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Wanna be a whistleblower? Think again!

It’s been almost a year since the whole Lotto/Davis nonsense and I wanted to share my experience as a female whistle-blower in the world of cycling.

First, let me touch on some misconceptions, countless people assumed I somehow profited from sharing my experience. All my interviews and hours for those news stories were unpaid. All of the time to reply to countless abuse surrounding the event was also unpaid. The time spent with police due to threats, was again unpaid. All the time to send UCI what they wanted, also unpaid.

As a writer, you’d think maybe meeting all these people from all the different publications that perhaps one would garnish even a chance to get into the industry as a writer. Sadly they just wanted the story and moved on.

A few random people and maybe a few I know, bought me a coffee using the link in my bio. I had so much abuse about this link. It was there for years well before anything happened. A few kind gestures shouldn’t generate so much abuse. It wasn’t much, it wasn’t what people implied.

And on the subject of the abuse, I had death threats and tons of hate threads not just on Twitter. My tweets were dissected, my body trashed, you name it and I was abused because of it. Countless new accounts were created to try to discredit me and hurl abuse at me.

It was implied I’m into married guys, which is categorically untrue. Lots of sex worker comments which was funny because Allan didn’t pay me anything so where is this “work” element they speak of? I had so many people say I was on onlyfans that later in the year I finally signed up, I figured if everyone was going to abuse me for being on the site, I should at least be on the site and make some money from it, right?

So the theory I shared my experience as a get-rich scheme is laughable. And I must admit that in the throws of responding to all these fellow writers, even 1 offering to help me get into the biz would have been amazing, but it never happened.

Even my tweets trying to find work from before and after the tweet in question people made fun of, which was hurtful.

So in summary, I spent tons of hours and went through lots of stress. To this day I’m finding out people who blocked me I never interacted with, because somehow they believe it was all my fault.

People ask why women don’t come forward. Let my experience answer that for you.

 

 

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Cycling in Germany 10 tips

  1. There are rules and Germans like their rules and will usually follow them, except for when they don’t. There is no rhyme or reason to when this may happen. So be prepared!
  2. During the day in the week is the best time to cycle. (outside of commuting hours) I know this is the same advice for most places but here in Germany, I notice a big difference on Saturday and usually Sunday too. Boy racers prefer the weekends to go out with their car friends to test if their car engines still work. Wednesday afternoon and Friday afternoon are basically days off. No, I don’t know why.
  3. Related to point 2. weekend cyclists. Often on e-bikes, they are out enjoying the sunshine but have little road cycling skills. Families will also be out en force. They will block the cycle paths and little Joey may look cute but don’t think for a second that kid won’t cycle right across in front of you giving zero fucks. Universal advice here, be careful around kids and dogs.
  4. Cars will often slow and wave you through/in. Even if this means they will need to overtake you 30 seconds later. It makes zero sense. I take the offer, smile or wave and roll my eyes at the whole thing. Please see point 1. There are always people who disregard the rules or will be distracted. Don’t get lazy.  
  5. Cycle paths come in all shapes and sizes. They can be on the left, the right, narrow or wide enough to be called a motorway. They can stop without warning, change sides of the road, or switch to gravel. You are supposed to use them when they are there, you will see people ignore this rule. When the speed limit is high you may prefer the cycle lane.
  6. I’m told flashing rear lights are against the law. Police have told me they are legal, I see them often. I’d say for most roads you don’t need one (daytime, normal light) but for some darker areas, I always run mine, better safe than sorry.
  7. Road surfaces vary, also it seems they enjoy digging up parts of the road and then forget about it. Disconcerting when you’re going fast on a downhill to see part of the road ahead missing!
  8. You will seldom have someone honk or shout at you. Close passes happen but it’s not common, usually a foreigner vs. local. (You can tell where the Germans and others are from if you look at the number plate) Shouting “bloody foreigners” even though you are a foreigner feels good, I highly recommend it!
  9. I never see public toilets, unlike Sweden. If they have them somewhere they are well hidden. I have seen a million machines in every spot imaginable to buy cigarettes though, and don’t ask me why, I have no idea!
  10.  Do you like Jesus? You are in luck, you will see him everywhere! Ok this is the south, maybe it’s different up north, but I have never seen so many crosses in my life!

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Cycling in England

Depending on where you’re from, this introduction to cycling in England may shock or make you feel at home.

