start pedaling.

Time Efficient: Don't worry about missing your bus or speed walking to work anymore; biking can be much more time efficient. In one straight shot, you can get from points A to B without wearing your flats into the ground and stressing about time constraints.

Independence: Unlike public transportation, riding a bike can give you a freeing feeling. Even if you initially plan to walk, you sometimes end up resorting to public transportation to get there faster. With a bike, you can come and go as you please and don't have to worry about being on somebody else's watch.

Calorie Burn: What's all this talk about if you have a car? While driving can be comfortable, you won't burn any calories while stepping on the gas. By pedaling your wheels, you can burn 52 calories in just five minutes of cycling at 14-16 mph. If your route takes you uphill or faster to move with traffic, that's even more. Now you can relax a little during your lunch break.

Environmentally Friendly: You don't need to drive in a Nissan Leaf to be friendlier to the environment. Since bicycling produces zero fuel emissions, you're decreasing your carbon footprint and reducing the pollution every day that you ride. Even riding on public transportation contributes to this, so decrease your daily involvement by sticking to your bike or breaking your commute up part of the way on one.

Great New Gear: The gear available to cyclists is awesome! From reflector belts to vintage-looking bicycle skirts, bike-related gear is both functional and stylish.

Last Sunday in (usually) sunny San Diego, I raced the SheRox Triathlon, compliments of race sponsor Toyota. Unfortunately, the sun did not make an appearance on race day, but heavy mist did. While a light drizzle is inconsequential during a swim and can be downright refreshing on a run, wet roads are not the safest for slick-tired road bikes. Rainy conditions do not mean you need to abandon biking altogether, but you do need to be a bit more cautious on the road whether you're cycling to work or tackling a tri.

Here are four ways to play it safe on two wheels when the roads are wet.

Lower your tire pressure: When riding on wet, slick roads, you want to decrease the pressure in your tires. Road bike tires are usually pumped to just below 120 psi (pounds per square inch), but lowering the air pressure will allow the tire to make more contact with the road, which gives you more traction on wet surfaces. Professional triathlete Sarah Haskins suggests decreasing your tire pressure to as low as 100 psi. The Liv/giant support team suggests going five to 10 psi under normal pressure.

Feather your brakes: When the roads are wet, hitting your brakes hard is a bad idea and can lead to skidding out. Use the technique know as feathering, where you lightly and quickly apply the brakes repeatedly to slow down. It is especially important to slow down well before curves and turns when the pavement is slick to prevent the bike from sliding out from under you, so feather early and often.

Avoid the paint: The support team from Liv/giant pointed out that anything painted on the pavement, from traffic lines to turn arrows, will be extra slick when wet. The bright paint should be easy to spot and equally easy to avoid. Hitting your brakes on the paint is also not recommended.

Reduce your speed: This tip might be obvious, but for all the speed demons out there, here is a reminder: when the roads are wet, no matter if you're commuting to work or competing in a race, taking your ride a bit slower is much safer. It can be a difficult to back off your intended race pace, but in a tri, just hit the running section a little harder to make up for your slightly cautious cycling.