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How to keep my biking hydration bladder and tubes clean.

by Jo | Jun 25, 2020 | get Better

I have always been a little unsure about hydration bladders(reservoir) as my method of carrying water on the bike because of challenge of keeping them clean. Even with a bit of effort they seem impossible to dry and therefore water remains in the bladder and the tube after use. Our kitchen bench often has bladders propped open over drink bottles and tubes lying around on benches as we try and find the best way to dry the insides or the bladder and tube and avoid them growing mold.

With better design into solving some of these issues – its has got easier, it has got more hygenic.

Let’s look at how best to keep your bladder clean and hygenic. Using this method does require an investment in the Cleaning Kit but given your initial investment in a hydration reservoir and backpack it’s worth it, especially for a family where there is often more than one reservoir to keep clean. Keeping the reservoir clean will extend the life of the reservoir and make sure it is hygenic to use.Save

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Camelbak Cleaning Kit

Biking hydration reservoir cleaning tools goRide

Tools in the cleaning kit

1. Remove the tube from the bladder

2. Cleaning the Bladder

Always empty your bladder after use.
Pop some warm water into the bladder. Add a little a environmentally friendly detergent.
Use the large brush to scrub the inside of the reservoir
Tip the water out and rinse thoroughly.
Dry the inside of the reservoir with a towel
Insert the hanger and hang to allow to dry thoroughly
Insert the port to allow the inside of the reservoir to dry thoroughly

For a more thorough clean you can use the cleaning tablet (there are a couple in the kit) or add a tsp of baking soda and let sit 5-30mins and then repeat the cleaning process described above

3. Cleaning the Tube

Rinse the tube with water
Scrub the tube using the tube brush. The brush is designed so that it can clean the full length of the tube.
Rinse the tube again with water.
Tip the tube up to remove the water
Hang the tube to dry with the bladder.

4. Once dry store so you are ready for your next ride

The ease and the improved hygiene this solution offers is worth it.

get Better and goRide – How to keep my biking hydration bladder and tubes clean

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The Old Ghost Road – Family Sharing

by Annette | Aug 15, 2019 | get Better

We are collecting and sharing family experiences of riding on The Old Ghost Road so you can see what others have done. This will give you some confidence and understanding of whether your kids may be capable of doing the same type of ride. The age is only a guide – you are better to focus on matching your families capability or riding experience, with this in mind you may have to read more than one section.

We hope this will help you and your family goRide more places, more often with a SMILE. This story is an active resource (we will be constantly adding to it) and sharing family experiences and comments.

goRide Family Sharing

Have you ridden The Old Ghost Road with family or a group? Your story could appear here or in the individual riding section…

Simply hit the goRide Sharing button above and complete the questions.

RIDING THE OLD GHOST ROAD

PLEASE NOTE: if your family has children that sit in more than one age range you will have to read more than one section

KIDS 4-8yrs

Kids Ages & Gender:

7 year old girl and 9 year old boy

Attached or Towed – how?

Towed up hill (7yr old girl) on this trip as we were under time pressure – used a Tow Whee tow rope

Date of Ride

June 2019

Describe your families riding level or how often you usually ride together

Almost never in winter but approx twice per week in summer

Multi Day or Day Ride:

Multi day. Lyell to Lyell Saddle Hut return

Describe how you did the ride. Time/distance/days etc

We rode over two days. The hut was really fun.

ADULT COMMENT: Share with us your experience of the ride, what did you think of the trail? Why?

We left Nelson after children’s football on Saturday and we were riding from Lyell by 2.30pm. The children did really well on the 18km distance despite less than ideal conditions – it was raining lightly within an hour of taking off (despite the forecast having been clear #Westcoast!) which made the trail much more slippy than normal. We had the hut to ourselves and played card games by candle light. Next morning we rode out – needing regular breaks for Miss 7 year old as her arms got sore on the down hill – it was by far the longest ride she had ever done, but she loved it and is already asking when we can do it again – but in summer this time as her toes were too cold on this trip!!

