Tips
Here’s some top tips from those who know about bike choice, bike preparation, training and anything else we can think of that will help you get to the start line in good shape.
If you’ve got a question then please ask it and I’ll try and answer it and post the good ones for all to see.
How much training will I need to do?
Difficult to answer for everyone! The ride will be a challenge for people who are currently unfit but with a proper approach to training it’s very achievable. If you have a decent level of fitness but you’re not a cyclist then its all about getting time on a bike to get yourself bike fit and most importantly, saddle ready!
Either way you might like to follow a training plan and one of our more experienced riders has written one up so you can just download our handy training guide.
This outlines a 13 week training programme to get you in peak fitness for the ride!
What bike do I need?
This is the most popular question by far and there’s no definitive answer. I’ve got a cyclocross bike with slick tyres on and that works well. Road racing bikes should be fine as long as you can cope with the tow path and cycle paths. Most of the 2009 riders were on road bikes and there were no complaints.
Touring bikes and hybrids should be fine although hybrids come in all set ups and weights so you would want to be sure you were happy going up long hills on it!
I know some people are planning to use mountain bikes with slicks on and again this should be fine if you have a relatively light bike that you can “firm up”. Here’s a friends thoughts on the best approach if you want to use a mountain bike:
A decent relatively lightweight mountain bike (front suspension only or full suspension) should be fine for this ride. You may have to work a bit harder than riders on light touring or cyclo-cross bikes, but that’s all part of the fun!
You can make a mountain bike more suitable for this adventure, and easier to ride, by reducing or eliminating the suspension effect, and by using different tyres. Here are some steps to take:
Replace wide knobbly tyres with narrow slick or semi-slick tyres. Your rolling resistance will drop dramatically. The cost of doing this will be somewhere between £20 and £45, depending on what quality of tyre you decide on. A good high end choice would be something like the 26×1.3 Continental Sport Contact
Use a lock-out on your front forks if you have one.
If you have no lock-out on your front forks, apply as much pre-load as possible (you may need to look in the owner’s manual!)
If you have a full suspension bike, use the lock-out on your rear shock if you have one.
If your rear shock has no lock-out but is an air shock, increase the pressure in the shock to effectively eliminate all suspension action. Take care not to exceed the maximum pressure the shock will tolerate (again, check the manual or consult your local bike shop).
Most shocks are built to take a very high pressure. As an example, a good basic rear air shock which has been around for the last eight or nine years is the Fox Float R. For normal off-road riding with a good suspension action, a 12-stone rider might use a pressure of about 160psi with this shock. It will accept a pressure of up to 300 psi – this would make the bike effectively rigid at the rear.
In summary, a mountain bike is very likely to be a perfectly good bike for this challenge if is relatively light, and has an effective front fork lock-out or pre-load. The steps listed above will give a set-up which will work for a lot of people.
Older MTBs may not be so suitable, for two or three reasons:
- weight of bike – many older front forks do not have an effective lock-out, although most have some form of pre-load. – older full-suspension bikes may not have an air rear shock, and the coil shock may not have pre-load – but a bike old enough to be like this is likely to be very heavy, and therefore maybe not so suitable.
Well you did ask!! BUT IF YOU’VE GOT A ROAD BIKE I WOULD RECOMMEND USING IT – THE AUTHOR OF THIS TIP ABOUT USING A MOUNTAIN BIKE USED HIS ROAD BIKE!
Will we have to carry our luggage?
No. Your luggage will be taken by van so all you need with you is what you might want for the day. I’ll post a suggested list nearer the time. Your overnight luggage needs to be in a bag no bigger than on that an airline would accept as hand luggage
What does my entry fee cover?
Your £100 will definitely cover your dinner, bed and breakfast in Bideford and Taunton as well as lunch on each day of the ride except the pub on day 1. If you need a hotel room on the Thursday night in or around St Austell, you will need to pay for that but I have sorted out some group discounts that you will be able to take advantage of. I will post those details soon.
If I can squeeze more out of the entry fee or some corporate sponsorship I will let you know!
10 top tips for the newcomer to cycling from the Medical Officer of the British Cycling Team, Chris Jarvis
I believe there will be a wide range of experience in those taking part in the ride. I do apologise in advance to those for whom these comments are obvious and well known. They are as stated intended for those who have no great experience of cycle sport.
1. Correct Bike Position
Get an experienced cycling coach or club member to check out your position on your bike.
Is your saddle too high or too low, too far forward or too far back?
Are your handlebars properly set up?
Minor adjustments can make all the difference to comfort and can prevent injury.
