I just want your weirdest thing you do that you swear by that helps for whatever reason.
Trim your nose hairs. It makes breathing so much easier! It's very noticable, especially above 12,000ft.
by The-Hand-of-Midas
I just want your weirdest thing you do that you swear by that helps for whatever reason.
Trim your nose hairs. It makes breathing so much easier! It's very noticable, especially above 12,000ft.
by The-Hand-of-Midas
13 Comments
Don’t ever start bikepacking or after a few days your life will change completely
Love this!
Don’t buy fancy snack bags. Cheap Kmart water bottle holders are the best!
Wear funny/bright colours – you look more approachable and people are nicer to you/more likely to chat or offer help. I’ve had many a dinner invite when wearing my rainbow bandana.
And I don’t wear proper cycling shoes. Blundstone boots are great for riding and double for casual wear around town or camp.
Looking forward to hearing other people’s tips!
When I find myself pushing too hard on long steep climbs, I count backwards from 10,000, pronouncing every syllable of every number in my head until my inhalations and exhalations start to sync and follow a rhythm with the words in my mind. Nine thousand nine hundred and eighty six, nine thousand nine hundred and eighty five. I may even say the words out loud– I don’t know, never had anyone around to ask– but it always seems to balance out my heart rate and put me at a good pace. And then my mind drifts again… burritos, snickers… rinse, repeat.
Don’t put bread with banana and Nutella on them in a ziplock bag and expect them not to be mush. #gelslurp
https://preview.redd.it/29wxaqxfqrog1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8930f9c5e1661efcfef8423d6458707be8b0bd97
Never ever put your camp shoes or sandals on the ground when you switch shoes. They always go into a pack.
When you are charging devices, put your helmet on the ground and all of the devices in your helmet. Don’t pick up the helmet again until all of your devices AND your charger block AND your cords are put away.
These are the big two for me. I have ADHD and I have lost so many shoes/chargers/battery packs.
Bananas don’t travel well (even for a short period) as the jarring quickly liquifies them and leaves an odour inside your bag.
wearing arm warmers on hot sunny days can cool you down than just wearing a jersey/shirt (plus points if you soak them in water). it helps protect you from direct sunlight and marginally wicks sweat away.
ideally wear UV sleeves with thinner material but even synthetic fleece, made for keeping you warm in cold weather, can do the trick!
Use lip balm! After several days of cycling, the wind completely chaps my lips
When you need to push your bike when it’s too steep, attach a bungee cord, or a strap on the saddle rails, and pass it around your waist.
It will be easier to push since you’ll be using your waist to do so and not only your arms.
If it is brutally hot and you are near a town / store and you can’t afford to wait out the heat – go to a drug store / corner store and buy a pair of stockings / pantyhose, fill them with ice, tie them off and drape them over your neck to keep you cool. You can use your arm warmers in a pinch for this by tying them together and filling them. But I like them for sun protection.
When you are schwacking a trail that was supposed to be rideable in the late afternoon early evening singing out loud keeps the bears away. (Maybe)
Check your local hunting season calendar. I woke up at a lean to and as I was packing up a hunter came around the corner. We scared each other. It was the first day of bear season. My red raincoat stayed on for the rest of that single track section. He provided some great intel on blow down and difficulties I would face if I proceeded with my intended route.
If someone approaches you as you are setting up camp and they keep their hand on the piece strapped to their hip just pack up and move on. No one that postures with a weapon gives a shit about your rights on public land, despite how freedom loving they talk, or the slogan on their t-shirt or truckers cap.
Toilet kit is the first thing that gets packed. I would wear a lite weight runners style vest and my phone, ID, battery, toiletries and snacks would go in that bag. I always had it on me.
Stuff newspapers that you can grab at a resupply in your riding boots / shoes overnight to help draw the moisture out if you have been riding in rain / freezing rain all day. Bonus points if it drops to 8°f and as you are making coffee you watch your water line freeze and have to skip the oatmeal.
When it’s cold anything and everything that is cold sensitive goes in your sleeping bag with you. Batteries, camera, phone, water.
Socks. Bring more than one pair and change them.
Keep the rubber side down 👍
Don’t wear socks made from cotton.
Put maxi pads in your shorts/bibs and change a couple times a day if you suffer from bad saddle sores.