KIDS COMMENT/S: Share with us your child’s/children’s experience of the ride, what did they think of the trail? Why?

The track was cold, wet and rocky. But I enjoyed it.

Any tips or comments for other families…

A great family ride. The advantage of a winter trip is that the hut is quiet.

Have you ridden the Old Ghost Road with children? Your story could appear here. Simply click the goRide Sharing button above.

KIDS 8-12 yrs

Have you ridden the Old Ghost Road with children? Your story could appear here. Simply click the goRide Sharing button above.

KIDS 12yrs+

Have you ridden the Old Ghost Road with children? Your story could appear here. Simply click the goRide Sharing button above.

Kids Attached/Towed

Kids Ages & Gender:

7 year old girl and 9 year old boy

Attached or Towed – how?

Towed up hill (7yr old girl) on this trip as we were under time pressure – Tow Whee Tow Rope

Date of Ride

June 2019

Describe your families riding level or how often you usually ride together

Almost never in winter but approx twice per week in summer.

Multi Day or Day Ride:

Multi day. Lyell to Lyell Saddle Hut return

Describe how you did the ride. Time/distance/days etc

We rode over two days. The hut was really fun.

ADULT COMMENT: Share with us your experience of the ride, what did you think of the trail? Why?

We left Nelson after children’s football on Saturday and we were riding from Lyell by 2.30pm. The children did really well on the 18km distance despite less than ideal conditions – it was raining lightly within an hour of taking off (despite the forecast having been clear #westcoast!) which made the trail much more slippy than normal. We had the hut to ourselves and played card games by candle light. Next morning we rode out – needing regular breaks for Miss 7 year old as her arms got sore on the down hill – it was by far the longest ride she had ever done, but she loved it and is already asking when we can do it again – but in summer this time as her toes were too cold on this trip!!

KIDS COMMENT/S: Share with us your child’s/children’s experience of the ride, what did they think of the trail? Why?

“The track was cold, wet and rocky. But I enjoyed it” – 7 yr old girl

Any tips or comments for other families…

A great family ride. The advantage of a winter trip is that the hut is quiet.

Have you ridden the Old Ghost Road with children? Your story could appear here. Simply click the goRide Sharing button above.

get Better and goRide – The Old Ghost Road – goRide Family Sharing

Thanks for reading. Used together our stories, resources & products support you to achieve and develop as a rider.

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goRide Sharing Form

The Old Ghost Road – Choose the Challenge

goRide helps you find your riding SMILE. Now it’s your turn….Contact goRide. Your thoughts, comments or feedback will make us SMILE.

The Heaphy Track – goRide Sharing

by Jo | Jul 31, 2019 | get Better

We are collecting and sharing individual experiences of riding on The Heaphy Track so you can see what others have done. This will give you some confidence and understanding of whether you may be capable of doing the same type of ride.

This story is an active resource (we will be constantly adding to it) and sharing peoples experiences and comments. Information on FAMILIES riding the Heaphy coming soon…

goRide Sharing

Have you ridden the Heaphy? Your story could appear here…

Simply hit the goRide Sharing button above and complete the questions.

RIDING THE HEAPHY TRACK

Date of ride – include month & year along with a brief description of the weather

Nov 2017 – weather was misty drizzle along the top otherwise fine

Gender: M/F

Female

Age

Describe your riding level or how often you usually ride

Experienced intermediate mountain bike rider. When the weather is good 2/3 times a week.

Multi Day or Day Ride:

Two days – from Golden Bay to West Coast

Describe how you did the ride. Time/distance/days etc

Two days riding after spending the night in Golden Bay to start the track early on the first day. Stayed at James McKay Hut around 40kms of riding on the first day including the big 17.5km climb up to the first hut we passed. Second day was a cruisy downhill and out along the beach front – 36km.

Share with us your experience of the ride, what did you think of the trail? Why?

