The CNY Tour date is just over a week away – are your ready to ride?

Here is a list of a few basic do’s and don'ts to make sure your body and bike are ready for Tour day!

Bike Maintenance:
Don’t wait till the day before the event to get your bike tuned up and ready to go. Make sure you check that your brakes are working, tires are in good shape and give that chain a solid cleaning. If you are not comfortable doing your own maintenance, then stop into one of the bike shop sponsors like Syracuse Bicycle to make sure your ride is in tip top shop.

Learn to change a flat:
It happens, so be prepared! Make sure you know how to remove your wheel and tires and have the proper tools on hand to do the job. Always pack a spare tube, tire levers and either CO2 or mini-pump on your ride.

Get you last long ride in:
This weekend (8-7 days out) is really the last long ride you should do before tapering (rest & regeneration) before the ride. Keep the ride to an easy to moderate endurance pace and aim to increase your distance slightly (10-20%) from the week before. This is also a good opportunity to make sure you practice eating and drinking on the bike as well as those group-riding skills!

Recover and rest:
You’ve done some hard work getting ready for the Tour and we need to remember that we only get stronger and faster with rest and regeneration. The final days leading up to the Tour it’s still important to keep moving, so don’t take the entire week off from riding. Instead cut back your training intensity and volume with some shorter duration rides. If your legs are overly tired consider doing some foam rolling or massage to help speed recovery. The day prior to the event, if possible, go out a do a short ride (20-60 mins) that includes a set of 4 x 30 or 60 second high cadence or moderate intensity efforts to “open” the legs up and prime the engine for the next day. The goal should be to start the Tour feeling fresh so do just enough to loosen up the legs!

Nail down your hydration:
Hopefully you’ve been practicing what you will eat and drink on Tour day. If you plan to try a new sports drink or energy bar I strongly encourage you to experiment with that BEFORE the event in order to reduce the risk of digestive issues. In fact, you should avoid experimenting with any new drinks and foods 24-48 hours before the ride as a safe way to make sure your stomach and you remain friends.

Hydration for endurance events is really broken down into three parts – before the ride, during the ride and after the ride. Don’t start the day in a deficit; make sure you have stayed on top of replacing fluids after every training ride, the night before and the morning of, and top off your fluids 15-30 minutes before the start. Also a handy method (albeit not completely scientific) many athletes use it to assess hydration is the color and frequency of urination. Generally speaking, urine that is clear or light in color can mean that you are close to maintaining adequate hydration.

During the ride it’s important to get yourself into the routine of drinking early and often. This may mean drinking before you actually feel thirsty. Remember water alone won’t cut it for longer rides (>1 hour), so you should plan to use a sports drink that contains electrolytes early on in the ride and aim for finishing at least a bottle per hour (200ml every 10-15 mins). Set a timer if you need to remind yourself to drink and use the aid stations throughout the ride to refill your bottles.

After the ride, it’s important to continue to hydrate and replace lost fluids as soon as possible. Since you are looking to replace carbohydrate stores, water and electrolytes, I recommend a high quality sports drink over just water alone. Ideally shoot for 1.5L of fluid to replace every kg (~2.2 lbs) of weight lost from sweat.

Thanks for reading and I hope you find these tips helpful as you prepare for the CNY Tour de Cure. As always, if you have training questions feel free to message me!

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