The best cycling tips in the world...ever!

[Utah roadie]

During the summer, wear sunscreen!

Most important time is the first day of a stage race. If your
burned the first day, the rest of the race isn't fun.

 

[akula203]

A glass of water won;t cut it in a training ride.. Drink 2 or three glasses or water... I saw a documentary about survival in the desert and when asked the question as to wether or not you should ration your water supply, they said to drink it all and that your body would take the water it needed as time went on. I would imagin ethat this is the same scenario.. After all, it's all about staying properly hydrated so that you don;t cramp up right?

 

[aransom55]

Originally posted by umberto
the carbs are good, but sugar?! y would u want to be loaded with SUGAR?!

Sugar makes the world go round!!! Carbohydrates are complex sugars and simple sugars. Use complex to load before a ride or race (potato, pasta, rice, whole grain bread) and simpler (fructose and sucrose) sugars during rides or races. Consume early and often. I prefer liguid carbs during rides. It is too hard to force down solids while keeping pace.

No bonking!!

 

[Trekker2017]

Originally posted by Brizza
My tube has lots of furry floating stuff in it. I rinse it with boiling water occassionally but has anyone found a cheaper bottlebrush than the Camelback brand that will fit in the tube?

Hey. if it doesn't kill ya; it must make you stronger

Brian the unhygenic

I use an old sailor's trick to clean out my camelback's water sack. Fill the bag with water then put a shot of Clorox in it. BUT DON'T DRINK IT!!! Shake it up and let it sit for five to ten minutes then drain the fluid through the drinking tube. This kills all the little fuzzies. Then rinse the bag three or four times with clean water, each time draining through the tube to get all the Clorox out. In effect, you are cleaning your water system with clorinated water. On a sailboat (especially in foreign ports where you're not too sure of the water supply) many sailors clorinate their fresh water system in this way to kill bacteria.

 

[aransom55]

Originally posted by firegooroo
Need to be careful with the types of cleats you have. You might have a set of cleats that don't have rotation on them and that will give you problems. I suffer from IT band tendenitis and I ended up with a pair of fixed cleats that made my knee problem worse. I then got a different pair that had a 9 degree rotation to allow proper positioning. Look into that. Also consider getting a cleat analysis to determine proper alignment.

Plastic cleats can slip and twist on your shoe (esp new road shoe). I sanded the bottom of the shoe lightly and used a little contact cement before mounting the cleat. Not perfect but helped.

Any other solutions to twisty cleats?

 

[aransom55]

Originally posted by Trekker2017
I use an old sailor's trick to clean out my camelback's water sack. Fill the bag with water then put a shot of Clorox in it. BUT DON'T DRINK IT!!! Shake it up and let it sit for five to ten minutes then drain the fluid through the drinking tube. This kills all the little fuzzies. Then rinse the bag three or four times with clean water, each time draining through the tube to get all the Clorox out. In effect, you are cleaning your water system with clorinated water. On a sailboat (especially in foreign ports where you're not too sure of the water supply) many sailors clorinate their fresh water system in this way to kill bacteria.

A few drops will do. You will be rincing forever if you use a "shot".

 

[jbieryjr]

Originally posted by Guest
Always wear a T-shirt under your cycling jersey. This will provide some protection to shoulders etc. in the case of a fall. Also helps absorb sweat which will feel better than a soaked jersey.

Never wear cotton next to your skin. Sweat absorbed by cotton will change the body temperature, especially on cold days. Requiring more energy for a constant body temp. Use a non-cotton material that will wick the seat away from the body.

 

[coolworx]

AC/DC is the best riding music in the world.

 

[Romans 3:23-24]

If you want to load up on glucogen more effectively stop eating carbs from the 7th to the 3rd day before a race and ride easy, the on the last 2 days eat carbs like crazy, studies have shown that you can add 20 to 50% more glucogen to your muscles and liver when you deplete them for a period of time.

Try a 4-1 ratio sports drink (4 carbs, 1 protein) it's shown that a little protein makes your pancreas secrete a lot more insuline than plain sugar, it'll drive those carbs straight into your muscles, you can make your own for a lot cheaper, just combine gatorade powder with a good qualitiy whey protein (I use Isopure from "Nature's Best"), make sure the protein is really low in fat, some low quality proteins have a lot of fat and you don't want that. Add a little salt to it if you'll ride for more than 2 hours. It works wonders.

 

[jbieryjr]

Originally posted by Romans 3:23,24
If you want to load up on glucogen more effectively stop eating carbs from the 7th to the 3rd day before a race and ride easy, the on the last 2 days eat carbs like crazy, studies have shown that you can add 20 to 50% more glucogen to your muscles and liver when you deplete them for a period of time.

