BikeRadar.com Mountain Biking Fitness

An introduction to sportives and gran fondos

BikeRadar, UK — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Cyclosportives - commonly referred to as sportives - and gran fondos have become a firm fixture on the the worldwide cycling calendar in recent years, offering both seasoned racers and newcomers to the sport a challenge that can be as gruelling or straighforward as they wish.

Inspired by events such as the Etape du Tour and La Marmotte in France, and the Cape Argus in South Africa, their growth can be explained by several factors, including the increase of people using bikes for commuting and a drive towards healthier, more active, lifestyles.

Sportives appeal to riders of any experience or fitness level. Some riders will be looking for an element of competition, perhaps by signing up with a bunch of mates for a burn up, or trying to be in the first or fastest group to finish. Others, who might find road racing a little strenuous or elitist, can ride at a steadier pace and still enjoy the benefits of a ride with marked directions, feed stops and mechanical support.

Well stocked feed stations are high on the list of priorities of any sportive rider

What is a sportive?

A cyclosportive is characterised by being a mass participation cycling event. In several countries, including the UK and Australia and parts of the USA, they're billed as non-competitive events. However in Europe in particular, there is more of a competitive element with categories and prizes awarded for fastest finishers.

Most, if not all, sportives use timing chips means a healthy level of competitiveness is always present no matter what. Results are usually published in detail on the event website and often have gold, silver or bronze time standards, and nobody wants to see their name languishing at the tail end of the table.

Where to find a cyclosportive

Finding the event that's right for you has never been easier. Like the professional scene, the sportive season doesn't seem to have a beginning or end these days, so whether you enjoy warm weather rides in the height of summer or bone-chilling slogs in the depths of winter, somewhere there'll be a ride for you. Websites such as Cyclosport carry an excellent worldwide events calendar, while British Cycling's sportive section is the go-to place to scout out a UK event.

Once you've found one, sign-up through the event website as soon as you can. The biggest events - the Fred Whittons, La Marmottes and Cape Arguses of this world - regularly oversubscribe and only offer a brief period for you to register interest. They often select entries by ballot, so it can become a bit of a lottery whether you secure a place or not.

Why, with climbs like this, the Fred Whitton sells out instantly, is anyone's guess

Basic preparation and training

Once you've got your place, all you have to worry about is getting through the ride. Newcomers shouldn't underestimate the physical demands of a long 100km or 100 mile sportive, so the hours you spend in the saddle beforehand will have a major impact on how much fun you have on the day. Try and get as close to, if not beyond, the distance of your intended event during your training. Keep your training specific too; don't ride long miles on flat roads if you've signed up to a hilly ride.

Neither should you doubt their difficulty, particularly some of Britain's sportives. While they lack the mountains of their Alpine counterparts, they tend to have more sharper, steeper climbs that can sap your strength as much, perhaps more so, than any mountain can over a seven-hour ride.

The morning prior to setting off is similar no matter which event you sign up to. Expect an early start, a battle to find a parking space and a queue to sign on. Last minute carbo-loading, pinning your number to your bike, getting your machine in good working order, and fitting your timing chip will become second nature after a few events.

At the majority of events, riders will set off in a staggered fashion in small groups in order to avoid large bunches clogging up open roads, but expect to depart in large groups in closed-road events such as the Etape du Tour or Cape Argus.

The start of Cape Town's Cape Argus is like no other on the planet

On the day, pacing is vital. If you're new to cycling and sportives, and riding your first 100km event, don’t be tempted to chase faster riders early on. Take it at your own pace, preferably with a group of friends. Smaller events can occasionally turn into lonely time trials if you're short of company, and can become demoralising after hours of solo riding.

Make sure you're fully tooled up and well versed in the basics of bike mechanics. Spare inner tubes, a pump, a puncture repair kit, a mobile phone, money, medication and appropriate attire are the absolute essentials. While many sportives have mechanics out on the course, you should treat them like you would a solo training ride and leave nothing to chance. Make sure you know how to change a tyre - it sounds simple but you'd be surprised how many people can't.

Make sure you eat and drink steadily throughout the ride and don’t be tempted to skip a feed stop to save time - speaking from experience, you'll pay for it down the line!

Above all, enjoy it. While some sportives, such as the ones mentioned above, have become de facto races, the majority are there to be enjoyed at your own pace and give you a taste of things to come further down the line should you wish to progress into racing.

Budget Bike Tech: How to keep hydration pack fluids cold

James Huang, tech ed, in Boulder, Colorado — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Our debut installment of Budget Bike Tech focused on keeping your feet warm during cold rides. This time around, we're doing a complete reversal by showing you an extremely inexpensive – and yet extremely effective – method for keeping your hydration pack fluids icy cold on hot days.

Many hydration packs already build some amount of insulation into the body of the pack itself but in our experience, it's woefully inadequate when outside temperatures are really sweltering. Even with a reservoir full of ice cubes, we've typically ended up with a pack full of tepid liquid after riding in summer for even just a couple of hours.

The simple solution is to just create your own insulating sleeve using a thin sheet of closed-cell foam and some sturdy tape. The foam is widely available at office supply shops or hardware stores or – even better – you can simply repurpose some packing material as we've done, in which case the grand total cost for the project is nearly zero. As long as it's a little more than twice as big as the hydration reservoir you wish to insulate, you're good to go.

Adding a layer of closed-cell foam provides effective insulation for your hydration pack's reservoir

Simply lay out the reservoir down on the foam sheet and outline the outer edge with a marker, leaving a buffer of about 1cm. Put the reservoir aside, fold the foam along the bottom edge, then cut through both layers along the outline. Finally, tape the left and right edges together to form the sleeve (or wrap the entire thing as we've done for extra durability), cut out a bit for the reservoir cap as needed, and you should be all set.

Surely this can't work, you say, right? To be honest, even we were shocked at how effective this was. In fact, it even took us a few rides to get the ice-to-fluid mixture right as we often ended up with a reservoir full of solid ice cubes with nothing to drink. Once we figured out the ideal blend, though, we've regularly enjoyed genuinely icy cold refreshment up to three hours after leaving the trailhead.

In addition to being virtually free, our insulating sleeve also weighs next to nothing at just 24g and has held up to over years of regular use with nary a bit of wear to be seen. Since you're making the sleeve yourself, it's also no problem adapting the shape and size to whatever make or model of hydration pack you happen to use. Even better, you can just make another one if you lose or wreck the thing.

One has to ask, though – if this is such a great and effective idea, why doesn't someone offer this commercially? That's a good question and one that we actually presented to Camelbak shortly after we deemed the experiment successful.

Curiously – especially since they utilize a nearly identical strategy for their insulated bottles – Camelbak told us the idea was intriguing but that they were satisfied with the level of insulation that was already incorporated into their packs at the time.

That's just fine with us. Some of you might prefer to be able to just head to your local shop and buy something like for US$10-15 or so but seeing as how no one is ever going to see this thing, anyway, the DIY route gets the job done just as well and still leaves money left over for a decent lunch. Win.

Budget Bike Tech is a new column here on BikeRadar, focused not on the latest high-end gear and accessories but on cheap and clever tips, tricks and upgrades that cost virtually no money at all. Improve your riding and improve your ride – just don't go broke in the process.

Budget Bike Tech: Toasty toes with recycled race numbers

James Huang, tech editor, in Boulder, USA — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Budget Bike Tech is a new column here on BikeRadar, focused not on the latest high-end gear and accessories but on cheap and clever tips, tricks and upgrades that cost virtually no money at all. Improve your riding and improve your ride – just don't go broke in the process.

