In my previous post I described that I’ve Joined a rec cycling club for the first time. At the kick-off welcome meeting, club leaders gave us helpful tips and explained that the annual membership gives riders access to club routes in the app Ride with GPS.
I dutifully followed advice to get my bike tuned up early in the season at a friendly bike place. Then I bought cycling gear. So, at the first sunny day I had no excuse but to try it all out.
From the app I chose the shortest all- pavement route: 26.5 km and a mere 95 m of elevation. It seemed like a manageable trip for me as a novice cycler before my first club ride.
What I Did Not Do Right
- Ignoring the repeated reminders from the club leader during the kick off meeting, I failed to bring energy snacks. (I imagined the trip would be so short I would be fine without.)
- Thinking it would be too chilly, I did not wear my padded bike shorts (or consider the even smarter option of wearing bike shorts under pants).
- Because I bought a repair kit, I removed loose Allen keys from my handle bar bag. Then I inexplicably left the bike repair kit at home, so I had no way to adjust my seat height.
- I did not think to review the route to note where there may be road closures (so of course I encountered was one that totally blocked the planned route).
- Not anticipating how quickly the GPS app would deplete my phone battery, I didn’t bother to charge my phone (so ran out of power before the ride end).
What worked out okay
Thanks to the tune up, the bike was in great shape to ride. I had gear: a new phone holder for navigation, a water bottle for hydration, and a streamed audio book to keep me from grumping about how darn windy it was (until the lphone died, of course). Also, I was nervous about road cycling, but there wasn’t much traffic and the route had a shoulder for much of the way.
When I got back to my start point I noticed a chip wagon had opened, so I hungrily ate delicious chips and vinegar while I recharged my phone in the car. (No picture available: chips devoured too quickly).
Lessons for next time
While I am sure that many of these things can happen to seasoned riders, my rookie mistakes made the trip feel longer than it was. My first lesson from this first time out is to prepare for every cycling ride like it will be a long one, even when it might not appear to be. Next time I will more carefully mind my supplies, especially when I go out on my own: it’s better to carry what I didn’t need than to need what I didn’t carry.
My second lesson is that I need snack suggestions from the FIFI community. What snacks do you prefer to take with you when you are out exercising?
I usually take gels and cliff shot blocks. On long rides I take two bottles, one with water and one with skratch. On long rides where there won’t be a place for lunch, peanut butter sandwiches and bananas. Enjoy!
I chose shots and gels and skratch because of electrolytes and hot long summer rides. I can also open and eat them while riding. And my stomach is happy with them. No barf factor.
I like nuun tabs to add to my water bottle. I also like Tap, it’s a Canadian made maple syrup sports gel that has salt and flavour. You can get big bottles and refillable squeeze bottles.
Bananas, apples and clementines are easy to throw in the back jersey pocket.
I’ve fallen out of love with Clif bars.
My beloved swears by Ride by Gruupo. It’s a powered meal replacement that you add to your water bottle.
Oh right. The maple syrup packets. I love those too.
When I was a bike commuter, I created a checklist that I actually consulted before each ride: water, bike lock & key, snack, change of clothes, air in tires, ID, etc. I should just post that in my garage again. It’s easy to overlook stuff in the hustle to hit the road.
My go to snack is granola bar or sandwich for longer rides. I always keep multiple granola bars in my bike bag.