  1. Car drivers do not like you, remember this. Not ALL car drivers but for the most part this is true. They aren’t your friend when you’re cycling on the road. You have to always look out for what they are doing (or not doing).
  2. Right of way is meaningless. Always look and assume the worst. You can have the right away while also being on the ground in pain because the car driver didn’t care about the rules.
  3. Do you get turned on being called names? If so you’re in luck! And let’s not limit the abuse to verbal you will also be honked at (and no it’s not because you look hot in lycra) and if you’re unlucky something of some sort c̶a̶n̶ will be thrown at you.
  4. Roundabouts: reread point 2. You do NOT have any rights here, you are at the mercy of the whims of the car drivers! Some days will be easy and you may just be able to venture out into the roundabout without saying a hail mary beforehand but other days, be prepared to wait.
    Direction signals mean nothing.
  5. Those leafy overhangs are lovely in summer but any time of year they make it very hard to see a cyclist, use a rear light that flashes!
  6. Cycle lanes come in all shapes, sizes and lengths. They can be 4 inches wide or 3 feet wide. They can last a few minutes or an hour. Be prepared for whatever space you’re given in your “cycling lane”  for the car drivers to feel that 2 cm over the white line is where they are allowed to drive. You may find that the cycle lane makes life worse.
  7. Holes, holes and more holes. Beware of the holes. I have no idea where England sources its road surfaces from. I suspect they are getting the scraps no other country wants! There will be holes here there and everywhere, look out for them.
  8. Be prepared to always be in the wrong place. If there is a cycle lane people will tell you to cycle on the road, if you cycle on the road they will say to cycle on the pavement. You are always wrong, get used to it.
  9. MAMILS, come in all shapes and sizes and different levels of friendliness. Typically, it is best to stay away. Oh and don’t for one second assume the fancy bike and lycra means they know what they are doing on the road, you may end up finding out the hard way.
  10. Get bike insurance! Don’t leave your bike outside if you can help it. Theft is a real issue in London and even small towns in the middle of nowhere and it’s just getting worse. Even with the best locks, bikes are stolen at alarming rates.

 

More may be added to the list, but these are the main points for now. And for those of you reading this saying to yourself “I never had a problem” Well lucky you, most have.

For those who need to be told, there is an element of satire, obviously.

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Can people dislike cyclists yet respect them?

I’ve cycled more kilometres abroad than in the UK by now and have seen countless interactions between cars and bikes.
I’m cycling around the same time of day, same bike, same kit, so the only variable is the world around me, ie the car drivers.
As of today, I’d still rank Sweden (and likely Denmark as a tie) for the safest place to cycle. Although the topic I’d like to explore today is Germany’s love/hate with cyclists.
I know from my time on UK roads that car drivers in the UK aren’t keen on cyclists. The number of close passes and road rage episodes are countless. 10 mins on Twitter and you can confirm it isn’t just happening to me. If you look in social media you’ll see countless posts full of hate against cyclists. Social media and real life mirror each other. And I know people will want to come back with the “not all car drivers” retort, but it is hard to argue there isn’t an issue on UK roads.
Now for Germany. As a very petite female solo cyclist, I have spent around 4,500km on German roads. I have cycled on bike paths that cross regular roads, through towns and various main roads, some with cars feeling the need to show off how fast their metal box can go!
I have had a few people pull out without looking, one argued, one profusely apologised, a few close passes, well close for Germany.
BUT
For the most part, many wave me to allow me in, give me lots of room while overtaking, and wait for me to cross before they turn. Something I know they never did in the UK. All in all, not Swedish level but pretty good and light years ahead of the UK.
Now for the confusing part, the other day I stumbled across a local Facebook group and there was a discussion about cyclists. Oh and did I get a shock! Many comments are on par with the British car drivers who are against cyclists in the UK! But how? Why? These people are generally so polite and kind when I’m cycling, how can they hate us so much? (Although some of this I can understand as I have a lot of issues with German cyclists, another topic)
After asking some Germans, they aren’t keen on us lycra-wearing, 2 wheel-loving people. But then why the mismatch? Why am I not being honked at? No one is swearing at me. Why is social media not the same as real life?
I’m not a German, so it’s hard to know, but my suspicion is respect for the rules and a moral stance of not wanting to hurt people.
Some people do break the rules, these people are always in society but they are few and not the majority.

Perhaps, an innate respect for doing the right thing can momentarily overcome the dislike for cyclists? At least while behind the wheel.

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Why do cyclists hate cyclists?

One thing all cyclists want at the moment is for people to like us, in general, so we are safe on the roads, respected, seen as humans and most importantly not killed while enjoying our rides.