This week we're looking at Tyvek. This amazing stuff made by DuPont is thin like paper, flexible like fabric, waterproof and windproof. This makes it a perfect material for protecting your feet in moderately cold conditions.

Simply take an old race number or shipping envelope, trim it to fit, and wrap it around your socked foot from about the front of the ankle forward. It doesn't have to be pretty since the Tyvek will be invisible once you're done. Just make sure you've obscured all of the mesh panels in your shoes as well as the sole vents, if there are any.

Once your foot is wrapped (a single layer will typically do), slide it into your shoe and make sure to wiggle your toes around thoroughly before tightening down the straps. Tyvek is highly protective stuff but it doesn't stretch so you want to make sure you push the material out to the edges of the toe box so as not to affect the fit.

We've been successfully using this strategy all winter and combined with thin wool socks, our feet have stayed reasonably warm during road rides just below 10°C (50°F). The Tyvek material has virtually no volume so it doesn't affect shoe fit and is easily packed in a jersey pocket or saddle bag, plus it's durable enough to reuse nearly ad infinitum. Moreover, you still have access to your shoe straps and buckles for on-the-fly adjustments.

Keep in mind that this technique isn't all that effective in wet conditions where conventional booties would be a better choice and that Tyvek isn't very breathable so it's a good idea to leave at least part of your foot uncovered for ventilation, especially on longer rides.

Unless you're particularly generous with the coverage, you won't get any protection for the front of your ankle this way, either. Otherwise, though, this has proven to be not only an effective alternative to lightweight booties, but one that costs almost nothing.

If you've done it right, the Tyvek will block off all of your shoe vents but will otherwise be invisible (you can just see a bit of red from the Tyvek scrap we used peeking through the mesh around the toe)

Budget Bike Tech: Toasty toes with recycled race numbers

James Huang, tech editor, in Boulder, USA — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Video round-up: Bike Riders United's 'how to' series

BikeRadar UK — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Bike Riders United, the mountain biking collective formed this year by stars of the UK riding scene including Steve Peat, Sam Pilgrim and Martyn Ashton, have had a busy year, not least with their popular ‘how to’ skills series.

Back in October they asked fans to submit skills they’d like to see the crew cover, with videos on how to manual, bunnyhop, corner and do drops developed, complete with cheeky bonus footage tacked on as post-credit bonus features. The four-part series is shown below in full.

How to manual, with Steve Peat and Blake Samson

How to bunnyhop, with Sam Pilgrim

How to do drops, with Martyn Ashton

How to corner, with Bike Riders United

Video round-up: Bike Riders United's 'how to' series

BikeRadar UK — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:00:00 GMT

How to manual, with Steve Peat and Blake Samson

How to bunnyhop, with Sam Pilgrim

How to do drops, with Martyn Ashton

How to corner, with Bike Riders United

Introduction to cyclo-cross

Gary Boulanger & Guy Kesteven — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:40:00 GMT

Cyclo-cross. Many consider it a steeplechase with modified road bikes on a 2km course over hill and dale; others consider it muddy hell. Its roots can be traced to the early 1900s, when French army private Daniel Gousseau would ride his bicycle along horseback-riding friends through the woods.

The sport is strongest in Europe, and the most aggressive and successful racers hail from Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy and the Czech Republic. It's currently enjoying a boom in the US, too, along with a bit of a renaissance in the UK. Traditionally, the cyclo-cross season runs from September to January, ending with the UCI world championships.

Racing

Like triathlon, cyclo-cross mixes multiple athletic endeavours, namely riding and running, with a strong emphasis on skillful bike handling. The pace, barriers, climate and technical aspects of the course weed out the weak and make for good theatre. Spectators with horns and cowbells provide a festival environment, especially in Europe.

Most races are held on 1km to 3km courses, mixing tarmac, sand, dirt, mud, run-ups and sometimes steps. Races typically last a set timespan – between 30 minutes and an hour – plus a final lap. However, if you're lapped by the leaders then you have to pull out at the end of that lap to avoid confusion. The pace at the sharp end is unrelentingly and brutally fast and the stop-go nature of the courses and racing means you get an intense workout.

Man-made barriers, usually 18in high, pepper the course, sometimes staggered close enough to force racers to shoulder or carry their bikes by the top tube. Speed demons with incredible BMX skills have been known to bunnyhop the barriers, much to the chagrin of their fellow racers, but impressive to the spectators.

There are a few ways to address the barriers, but for efficiency and speed, the best way to dismount is to unclip your right foot as you're approaching the barrier or run-up, swing your leg around the saddle and in between your left foot and the bike, unclipping your left foot as your right strikes the ground, catapulting you forward just in time to hop over the barrier or clamber up the hill.

If there are several barriers in a row, it's sometimes best to shoulder the bike (see why it pays to have the lightest bike you can afford?). Or, if you're tall and have good upper body strength, carry the bike by the handlebar with your left hand as your right lifts the top tube. Run-ups are always best accomplished by shouldering the bike, and pumping your left arm for momentum.

Equipment

The ideal cyclo-cross race bike is a road/mountain bike cross-polination: lightweight aluminum, carbon, steel or titanium frame; carbon fork; drop bars (for leverage on climbs, and for sprinting); integrated shifters/brake levers; 700c x 30-38c (1.2-1.5in) knobby tyres; mountain bike clipless pedals; double or single chainring (smaller than on a road bike) with guard. Mud clearance is a big issue; the fork and rear stays need room for mud to build up on the tyres without clogging.

Frames and forks are tougher than on standard road bikes, top tubes are shorter and bottom brackets are often slightly higher. As of this year, disc brakes are allowed for 'cross racing, potentially giving powerful all-weather braking. However, many manufacturers have yet to adopt them. Most racers still use linear-pull (V) brakes or cantilevers, which give plenty of power when set up right. Top-bar brake levers are often added for better control.

Many 'cross bikes play to their utility potential with mudguard and rack mounts for commuting/weekend exploring work. There's also a growing number of crossover-style bikes such as the Genesis Croix de Fer, Charge Filter, Surly Cross Check, On-One Pompetamine or Salsa Vaya, which trade race weight and jarring rigidity for a heavier and more forgiving chassis, often in smooth riding steel.

Introduction to cyclo-cross

Gary Boulanger & Guy Kesteven — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:40:00 GMT

Racing

Equipment

Fitness: How to increase performance when you can’t increase volume

BikeRadar, UK — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Our sister website Cyclingnews runs a regular series of fitness Q&As. In this week's edition, topics covered include maintaining cycling fitness when you can’t be on the bike, whether to climb in the seat or out of the saddle, and how to cope with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Also covered is a question that regularly crops up – how can you increase cycling performance when you can’t increase training volume? To whet your appetite, you can read the full question and answer below. For more, visit Cyclingnews.

Question: "I'm a 45 year-old male with a job that requires me to work long hours. Riding more than one day a week is out of the question and group rides are difficult to arrange, so I ride solo 35-40 Saturdays a year in a variety of weather. My Saturday rides are typically 80-100 miles with around 4,000-6,000ft of climbing. I try to sprint traffic light to traffic light in the first and last five miles as I work my way out and back into the city. My fitness level has remained consistent over the past two years, with roughly the same average speed and heart rate on each ride. I would like to increase my fitness and ride faster, especially when climbing, but the training resources I have reviewed always begin by recommending more days per week on the bike. Do you have any suggestions given my constraints? Thanks, John."