Beautiful, stunning track with diverse landscape and wildlife. Great terrain – challenging uphill but well worth the effort. The section along the beach is super fun, so make sure you have enough energy left to enjoy it. I highly recommend doing this ride but you need to be well prepared by being fit then you can enjoy it

Any tips or comments for others

I managed to ride with most of my gear on my bike – just a water bladder and some food in by backpack this kept me pretty comfortable. I would recommend being very strict with your packing – doing 2 days helps with this. Very well maintained track and easy to mountain bike along but you do get a bit shook up at times – be prepared for flat tyres, our group of 4 riders had one tyre go. Two days makes the experience quick would be a more relaxed trip if you had more time to stop and take in the surroundings – don’t be afraid to stop along the way and explore rather than just stopping at the huts.

Date of ride – include month & year along with a brief description of the weather

October 2018. Started raining on climb up to Perry Saddle. After Perry temp dropped to -4 degrees, heavy rain and a bit of snow, days after were beautiful and clear.

Gender: M/F

Female

Age

Describe your riding level or how often you usually ride

Intermediate, ride about once a week

Multi Day or Day Ride:

Multi Day

Describe how you did the ride. Time/distance/days etc

Started from Golden Bay end, with 3 other adults and a 13 year old. Left van which was relocated to the Karamea end. First night at Saxon Hut, second night at Heaphy Hut.

Share with us your experience of the ride, what did you think of the trail? Why?

The first day we had quite a full on experience, got wet, then freezing cold, so cold that we couldn’t feel our hands to use the gears and brakes anymore so had to shelter at Gouland Downs Hut. Tried to get fire going which is tricky when you can’t use your hands and your whole body is shaking, and the chimney was leaking so there was a lake in the fireplace. A guy stumbled in who was quite close to hypothermia, got inside his sleeping bag and wasn’t talking. Eventually we managed to continue on to Saxon, such a relief to arrive at such a warm, beautiful hut. After that the weather was awesome, the ride was stunning, not technical really, very well maintained easy track. For me it was mainly about the scenery and the takahe.

Any tips or comments for others

Watch out for the weather…haha… technically not a difficult ride, definitely good for a slightly older family. On reflection we should have stopped at Perry Saddle and warmed up and rested before heading on with the weather turning so suddenly. The girls behind us did that and ended up staying the night there. Better to be safe. Take your time, enjoy it, it’s not a race.

get Better and goRide – The Heaphy Track – goRide Individual Sharing

Thanks for reading. Used together our stories, resources & products support you to achieve and develop as a rider.

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goRide Sharing Form

goRide helps you find your riding SMILE. Now it’s your turn….Contact goRide. Your thoughts, comments or feedback will make us SMILE.

Make biking easier with good efficient pedaling

by Jo | Mar 12, 2019 | get Better

Do you find getting up that hill or a short sharp rise a little challenging? Do you get tired when biking distance? How you pedal can influence how hard or easy these types of activities on your bike can be. So there is a lot to be gained from thinking about your pedal action on the bike and making that action more efficient.

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Efficient pedaling helps you get up a hill

The seat has been adjusted up a couple of inches. Notice how the leg is much straighter at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

Efficient pedaling helps you ride distance

Lets look at ways to make your pedaling efficient

Seat Height: The first thing you need to do is make sure that the height of your seat is correct. This will allow you the optimal bend and straightening of the hip, knee and ankle to give you the maximum transfer of power and strength to your pedal. See 3 Simple Bike Seat Adjustments – Height, Tilt and Reach for information on your correct seat height.

Foot Placement on the Pedal: If you are not wearing clip in shoes we need to consider placement of your foot on the pedal. The ball of your foot needs to make contact with the pedal. Close to the arch of your foot.

Foot Alignment: The heel position relative to your toes should be similar to when you stand. Basically your heel should not point excessively out or in.

This position will give you the most efficient transfer of energy from those large powerful leg muscles through the foot then to the pedal. It will also help you to maintain a position of stability so it reduces the chances of your foot slipping or getting thrown from the pedal.

Foot placement on the pedal

Foot Alignment: General rule = similar to how you stand. Your heel too far out or in is incorrect alignment

The Pedal Action: There is a lot of information out there about what is the most efficient pedal stroke. We are going to keep it really simple and our focus is pedaling while seated for the recreation, everyday rider.

