Midsummer Challenge - Preparations -

Nutrition 

First things first! An engine can’t run without fuel and your body is no different. Properly managing your nutrition and hydration is a key part of keep you feeling fresh and cramp free. Remember, bonking is a bad time. 

Pre-Ride

A successful ride starts before you even get on the bike. Carbohydrates are the bodys main source of fuel when riding and in turn, a cyclists best friend. We reccomend starting your day with a carbohydrate rich breakfast 2-3 hours before you ride to give your body a head start. Pancakes are our personal favourite preride meal but oat meal, rice pudding, or a large helping of ontbijtkoeken works too! Don’t forget to hydrate as needed. 

Ride food

200km is a long way. You will need snacks - lots of snacks. General carbohydrate reccomendations are between 30g per hour for shorter, less intense rides, up to 90g of carbohydrates per hour for longer, more intense rides. Though it should be noted that a high carbohydrate intake like 90g per hour may require adaptation and cause GI upset if you aren’t used to it, so take it slow and listen to your body. Here are some of our favourite snack options -more on how to carry them all later. 

Maurten Solids

PurePower Energy Snack

Hydration

The quickest way to mess yourself up is by not hydrating properly. Bonking is bad, dehydration is worse. When you sweat you lose both water and electrolytes so it’s important to replenish both at the same rate at which you lose them. How much you need varies but given the warm weather, a bottle an hour with either a hydro tab or electrolyte mix is a good starting target. You can then adjust for more or less as needed. 

Kit

Aside from making you look pretty your kit should be good at serving it’s functional purposes. In this case, that means it’s good at wicking sweat, breathable, the jersey has easily accessible pockets and your chamois is going to keep you comfortable all day long. 

Jersey

These days temperatures are getting up above 25 degrees and when that happens, the fabric and design of your jersey becomes really important. Hot weather summer jerseys are made with a meshy fabric that pulls the sweat and heat away from your body removing the need for a base layer. 

Base layer 

Don’t have a hot weather jersey? A base layer is a great way to boost your normal jersey on those extra hot days. Similar to the summer jersey, baselayers pull the sweat off your skin and disperse it so that it evaporates faster -again keeping you cooler.  

Base Layers Men
Base Layers Women

chamois 

If you’re going to do long rides you need a good chamois designed specifically for long hours in the saddle. A good chamois pulls the sweat away from your skin, is made from smooth surface fabrics and supports your bone structures in all the right places, reducing your risk of nasty things like saddle sores.

Other Important Items

Chamois Cream 

Your secret weapon for protecting again chaeffing and saddle sores. Chamois cream helps keep your skin soft, lubricated and you butt happy. 

Sunscreen

We promise it won’t keep you from getting crisp tan lines, it will how ever prevent you from getting a sunburn and thats pretty rad. Sports specific sunscreens are sweat resistant so you can be sure to stay protected. 

Bar Bags

Remember that bit when we mentioned you needed lots of snacks? This is how you carry them. It’s so much better then trying to jam it in to your back pockets - trust us on this one.