Answer from wenzelcoaching.com's Scott Saifer: "Hi John, well, I'm certainly not going to suggest that you go longer on Saturday. What sort of work do you do and do you really have no opportunity to train in any way on the other six days? If your job is very physical, you're probably doing what you can. If not, a short run, spin on the trainer or a few minutes spent climbing stairs in an office building every other day could help improve your bike performance. Any aerobic exercise over 20 minutes is probably worth something. Even a shorter routine of core training and squats done on the floor as you roll out of bed could make a difference. You don't have to ride multiple hours to get a training benefit."

Fitness: How to increase performance when you can’t increase volume

BikeRadar, UK — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Health: Stay safe in the sun

Cycling Plus — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:00:00 GMT

The signature ‘cyclist’s tan’ may help you recognise fellow roadies, but long days cycling in the sun can have a more serious impact. A recent study from Cancer Research UK found the amount of men dying from skin cancer has doubled in the last three decades, suggesting that we fail to treat our skin with the respect it deserves when it comes to sun damage.

British Skin Foundation dermatologist and keen cyclist Dr Ian Coulson says cyclists are particularly at risk from sun damage. “Cyclists face cumulative sun damage from chronic exposure,” he says, “causing a higher prevalence of cancerous melanoma and premature ageing.”

Research backs this up. A study of six cyclists in 2000 found that during an eight-stage cycling event the level of exposure to harmful solar rays – ultraviolet (UV) radiation – was more than 30 times over the international recommended limits.

Apply yourself

Bevis Mann of the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) advises that we apply sunscreen before a ride and re-apply every other hour, as up to 80 per cent of sunscreen will come off through sweating.

Martyn Frank, soigneur for pro cycling team Rapha Condor Sharp (RCS), says the RCS team get through sunscreen faster than any other product. “It only takes one missed application to risk later skin health issues,” says Frank. “Routine is the key to not making a mistake; all pro riders have a routine and all of them include sunscreen.”

Use a sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) higher than you think you need, as sunscreen is tested with 2mg on every square centimetre of skin, which is far more than most people apply. “We advise using at least SPF 30, or SPF 50 if you have fair skin,” says Mann.

On application, don’t forget areas such as the neck, ears, tops of knees, and bald patches, which are vulnerable through helmet ventilation. You can even burn through clothing, so apply to your whole body and wear clothing with UV protection.

But for a darker skintone, is protection necessary? “Skin types are categorised into six types, from phototype one – fair skin that burns very easily and doesn’t tan – to phototype six, which is darker skin that won’t burn easily,” says Mann. “The processing of melanin, the skin’s pigment molecule that absorbs a proportion of UV radiation, is the key difference between the types. In darker skin, processing needs less UV damage to initiate tanning, leaving you less susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer. How much less isn’t easy to quantify and therefore we would still recommend applying SPF 30 or higher. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Be vigilant

Early detection of melanoma has a 95 per cent survival rate so checking moles is essential. The Sun Awareness Campaign advises looking for asymmetry of the mole, blurring of the edges, colour change and an increase in size, as most melanomas are over 6mm in diameter. If in doubt contact your GP straight away.

Coulson also recommends seeking advice if any rough, scaly patches appear on light, exposed sites like the cheeks, nose, tops of ears or hands that last for more than three months, as they may be precancers. Fair skinned cyclists are particularly prone, he says. For more information see: www.cancerresearchuk.org, www.bad.org.uk and www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk

Sunny Jim

Record-breaking round-the-world cyclist James Bowthorpe managed to beat the burn – here are his tips

Wear a helmet with a peak to protect your ears, nose and lips.
Apply a once-a-day suncream on your face – more than once a day.
Wear sunglasses with UV protection, even if they aren’t proper cycling ones – your eyes can burn too.
Cover thighs and the backs of your hands liberally with suncream as they’re constantly exposed to UV rays.
Wear long sleeves if you’re cycling for extended periods and look for clothes with a high UV rating.

Health: Stay safe in the sun

Cycling Plus — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Apply yourself

Be vigilant

Sunny Jim

Record-breaking round-the-world cyclist James Bowthorpe managed to beat the burn – here are his tips

Wear a helmet with a peak to protect your ears, nose and lips.
Apply a once-a-day suncream on your face – more than once a day.
Wear sunglasses with UV protection, even if they aren’t proper cycling ones – your eyes can burn too.
Cover thighs and the backs of your hands liberally with suncream as they’re constantly exposed to UV rays.
Wear long sleeves if you’re cycling for extended periods and look for clothes with a high UV rating.

Nutrition: Are you eating enough to fuel your cycling?

Dr Kevin Currell, Triathlon Plus — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:00:00 GMT

If you’ve just started training for a race or you’ve increased your riding lately, the chances are your body is craving more food than ever. It might come to you in the middle of the night, first thing in the morning, or a couple of hours after your supper, but one thing’s for sure – hunger will come knocking when you least expect it.

All that extra exercise leaves your body demanding more fuel, and it makes sure you know about it. Yet many cyclists struggle with knowing how much to eat. Should you give in to constant cravings, or stick with three square meals per day? Here we’ll tell you how to get your food intake spot-on, so you’re in no doubt when your tummy rumbles.

The goal is to eat enough to support training without picking up excess weight: matching what you eat to your riding and timing your food intake correctly. To achieve this, stick to these five simple rules.

1 Straight after training

Eat 10-20g of protein and 20-50g of carbohydrate as soon as possible after training.

This is the most effective and important nutrition process you need to follow. This will maximise recovery, refuel the tank and ultimately support the adaptation process. Research has shown that if you eat straight after training you're less likely to overeat later on in the day. If you're training twice a day or more this process is essential to make the most of the second session.

The range of nutrient intakes is large to take account of different training intensities; the harder the training the more you need. To put this in real food terms, one slice of bread contains around 12g of carbs, and an egg contains 6g of protein.

2 Before training

If you've had a meal within three hours of the start of a training session you don't need to eat any more. If it's been longer than three hours, have a simple carbohydrate snack within one hour of the start. For intense training sessions like intervals it's imperative you start fully fuelled. Following this rule will make sure that you start training in the best shape possible. This simple rule also makes sure you don't overeat before training, feel bloated and can’t train properly because you're too full.

3 The right proportions

A plate of food should be one-third energy foods, one-third health foods and one-third function foods. Get your plate of food right for breakfast, lunch and dinner and you'll get all the nutrients you need. Energy foods are slow-release carbohydrates like brown rice. Health foods are fruits, vegetables and salad, whereas function foods are proteins like meat, eggs and fish. Good fats are in all three groups, so make sure you include some oils, fish or nuts on your plate.

4 On your bike

On long bike rides aim for 60g per hour of carbohydrate. This is about starting the recovery process on the bike. Think of it as a rolling buffet, where carbohydrates are your friend. During training it doesn’t matter where you get it from – you can use drinks, gels or make a sandwich to take with you. Two or three energy gels will be the equivalent of 60g of carbohydrates, depending on their size.

5 The bigger picture

Your overall diet should contain 5-8g/kg body weight of carbohydrates, 1.5-2g/kg body weight of protein and 1-2g/kg body weight good fats. If you follow rules 1-4 you shouldn’t be too far off these targets. They're proven to support training, enhance recovery and help you get faster.