Try a 4-1 ratio sports drink (4 carbs, 1 protein) it's shown that a little protein makes your pancreas secrete a lot more insuline than plain sugar, it'll drive those carbs straight into your muscles, you can make your own for a lot cheaper, just combine gatorade powder with a good qualitiy whey protein (I use Isopure from "Nature's Best"), make sure the protein is really low in fat, some low quality proteins have a lot of fat and you don't want that. Add a little salt to it if you'll ride for more than 2 hours. It works wonders.

Excellent response. Nice to hear someone that understand balanced nutrition. Please be careful with the additional Salt. Studies have shown that replacement with NaCl alone or in excess can decrease heart function by the increase in total body water. There are good studies by the military on endurance training and NaCl.

 

[mtnbiker25]

Originally posted by Guest
Always wear a T-shirt under your cycling jersey. This will provide some protection to shoulders etc. in the case of a fall. Also helps absorb sweat which will feel better than a soaked jersey.

Bad idea, your tshirt will never dry out under a jersey, that's why they made jersey's, so that they would dry out, unlike tshirts, you don't have to be soaked if you don't want to be.

 

[DmanSlam]

Originally posted by RPM
Carry Baby wipes for cleaning yourself after a race or ride away from home. Leaves you clean and smooth and we all know chicks love babies.

lol. True, but make sure you shave; else you'll have fuzzy pieces of baby wipes stuck in your beard/stubble.

Also, shave the day or night before so your face isn't as sensitive to cold air, hot weather, sunscreen, etc.

 

[DmanSlam]

...unless riders around you are wearing full-face helmets, give yourself plenty of room when swinging your bat in the middle of a peloton. I couldn't resist.

I had to stop and re-read your post (there's so many, I've resorted to skimming them).

Originally posted by jasonc47
Train using "slow" tires... keep the slicks for the race! Like swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle! I used to ride a mountain bike (like one would a road bike) prior to my first road purchase. It was amazing the difference!

 

[jgarrity]

Pick out the better riders in a race. Shadow them for as long as you can. Watch what they do and put it into practice.

I give up: what does "&nbsp" mean ????

 

[BiochemGuy]

Sugar makes the world go round!!! Carbohydrates are complex sugars and simple sugars. Use complex to load before a ride or race (potato, pasta, rice, whole grain bread) and simpler (fructose and sucrose) sugars during rides or races. Consume early and often. I prefer liguid carbs during rides. It is too hard to force down solids while keeping pace.

No bonking!!

Fructose is a pretty bad carbohydrate choice for muscle energy. Fructose has to go through the liver to be converted into glucose before it can be used for energy. After fructose goes to the liver to be converted into glucose, it usually stays in the liver and becomes liver glycogen instead of going into muscles for muscle glycogen.

Sucrose is made of half glucose and half fructose. Due to being half fructose it would also be a bad choice of a carbohydrate for muscle energy.

Carbohydrates made of only glucose molecules would be the best choice since glucose can go directly into the blood stream and quickly get into muscles. Glucose dosn't have to go through the liver like fructose does.

All complex carbs are just made of glucose molecules. So are some sugars such as dextrose found in alot of carb drinks. So any complex carb or dextrose sugar would be a better choice than fructose or sucrose. Some fructose is fine, I just wouldn't consume alot of it.
As far as what to take with you on a ride. A carb drink containing dextrose or maltodextrin would be the best choice since both are made of only glucose molecules and both absorbed quickly.

Dextrose is a sugar and maltodextrin is a complex carb. Even though maltodextrin is a complex carb it's absorbed quickly like a sugar.

 

[desmondhs]

Never ride clipless for the first time, in heavy traffic.

You should have told me that 15 months ago.
The first time i rode clipless i fell down about 4 times, two times at stop lights, and 2 more in parks trying to avoid hitting people.
Get a lot of practice before doing this; it is very dangerous.
Thanks,
desmondhs.

 

[triplecbb]

The &nbsp is left over html stuff and just means a space to be inserted in text

I give up: what does "&nbsp" mean ????

 

[fabiosav]

That depends on the person. If I would eat 2 hours before, I would need to eat again in an hour or so. I know I'm in the minority, but I need to eat just before a race or just before any activity that I do. I probably burn more calories sleeping than most people do when they are awake with normal activity. If I don't eat at least 4000 calories a day, I can't gain any weight. I'm 55 and in great shape, and probably have one of the fastest metabolisms on record. I'm very grateful and thankful for being blessed in this way.

would you be offended if I hate you? Nothing personal...

 

[nitrous]

I give up: what does "&nbsp" mean ????

It's encoded HTML, basically it tells the browser to write a non breaking space. It shouldn't show up on the page as . The person probably copied and pasted that line from somewhere.

 

[Scott'sTrek1000]

have to agree with fabiosav vbmenu_register("postmenu_1418601", true);

I too hate you