Traveling
Traveling to races is fun, it’s what we like to do. But it can go sideways if you are not prepared, and ruin your trip/race. Below are a few tips and ideas on how to make your traveling more successful and enjoyable, ultimately leading to a better race result.
Bring your shoes as a carry on. Luggage gets lost, more now than ever. Shoes are hard to barrow. Bike, helmet and kit can be borrowed, but you have got to have your own shoes. Carry them on, you will be happy you did.
Get a nice bike case. I love the Sicon ones, you can pack/unpack your bike in 5 minutes. The bars, seat and even pedals all stay on. Simply pull off your wheels and put them in the wheel pockets in the case, drop your bike in and zip it up. These are also soft cases, so you can pull your bike out and put it on a roof rack and roll up your bike case to go in the trunk, all without tools in 5 minutes. I used to put sea suckers (the suction cup roof racks) in my bike box to put on a rental car and then roll up our bike cases and put them in the trunk, this allows for a cheap compact rental.
Get a single duffle bag/backpack that you can jam your stuff in. Put it on your back, so your hands are free to wrestle your bike case around the airport, bus/subway and into your lodging – you need some hands free. I stuff my helmet and some clothes etc. in my bike case, just gotta keep it under 50 pounds.
Food. Bring some food with, you never know when you will want a snack while traveling. Stuff some power food, split or whatever into your carry on. Traveling is rough on the body, don’t beat yourself up before you even start your race, stay fueled.
I like to also bring some emergency food in my bike case or duffle bag. If you are out of the country, it can get hard to find food you want to eat, or even find food at all in some instances. Toss a few packets of instant oatmeal in your bag, you can use hot water from the sink and have a breakfast that will get you through a race, you can even use cold water if you have too. Put a jar of peanut butter in your bag, some supermarket level one like Skippy that has enough preservatives to last 10 years, never know when you may need it. All over the world you can find good bread, just pull out your peanut butter, and you have a meal – every American can put down a peanut butter sandwich in a pinch. You would be amazed how hard it is to find peanut butter outside the USA. I once raced in Yugoslavia, back in 94. After a week of gagging down mystery soup and mystery meat (they farm horses for horse meat in Eastern Europe), my teammate pulled out a bag of Lenders bagels – these were like the wonder bread of bagels, super soft with a 10-year shelf life, never has a bagel tasted so good, it literally improved our entire team’s moral a week into a stage race. Toss a few Snicker bars in as well, never know when you need some straight-up sugar, you may need it mid-race. Snickers don’t melt as much as most, and they last for 10 years as well (maybe more?). You may also find yourself arriving at your destination at 3am and hungry, with no local food in sight, have something packed away to jam down.
Gather a few spare parts into a bag and just leave it at the bottom of your bike case, a few good items to have:
-spare cleats and cleat bolts
-tube
-patch kit
-tire
-chain tool
-Allen wrenches
-half a roll of bar tap (and some electrical tape)
-any specific tool your bike may need (if you have some proprietary headset or something)
-mini pump
-Di2 charger….
Personal items I can recommend that can be a hassle to find when on the road:
-Advil
-claritin (or some allergy pill)
-sudafed.
-first aid kit (second skin and some band-aids)
-chamois cream.
-wet wipes
-sunscreen, you don’t want to get sun burned on day 1 of a stage race or trip
-ground coffee (you can use a junky motel 6 coffee maker with your grounds and a paper towel to make some good brew.
-toilet paper, just a bit, never know if you got to drop a deuce pre race and there is no toilet. I once showed up for the TT at valley of the sun, like 300 people, and the porta potty company did not show up. It was a serious situation in the desert, like Burning Man 2023!
-a few tide pods or detergent, you can do a bit of laundry in the sink if need be. Another option is to jump in your shower with your kit on and soap/lather up. Then lay your kit in a towel and wring it out as tight as you can, till it sounds like the towel is going to rip, then put your kit on top of the crappy lamp next to your bed (don’t burn it), should be dry by morning.
-some travel soap/shampoo cant hurt to have hidden away just in case.
Of course, don’t forget anything, we have all done it, but it is even worse when you are 1000’s of miles from home.
Not a bad idea to take a picture of your passport, id, plane tickets, medical card etc. and keep it on your phone. I have seen more than one junior lose their passport while overseas, it can be a pain. I would even recommend making a printed copy of your ID/License etc. and stuffing it in the bottom of your bike bag or duffle bag, it can’t hurt.
Check in with your family. You may be busy racing and excited to explore your new area, but remember you got some family back home that likely helped pay for you to get where you are, and they deserve the odd text message or photo, at a minimum. Likely your parents are paying your phone bill, so I would think they at least deserve the odd text.