Conclusion

You should listen to your body – it's a clever thing. If you're hungry, there's probably a reason. Have a think what nutrients you might be missing. If you have a craving for a certain type of food, what might your body be telling you? Listen to it and you’ll find the answer.

Nutrition: Are you eating enough to fuel your cycling?

Dr Kevin Currell, Triathlon Plus — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:00:00 GMT

1 Straight after training

Eat 10-20g of protein and 20-50g of carbohydrate as soon as possible after training.

2 Before training

3 The right proportions

4 On your bike

5 The bigger picture

Conclusion

Technique: Banish the pre-ride faff

Ben Greenwood, Cycling Plus — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Don’t waste time looking for your cycling socks when you could be out riding – follow Rapha Condor Sharp rider Ben Greenwood’s tips on getting from bed to shed at speed.

1 Rise and shine

As soon as your alarm goes off, get up. Once your feet hit the floor, that’s it, no turning back. The best trick is to put your alarm too far away for you to reach it from the bed. That way you either have to get up or listen to an annoying noise until you do. And don’t give yourself too short a time to get ready. Being awake 10 minutes earlier won’t change the way you feel in the slightest but it might prevent you being 10 minutes late for a ride.

2 Get your kit on

Make sure all the clothes you need are ready before you go to bed. Given that the UK climate can be somewhat unpredictable, have a few options laid out. That way, if it’s raining you won’t spend ages looking through your drawers for your waterproof cape or wet weather gloves. The best plan is to look out of the window as soon as you get up and then put your kit on immediately. Once that’s done you’re committed to going and backing out isn’t an option.

3 Stoke up

If you’re going to eat breakfast, have everything set out the night before. And if you want milk or bread then don’t wait until the morning to find that you’ve run out, because going to the shop will take too long and the thought of not eating might put you off training. If you like toast, pop bread in the toaster as soon as you’re in the kitchen. Likewise, put the kettle on straight away. Waiting means wasted minutes. Caffeine will help you wake up but a glass of water will also make you feel more alive.

4 Plan ahead

Put your energy drink powder in the bottles the night before, but it’s best to wait until you’re just about to leave for a ride to add the water, so that they taste fresh. Everything else can be prepared in advance so place all the food, including your bars and gels, in your helmet. That way you won’t be able to forget them. Put your shoes and helmet near the front door; you’ll know exactly where to find them. And remember to put any emergency extras with them too.

5 Think bike

Your bike should be washed and prepared the day before; you won’t have time come the morning. And make sure you check your tyres before you go to sleep. There’s nothing worse than being halfway out the door and finding you have a puncture. The ideal scenario is for the bike to be gleaming and oiled, with a set of fully inflated tyres, so all that you have to do is get on it and start pedalling.

Bike shops aren’t normally open early in the morning so this isn’t a good time to deal with any mechanical issues. And don’t even think about making position changes to your bike at this late stage. Rushed measurements can often result in discomfort or, even worse, injury.

6 Buddy up

Arranging to meet someone to go riding with, ideally a cyclist who’s always on time and will give you some grief if you aren’t, is an efficient way of staying motivated in the early hours. If you don’t have a time schedule to keep to, looking at Twitter or watching some breakfast TV suddenly becomes an option. It’s all going to be there when you get back, so just ignore any time-wasting activities. The simple rule is, if something won’t help you get out on the road, leave it until later

Technique: Banish the pre-ride faff

Ben Greenwood, Cycling Plus — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Don’t waste time looking for your cycling socks when you could be out riding – follow Rapha Condor Sharp rider Ben Greenwood’s tips on getting from bed to shed at speed.

1 Rise and shine

2 Get your kit on

3 Stoke up

4 Plan ahead

5 Think bike

6 Buddy up

Technique: How to get a good night's sleep

Colette Harris, Triathlon Plus — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

You know that getting eight hours sleep a night is good for you. But factor in a working day, a bit of training or riding, an hour or two travelling, an hour eating and changing, dashing around as the kids’ taxi service, and a couple of hours of just being and – well, you do the maths. Struggling to make it add up?

The obvious way to cram more into your day is to snip off bits of the night. Earlier mornings, pushing lights-out til later, and bingo, you’re squashing everything in. But this might not be quite the ‘brilliant’ solution you think it is.

Your mind is racing so you’re tossing and turning half the night. Your legs feel like lead. You’re drinking double espressos to get through the afternoon. And that big fat sugary doughnut looks like the best breakfast on earth. That’ll be the fatigue setting in...

The latest research shows getting enough sleep is essential for optimum performance – and that sleep deprivation plays with your mind as well as your body. So here’s why hitting the hay is so important for hitting your race targets – and what you can do to make sure you get enough vitamin Zzz.

Your nightly MOT

“Regular, good-quality sleep is essential for your body’s physical repair process, but also for your mental health and agility,” says Dr Guy Meadows, sleep and sports scientist, and cross-Channel swimmer.

Scientists divide sleep into five stages: “The deep sleep of stages three and four is when your body releases human growth hormone (HGH) to repair muscles and bones,” says Meadows. “Stage five is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. It’s when you dream, when you lay down memories and boost cognitive performance, enhancing skills and techniques you’ve learned during training.”

The latest research from Trent University in Ontario, Canada, showed complex learning tasks such as getting the hang of a new song on Guitar Hero become easier if you sleep well – so the same goes for learning swim technique or mastering fast transitions.

Good sleep, good performance

The boffins who make it their business to find out what boosts athletic performance have revealed that good quantities of sleep increase sprint time, energy levels and shooting accuracy in basketball players; and improve athletic vigour and alertness for footballers.

A study using Stanford University men’s and women’s swimming teams also revealed that athletes who extended their sleep to 10 hours per day for six to seven weeks swam a 15-metre sprint 0.51 seconds faster, reacted 0.15 seconds quicker off the blocks, improved turn time by 0.10 seconds and increased kick strokes by five kicks, as well as setting personal bests.

Bad sleep? You guessed it...

Just as filling up your Z-tank helps you reach optimum performance levels, skimping on sleep can put unwanted obstacles in the path to your next personal best. “There are basic things your body needs to function properly – temperature regulation, energy recovery, and heart function are all affected by sleep as well as things like concentration and focus.”

Studies have shown various detrimental effects of chronic sleep deprivation – from reducing the performance of the heart, to increasing blood pressure, anxiety and depression, and interference with blood sugar metabolism. “Lack of sleep over several weeks results in persistent fatigue and ultimately overtraining syndrome,” says endurance coach and sports scientist Scott Murray (email: triathlon.coach@btopenworld.com).

One night only

But what about short-term sleep loss – the pre-race jitters, the teething baby or work stress worries that keep you up all night before a key training session? (“I’ve even seen athletes hydrate so well during the day that they’re up at night peeing,” says Murray.)

One night’s disrupted sleep negatively affects motivation and increases anxiety, the number of lapses in concentration and delays in reaction time,” says Murray. “Two nights of broken sleep does have an effect on anxiety and anaerobic performance. And three nights of severely restricted sleep may not affect your gross motor functions (such as muscle strength, lung power and endurance running on a treadmill), but it'll reduce your exercise duration and motivation levels.”

A University of Colorado team recently discovered the metabolic cost of an adult missing one night of sleep is the equivalent of walking slightly less than two miles – the findings showed eight hours of sleep saved roughly 135 calories over eight hours of wakefulness. And research from the Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands showed that healthy subjects can become insulin-resistant after a shortened night of sleep (four hours in this case). Insulin resistance is the precursor state to diabetes, affecting your body’s ability to manage sugar, and therefore your energy levels.

