Just a few tips to any of our new riders that are contemplating getting in a longer ride than they have been used to in the "Cooler" days that are about to arrive.

Not often I get out on organised rides as most of my riding is done solo and is usually over routes I know and between Cafes for refreshments. But yesterday I did an organised ride with a few mates. First thing that got me was the number of riders with only one bottle on the bike. Anything over 50 miles and I wear a camelback with my energy drink in it. That is 2 litres of pleasant tasteing liquid. The bottles are filled with water so if I get hot- I can pour water over my head instead of liquid that goes sticky after a few minutes. Luckily for one rider- My two Spare bottles of water kept him hydrated between check points.

Then food. This ride had bananas and power bars at the 3 rest stops. I do not like powerbars and I get fed up with bananas. Normally on a metric I will not stop but I like to munch a bit so Fig newtons or dried fruit is my normal fare--Or both. In fact the camelback has some cereal bars and a sealed pack of mixed fruit in it all the time that gets replaced after every ride.

Clothing-----Cycling specific Wicking clothing works. It was hot yesterday for us---Up around 85f-- and you could pick out the cotton material tops. Those that had proper wicking material jerseys stayed dry and a newcomer wearing lycra stated that the only place he was sweating was on his face. He wasn't but any sweat on the body was being wicked away into the clothing and into the air with his forward momentum. He never felt hot as the air movement kept him cool. The two in cotton were showing sweat all down the back and under the arms and by 10 miles in they were saturated. They also felt cold on a fast downhill due to the dampness.

All you need on a ride like this- where the weather will not change- is what you can carry in the Wedge under the saddle and in your pockets. The number of riders I saw with knapsacks on was worrying. In fact one of our new riders was wearing one and we made him leave it at the start. It must have weighed 15 lbs and 50 miles with that on his back would have hurt by the end. Only thing we allowed him to keep was his wallet- phone- camera- and some food. That went into his jersey pockets and the bike had two bottles. He also had a wedge under the saddle with puncture repair kit and a pump. Nothing else was needed.

These are things I have learnt after many years of riding and I have tried to get these points over to the new riders within our group. They now know why I told them but there must be many more "Basics" that I can't even remember as they are second nature to me. One of which is to get the bike checked over before the ride as within our group of 7-We had no bike failure- all the riders finished and although I want to keep the flat fairy away so shouldn't mention it- The wedge did not get used by anyone.

Any one any more tips?