Impossible when there is such an internal issue with bad eggs shaming team cycling. Team cycling has issues with fellow cyclists attacking each other vs supporting each other. I can see how many outside of cycling feel cyclists aren’t very nice people, there are a lot of people on bikes who are not nice people. As a cyclist, even I can see why they don’t respect us when you see some of the bullshit posted online. This has to change, or we’re going to still be seen as targets of hate.

I’ve been made aware of some accounts that have sprouted up just to attack me. They blocked me, yet posted on my tweets and I had no idea until this week. One is a woman I used to be friendly with and even opened a 2nd account to harass me.

There is so much in this to unpack. Let’s get the important part out of the way.

I don’t care if people like me

The hate doesn’t bother me at all. The behind-my-back sneaky stuff and posting where I live, do bother me. I had a man in my DM’s talking about where I’m staying, that is creepy as fuck.

The insults really just make them look bad, it makes the cycling community look like the elitest cunts car drivers say we are.

Let’s see, I don’t cycle fast enough. Fast enough compared to who? Pogi cycles faster than me, should I go cry in the corner and sell my bike? I am faster on segments when I’m fresh and going for it, that is enough for me. Again you want people to get into cycling yet complain I’m too slow?

I didn’t vary my route in Switzerland, in winter. Any guesses why? Come on, have a good think, why would someone stick to the lake roads? Could it be ummm snow? Ice?

It was fucking freezing most days so many rides were short. I braved the cold wind and ice-cold fingers and toes vs staying inside using Zwift (which would have been better but have been belittled for this in the past too). I don’t have much body fat, and I get hypothermia easily, so I did short rides. I stuck to safe roads without ice/snow. Why would anyone feel this is a reason to insult someone is beyond me. Oddly the locals did a lot of low-elevation rides too.

Arguing I don’t have QOMs? Really? I do, but again, why would you insult someone for that? Why attempt to make fun of someone for not having KOMs or QOMs? Loads don’t, and that is totally OK.

Maybe the woman in question should do her own blog for people who only do a certain speed/length of ride/with the right shoes/etc. I bet she will get a handful of people interested in it. Leave us, normal cyclists, alone!

Trying to go down the mental checklist of insults so I can address them, oh yes I almost forgot, Ride London. Let’s insult the woman with disabilities because her Ride London time wasn’t fast enough! Oh yeah, that helps people want to ride bikes!

So, let’s talk about Ride London for a minute. 160kms is long (and yes I was oddly insulted for using KM’s although I lived in Europe a long time). I know some people are doing this length all the time, I’m even friends with some of these people. Then there are those loonies who do Audax rides, so this is short for many. But for ME this was longer than I had ever done, as a newbie cyclist. And that is ok, it was a challenge for ME. (and many many others)

I didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before (yes I’m starting the excuses early, GCN taught me this) then it was freezing to start, and lots of waiting around (freezing). The start wasn’t so bad, and the speed was good, which was stupid in hindsight as I pushed too hard then, but was cold and trying to warm up. I had to stop to wee and eat. So this was going to kill the official time, and I knew that.

I had been hit by a car the year before and still suffered from left arm pain (I still do). This was a major factor after 100 km, and it was very painful in the end.

Ride London sounded great on paper, no cars, open roads, finish in London. But there were a lot of cyclists, and not all knew road manners and there were people everywhere. Sometimes to overtake on climbs was difficult, no one knew where to be on the road.

I was first up the hills, not the first down them, the more tired I got, the more pain I was in, and the harder it all was. I do have issues going downhill since the crash and brain injury. It is improving slowly, but being tiny I’m likely never going to be the first down a hill, and guess what? I’m ok with that. If people want to insult me over that, it shows their character, not mine.

I digress, the last part of Ride London I hated. There was this long bit on the A13 that just felt off, then the tunnels, loads hated these tunnels too. I have a visual impairment and dislike tunnels. I also struggle with low light.

I was happy I finished. I did stay in my 53/11 for most of the day, a friend did the ride with me, so they can confirm. I found much of it easy, but the length was hard, and the pain was hard.

I felt like I had been hit by a truck for days after! It was a huge effort for me. If anyone can tell me why this is a reason to insult someone, do leave it in the comments, because I find it baffling. I wasn’t the fastest or the slowest and that is ok.