Just do it

The good news? “When an event or crucial training session is on the horizon, adrenaline kicks in, and it helps us perform,” says Meadows. “And the way we view our sleepless night is also key – buying into the idea that we will perform badly starts a downward spiral of doubt that affects performance, whereas chalking it down to experience, and believing in the hours and weeks of previous training helps you to perform.”

In a study showing that one night of sleep deprivation decreased endurance performance only slightly, Dr Sam Oliver, from the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences at Bangor University in Wales, concluded that: “Altered perception of effort may account for decreased endurance performance after a night without sleep.” Get your mind in gear, and your body will follow.

No need for hang-ups

“One night of decent sleep helps you recuperate incredibly quickly after a sleepless night,” says Murray. “The key thing is not to start stressing about a less than decent night, or you add another pressure into the mix.” A US study from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research also showed that if you’ve been getting good sleep for just a week, you’ll handle a disturbed night or two much better, as protective benefits from the previous week keep you going.

Research has also shown that genetics may play a part in how much sleep you need in order to function well, so don’t get tied up thinking that eight hours is the essential figure, and get anxious if you’re not hitting that. “Everyone is individual,” says Meadows. “There’s no point trying to force yourself to sleep for nine hours if you can manage really well on seven.”

Listen to your body

It seems that out of the lab, and in the real world, lack of sleep becomes an issue if it happens over an extended period of time, rather than as a single night blip. “If your mind and body are both tired then you must listen,” says Catriona Morrison. “Dropping a training session, modifying your plans, getting an early night, having a long lie-in or taking a nap during the day will help to refresh you.

“If you push yourself when you're tired, you're at risk of overtraining, long-term fatigue and psychological staleness. Dropping a session and starting the next day fresh will mean the next day’s session is of far better quality. Don’t develop a guilt complex. If you need rest, take it.”

How to join the sound asleep club

If sleep eludes you long-term, here are the expert solutions to try:

Cover the basics

A dark room, at a cool temperature, with a decent mattress, and not a lot of noise
A bedtime routine that includes unwinding before sleep

Evening training

“Exercising hard three hours before bedtime can lead to a disturbed sleep, but a moderate session can help sleep,” says Scott Murray. “You know your own body, so consider the training level.”

Food and drink

Wait three hours after food before sleep
Research shows large, and high-fat meals late in the evening affect sleep quality
Avoid caffeine (from tea, coffee, cola and chocolate) from the afternoon onwards
Foods rich in tryptophan, combined with healthy carbs, can help sleep, as your body uses it to create sleep-inducing serotonin and melatonin, and the carbs deliver it to the brain. Tryptophan-rich foods include pulses, turkey, eggs, sunflower seeds, miso, unsweetened soy milk and dairy products.

Light therapy

Energy lights can improve mood and energy levels after just 20 minutes. Try a Philips Energy Light (£149, shop.philips.co.uk) or Lumie Brightspark (£115, lumie.com).

Power naps

“You don’t actually have to fall asleep to get benefits from a daily power nap,” says Dr Meadows. Close your eyes, be still, take time out and it will restore you. Even 10 minutes in the toilet at work can help, or on the train or tube journey home. Make it 15-20 minutes if you can, but no longer than 30 or you might feel fuzzy-headed.

Meditation

“Our research using Kriya yoga meditation has shown teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep,” says Dr Ramadevi Gourineni, director of the insomnia programme at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, US.

Mindfulness

“An ancient tradition of meditation, mindfulness means focusing on the present moment fully, rather than worrying about what’s happened in the past or being anxious about what might happen in the future,” says Meadows, who treats chronic insomnia using Mindful Sleep Therapy.

“If you’re lying awake worrying about being awake, try focusing on your senses – the feel of the pillow against your cheek, the sound of your breathing. When annoying or stressful thoughts come into your head, tell them now is not the time, and come back to your senses,” he says.

Stress-busting chemicals

Japanese scientists have proven that a chemical in lemon and lavender essential oils – called linalool – alters blood chemistry to reduce stress. Put a couple of drops on a tissue, fold it into your pocket, and inhale when you feel stressed.

Time management

“Think of sleep in 90-minute cycles, not hours (so four cycles is six hours, five cycles is seven-and-a-half hours). The shorter four-cycle routine is commonly used to free up time and control sleep without losing quality,” says Nick Hales, sport sleep and recovery coach. “In 24 hours we have two natural sleep periods, nocturnal and mid-afternoon. So you can adopt a shorter period at night and combine that with an afternoon 20- or 40-minute nap or total downtime period.”

The sleeping pills question

If your health is suffering due to sleep problems, see your GP to discuss your individual case,” says Dr Pixie McKenna from Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies. “Doctors are very cautious about prescribing sleeping pills, but drugs called Zolpidem and Zaleplon don’t carry the same hangover side-effects or addiction dangers as Bonzodiazepines (such as Diazepam and Temazepam).

"You can use these for two to five days for a transient bout of insomnia, and not more than four weeks for short-term insomnia. Melatonin pills – the hormone that regulates the sleep pattern – can regulate short-term insomnia, but are only available on prescription in the UK to over-55s. Ask your doctor to recommend an over-the-counter brand.”

This article originally appeared in Triathlon Plus magazine

Technique: How to get a good night's sleep

Colette Harris, Triathlon Plus — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Your nightly MOT

Good sleep, good performance

Bad sleep? You guessed it...

One night only

Just do it

No need for hang-ups

Listen to your body

How to join the sound asleep club

If sleep eludes you long-term, here are the expert solutions to try:

Cover the basics

A dark room, at a cool temperature, with a decent mattress, and not a lot of noise
A bedtime routine that includes unwinding before sleep

Evening training

“Exercising hard three hours before bedtime can lead to a disturbed sleep, but a moderate session can help sleep,” says Scott Murray. “You know your own body, so consider the training level.”

Food and drink

Wait three hours after food before sleep
Research shows large, and high-fat meals late in the evening affect sleep quality
Avoid caffeine (from tea, coffee, cola and chocolate) from the afternoon onwards
Foods rich in tryptophan, combined with healthy carbs, can help sleep, as your body uses it to create sleep-inducing serotonin and melatonin, and the carbs deliver it to the brain. Tryptophan-rich foods include pulses, turkey, eggs, sunflower seeds, miso, unsweetened soy milk and dairy products.

Light therapy

Energy lights can improve mood and energy levels after just 20 minutes. Try a Philips Energy Light (£149, shop.philips.co.uk) or Lumie Brightspark (£115, lumie.com).

Power naps

Meditation

Mindfulness

Stress-busting chemicals

Time management

The sleeping pills question

This article originally appeared in Triathlon Plus magazine

Training: 10 simple steps to your ideal cycling weight

Cycling Plus — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Reaching your target weight is one of the best ways to get more from training. Henry Furniss, personal trainer and co-founder of Wyndymilla Bespoke Cycling, uses diet and nutrition alongside his limited exercise time to keep in peak physical condition. We spoke to him for his top tips for losing weight and getting lean.

1 Do the maths

“Most people have a clearly deﬁned weight at which they can perform without compromise,” says Furniss. Eliminate guesswork: ﬁnd a health professional who can measure body fat using callipers. “The right target can then be set, accounting for lean gains as well as fat loss.”

2 Prepare well

“Plan the date you’re going to start your new regime,” says Furniss. “Give yourself at least a week to psych up and think through the logistics of the changes you’ll make.”

