FOOD IS FUEL

As the weather improves and you start to feel good on your bike again, you might find yourself tackling more distance, or climbing a bit more than you’ve done before. A huge contributing factor to handling this extra load will be how you fuel yourself. There is loads of information out there that can help, but in a nutshell you need to eat and drink more than you think. A good rule of thumb is to eat something every hour and stay hydrated. Drink at least 500-750ml an hour and don’t get too bogged down with energy products. If you’re drinking an energy mix, smashing gels, and eating stodgy bars, then you will likely become dehydrated because you are having to use all the fluids in your system to process all that dense food. Instead, just keep it simple. Drinking water and eating normal food is perfectly adequate if you mix it up with the odd energy bar here and there.

Keep eating and you can go all day

Spending a few minutes stretching your tired old body may save you from injury further down the road

Changing your pace depending on what terrain you’re riding is a great way of saving energy