Riding in new places is one of the most rewarding aspects of our sport. Each trip offers new roads, new challenges and a chance to explore areas you likely would never have seen if it wasn’t for the bike. Early in my career though, I often dreaded the idea of travelling for cycling – knowing I had a big goal waiting for me and so many stressful uncertainties to deal with on the way there.
Don’t stress
Athletes usually thrive on routine and each travel day inevitably turns that carefully calibrated schedule on its head. When will I sleep? What should I eat? Are my legs still going to be good after all of this? Will I even make it to the start line with a bike to ride?
Even if you aren’t competing but are heading off on a cycling vacation, these questions still loom. No one wants to spend their hard-earned money on a cycling trip only to have it compromised before the riding even starts.
Invest in a Good Bike Box
Some of this anxiety can be relieved by controlling certain variables in travel. Travelling with a quality, modern bike bag or case makes an enormous difference compared to older models that had the maneuverability of a tractor trailer and seemed to weigh as much as one too. Ease of transport and the security of knowing your bike is well protected are benefits worth paying for, even if you only travel once or twice a season.
The Scicon bike box – Others are available
Invest in a Smoother Flight Plan
The same can be said for planning the most reasonable, straightforward travel itinerary that you can. It can be tempting to hunt for bargain flights and give the airlines as little of your money as possible – after all they seem to do everything in their power to damage our precious bikes. But after fourteen hours in airports, a missed connection and lost luggage, most athletes would pay handsomely for a do-over with a direct flight. This advice may seem fairly obvious, but over my years of competing and coaching it seems like most athletes, including myself, learn those lessons the hard way.
Dealing with Travel Stress
While you can control certain aspects of your travel experience, your day is still very much at the mercy of external forces, both in terms of delays and in availability. Sometimes a four am alarm, bad weather and an endless wait at the rental car desk are unavoidable. Suddenly your routine is disrupted and you find yourself eating a six dollar airport candy bar for breakfast while doing laps of the concourse trying to “keep your legs moving”. Even worse, I’ve often seen many athletes so welded to their training plan that they end up kitting up and riding away from the hotel at nine o’clock at night to makes sure they check off the prescribed ride for the day.
My best advice to deal with an unnatural travel day schedule is simple: relax and rest. One imperfect day is not going to ruin months of preparation. I used to leave a box of protein bars and some beef jerky in my travel backpack even between trips. That way if things went awry I wouldn’t go hungry or eat anything I would regret later. It’s not the healthiest diet in the world, but for a day, it will do just fine.
Don’t stress
Don’t Stress the Training
I recommend the same approach in terms of physical activity. If you end up missing your ride that day, you will be okay. The hay is already in the barn in terms of training and you are at the stage when a little extra rest will be a probably be a benefit. Trying to squeeze in a pre-travel ride in before dawn or a post-travel “spin out” when you should be winding down for bed are both far riskier than just accepting a sedentary day off. In my experience, getting on the plane well rested and relaxing on arrival do more to keep an athlete healthy pre-race than all the hand sanitizer in the world.
There are legitimate concerns about resting too much and starting a race feeling “over fresh” or flat. A proper pre-race ride with some “opener” type efforts can be helpful for optimal performance. For that reason, I would always try to arrive two days before my goal event so that I could have a full day to tune up and get mentally focussed, even if I had an abysmal travel experience. Sometimes that isn’t possible and you find yourself between a rock and a hard place scheduling wise. In those cases, I would suggest the risk of being “too rested” is a much better option than starting the race tired and broken down from adding too much stress the day before.
Rest & Relax
Overall, simplicity and rest are the best weapons you have against the strains and frustration of travel. Even when it comes to adjusting to new time zones and limiting jet lag, my advice is the same. Relax and sleep as much as you can and eat when you are hungry, no matter what the clock says. You can try to adjust your diurnal rhythm for a new time zone in the days and weeks leading up to your event but trying to drive your body to do it mid-travel is just another stressor you don’t need. A final insight that I picked up in my years on the road, is the value of company on your journey. Braving the potential chaos of travel alone can feel like torture, but if you can take it on with a teammate or a partner, the entire process feels a lot less daunting.
So as the warmer weather greets us and you make the final plans for your big goals of the season, aim to make your travel as calm and painless as possible. Let go of as many concerns as you can, rest up and be confident that you are ready to perform at your best.
Warm weather training
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