Some rides are just to get outside, some I’m tired (I have a zillion health issues and was diagnosed with MS as a teen although they now say it’s genetic) some I’m really going for it. It’s all up to me, the weather and how I feel. And I think most people have a mix of rides like this. And that is OK.

So let’s end this with some points, in summary:

It’s ok if you aren’t the fastest!

It’s ok if you don’t do a long ride!

Wear whatever clothes/shoes make you feel comfortable.

If you finish a big event, feel proud of yourself!

We all have strengths and weaknesses, even pro cyclists!

And if someone blocks you, move on. Don’t keep hounding them!

Also please don’t post people’s locations online, especially women. Violence against women is a very real issue, if someone doesn’t share their address/location, it’s not your place to either. Finding it somehow via Strava isn’t the same as known in the public domain as a shop is for example. It’s illegal and puts people at risk, and a dick move.

The cycling community needs to weed these people out, they aren’t making me look bad with their insults, they are making the cycling community look bad.

 

PS. The woman made a comment that men “fawn over my leg pics” which I’ll keep posting. And a nice way to admit she is still viewing tweets while blocked, publicly.

 

 

 

 

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Do you need a bike fit?

The quick answer is: it depends.

Some folks are good at knowing exactly which size bike they need and getting a good fit. Others depend on the shop staff to help and happened upon someone who knows what works for the cyclist vs what is in stock that they can sell.

Then we have people who don’t know what fits and or combined with shop staff that also don’t know.

My first road bike was a Trek Domane and it was totally the wrong geometry for me. The shop was trying to push out the door what they had, vs what I needed and when I called with issues they tried to sell me “a bike fit”. This all ended up being an expensive mistake as I didn’t get back nearly what I paid for the bike. Obviously, I was pissed off so spent more hours than I’d care to admit researching the topic.

This resulted in me buying a new bike, online so sight unseen and crossing my fingers it would fit when it arrived. A week later I had a shiny new Cannondale Super Six Evo and then the real fun started. First off I HAD to change the saddle (amazing how much money you can spend on a bike to get the cheapest bike saddle known to man!) (It’s taken a few saddles (and lots of money) to get to my current setup)

Next, I increased the stem length to give me more stability (80mm to 100mm)  and then swapped it for smaller handlebars. (38 to 34)

Some things were a bit of playing around with to get right. Adjusting here and there. I tried putting my saddle lower/higher, forward and back.

(there was also the introduction of the 2nd Super Six Evo after a car hit me with the first, 2 weeks into owning it, and obviously replacing all of those parts I had just replaced, for the 2nd incarnation of the bike)

I had guys from club rides mock my set-up and whatever I did, as a girl what did I know?

I still have people (or should I say men) on Twitter arguing my saddle is too low *insert rolling eyes emoji here*

I did have a pro bike fit done in 2022 and you know what? Totally messed up my setup.

Whatever I did something kept nagging at me, the bike was always still a bit big for me. I’m tiny if you looked at  A little about me

There was a lot of talk about 650c wheels, which are not stock these days, and obviously, you’d need a bike made to run them. So about 10k to give them a go. I looked at 650b which you can buy and is more affordable but it took a while to take that plunge.

When Loki came into my life, it was a whole new game of tweaking this and tweaking that. He didn’t like the 34 handlebars so had to buy some 36s and cut some off. (no idea why but the SRAM shifters wouldn’t fit on the 34 bars, the Shimano shifters fit on the Cannondale with the smaller bars, but alas Loki wasn’t having it.) Also swapped the stem to a 90mm, they didn’t have a 100mm in stock and so far I’m ok with the 90mm. A fiddle here and there but from the start, the bike just felt like it “fit better”.

Now interestingly the geometry of the 2 bikes is very similar, just a tad different here and there. Those little differences, different carbon etc can make a bigger difference than you’d imagine. And I still can’t pinpoint the exact reason!

And then I finally tried 650b wheels, and a new world opened up! I’m still playing with tyre options but I’m so much happier. Besides just falling in love with Loki (yes my Cervélo has a name) it just rides so much better. I sold the Cannondale if that tells you how in love I am!!

The 650b wheels brought me lower to the ground and the wider tyres made everything more stable. Wind at my size isn’t fun, even a twig could just about throw me off on the Cannondale with my 700c tyres. The 650b’s roll up to speed faster and maybe they are slower on the flats, but the stability and increase in speed downhill matter to me more.

