Strade Bianche & beyond...

My preparation for the 2015 season did not go exactly according to plan. After years of doing very little stretching, my body decided that it wouldn’t stand for it anymore and muscle tightness and imbalances accumulated into knee pain whenever I pedaled the bike. Consequently, I had to wind back the training and take it easy a couple of weeks before my first race of the season, The Dubai Tour.

 

During the race, I was told that I wouldn’t be doing any damage to my knee but it was going to hurt and I’d just have to push through it. It was pretty obvious that I was under-prepared and by the end of the last day, my knee was quite tender. I returned to Spain and again hand to wind back the training to sort the knee out. On my race schedule, my name was down for Strade Bianche so I had only 3 weeks to prepare. To be honest, I was pretty worried that my next race was going to be one renowned for its difficulty but fortunately, I was able to another race a week before it to test the legs.

After what seemed like endless hours of stretching and strengthening, I was finally able to ride without pain again just a few days before the GP Lugano in Switzerland. I knew that I was lacking the intensity and hours that I needed for racing but I was hoping to do what I could for the team and test the legs before Strade Bianche. The problem with one-day races is that there is no opportunity to just sit in and take it easy until the end. Everybody knows that there is not going to be another opportunity the next day so it is hard racing from start to finish. Every rider leaves everything they have out on the road. As a result, most one-day races end with only a fraction of the peloton crossing the line together while the rest of the field is either back in the bus or in fragments behind them. The race did not go well for me, putting even more doubt in my mind for Strade Bianche but I returned again to Spain and did a couple of long, hard training rides to get some intensity in the legs.

Most teams and riders like to do a bit of reconnaissance of the course before the race begins and with a race like Strade Bianche and its 45km of dirt roads, it’s good to know what’s coming. Unfortunately, due to the location, I was only able to arrive the evening before the race so it wasn’t ideal but I figured it was probably better that I didn’t know how difficult it was going to be!Our bikes were prepared with wider tires for the gravel roads and slightly lower pressures. I was told that most of the sectors were like compacted dirt so I didn’t want to run anything too low and after all, there is still 155km of tarmac to ride!

 

In the days leading up to the race, there had been some strong winds across most of southern Europe and on the morning of the race they were beginning to pick up. As we rolled out, it was blowing a gale, adding another difficulty factor to the race. The first two dirt sectors were not too difficult. The compacted dirt meant that your wheels weren’t sliding around and you could ride the crosswinds relatively easily. The most annoying thing was the amount of dust. Unless you were at the front of the peloton, you were riding through a constant dust storm and at the end of each section your mouth was dry and lined with mud and your bike got noisier. The race stretched out as it basically fell into two lines on the smoother car tracks and you had very little opportunity to overtake the rider in front of you.

When we hit the 3^rd sector, things changed. It wasn’t the compacted dirt like the first two but it was deep gravel. Immediately, two Orica riders hit the ground and caused a small gap in the bunch as they struggled to untangle their bikes. The strong crosswinds were pushing riders to the edge of the road and many struggled to hold their front wheel in a straight line in the gravel whilst leaning into the wind. Littered along the side of the road were riders either picking themselves up off the ground or holding their punctured wheels in the air waiting for their team cars that were also held up behind the chaos.

Team Novo Nordisk was not immune to the punctures and in the space of about 5km, we suffered 5 punctures. I came around a corner to find a team mate waiting on the side of the road. With his legs being better than mine, I stopped and gave him a wheel and pushed him on his way. After what seemed like an eternity, the team car finally arrived and I got going again. The dust was pretty bad in the bunch but when the team cars are basically rally racing to get to their fallen riders, it was insane! At times, I could barely see the road ahead of me!

As I tried to chase back, the road was constantly blocked by team cars as they stopped for their riders so the going was slow. Before the end of the sector, I passed 4 of my team mates on the side of the road waiting for wheels and every one of them had a ‘this is insane’ look on their face. At one point, all I could do was laugh.

As we hit the Tarmac, car after car passed me, each with a couple of riders behind it trying to get back to the bunch. Finally, my team car arrived with 3 team mates behind it and I jumped on. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to hold 60kph in 3^rd position behind a car in crosswinds and I was left behind. I arrived at the feed zone a few km’s up the road and called it a day. The 3^rd dirt sector caused a lot of chaos and cost a lot of riders their race. The stupid thing is, apparently the final 40km is the hardest part of the race!