3 Eat well

“Don’t think of your quest as a diet,” Furniss continues. “The right foods will usually have higher nutrient values but a lower calorie density.” It’s simply a case of eating the right types of food, such as fruit, vegetables, lean meats and ﬁsh.

4 Structure meals

“Many people eat very little for breakfast or just skip it completely,” says Furniss. “We’d be a much leaner nation if breakfast was king and the evening meal light. As much as 40 per cent of your calorie intake should be consumed in the morning.” Avoid starchy foods like bread, rice and pasta in the evening.

5 Drink more

“Stay hydrated. This is key if your body is going to react with greatest effect to all your efforts,” says Furniss. He suggests drinking herbal liquids to stave off hunger as your body adjusts to smaller evening meals: “Teas like peppermint or ginger top up your hydration and also aid digestion.”

6 Be realistic

Set out the right training targets. “Less is more, especially for us busy folk,” says Furniss. “Go for three solid sessions rather than aiming for ﬁve and feeling bad if you miss one. I maintain my elite licence on three hours of training a week, give or take.”

7 Self-motivate

“Get goal driven,” says Furniss. “It’s a cliché, but consistency is key.” Whatever your aim is, put it in a diary. It'll give you the drive you need to avoid the mufﬁns.

8 Add wisely

“Don’t shy away from supplementation,” says Furniss. Getting what you need from a natural balanced diet can be hard with a job, family and training. Essential fats and recovery drinks can boost weight loss and keep immune responses up.

9 Hit the sack

“Overtraining is normally just a case of under resting,” Furniss explains. “Without enough sleep our ability to remain disciplined and focused is severely compromised. Seven to nine hours is ideal.”

10 Get support

“Social pressures can put strain on your health kick,” says Furniss. “The last thing you need is breakfast-skipping vultures circling you with pizzas and beer late at night. Get them on board.”

Looking good

Let's be honest, as well as improving our power-to-weight ratio and cycling performance, losing weight and toning up has the added beneﬁt of making us easier on the eye. Henry Furniss gives us his body fat percentage guide to looking good naked…

18% or more: With your clothes on, you look overweight.

16-18%: You look like you hold no excess weight when fully clothed.

15%: Starting to look good naked.

13%: You won’t be compromising performance due to excess body fat.

10%: Somebody’s resembling the Michelangelo statue…

5-8%: Ripped to bits; the optimal level at which all top level, in-form male endurance athletes perform.

Training: 10 simple steps to your ideal cycling weight

Cycling Plus — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:00:00 GMT

1 Do the maths

2 Prepare well

“Plan the date you’re going to start your new regime,” says Furniss. “Give yourself at least a week to psych up and think through the logistics of the changes you’ll make.”

3 Eat well

4 Structure meals

5 Drink more

6 Be realistic

7 Self-motivate

“Get goal driven,” says Furniss. “It’s a cliché, but consistency is key.” Whatever your aim is, put it in a diary. It'll give you the drive you need to avoid the mufﬁns.

8 Add wisely

9 Hit the sack

10 Get support

Looking good

18% or more: With your clothes on, you look overweight.

16-18%: You look like you hold no excess weight when fully clothed.

15%: Starting to look good naked.

13%: You won’t be compromising performance due to excess body fat.

10%: Somebody’s resembling the Michelangelo statue…

5-8%: Ripped to bits; the optimal level at which all top level, in-form male endurance athletes perform.

Technique: How to tackle mountain bike trail centres, part 1

Doddy, Mountain Biking UK — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Unlike riding in the wild, where you have to pick lines carefully and deal with the trail surface changing regularly, trail centres and bikeparks give an element of predictability to mountain biking. The trouble is that trails are so well-built that they can make you lazy – the ﬂowing line has been worn in by so many riders that it ribbons off in to the distance, allowing absent-minded, auto-pilot riding.

In order to ride at your best, you need to ride hard – when you’re on it you have to scan the trail for the best lines and take chances that could have you sailing or stacking. You have to come to life as the trail unfolds in front of you. Don’t fall in to the trap of having a leisurely ride round a trail centre without getting a rush. Hammer the trail like it’s a race track, and give your bike the pasting it’s designed for…

Preparation and planning

1 Bike setup

Seatpost: You’ll need your saddle at an efﬁcient riding height for the climbs, but lowering it makes the descents more fun. Try running it slightly lower than usual for your whole ride, or try a height-dropper seatpost.

Tyres: In summer semi-slicks will ﬂy round a trail centre, but something more substantial fares better all year round. Running your tyres ﬁrmer will help with rolling-resistance, and help minimise the chance of pinch punctures.

Pedals: If you want to tear up – and down – a trail centre, clipless pedals really are an advantage. They let you pull up and push down while pedalling, are great for fast direction changes and enable you to ﬂoat through rough sections.

Front mudguard: A trail centre’s hard surface is designed to withstand the elements, but there is always a lot of gritty spray thrown up. A front mudguard will catch the spray and keep it out of your eyes.

Suspension: Trail centres have a ﬁrm surface and a lot of buzz when you’re riding fast. A slightly ﬁrmer ride will feel faster and more responsive. Try setting a quarter of the available travel as sag, rather than the normally optimum third.

2 What to wear

Jersey: You’ll need a baselayer and a wicking jersey. A ﬁtted but loose cut will be most comfy.

Shorts: Wear padded undershorts for comfort and tough overshorts for protection. Vented shorts keep you cool, while waterproof shorts and 3/4-length shorts make riding on even the foulest days far more enjoyable.

Kneepads: Not a necessity, but riding in pads is no longer an uncomfortable slog. There are plenty of great options out there.

Shoes: Look for shoes that give good support, protection around the toes and ankles, and will keep the elements out.

Helmet: Always get the best helmet you can afford. Look for the best ﬁt, good ventilation and a removable peak.

Glasses: Make sure your eyes are protected against grit, mud, insects or branches in the face when you’re riding.

Gloves: Gloves protect your hands if you fall, keep them warm and improve your grip on the bars.

Waterproof jacket: Get a quality jacket that ﬁts well and look after it. Never wash it with fabric softener or too much detergent, and reproof it every year.

3. What's in your pack

First aid kit: Make sure you at least have the basics so you can patch yourself or a friend up.

Tools: At the least, take a decent multi-tool with a Torx T25 driver and a chaintool on it. It’s also worth taking a plier-type multi-tool with you, a puncture repair kit and some spare parts and useful items such as cable ties, insulating tape and a few M4 and M5 bolts.

Rubber gloves: We hate getting our gloves soaked and covered in grease, so taking rubber gloves is a great idea.

Pump: Do we even need to tell you why?!

Inner tube: Don’t faff around with glue and patches to ﬁx a ﬂ at, just take a spare inner tube with you. Make sure your spare is a Presta because it'll ﬁt Presta and Schrader drillings.

Spare layer and hat: Always carry a spare layer and a hat with you in case you get stuck out in the cold – you never know what might happen.

Energy gel/banana: When you get tired, you’ll be grateful for these. Both provide an energy boost.

Phone: Take a charged phone with you, and keep it safe and dry.

Technique

1 Woodwork

Eyes: Just like reading a trail, keep your eyes on your exit point. By the time you hit the wood, you should have already scanned the line.

Brake control: Do any major speed control before you hit the wood as even with chicken wire, wood can be slippy. Keep braking to a minimum, and don’t grab – just feather.

