5 tips for your first cycling holiday

Whether you dream of cycling to Santiago de Compostela or you are thinking of following the Rhine for a week towards Switzerland, or a A week of cycling in the mountains: All cycling holidays start with a beautiful dream. However, don’t let it remain just an idea; work towards the moment when you step onto your bike for the first time. When you go on holiday by bike, it’s a bit different from a weekend bike trip in the Ardennes. A cycling holiday is freedom, but also adapting to and dealing with the circumstances. If life hands you lemons, you just make lemonade. These tips are

1. Clothing

Rain gear and layers are the code you need to follow. Especially in the high mountains, above 2000 meters, you need to keep in mind that it’s much cooler at the top than in the valley. In addition, the weather in the mountains is unpredictable, so while it might seem like you’ll burn like a stick, behind the next mountain pass could be a thunderstorm or even snow! And that’s no easy feat. So when you’re packing, think about the following items:

• The sleeve and leg parts are easy to put on and take off; you can also easily tuck them away under your shirt.
• Rain jacket or vest. Not only against the rain, but also for example during the descent of a steep climb, a jacket is useful. You can also choose to bring a wind- and waterproof vest. That breathes a little better and ensures that you can lose heat more easily.
• Thermosuits in long and short. Do we need to say more?
• Optional: Overshoes. If it rains really hard, no overshoe will really keep you dry, but in between everything, overshoes can come in handy.

Our Basic packing list It will definitely get you off to a good start, helpne

READ ALSO: Our clothing tips for the winter

2. Material

First of all, it is important that you properly check or have your bike checked beforehand. Of course, you can have this done at your bike shop (make an appointment in advance, read: two weeks in advance), but you can also perform some of the checks yourself.

• Chain. There is nothing more annoying than riding with a worn chain. You can keep going and it just doesn’t feel right. With a simple chain checker you can see if your chain needs replacing. A big tip: usually your cassette is also quite worn out. Check that too right away, because otherwise you’ll end up breaking it.
• Rock climbing. We ourselves have entered the fog several times and ended up with a 36 in front and a 28 behind in the Dolomites. If the road goes over 10%, then you really aren’t happy. Then it’s a long journey of suffering and your dream trip will be ruined.
• Make sure you have enough inner and outer tubes. The chance of encountering a bicycle repair shop with supplies in the mountains on a Sunday is always a challenge. Also always bring enough CO2 cartridges and a pump.
• Make sure your steering wheel and steering buttons fit properly and also check that the ball head is not loose. Additionally, checking the brake pads and discs is a must. Be sure to bring an extra set of pads for rim brakes. You never know how hard you’ll suddenly have to apply the brakes when the road keeps going downhill for 10% meters.

READ MORE: Need a little help? An explanation about switching and switching groups

3. Climbing and descending techniques

Have you always only cycled up and down in the Netherlands? Then it certainly couldn't hurt to follow a climbing clinic and a corner/descend clinic once in a while. Why? The mountains are really different. When climbing uphill, you have to keep in mind that you could easily spend more than an hour just climbing. Especially with the climbs of the various Alpenreuzen and Pyrenean colts, For the average amateur, climbing for just 1.5 to 2 hours is quite a feat. You ride uphill much more slowly and the longest climbs are 30 or 40 kilometers long. Climbing is a whole different skill set. When do you switch on/off, do you turn the coffee grinder or are you more of a plodder? You don’t learn that on the Amerongse Berg; for that you have to go into the mid- and high-mountain regions.

Safe descent

Even when descending. If you can drive through a bend hard, good for you. But if you arrive at a hairpin bend with 80 kilometers per hour, that’s a different story. You have traffic, you have a cliff, fatigue plays a role. Good cornering technique comes in handy. Of course, that’s also a matter of courage, but technique is just as important.

Tip 1 from us: You should brake before the bend, using both brakes. Braking in the bend guarantees launching yourself. Your front brake is most powerful when going downhill. To brake well, you can also brake gradually.

TIP 2: book a drop-in clinic at one of the more well-known parties, such as Amateurfietser.nl

4. Choose your own pace

On TV it looks so easy, with the professionals zooming up the mountain. The big difference with you, the enthusiastic amateur, is training and acclimatization. Professionals cycle every day, all year round. Of course, they also have adaptation problems, but in general they can get going right away, without much reserve. That doesn’t apply to you, as an enthusiast. It’s better to get used to the surroundings on the first day of your cycling holiday. If you have your own bike, get it assembled and ride a one-hour round. Especially if you’re above 1500 meters altitude, it’s really a matter of getting used to the thinner air. But even if you’re at sea level like on Mallorca, a ‘ride-in’ is no unnecessary luxury.

Longer distance?

Are you going on a training camp for a week, but you normally cycle about 2 or 3 times a week? Maintain balance and plan in that week to have a rest day as well. Even if you cycle for 5-6 hours a day, every day, you will suffer more fatigue. That might seem fun on paper, but in practice you will do more harm than good.

That also applies to the effort you put in. If you’re going to do multiple climbs, don’t immediately start racing in the red on the first climb. Doing that will cause you to break down later on.

5. Nutrition

Food, food, and more food. Nothing is more important when you go cycling. Keep in mind that you definitely need to keep enough fuel in the tank for the uphill part. As mentioned earlier: you might be on the road for more than an hour uphill. If you don’t keep eating, you’ll regret it. Climbing is almost automatically at a higher heart rate than riding on flat ground. The man with the hammer, the well-known phenomenon of being completely drained, lurks, and if you don’t eat enough, you might even encounter it on the descent. Therefore: keep enough carbohydrates until you take them. Make sure you eat mostly solid food in the beginning of the day. gelato, If you are there, you really have to hold on until the end.

Also, don’t suddenly start eating very strange things on vacation that you wouldn’t normally eat. Before you know it, your stomach will be full and you’ll be closer to the pot than at the top. It’s just a tip.

Bonus tip: ENJOY

As long as you don’t pay for it, fun is the most important thing on your holiday. Fun can of course come from achieving a KOM or by beating your travel companion or companions in the sprint uphill. But above all, make sure you have fun. And above all: stay safe. In the descent there is plenty of traffic that can get in the way and the steering skills of yourself and other road users can also lead to problems.