Now back to bike fitting. There are a lot of people in the bike fitting market who know nothing about bike fitting. They are just going off rough ideas and trying to sell you a service, then products they recommend during this service. A good salesperson should be able to tell if the bike fits properly before selling you the bike, but again, from my experience and many others, it is often “just sell the customer what they have and get them out of the door”. (Covid and supply issues exacerbated the issue)

There are a few very qualified bike fitters in the world, but finding who is legit, can be a bit difficult. Also, are they used to fitting men? Women? Racers vs commuters? I totally recommend doing research on your own and asking knowledgeable friends as a starting point. You may find this is all you need. Then if you need to pay for help, seek out someone who has good reviews and isn’t in the biz just to sell you stuff.

GCN has asked the pros if they had bike fits and you may be shocked to know this, but several have never had a proper bike fit. The shops trying to sell you their expensive bike fit, saying it’s “essential” likely won’t tell you this important tidbit of information.

I’ve spent a lot of money on parts, even 2 bikes that didn’t really fit properly, wheels that were good but too big for me, you name it and I’ve wasted money on it in this journey. To add to the difficulty I’m also a unique size so the bike industry isn’t really making products for people my size. In the end, besides finally having a bike I love, I’ve learned loads in the process. if you get an off-the-shelf bike that fits perfectly, keep this to yourself! No one wants to know! Especially not me!

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Does watts per kg matter?

Yes, no and maybe.

First, it all depends on what you’re hoping to achieve with your cycling. Commuting to work? Buying groceries or wanna-be racer?

The majority of amateur cyclists don’t need to know. If you’re trying to improve your times, get some KOM/QOMs on Strava, it may be a metric you will know more about, but does it help in any way? No, it just is another way of saying your power output.

It’s a number, nothing more, nothing less.

But I said yes above, didn’t I? Ok, so this is why it can be a metric that shows your power is very good on the bike and if you’re competitive like me, this is a good thing. It is also a metric that can be helpful if you are tiny also like me.

400 watts isn’t always 400 watts

400 watts / 95kg = 4.21 watts per kg.

400 watts / 44kg = 9.09 watts per kg.

Notice how the total watts stay the same, but obviously, for the lighter rider the watts per kg are higher? So this is an example where the watts per kilo are more useful than the total watts. Does it mean anything more? No, not really.

If you are hoping to be the next hill climb champ, the next TDF winner then higher watts per kg is going to be your goal in life. It means you’re going to be faster uphill. On the flats, on the downhills? The weight difference matters less and for downhills is a disadvantage if anything. (physics is fickle)

I like to say my watts per kg as the total number can be smaller than many men who are double my size, but given my SIZE my number is the same or higher.

For the avg club rider, it really is just useless numbers or bragging material or a mixture of both.

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Fuel on the bike aka what to eat while cycling

First, let’s address the topic of using the term “fuel” this is obviously a cool professional cycling term and the term is a little misleading.

There are wanna-be professionals that will use this term for basically everything they ingest and it’s obnoxious. If you want to be technical every single human on the planet is ingesting “fuel” so they can live.

It doesn’t sound very special anymore now does it?

Obviously, when the body is under stress including exercise the intake of carbs and glucose needs to be increased. But this needs to be increased before you even start exercising because obviously, it’s not an instantaneous process.

Various chemical processes happen within the body which in the end turns your gel or bagel into energy. The time needed to process and turn your food into glycogen/atp/energy is debated depending on what you read but if you don’t eat well and go out and try to do 100 km tomorrow you’re probably going to feel tired.

After reading way too much about what is ideal to eat before cycling and during cycling and even after cycling I have come to the conclusion that nobody wants to hear:

There is no one perfect answer for everyone.

Yes, I know this is very devastating news and what it means is that you actually have to take the time to figure out what is best for you.

Before any big event, you are going to have to eat more. What exactly you’re going to have to eat depends a lot on your dietary preferences, your digestion and your event. I know some people who absolutely swear by rice and it makes my stomach hurt so anyone that tells you that there’s just one perfect food is misleading.

Obviously, carbs are your friend. Carbs will help you store glycogen and you’re going to need liquids for this whole fun factory of energy happening, this could be water this could be juice definitely not beer and wine, especially before your event.

Like a lot of people, I love oatmeal. I usually have it every morning and I might have a second serving in the day. I find it very easy to digest. I prepare mine with water and I usually add a banana. It’s also very good for lowering cholesterol so it’s a great superfood. If you can’t eat oatmeal don’t knock yourself. There are just as many people who swear on rice. Again you have to figure out what your body can tolerate and digest.