If you are staying at host lodging, be well-behaved. Some family has offered up a free place for you to sleep, and possibly they will even cook you a few meals. This can be a great experience, I have enjoyed some fantastic host lodging. If they offer dinner, do the dishes. Maybe bring them back a dessert to share one night, be willing to spend time with them as practical – sometimes they will even come watch your race, it can be fun. But don’t leave a mess and be a bad guest, you may need to stay with them the following year. Of course, on occasion host lodging is not great… Our team once got put up in a double wide in the desert at the Bisbee stage race. It was hot and dirty, not ideal recovery after getting pounded for 100 miles every day in the desert. But be prepared, bring your own soap etc. Bike racing is about surviving, on and off the bike. And remember, these memories will last you a lifetime and even the crazy ones will eventually just turn into funny stories.
Oh yea, don’t forget to show up early at the airport, don’t miss your flight. Also, if you are last minute your bike may not make the flight, another pain in the ass. As a matter of fact, I recommend booking a spot for your bike in advance. I have traveled out of the country and seen the max bike per plan limit hit and people get flicked from the flight, just another stress you don’t want to have. Gone are the days of showing up at the airport and claiming your bike case is something else and getting it on for free, just book it in advance. Some airlines do offer bikes for free or cheap, and some are super expensive – put an eye on this before you book your flight, 100 bucks saved on the ticket could cost you an extra 150 in bike fees.
Don’t be that guy that is late, there is always one guy that is late or has the wrong ticket or something obviously avoidable, don’t be “that guy”.
If you can sleep on your flight, do it, some people just turn off like a light switch, wish I was one of them! I can hardly fall asleep in my own bed, let alone a plane. But I have managed to jam in a few hours of rest. When flying to Europe I try to get a non-stop flight OR at least one where we fly non-stop from LAX to Europe and then transfer, you need some time to settle into your flight to try and sleep. I also pop a sudafed and this helps me knock out a bit, I also get a bit congested when I fly, so it helps with that as well. I prefer a window seat, so I can put a pillow against it and try to rest my head to sleep. My favorite flight is leaving LAX at 5 or 6pm, then after a few hours try to nap and wake up as you are nearing land in Europe.
Toss an Apple air tag in your bike case. I actually have one glued under my seat at all times, in case my bike is stolen. This allows you to track your bike once it is lost, no joke. You would be amazed how many times the airline thinks it is in London, or has no idea where it is, and you can show them on your phone that it is like 300 feet away in some back room.
Once I land in a foreign land, I force myself to stay awake all day until sun down – fight the urge to nap at 3pm, or you will wake up at 9pm and be up all night. You have got to just get on the new rhythm ASAP. No matter what, I wake up at 9am the next morning, have a coffee and go ride, force the body to get in its rhythm. This is what works for me, you can try it out, but you will need to figure out what works for you. Riding right away will help your body get into the new time zone, and who does not want to go explore on their bike anyway?
In my carry on, with my shoes and travel food, I carry an extra t-shirt and some wet wipes, sometimes 2 extra shirts. Standing in customs, pushing your bike case around, a few transfers, maybe a delay etc. and you could spend 20+ hours in the same outfit. Once I land, I hit the bathroom and hit the underarms and what not with a wet wipe (or wet paper towel) and put on a fresh shirt – you feel amazing. And if you got a few more hours in a car to your final destination this will help you be more comfortable, hopefully your travel mates can do the same!
Before you depart it’s a good idea to order some local currency, just a bit of pocket money that you may need in a pinch, most countries use some sort of digital payment, but cash is always handy to have. I can order it online from my bank, and it comes in the mail, super easy. Getting it at the airport is usually a pain and more expensive.
You will likely want to pick up a SIM card at the airport though, usually they have them in vending machines, assuming your phone uses a SIM card – check this out in advance. You will want your phone for an Uber or maps likely. I even have an old phone I sometimes bring that takes a SIM card, and it’s not the end of the world if I lose it. I keep the iPhone in the room while I explore and bring the backup no-name phone with the SIM card, you can get a new no name smartphone for $50 on eBay, not a bad way to go. You can also use this to put all the local apps on, your destination may have a map app or Uber type app you need. Make sure and pre-download the Google Maps for offline use also, if you are out riding these will work without cell service.
A bad travel day can affect your race, but taking a few precautions can help limit the damage. Some stuff is out of your control, but how you handle it is in your control and will make the difference. If you are well-prepared to travel, you may have a leg up on your competition before the start.