A pedal stroke refers to a full revolution of the pedal that is going from 12 to 12 on a clock face. However both the left and right leg contribute to this revolution, to a pedal stroke.

Push Phase – The most powerful part of your pedal stroke is the push part, between 12 and 5 o’clock for both legs. This is also the easiest and most natural part of the stroke. We have big muscles that are designed to do that push, pushing down at all 3 joints the hip, knee and ankle and it is easy for them.
Momentum Phase – With a good efficient push phase you will have momentum to carry you through from 5-6 o’clock
Recovery Phase – (Note the opposite leg is in the Push Phase during the Recovery Phase) the leg is light on the pedal during this phase, so as not to provide any resistance to the push from the other leg and allows this leg to come around to prepare to repeat its push phase

Pedaling is continuous from one side to the other, a complete pedal stroke (from 12 to 12 on the clock face) comprises

L leg push and momentum while R leg recovery
R leg push and momentum while L leg recovery

and so on. Often we can have a dominant leg, so be aware of both legs being even? Are your left and right legs contributing equally?

As long as we keep the whole action smooth, continuous and rhythmical, not jerky, and we can keep the momentum between the push and non push phases then the result will be efficient pedaling.

Push through the heel and have loose ankles: As you do your push phase on either leg you want to focus on pushing down through the heel not the ball of the foot. Your ankle should be loose and as you push down there should be a slight drop in the heel. I often see bikers pushing through the ball of the foot and this is a big contributor to getting what we call anterior knee pain – pain at the front of the knee….so focus on pushing through the heel.

Knee alignment: The knee position relative to your toes. When you pedal your knee should be in line with your toes. When viewed from the front, your hip, knee and ankle should all line up. As you look down during a pedal stroke there should be times when you can’t see your toes because your knee should block your vision.

Chi riding pedaling alignmnet knee heel goRide

Alignment of knee over the toes

Chi riding pedaling correct hip knee ankle alignment goRide

Looking down – as I go through the pedal stroke I won’t be able to see my foot due to correct alignment

Core control: The message is you need to engage your core when you bike. You drive your pedal action with the large powerful muscles of the leg. For these muscles to work well and give you good strength and power your mid region needs to be stable. In fact if your large powerful leg muscles work without that stable mid region they produce all sorts of horrible shearing forces on your low back and pelvis that can potentially lead to pain and dysfunction! Read more at Tip 2 – Core Control.

get Better and goRide – Make biking easier with good efficient pedaling.

Thanks for reading. Used together our stories, resources & products support you to achieve and develop as a rider.

Related Resources:

goRide helps you find your riding SMILE. Now it’s your turn….Contact goRide. Your thoughts, comments or feedback will make us SMILE.

Other resources to help make you SMILE when you goRide

How to Grip your Handlebars

by Annette | Aug 16, 2018 | get Better

How’s your grip? Can you get a hold of something and give it an almighty squeeze? Wringing out cloths and getting lids off jars no problem. Awesome for you if you can, I can’t, my grip though initially powerful has no staying ability. A strong grip is not necessarily always a good thing mind you. When it comes to riding a bike your hands can cause some problems especially if you are gripping a handlebar like your life depended on it. Some people experience numbness or discomfort in their hands while riding this shouldn’t be your normal.

Buying Guide

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How to grip your handlebars – lightly

We have talked about the 3 points of contact you have on the bike – handlebars, pedals and seat in other stories. The relationship of these 3 things determines how your weight is carried down into the bike. It is really important that your hand grip is light and relaxed when holding the handlebars. Let me remind you here of Chi Riding – Tip 4 – Breathing…

In your riding position you should be able to effectively remove your hands from the handlebars. Your arms should not be working to prop you up. If you are leaning heavily on your arms, or the palms of your hands get sore on your handlebar grips, it is a sure sign that your core muscles are not working efficiently.