Here is a photo gallery that sums up the race well... http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/03/strade-bianche-in-photos-2/

In 2 weeks, my name is on the long list for Milan Sanremo, which would be an amazing race to do, but in the meantime I need to earn my place. I have another 2 one day races this weekend in the Nederlands with Ronde van Drenthe and Dwars door Drenthe. Fortunately, there are no dirt roads but cobbles and crosswinds instead! 

Two steps forward, one giant step back...

Cycling is a sport that is packed full of pressure. Riders are on limited contracts and there is a bottomless list of other riders waiting to be given the opportunity to take your place. On top of this, Teams are also on limited contracts with sponsors so they too are feeling the pressure. As a result, whether it be real or not, there is a perceived necessity to get results and be in good form.

 

The pressure starts in the off-season as riders try to get into shape and be ready for the start of the season. This means doing lots of base km’s and watching everything that you eat so that your weight is where it needs to be. The slightest interruption to a training schedule can make you feel that you are going backwards and need to make up for it. It would not surprise me if there is a higher rate of eating disorders amongst cyclist than teenage school girls.

The worst thing that can happen during pre-season preparation is an injury. Whether it be from a crash or something else, an injury can make it feel like you have been stopped in your tracks and the pressure rise.

Ten days before my first race of the season, I started to feel some pain in my knee. It worsened to the point where I was unable to pedal my bike for more than an hour. I was told it was patellofemoral pain, essentially caused by muscle imbalances and tightness. I had to take some rest and spend my days doing stretches and strengthening exercises.

 

After a week of very little riding, it felt like my preparation had gone backwards a month. I knew I needed to train. I had a race coming up in a few days. And it was messing with my racing schedule.

During the Dubai Tour, I suffered through each day. I tested my form but my lack of preparation was obvious. At the end of the tour, my knee was as sore as ever and I had to start my recovery all over again. I spend every waking hour stretching and doing strengthening exercises and I’m overly paranoid about any tingle or feeling in my knee.

To say I am frustrated is an understatement. After 2 ½ weeks, I am finally back on the bike and doing some proper training. I have a LOT of catching up to do and need to ignore the desire to do more than I am told so I don’t end up back where I was a couple of weeks ago.

#Lean

After finishing our latest training camp in Altea, in Southern Spain, my team mate, Scott and I headed back to Barcelona to continue our preparation for the upcoming season. Scott is from New Zealand so we have been fortunate enough to be able to train in the warmth of the Southern Hemisphere while the European riders battled with the cold.

Part of this preparation is to drop the extra kilograms that may have been put on during Christmas and the off-season. Some are better at this than others and Scott has returned from off season at not only his race weight, but probably a little too lean (which I will explain shortly). Personally, I have a little work to do but then again, it is a long season ahead.

Whilst at training camp in Altea, it was cold, but not too cold. We could still train quite comfortably and there were even days where we could ride in just shorts and a jersey.

 

 

The last week here in Barcelona has been a little different. The sun has been hidden behind the clouds and rain has threatened on several days, so the temperature has been far less than ideal.

On our second ride here, I took Scott on what was planned to be a relatively short, easy loop. The sun was ducking in and out of the clouds and as we approached the farthest point of the ride, a heavy mist set in and my Garmin said that the temperature dropped down to 1ᵒC. I was cold, but not that cold so I didn’t think Scott would be any worse as he was wearing several more layers than me. We descended down a mountain and pulled up outside a café that looked closed.

My hands and feet were numb but other than that, I was okay. Scott was a totally different story. He pulled up shivering with a look of grimace on his face and runny nose. He struggled to unclip from his bike and could barely talk. He was cold. Hypothermic cold. Being lean has many benefits when riding a bike uphill, but it doesn’t help when you are going downhill in freezing conditions. We were a long way from the next town and I honestly did not know what I was going to do. One look at Scott and there was no way that he could keep riding.

I had pretty much concluded that I was going to have to hug Scott and share my body warmth with him. As I reached out to hug him, fortunately, two people exited the café that I assumed was closed. We rushed inside and I ordered him a warm drink.

The café owner could see that Scott was in trouble and although she did not speak English, she made gestures to drink his coffee and warm up. Scott struggled to move and it was at this point that the lady became his Spanish mother. She placed two heaters in front of Scott and turned them up high. She then fetched him a jacket, a blanket, a beanie and a neck warmer and rubbed his back. She made gestures about calling an ambulance but Scott slowly warmed up and assured her that he was okay.

