With lots of new cyclists joining Moore Performance I thought it would be good to cover off some basics about what you should take during our squad rides. In recent weeks we have had a few issues with people (new to MP and old) not being prepared.
We have two types of rides, short or long and of course the longer you ride the more you will potentially need.
So here’s the list for our long rides:
Hydration:
- bring at least two water bottles, as temps rise you may find you start going through more. One bottle isn’t enough. (If you have a TT bike with only one bottle cage – see the different type of water bottle attachmentsย available). It’s a good idea to have one bottle filled with water and one with electrolyte.
Nutrition:
- you need to fuel your system, whether its gels, bars or real food. Of course the harder and longer you go, the more you will need.
Spares / mechanical
- 2 spare inner tubes – 1 isn’t enough
- Patch kit – sometimes you go through all your spare tubes and the patch kits are your get out of jail cards
- Co2 + adaptor – for quick inflation of tyres
- Pump – Co2 can fail, so a pump is an important back up
- Multi tool – a basic multi tool can get you out of trouble and are now really compact. Larger multitools will have nice to haves like chain breakers for more complex mechanical issues
- Tyre levers – suggest 2 min, 3 ideal, they’re small and compact so won’t take up too much room
- Money – not only will your $5 or $10 notes come in handy for a coffee post ride, these notes can be used in case of emergency if your tyre has a blow out (a big hole in it), you can use the note to patch up the hole to get you home
- See examples of the gear you need from Wiggle
- And how to change a tyre with this video.
Simple rule – don’t rely on others, aim to be self sufficient.
- Sun screen – if a long long ride ensure that you don’t get sunburnt
- ID – in case of emergency
- Phone – ย in case you need assistance
- Opal card – if the puncture repair fails it could be possible to get public transport home
- Appropriate clothing – if the weather’s predicted to cool bring arm warmers, a jacket or gilet (vest) and so on, arm warmers or arm coolers can protect from the sun as well.
Of course on a shorter ride you can get away with less, but gear up and you will enjoy the ride and protect yourself from unexpected events.
