I'm starting to ride again after a couple of years of not doing any sports at all. I dimly remember some stretching exercises back from school, but I don't know if I'm doing it right at all.
Instead of listing what I'm doing and asking for "correct, yes/no", I'd like to know how exactly one should prepare for a bike tour. I'm currently doing small tours (20km) to get used to it again, but plan to go bigger during summer.
Just a few minutes ago I stumbled upon the following article, explaining a few stretching exercises. Unfortunately, it's focused on running, and I believe that there aren't exactly the same muscles involved.
Five Fantastic Stretching Exercises (pdf).
The article also mentions a cool-down phase, which I don't remember at all from school.
So, to conclude: How should I warm up, how long, what stretching exercises should I do, and when? How should the cool down be done?