Eventually, we were able to laugh at the situation. The lady asked if I was okay and I said I was fine, and it was only Scott that was feeling the cold. She laughed and lifted up her pinkie finger whilst pointing at Scott. She then flexed her muscles like hulk and pointed at me. I don’t need to speak Spanish to understand what she was saying.

Learning the ropes... Again

It's been on my to-do list for a while but a few weeks ago I finally decided to learn how to surf. I know nothing about surfing and my friends know nothing either, so I was jumping straight into the deep end. Just like learning to surf, when I first took up cycling I knew nothing about it and I have noticed several similarities between my two experiences...

1. When I purchased my first road bike, I basically picked one out of the Trading Post that was within my price range and went with it. I didn’t know anything about frame sizes and I didn’t even know how to change the gears. I just figured it had pedals and two wheels so I couldn’t go wrong. A few weeks later, I discovered that the bike was too big for me and spent a substantially larger amount on a new one.

I did the exact same thing when I purchased a surfboard. I saw an advertisement for a board very cheap and sent this message... 'Hi, just wondering if you still have the surfboard for sale? Also, I'm a total nube at surfing... could I learn on this board???' I received this reply, ‘Well my Grand Children surf on it so I guess so.’ Based on that alone, I figured the board would be fine.

I went to collect the board and was greeted by an elderly gentleman named Ray who was dressed in his pyjamas at 4pm. I should have been suspicious when I could basically pick up the board with only my thumb and index finger but I just thought that was normal.

After discovering that the board could barely keep me afloat and that it would be better suited to a 10 year old or Kelly Slater, I went to a surf shop and spent a substantially larger amount on a much, much larger board.

2. While learning to ride, I copped my fair spray of abuse from older, more ‘senior’ riders. Whether it be for not doing my fair share of the work on the front, forgetting to point out a hole in the road or just getting in the way. They are always eager to let the ‘newbies’ know

about it.

It seems that the same rules apply while surfing. After finally reaching the point where I can stand up on the board but have no idea how to steer or stop, I stood up after riding a wave to find an older man pointing his finger in my direction and yelling expletives. I looked around with a puzzled look and said, ‘Me???’. He made it clear that he was talking to me. I still have no idea what I did wrong but I assured him that I was sorry and wouldn’t do it again.

After witnessing a few incidents like this, I can only assume that common surfing nicknames like ‘dude’, ‘bro’ and ‘mate’ have only come into existence from people learning how to surf trying to address and calm down an angry, more experienced surfer.

 

3. I fell off my bike several times while learning. It was mainly while I was using cleats for the first time but I embarrassed myself many times in front of complete strangers. Each time, I got back up and rode away as if nothing ever happened. I can only imagine that I looked like an uncoordinated fool as I struggled with the pedals.

Likewise, learning to surf is essentially all about trying not to fall off and look like an idiot for a fair while. In my first couple of outings, I managed to cut both of my feet on rocks, dislocate my finger and almost get hit in the face by untamed boards.

 

4. In cycling, despite initially being uncomfortable on the bike, it is very easy to appear as if you know what you are doing. If you have all of the right equipment and shave your legs, then you can look like a pro. Well, at the coffee shop at least.

In surfing, it is even easier to appear like I know what I'm doing. Simply put on a pair of board shorts, a rashie throw a board under your arm. As long as you don’t go in the water, people can only assume that you can surf with the best of them!

 

5. Cycling is an expensive sport. Bikes cost a lot of money and you soon discover that there are different types of bikes for different needs. And that you need one of every type. There is the old adage that the number of bikes that you have is always N+1, where N is the number of bikes that you currently have.

Surfing is no different. To make learning easy, it’s best to have the longest widest board possible but as you get better, you may want a shorter board. There is a plethora of different shapes and sizes of boards available that all claim to do different things. I’m already on my second one.

 

6. As I rode my bike more and more, I began searching for a ride that was more ‘epic’ than the last. Longer rides, bigger climbs, faster descents and better views. I was looking for that perfect place to go riding.

Surfing is exactly the same as people search for the location that has perfect waves. For me, that means looking for a beach that provides small, regular waves that I can learn on. When I do find somewhere ideal, like cycling, there is usually a mass of other people doing the same thing and it’s almost impossible to enjoy it.

I have come a long way on the bike since those early days when I was learning the ropes. I hope that one day I am equally as confident on a surf board, however, the lack of waves and a board here in Spain means that my progress will be limited to when I get back to Australia!