Clearance: Thanks to the slots between wood, and wire for grip, the are lots of pedal-grabbing places. Keeping your pedals horizonal will help reduce the chance of catching them.

Pump: Some woodwork can be ridden along normally, but often the builders will incorporate rises and banked turns. Pump them for every ounce of speed.

Turning circle: Get to know the length of your bike – when negotiating turns on woodwork your wheels will come close to the edge. If you lose the rear end it could damage your disc rotor or rear mech. Practise hopping the rear end about to pull it back in line.

2 Line choice & looking ahead

Low safe line: The safer line will always be the worn-in option, but won’t necessarily be the easiest or best option. Expect to weave around a little and do some brake checking.

High risky line: The risky line will almost certainly be more fun, although often intimidating. Sometimes, this line will be easier to ride and will ﬂow better than the obvious line, but will have greater consequences if you mess it up.

Hazards: In rocky sections like this, the safe lines will usually weave around rocks – leaving sharp rock edges at a convenient height for causing damage. Look for scarring on rock edges and you’ll see where others have got it wrong.

Commitment: Once you’ve looked at the options, commit to one. If you come into the section half-heartedly, you’ll be setting yourself up for an accident. Pick your line, stick to it and hit it with conﬁdence.

Dab, don’t grab: When riding sections like this, control your speed by literally dabbing the brakes, rather than grabbing them. Fine tuning like this keeps you in control – locked wheels are out of control.

3 Technical climbs

Line: Spot your line early – be it the tougher line over obstacles, or the easier around option – and commit. If it’s a short sharp section, be prepared to put the power down.

Cadence: Gear choice is crucial – you need to be spinning a gear to keep momentum. If you stumble on an obstacle in a bigger gear, you’ll struggle to keep moving forward.

Body weight: When it’s rough, out-of-the-saddle bursts can lead to wheel spinning, but seated attempts can end up in wheelies. Hover over the nose of the saddle to keep the front end down, but weight on the rear wheel. Try and stay low over the bars to help you balance.

Pinch puncture risk: With most trail bikes, you can roll over most rubble and rock slabs but do risk puncturing. If you’re conﬁdent you can avoid it, up your cadence and straight-line the section as hard as possible.

Recovery: Once over the obstacle, get back into a rhythm as quickly as possible and control your breathing. Attacking the section will have you out of breath, but use it to propel yourself forward and ease up slightly afterwards to recover.

4 Rock steps

Eyes: Steps like this can have your eyes darting all over the place, but stay focused. Check your line, note any hazards and look down the trail at your exit point.

Brake control: It’s important to approach slowly – it’s easy to build up speed on steps, but tricky and dangerous to scrub it off. Start slower, and you can always build up your speed.

Seat height: If you’ve got a height dropper seatpost, now’s the time to use it. If not, lower your saddle to attack the steps. If your saddle is raised, one hard hit could pitch you over the bars, so be careful.

Pedals: Keep your best foot forwards and be careful not to strike your pedals on the steps or rocks. Some rock steps are high enough to catch a chainring at low-speed. When riding faster, you don’t run this risk because your front end will travel further from the step before impact.

Position: As the front end drops over the edge allow the bike to fall away from you. Relax your arms and allow the saddle to come up towards your chest. Stay loose and allow the bike to move around. Don’t stiffen up or you’ll be grabbing the brakes.

Gear selection: If you don’t have a chainguide, you could drop your chain on sections like this. Put your bike in a gear that will tension the chain to help stop this– using the big ring will help, or middle with a low gear option on the rear. Rock steps often have tight turns that follow, so have a low gear ready to enable you to make a fast getaway.

Next month, in part two of 'How to tackle mountain bike trail centres', we'll be looking at berms, rock drops, jumps and switchbacks.

Technique: How to tackle mountain bike trail centres, part 1

Doddy, Mountain Biking UK — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Preparation and planning

1 Bike setup

2 What to wear

Jersey: You’ll need a baselayer and a wicking jersey. A ﬁtted but loose cut will be most comfy.

Kneepads: Not a necessity, but riding in pads is no longer an uncomfortable slog. There are plenty of great options out there.

Shoes: Look for shoes that give good support, protection around the toes and ankles, and will keep the elements out.

Helmet: Always get the best helmet you can afford. Look for the best ﬁt, good ventilation and a removable peak.

Glasses: Make sure your eyes are protected against grit, mud, insects or branches in the face when you’re riding.

Gloves: Gloves protect your hands if you fall, keep them warm and improve your grip on the bars.

Waterproof jacket: Get a quality jacket that ﬁts well and look after it. Never wash it with fabric softener or too much detergent, and reproof it every year.

3. What's in your pack

First aid kit: Make sure you at least have the basics so you can patch yourself or a friend up.

Rubber gloves: We hate getting our gloves soaked and covered in grease, so taking rubber gloves is a great idea.

Pump: Do we even need to tell you why?!

Inner tube: Don’t faff around with glue and patches to ﬁx a ﬂ at, just take a spare inner tube with you. Make sure your spare is a Presta because it'll ﬁt Presta and Schrader drillings.

Spare layer and hat: Always carry a spare layer and a hat with you in case you get stuck out in the cold – you never know what might happen.

Energy gel/banana: When you get tired, you’ll be grateful for these. Both provide an energy boost.

Phone: Take a charged phone with you, and keep it safe and dry.

Technique

1 Woodwork

Eyes: Just like reading a trail, keep your eyes on your exit point. By the time you hit the wood, you should have already scanned the line.

Brake control: Do any major speed control before you hit the wood as even with chicken wire, wood can be slippy. Keep braking to a minimum, and don’t grab – just feather.

Clearance: Thanks to the slots between wood, and wire for grip, the are lots of pedal-grabbing places. Keeping your pedals horizonal will help reduce the chance of catching them.

Pump: Some woodwork can be ridden along normally, but often the builders will incorporate rises and banked turns. Pump them for every ounce of speed.

2 Line choice & looking ahead

Low safe line: The safer line will always be the worn-in option, but won’t necessarily be the easiest or best option. Expect to weave around a little and do some brake checking.

3 Technical climbs

Line: Spot your line early – be it the tougher line over obstacles, or the easier around option – and commit. If it’s a short sharp section, be prepared to put the power down.

Cadence: Gear choice is crucial – you need to be spinning a gear to keep momentum. If you stumble on an obstacle in a bigger gear, you’ll struggle to keep moving forward.

4 Rock steps

Eyes: Steps like this can have your eyes darting all over the place, but stay focused. Check your line, note any hazards and look down the trail at your exit point.

Brake control: It’s important to approach slowly – it’s easy to build up speed on steps, but tricky and dangerous to scrub it off. Start slower, and you can always build up your speed.

Next month, in part two of 'How to tackle mountain bike trail centres', we'll be looking at berms, rock drops, jumps and switchbacks.

Technique: How to tackle mountain bike trail centres, part 1

Doddy, Mountain Biking UK — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Preparation and planning

1 Bike setup

2 What to wear

Jersey: You’ll need a baselayer and a wicking jersey. A ﬁtted but loose cut will be most comfy.

Kneepads: Not a necessity, but riding in pads is no longer an uncomfortable slog. There are plenty of great options out there.

Shoes: Look for shoes that give good support, protection around the toes and ankles, and will keep the elements out.

Helmet: Always get the best helmet you can afford. Look for the best ﬁt, good ventilation and a removable peak.