If there is a big ride and or event and if you have prepared properly you would’ve eaten well for a few days and the breakfast before showtime is just going to be that little bit extra that you need it’s not going to be the main course as to say.

Now for an even more controversial topic what to eat while cycling.

Here’s another one that nobody wants to hear it all depends on what works for you. There is a wide array of energy drinks, gummies,  candies and energy gels. You have to try various things to figure out what is your favourite and what works best for you.

Some people prefer food and some people prefer gels.

It is frustrating and sad when people have to argue on the Internet with strangers about what works best for them. I have no problem with gels they don’t give me any stomach issues and I find them very effective. This doesn’t mean fuck all in life. It is ridiculous the amount of harassment I have had because of my lack of food during a long ride and the dependence on gels when if you actually know about metabolism you would realise that your body just breaks that food down to the same exact molecule the gel is just quicker that’s all.

Some people prefer drinking their carbs in energy drinks again it all depends on you and what works best for your body!

Of course one of the best parts of a ride is the cake stop and no shock, but there are differing opinions on what to have. There is the flapjack option (some feel this is more healthy when usually it’s not) or actually having cake at the cake stop as it’s called a bloody cake stop!

There are crazy people that actually eat like real meals. I don’t quite understand this but if that’s what makes them happy they should go for it. Myself personally I love cake so I usually have cake. Especially if there is something I like if you’re curious my favourite is usually:

Carrot cake

Coffee cake

or some blueberry concoction and yes I have left out cheesecake because it’s a little heavy for cycling, but I have done this (and regretted it later)

Now this is where I get complicated, I have just expressed my undying love for cake and I gave you three options for my favourite because they are all my favourites but if I want the second half of my ride to give me the best results?

I will NOT eat the cake.

Ok I will give you a moment to digest that one (good use of puns is my superpower)

I have found time and time again that although I enjoy eating the cake if I want to ride my bike afterwards it doesn’t help. I end up with some kind of stomach pain and I just have slower times. I have also had sugar crashes after having some particularly icing-filled lovely cakes.

So what I’d like to have and what is actually best for me if I was looking to be at the top of my performance are two different things. A similar problem with coffee I do love coffee but coffee is a diuretic. As a woman, I don’t really like having to get naked on the side of the road when I have to piss so I typically will have an espresso if I’m going to have coffee on a ride I don’t really like espresso but it’s the least amount of liquid if I want to have a caffeine hit.

There is way too much snobbery surrounding this topic. You can call it food you can call it fuel whatever you fancy calling it, it all turns into ATP aka energy.

So play around with different options and see what makes you feel better and maybe you’ll realise that having a full breakfast at the cake stop makes you slower but you’re okay with that because you actually enjoy having breakfast with your friends. You may find that coke is your new best friend, the version in the red can, not the other one that is not recommended while cycling.

What works for one person it’s not going to work for everyone.

When you look at carb intake per hour, remember that this is based on weight + intensity. Just because Joe has 120 g of carbs per hour doesn’t mean you have to. Again it’s all based on your weight and intensity.

I typically see recommendations of .5 to 1 g of carbs per kilo per hour again you need to play around with that and see where you fall in the spectrum. You made need more or you may need less.

If you’re doing a long ride or an event no matter what you think you need make sure you have that extra gel or substitute item as it may come in handy. (I speak from experience!)

After you’re done exercising it’s a good idea to have some kind of recovery drink this could be something as simple as chocolate milk or a protein shake. Something ideally with protein and carbs to help kick start the replenishing of glycogen. Ideally within 30mins to an hour after you’re done. Again some people never have done this in their life and they feel absolutely wonderful other people will crash. You will figure out easily which camp you fall into.

Someone asked about using something like squash versus the manufactured energy drinks or tablets for the water and there are people that make up their own concoctions using salt and sugar and it works for them. It can be a lot easier to just use a premade product that you know exactly what is in it. I have met people that have sworn by everything under the Sun including having milky coffee in the bidon.

Some can handle 1 brand of gel but not another. Experimenting is the only way you’re going to know. I’ve tried several gels, my overall fav is High 5, they are economical, have a nice texture and are a good size. Drop me an email or DM on social media for 40% off their range of products.

If you are not looking to race and you are just wanting to get out and enjoy riding your bike a lot of this is overthinking. Although, you should have something with you in case you start feeling like you’re going to bonk or feel lightheaded, have something sugary to hand.

 

If you’d like 40% off High 5 products (my fav gels) drop me an email or DM on social media for a discount code.

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