The 5 Stages of a Cyclist Post-Bike Crash

Today, a friend and I went for a long ride that included a couple of climbs. The weather was a little unpredictable with random bursts of rain littering our route. 

As we approached the first climb, the skies opened up and drenched us and the roads, however, in the distance, the clouds had parted and we were hopeful of a dry descent down the other side. 

The roads down the mountain were not wet, but they were not dry either. My friend went into a hairpin corner a little too hot and his rear wheel slid out after touching a white line and he went flying over the handlebars as his bike highsided. 

It was at this point that I got to witness the 5 Stages of a (not so catastrophic) bike crash....

Stage 1: Denial. 

The adrenaline is high and the dignity is usually low, so the rider wants to just get back on and keep going. There is no looking the bike over or checking for broken bones, just get back on and get out of there as if nothing ever happened. 'Yeah, I'm fine,' is the usual statement. 

Stage 2: Loss of confidence. 

Nothing rattles the nerves and shatters your confidence like crashing. My friend crashed coming down a hill so when he got back on and kept riding, he did it a lot more cautiously. Before the crash, I was straining to keep up with him. After the crash, I had to slow down and wait. 

Stage 3: The 'come down'. 

Once the adrenaline has worn off and the body has relaxed and cooled down, the aches and pains begin to set in and the road rash stings as it comes into contact with sweat. It's at this point that the person that crashed realises that everything may not be 'fine'. They realise that they could have an injury, or even worse, that their bike could have an injury. 

Stage 4: Acceptance. 

The person finally accepts that they crashed and any damage and/or injuries need to be assessed. For my friend, this meant a stop at a supermarket for some band aids and a quick check of the bike and gear. 

Stage 5: 'What if?'

Once it was established that the person is going to live, they run the crash through their minds over and over, analysing what could have caused it or what they could have done to avoid it. In this situation and pretty much every other crash, the answer is blatantly obvious but rarely acknowledged... just slow down. 

There is one more Stage to crashing a bike which people must go through alone, at home... Stage 6: Stinging in the shower. There are few things more painful than the sting of fresh road rash coming into contact with warm water. It's enough to make you cry. 

Déjà Vu

I recently went to see a myopractic therapist to get checked out. He also just happened to be a good friend of mine so he wasn't afraid to tell me exactly how it is. Basically, I'm inflexible and need to sort out some muscle imbalances by strengthening my lower back and other stabilising muscles. 

When the only physical activity you do for months on end is ride a bike, then most other parts of the body become weak from lack of use. I've always said that when it comes to core and stability, I am in a constant state of equilibrium. But I've discovered that even the slightest breeze can throw that equilibrium out. 

The off season is a good time to re-strengthen parts of the body that haven't been used in a while. So, I dug out the old gym gear and went down to the gym to get to work. A few sit-ups, some stretching and Pilates moves may not seem like much but it is more than enough to remind the body that I haven't done it in a while. 

The first couple of times hurts. Well, it's more of an ache then anything else. Muscles around my ribs ache when I laugh, when I bend over to put shoes on and even when I get out of bed. But it gets easier. 

As I type this, I'm getting déjà vu, as I'm pretty sure I did the same thing last year. And every year, I say this time is going to be different because I'm going to keep doing it throughout the season. This time will be different, for sure. 

If anyone in the Brisbane area would like to see an excellent Remedial Massage & Myopractic Therapist, I highly recommend Simon from www.ozenergie.com.au 

He will sort out what ails you and he is also an all round good guy. If you do go to see him, please tell him I've been doing my exercises every day. 

A Violent Act

I have said it a hundred times before and I will say it a hundred more... Running is a violent act.

At the end of the racing season this year, the team went to Cozumel in Mexico. Outside of the usual duties of meeting new team mates, organising equipment and taking official media for next year, we were told to relax and spend some time off the bike, allowing the body a bit of R&R before we start pushing it again.

This may sound ideal to some, but for myself, I go a little stir crazy when I am just sitting around as I would rather be up and doing something. So to compensate my lack of riding, I thought that I would partake in some other activities. The week began with many of us playing around with scooters, jet skis and catamarans and pretty much any other activity that we could find. 

Despite filling the time, these activities just don't have the caloric expenditure of riding a bike for hours on end, and with the thought of putting on as little weight as possible in the off-season weighing in the back of my mind, it wasn't long before I was itching to do some exercise.