Soft elbows and light relaxed grip on the handlebar

Techniques to minimise hand/wrist discomfort

Loose grip, relaxed, light, can you let go and hold your body position? see Chi Riding – Tip 2 – Core Control
A relaxed natural wrist position – please read this story on brake lever placement it has a lot of information on where we position our hands while on our bikes and what this does…
Pump your brakes when you need to brake rather than squeezing them constantly

Good handlebar grips promote a natural relaxed hand position. These grips are Ergon GA3 endurance riding grips.

Natural relaxed hand position

Outer edge padding protects your ulnar nerve

Good gloves & grips will help to minimise compression & absorb vibration

What helps?

Good grips that promote a natural hand position. The diameter of what you are gripping needs to fit your hand size and suit the type of riding you are doing (surfaces and time on the bike). If you have problems in this area we really suggest ergonomic grips that support and relieve pressure points. Read more in our story Features of a Handlebar Grip
Padded gloves. See Why are Bike Gloves Important?
Changing your hand position. This is an easy thing to do and it’s important with the longer the amount of time you spend on the bike. Bikes with drop bars have a range of hand gripping positions – see the photos below for examples of good, relaxed, straight wrist hand positions.

Keep your wrist as straight as possible

Natural relaxed hand position, ready to brake

Again a straight, natural wrist alignment will help you to avoid numbness and discomfort

get Better and goRide – How to Grip your Handlebars

Thanks for reading. Used together our stories, resources & products support you to achieve and develop as a rider.

Related Resources:

Handlebar Grips Buying Guide

Features of a Handlebar Grip

How to Attach Lock On Grips

goRide helps you find your riding SMILE. Now it’s your turn….Contact goRide. Your thoughts, comments or feedback will make us SMILE.

Other resources to help make you SMILE when you goRide

4 Regular Tasks to care for your Bike Chain

by Jo | Aug 14, 2018 | get Better

Choose to do 4 regular tasks and care for your bike chain …

Let’s gain some knowledge that will help you to keep your bike working well. These regular bike chain tasks are essential to caring for you bike chain and your bike

To ‘get better’ you need to invest a little bit of time to understand each of these 4 tasks. Choose to know what to do and care for your bike chain. Do regular maintenance and make sure you can goRide with a SMILE.

Shop Bike Cleaning and Bike Tools Solutions

Cleaning your bike chain and the parts of the bike that the chain connects with – your drive train

A bike chain is made up of lots of little components. These components need to move and be flexibile to work well. Because the bike chain is exposed to dirt, grit, sand etc as we ride… to keep the bike chain working well and to keep you SMILING when you ride we need to Clean our Bike Chain regularly. Cleaning your chain will be part of your bike cleaning routine but it does need special attention.

Choose to learn how to Clean your Bike Chain & Clean your Drivetrain and get the best from your bike

Durable bike cleaning brush chain goride

Lubing you bike chain

One you have completed cleaning your bike chain all those little components of the bike chain need some help with some lubricant (Bike Chain Lube) to keep them flexible and moving well.

Choose to learn about Lubing your Bike Chain – what is right lube for the type of riding you how to lube your bike chain so you can get the best from your bike.

Checking the length of you Bike Chain

Your bike chain will gradually lengthen over time as you ride your bike – resulting in poor meshing with the parts of the bike your chain connects to: the teeth of the chain rings the sprockets/cogs resulting in all sorts of problems. It is important to regularly test the length of the chain so you know when it is time to replace your chain. We suggest checking/testing the length of your bike chain every 3 months. When that shows signs of elongation – replace it. You do not want to wait until you have problems like the gears slipping.

Choose to Know when to replace your bike chain

Replacing you elongated bike chain

Once you discover that you have a lengthened bike chain you need to replace it with a new chain. Replacing your chain is something that will need to regularly happen to keep your bike working well …so we suggest that you have the confidence and courage to learn how to replace your bike chain. Replacing your chain at home will give you the knowledge, confidence and skills to deal with any chain problems that you may have when you are out riding.

Choose to Learn how to replace your bike chain