Glasses: Make sure your eyes are protected against grit, mud, insects or branches in the face when you’re riding.

Gloves: Gloves protect your hands if you fall, keep them warm and improve your grip on the bars.

Waterproof jacket: Get a quality jacket that ﬁts well and look after it. Never wash it with fabric softener or too much detergent, and reproof it every year.

3. What's in your pack

First aid kit: Make sure you at least have the basics so you can patch yourself or a friend up.

Rubber gloves: We hate getting our gloves soaked and covered in grease, so taking rubber gloves is a great idea.

Pump: Do we even need to tell you why?!

Inner tube: Don’t faff around with glue and patches to ﬁx a ﬂ at, just take a spare inner tube with you. Make sure your spare is a Presta because it'll ﬁt Presta and Schrader drillings.

Spare layer and hat: Always carry a spare layer and a hat with you in case you get stuck out in the cold – you never know what might happen.

Energy gel/banana: When you get tired, you’ll be grateful for these. Both provide an energy boost.

Phone: Take a charged phone with you, and keep it safe and dry.

Technique

1 Woodwork

Eyes: Just like reading a trail, keep your eyes on your exit point. By the time you hit the wood, you should have already scanned the line.

Brake control: Do any major speed control before you hit the wood as even with chicken wire, wood can be slippy. Keep braking to a minimum, and don’t grab – just feather.

Clearance: Thanks to the slots between wood, and wire for grip, the are lots of pedal-grabbing places. Keeping your pedals horizonal will help reduce the chance of catching them.

Pump: Some woodwork can be ridden along normally, but often the builders will incorporate rises and banked turns. Pump them for every ounce of speed.

2 Line choice & looking ahead

Low safe line: The safer line will always be the worn-in option, but won’t necessarily be the easiest or best option. Expect to weave around a little and do some brake checking.

3 Technical climbs

Line: Spot your line early – be it the tougher line over obstacles, or the easier around option – and commit. If it’s a short sharp section, be prepared to put the power down.

Cadence: Gear choice is crucial – you need to be spinning a gear to keep momentum. If you stumble on an obstacle in a bigger gear, you’ll struggle to keep moving forward.

4 Rock steps

Eyes: Steps like this can have your eyes darting all over the place, but stay focused. Check your line, note any hazards and look down the trail at your exit point.

Brake control: It’s important to approach slowly – it’s easy to build up speed on steps, but tricky and dangerous to scrub it off. Start slower, and you can always build up your speed.

Next month, in part two of 'How to tackle mountain bike trail centres', we'll be looking at berms, rock drops, jumps and switchbacks.

Health: Insoles can be crucial for comfort and performance

Cycling Plus — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Walking and running come naturally to us but pedalling isn’t a normal state of affairs. “Our feet work by our arches collapsing and energy being stored like a leaf-spring,” says Sean Madsen, a biomechanist at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Colorado and an expert in Specialized’s Body Geometry (BG).

“That energy is returned during the push-off, when we propel forward. None of that happens with cycling. Riding is a forefoot oriented activity, meaning the arch collapses and stores energy precisely at the point when we want to deliver it.”

This is what makes an insole a useful tool for providing support to your arches. “It provides stability to the foot and allows the best possible power transfer,” says Madsen. “BG insoles have three levels of arch support. This is to accommodate the variety of arches out in the general population.” Red insoles are the lowest, blue are mid-height and green are the highest.

“Blues are the most common arch height,” says Madsen. This doesn’t come as a surprise; most of the population have Rectus arches, somewhere between ﬂat (Planus) and high ones (Cavus). “The insoles have a metatarsal button for spreading the metatarsal heads, which are the ends of the bones that connect to the toes. This helps to reduce the incidences of hot foot and numbness.”

As well as the insoles, you can also get a varus wedge to correct forefoot varus, which Madsen says affects up to 90 percent of the population. “Forefoot varus is a condition in which the big toe is elevated over the little toe when the foot is unweighted, meaning the front half of the foot rotates outwards,” explains Madsen.

“In cycling we need the front half of the foot to rotate inwards to make contact with the insole and apply power to the pedal. Therefore, forefoot varus can cause a loss of power, and injuries to the knee due to excessive internal rotation of the tibia.” A varus wedge can counterbalance this by angling the foot, bringing it into contact with the pedal and stopping rotational movement of the knee.

A study published in 2003 takes the claim for insoles even further, stating that they don’t just prevent injury and make you more efﬁcient through positioning but can also cause a reduction of blood lactate levels and an increase in time to exhaustion. “The goals of insoles are capturing the arch, improved stability at the foot and increased power transfer,” says Madsen. “Find out your foot shape and arch height by drawing around your feet or, more accurately, going to see a specialist, and see the difference proper insoles can make to your ride.”

Nutrition: How antioxidants can help your training

Dr Kevin Currell, Triathlon Plus — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Antioxidants seem to be everywhere these days. They're the ‘in’ thing in nutrition and if you believe the hype they can cure every disease, help you go faster and even live forever. Let’s take a look at the science behind the hype and see if there's any evidence that as a cyclist you should be including these in your diet.

Antioxidants act by counteracting something called oxidative stress, which causes damage to the body. During day-to-day living your body produces things called reactive oxygen species that attack the body. Think of it as oxygen on a rampage around your body. You naturally produce antioxidants to protect your body from this attack, so think of this as your body’s police force. However, you need to get extra antioxidants from your diet to support this police force – think of these as the riot police.

There's a huge body of research looking into the effect of antioxidant intake on health. With the advent of processed food a lot of the antioxidant capacity of our foods has been removed. It's quite clear from the research that antioxidants can help prevent diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer and help you live a long life.

The health benefits of a diet high in antioxidants is clear, but the performance benefits are less so. We know that exercise, particularly hard training, increases oxidative stress, but we also know that the body responds to this by increasing the size of its police force. However, when you train hard, the body can’t increase its natural antioxidants enough, so you need to make sure the riot police are ready to go.

Stress reduction

A recent study from the University of Newcastle in Australia looked at restricting fruit and vegetable intake on exercise performance and how the body responded to the training. Fruit and vegetables are probably the most important source of antioxidants in the body. The study showed decreasing your weekly fruit and veg intake from five a day to one a day caused performance to be impaired by two percent and the stress of the exercise was greatly increased. So there is a performance benefit to a diet high in antioxidants.

As we’ve seen, fruit and vegetables are the most common food source of antioxidants. They contain nutrients such as vitamin C and E as well as other antioxidant compounds. Nuts and seeds as well as wholegrains (as opposed to refined grains like white bread and pasta) also contain high amounts of antioxidants.

There are also many supplements on the market that may help improve your antioxidant capacity, although these aren't proven by science. The antioxidant system is very complicated and food is always going to be more effective, as nutrients work in interaction. A good example is a recent study showing high doses of vitamin C actually inhibited the adaptation from training.

What to eat

So how can you increase your antioxidant capacity? Sources of antioxidants can be found in all kinds of common foods, so make sure you get enough:

The good

You know these foods are good for you, so make sure you:

Eat five portions of fruit per day
Eat five portions of veg per day
Steam your vegetables rather than boil them

The bad

You might try to avoid these, but in moderation they help provide powerful antioxidants:

Red wine: a glass a day is plenty
Dark chocolate: stick to two or three small squares a day
Espresso

The ugly

You might think these things wouldn’t make much difference, but they do:

Add herbs to your food
Add extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to meals
Look for foods which are dark in colour such as berries