I started to spread the word around the team that in the following morning we should go for a run. A little bit of weight bearing activity to make sure our bones don't fade away to nothing. A lot of people were keen and at 6:30am the next day, 15 people had traded their cycling shoes for joggers.

I'm not sure if you have ever experienced going for a run after not doing it for over 12 months but it is extremely painful. Muscles that you forgot you even had ache within minutes and the constant impact on the feet and joints is almost immediately unbearable. Before we had even made it a kilometer down the road, several guys had already stopped and started the walk back to the hotel.

Being a highly competitive bunch, the rest of us pushed on, the pace getting faster with every kilometer. As we hit the 3km mark, I began to question just how far we were going, aware that we were going to have to run back yet. 500m later, I pulled the pin and turned back, my legs already aching.

That afternoon, I tried to spread the word again about another run in the morning. I was met with very little enthusiasm. At 6:30am the next day, only 3 other people showed up for a run. Of the others that went running the day before, one had huge blisters on his feet and another could barely walk because his ankle was so sore. I ran another 3 times during the week, ignoring my aching legs and assuring myself that it would eventually get easier. I had grand ideas of being able to go for a run with my wife when I got home and just doing something different.

Just before I left Cozumel for home, I still had an ache in my left calf muscle and when I got home, I was limping around. I went to get it checked out and I had a suspected tear in my muscle. This resulted in taking another few days easy and letting it heal, re-confirming what I have always thought about running. It is a violent act. 

Humans were given highly functioning brains for a reason. To invent other modes of transport like the bicycle and the car. Running should be reserved for when you are being chased by a lion or when you miss the ice-cream truck. Needless to say, I have not been for a run since I got home and I have no plans to.

Strava Art

Hopefully, the novelty of Strava KoM's has worn off on you by now. 

There was a period of time where it seemed like everyone was trying to one-up their mates by sprinting up every hill on their favourite rides. But now, most people have reached their terminal velocity. There is only so many times you can do your local ride full gas before... a) you can't go any faster. b) some freak takes your KoM while motor pacing and you have no chance or c) you just can't be bothered anymore. 

So what is the use of Strava now other than to give Kudos to your mates for doing the exact same ride you just did?... Strava Art. That's what. 

I was looking over some old rides recently for some inspiration on where to ride and noticed that some of them vaguely resembled a picture of something. I had to squint and view it with a very Picasso-esque outlook, but it was there. It got me wondering if I could plan out a ride to draw a picture. 

After about 0.00054sec of research on Google, I discovered that 'Strava Art' is a common thing and some people have done some amazing things. 

Here are some of the best Strava Art pictures out there...

After seeing these and sat down at the computer to attempt to plot a course to follow to make some Strava Art. It is a LOT harder than it looks. Actually, it's too damn hard for me. 

Instead, I have adopted a 'shoot first and call whatever you hit the target' approach. Just do a ride and maybe at the end, it might vaguely resemble something. 

Here are some of my best works...

This is 'horse with fire tail'

'Demented pouncing cat'

'Donald duck with backwards hat'

'Fat camel'

Get out there and give it a go! It's a lot harder than you think. Forget KoM's, they are so early 2014. 

Local Training Program

The end of the year is fast approaching which means Christmas is coming which usually means some time off the bike which usually means eating too much which usually means that you have some extra work to do in pre-season training.

 

It is around this time that people claim that they are getting out to do 'base K's' during the holiday period in preparation for next season. Despite their best intentions, a lot of people tend to misinterpret what 'base k's' actually are. 

The Brisbane cycling scene is a thriving one with hundred's of people keen to roll a river loop every morning. However, with organised bunch rides being the order of the day, it is very easy to fall into what I call the 'Brisbane training schedule'. It looks something like this...

Monday: recovery river loop. 

Tuesday: Coot-tha's. 

Wednesday: World's. 

Thursday: Gravatt's or efforts. 

Friday: recovery river loop. 

Saturday: Muzza or Nundah Crits. 

Sunday: Zupps or another bunchie. 

This may seem like a perfectly good week of riding but if you are doing it week in, week out then you will not improve your form. A good training program should be periodised with sections of over-loading the body and then time to recover and let the body adapt. If you do the same thing all the time, you cannot expect that you will improve dramatically just by magic. 

Another downside to riding in Brisbane is the terrain. There are no real climbs and when you think about it, there is not much real 'flat' either. Most roads are rolling with short, sharps rises that you are able to punch it up. This means that a lot of people tend to accelerate hard up the hills and then get off the gas and soft-pedal down the other side. 