2. New Equipment
Don’t arrive at the start with a sparkling new saddle, clothing or footwear. Only use kit that you’ve tried tested and used before. New shoes may pinch, shoe cleats or step-in pedal settings may be wrong and new shorts can chafe!
Tried and tested kit is safe – new stuff isn’t!
3. Clothing
Only ride in genuine cycling shorts with a chamois or mock chamois seat insert. Jeans or trousers with a central seam may be OK for a one mile ride to the shops but they are absolutely NOT for this event!
Always use chamois cream to make the contact areas ( the sit bones in the USA ) comfortable and don’t try any old fashioned ways of toughening up the sit area. Wear clean shorts daily OR if you can wash and dry used shorts overnight. Don’t attempt to toughen up the saddle contact areas in any way. Emollient creams and flexibility are the answer NOT hardening of the skin.
The principle of layers is to have the ability to shed or put on clothing as the need arises.
Always have a waterproof top available – they’re light and can be kept in a jersey back pocket. It’s also useful to have leg/arm warmers that are easily put on/taken off.
Padded cycling gloves are useful in reducing the effects of vibration on the hands – which can lead to an uncomfortable numbness.
You may also find overshoes helpful in keeping your feet warm and dry.
4. Health check up before you start- Do you need one?
This is a complex issue. Learned meetings have been conducted on just this sort of issue and this isn’t the place to get complicated. If you’re an experienced cyclist who regularly rides these sorts of distances the answer is probably no. If, however, this ride is a totally new type of physical activity for you – my answer would be yes.
For those over the age of 40 (or anyone with a strong family history of heart disease or strokes) it merits at least a chat with your GP. He or she will probably recommend a Blood Pressure measurement and probably an ECG and check of Blood Cholesterol level.
Any younger person who has a family history of sudden death of a relative at a young age should also seek medical advice before taking part – see www.c-r-y.org.uk
5. Training + Viral Infections
In general if your symptoms are above the neck – it’s OK to train. If they’re below your neck in the chest or if you have general muscle aches & pains or are running even a slight fever – the answer is NO. Physical activity when suffering from influenza/viral infections can, at worst, have life threatening consequences and at best can prolong the illness and prevent training. The message is listen to your body and if you’re not well – don’t train !
6. Immune System + Joints
There is evidence that high levels of physical activity decrease the efficiency of the immune system. While there is no strong evidence for its effectiveness many athletes take a small daily dose of Echinacea + Vitamin C to counteract this. There is good evidence that Glucosamine + Chondroitin help healthy joint cartilage function.
The choice is yours…
7. Pedalling Efficiency
The art of cycling effectively is to learn to pedal relatively fast and in a totally fluid manner.
Step-in pedals or the more old-fashioned toe clips and straps help achieve this since you don’t have to concentrate on keeping your feet on the pedals. Additionally you can pull upwards on the pedals as well as pushing down – very useful when it’s hilly. Attempting to force a big gear round is inefficient. While this is necessary for the speeds achieved by the Professional road racers seen on Eurosport – they still have a high pedal revolution rate – also known as cadence.
8. Helmet + Glasses
Modern bike helmets are lightweight, comfortable and don’t impair vision. If it’s a cool day you can always wear a very thin cap inside or place a plastic bag inside to reduce heat loss from the scalp. No one would pretend that helmets will prevent all head injuries. They are designed to absorb the energy resulting from a fall and can significantly reduce the level of damage done in a fall.
If you have had a fall while wearing your current helmet – it’s already done its job – so discard it and get a new one.
Sports sun glasses are essential in my view – they help prevent small specks of dust irritating the eye. The best type are those with interchangeable lenses for differing light conditions and you really don’t need to pay a fortune for those from manufacturers with well known logos.
9. Women’s issues
There are a number of issues specifically regarding women and cycling. Many relate to appropriate clothing, others to the type and positioning of the saddle and contact with it. If you have concerns regarding comfort it’s worth taking a look at the following websites whose women’s cycling forums provide good information. Unfortunately my favourite site for women’s cycling advice seems to have disappeared recently! Try…
www.cyclingforums.com
www.womenscycling.net
10. Nutritional preparation + Fluid Replacement
The Dartmoor Classic bike ride website provides some very useful information on this subject. I’m far too honest to do a cut and paste version of it – I would recommend that the less experienced take a look at the relevant paragraphs on nutrition – there’s also some tips on training www.dartmoorclassic.co.uk
With best wishes for the ride and hoping that this provides a little help to someone who is relatively new to cycling and who is taking part. See you there!
Dr Chris Jarvis
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