When people think about ultra-distance cycling, they usually focus on training, nutrition, or bike setup. Those are all important, but after racing events like Badlands, The Goats, and Gravel Birds, I’ve realised that one of the biggest performance factors is having a solid ultra cycling sleep strategy. Sleep isn’t just about recovery—it’s about staying safe, […]
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Ultra cycling race preparation is the difference between a hard race and one you can’t finish. Nobody feels ready for their first ultra — that’s normal. But there’s a difference between pre-race nerves and the kind of unpreparedness that turns a tough event into a suffering spiral you can’t climb out of. I’ve finished Gravel […]
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You can drink plenty of water and still collapse. That’s the part most people don’t understand about racing in the heat. Hydration isn’t just about fluid volume — it’s about what’s in the fluid, and what you’re losing when you sweat that water isn’t replacing. Get this wrong in a hot ultra and you won’t […]
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There’s a moment, usually around midnight on day two of an ultra race, when you discover exactly what you packed wrong. It’s always something obvious. A bag that swings. A tool you can’t reach without stopping. A rain jacket buried so deep you skip putting it on and spend three hours soaking instead. I learned […]
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There’s a certain kind of knowledge that only gets shared at the right moment. You’re at the finish line of a 1,000 km race, or at the debrief dinner after a tough edition, and someone mentions something that stops you mid-sentence. A trick for managing saddle sores on day four. What to eat when your […]
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The Ultra Cycling Packing List You Can Always Find Again I’ve started more than a few races with a vague sense that I’d forgotten something. Not because I didn’t pack carefully — I always made an ultra cycling packing list. The problem was where it lived. Sometimes a note on my phone, sometimes a Notion […]
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Every rider who has lined up for a self-supported ultra has made the same mistake at least once: gone out too hard on day one, felt invincible, and then paid for it for the rest of the week. Pacing an ultra-distance race isn’t about your fastest possible speed. It’s about finding the speed you can […]
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