At the end of the day, this is just interval training. You may have a good average HR or power output at the end of the ride but more than likely, you were either riding too hard up the hills or too easy down the other side. What you think was some good 'base k's' was simply riding in the wrong zone. 

So what can you do?

Plan your training. Don't just bounce week to week doing whatever you feel like or what ever is handy. 

Ride by yourself once in a while. It's great to ride with others but you will not get quality training while wheel-sucking behind 30 other people. 

Go easy up the hills. Use your gears and don't accelerate up the hills. Take it easy and maintain a steady output. 

Pedal down the hills. Don't freewheel down hills. Keep pedalling with the same intensity. You will probably find that you will actually have a higher average speed at the end of your ride!

You don't always have to stop for coffee. Imagine if you converted the time that you are usually at the coffee shop into extra k's. Imagine!

Well that's it from me. 

See you on the road. 

Summer Do's and Don'ts

Next weekend I head of for my final race of the season in China before going to the other side of the world for our end of year ‘training’ camp in Mexico. This camp is always a good one as there is less emphasis on doing bulk km’s and more on having a break and getting all of next year’s equipment ready. We receive our new bikes and kit, however, for those of us that live on the warmer side of the equator, the numerous arm warmers, thermal knicks and jackets are not much use. Pro-cycling is very much operated on the European season so the early kit is designed for those that need to do their base km’s in the cold rain and snow, not humid 40+ degree heat.  The Aussies need to make do with what summer kit we have left over from this year and save the warmer stuff for our rude intro to the European Spring next year.

With that in mind, I thought I would give my perspective on the Do’s and Don’ts of summer cycling attire. Unfortunately, these tips do not come approved by the Cycling Fashion King himself, Mario Cipollini, but I am sure he would not object.

Don’t mistake a wind-vest for a short-sleeve jersey. This may sound absurd but it is a mistake that I made in my first year on the bike. Having never seen a wind-vest before, I picked up one at the LBS summer sale thinking that it would help to keep me cool and avoid any unsightly arm tan-lines. I was wrong.

Don’t wear a visor on your helmet. You probably think that it would be a great way to keep the sun out of your eyes but then again, so is a pair of sunglasses. As well as being a road-cycling fashion no-no, a visor can also impair your vision on a road bike.  The lower, more aerodynamic positioning means that you will need a swan-like neck curve in order to raise your head high enough to see under it. Leave helmet visors for MTBers and commuters that ride more upright than I walk.

 

Don’t be that guy with the undershirt. You know the one. The guy that is wearing an undershirt in 40+ degree heat and claims that it keeps him cooler because it wicks away sweat. It may draw 95% of sweat away from your body, but I reckon it’s probably responsible for 95% of it too. I don’t care what people say, putting on another layer of clothing does not make you cooler. When is the last time you were really hot so decided to put a singlet on under your shirt? Exactly.

Don’t wear transparent fishnet jerseys. Some companies are producing jerseys from materials that are thin and net-like, claiming that the venting will keep you cool. They don’t tell you that you will end up with sun-burn that looks like you fell onto a BBQ grill. On top of that, no one wants to see your hairy nipples.

Don’t wear a hydration back-pack. Also a road cycling fashion no-no, wearing a back-pack is going to stop any air flow that you can get through your jersey and make you sweat more than normal. Anyway, do you really need 3L of water on you? The 1.5L in your two water bottles is enough to get you to the next tap. 

Do change your post-ride drink. Believe it or not, you don’t have to drink a hot coffee after your ride! *Shock. Why not have a cold-drip coffee, a smoothie with a shot of coffee, a 7-Eleven slushie with a shot of coffee or even one of those fancy ‘iced’ coffees?? Get your core body temp down, not up.

Do wear sun screen. Do I even need to say anything here? It’s Australia. Slip, Slop, Slap.

Do avoid the hottest part of the day. Ride earlier. It will be cooler and you will get to have more time at the coffee shop afterwards. Everybody wins (but mainly you).

Do carry two water bottles. If you are going to ride for over an hour, take two water bottles just in case. Unfortunately, this may mean that you need to break another separate cycling fashion rule and use a saddle bag for your spares.

 

Do drink an electrolyte drink. Sweat takes out more than just water. A electrolyte drink will hydrate you quicker and prevent things like cramps. It also tastes better. If you are worried about the extra calories, don't, there are plenty of sugar-free versions out there.