7 Cycling Mistakes Even The Pros Make!

[@gcn]

What’s the worst mistake you’ve ever made on a bike ride? 😬

[@PaulTheCyclist.]

Getting on it sum days 🤣

[@gt5087]

follow a group who told me zone 1 training only.

[@fergusdenoon1255]

pulling over to let a mobile home overtake me on a single track steep road, to then get stuck behind a mobile home going up a steep single track road.

[@PhilippeGluck-ki1dk]

Not eating enough😬

[@frazergoodwin4945]

Checking the max weight limit for my wheels on the manufacturer's web site but looking at the wrong wheelset... Ended up riding over weight limit bikepacking Brussels - Sweden - Brussels. Made it to Sweden, but on 1st day back the front wheel bearings collapsed and siezed. Made it to a bikeshop in Gothenburg but no fix available so then on to my ferry to Kiel where also no bikeshop could help (it was in 2021 so no one had stock - even of replacement wheels). Meant I had to take a series of local trains all the way back as all bike spots had been booked on intercity and high speed German trains... Lesson learned. BONUS though - it meant I could justify buying a fancy pants carbon wheelset to my wife as I "needed it" to do the trip to her parents in Sweden the following year 🙂

[@Bobby-wn5yr]

Man a few years ago I was on my motorbike when I came across a cyclist pushing his bike bright red - he’d run out of water and was at least 10km out of town on a 35-38°C day. Fortunately I always have at least 1 bottle of water in my bag when riding on hot days so was able to help him out, but man he’d got himself in a pickle. I think between cycling, motorbikes and hiking I’ve got myself in enough situations to usually be pretty well prepared, but I was a bit late to the hydration game. For years I thought ‘hydration’ drinks and electrolytes and things were just a marketing fad. When I actually tried adding a hydration tablet to my water I was shocked at the difference it made 50-70km later, and now I always use them on long rides. Live and learn!

[@gcn]

Once you pop you just can't stop! Great to hear that you help fellow road users out 🙌 We need more people like this!

[@lindaashmore9955]

On a triathlon I attached my shoes to my bike for a quick T1. When I went to mount the left shoe was on the right pedal and the right on the left, family and friends watching had a good laugh as I sorted myself out!

[@johnstrac]

Carbing up the day before an event (or any day) has never been a problem, it's carbing down I struggle with.

[@davidh1032]

Hey GCN-team, I hope you read this. I got lately into the algorithm of all those bike maintainance and cleaning shorts/videos, there are also some made by gcn. In all of those videos people clean their bikes outside. This way a lot of very toxic stuff goes into the soil underneath and more or less into the watersystem. This is very bad and can be avoided easily. I think this is a fault even pros do. PLEASE use your power and show thousands of people to do this in a way that toxicates the environment less. Greetings from a non native speaker

[@DarkpowderUK]

Using 10-15% coconut water proportion to water as electrolyte is a good tip. Having just water in another bottle is also good if you or a pal has some road rash that needs cleaning, or just to cool down.

[@jayclark1551]

Going out to hard on the first half of a long ride. There’s nothing better than holding back in the beginning knowing you’ll have that extra kick for the home stretch. And nothing worse than blowing your load early and having to limp home watching your power data disappear.

[@gcn]

A negative split as the pros would call it! 🙌 Learning to keep something in the tank is always a good idea!

[@GeorgeD1]

"Nothing worse than blowing your load early"... Yes. In more ways than one. :D

[@KorbensBum]

This is my pet peeve. I'm fairly fit but 88kg (i actually have an upper body). Often when others ride with me they think they have to ride faster than me up hills etc. But inevitably I end up towing them for 15 -20klm or more because they have bonked.

[@KorbensBum]

My greatest hits: 1) Over-estimating my abilities / fitness. 2) Driving 1 hr away from home to the start of a 100klm gravel ride to discover I had left THE FRONT WHEEL leaning against the garage door. Sometimes having ADHD (legit) is a nightmare. I drove all the way back home and then back to the start of the ride. 3) making changes to my bike the night before or the morning of a ride, when i dont have time to do a shake-down ride of the new changes. 4) over packing food. I come home with 50% of my food fairly often. I'm paranoid about blowing up, its the worst feeling. 5) Being the only person with the route map, realising I've actually uploaded the wrong route...when we were out of mobile phone reception. 6) forgetting to charge my phone or garmin head unit. (Somehow i haven't managed to forget to charge my di2)

[@jacksonbangs6603]

One mistake I made last month was not being fully in the moment of cycling. My mind was thinking about my post ride birthday party. Before I new it I crashed onto the pavement. I had to ride all the way home with skinned knees and hurting palms. Road rash is no fun so keep your mind in the moment.

[@SuperBossGiovanni]

The biggest mistake I made was not properly planning ahead. I had done a couple 40 mile (64 Km) rides with my dad before, and decided to do a solo one. I panned to ride to my aunt's house who was almost exactly 20 miles away, refill my water and maybe grab a snack before heading home. I didn't call her ahead of time, turns out she wasn't home. So I found myself in a situation where I had no money (I didn't have a job at the time because I was in school), low water, and was 20 miles from home. I made it home eventually, but it was a slog.

[@gcn]

Uh oh! One to chalk up to experience 😂 Planning planning planning!

[@seattlegrrlie]

This season, the change I made was to eat a lot more on the bike. I took the new research on fuelling for the pros and have been genuinely shocked at how much I can consume during a ride. It's lead to much longer rides, imroved performance, and I've also lost a bunch of weight. Who knew eating way more carbs during the ride would lead to significant weight loss?!?!?

[@TwiinStar1224]

I'm new to cycling and I tend to not eat until later in the day generally. I would ride 10k during my lunch break to get some exercise in. One day I had eaten nothing up to that point and after about 8km I barely had energy to turn the pedals. And that was my introduction to bonking.

[@byrdmandan]

Walking into a cycling shop with a credit card. 🤑

[@johndurcan8833]

Not keeping up on maintenance and just assuming that the bike will work! Or turning up with a dirty bike when everyone else's is clean! 🙂

[@serisingh]

3:18 this Pinarello paint job is 🔥🔥🔥.

[@geoffreyhoney122]

Super helpful video Manon and Conor! Love the humour with the valuable take aways. Some of my worst mistakes are not researching the long rides enough ahead of time and being in Canadian backwoods without resupply points. Also, on bike tours, I tend to bring too much stuff and give myself to much of a workout by carrying 'the kitchen sink' with! Over the years, with experience, the hardest teacher, you learn what really is essential and what you don't really need. Love this content and the fun delivery!

[@samzam4496]

had an event few weeks back was 35c+ out, thought I was doing everything right to stay hydrated .. I ended up in hospital with extreme heat exhaustion ... Dr figured I was not hydrated enough prior to the event ... so important to be up on your liquids before the ride in hot weather!

[@OpCzar]

8. Not subscribing to GCN

[@gcn]

This ☝

[@MegaPhill93]

​@@gcnPIN

[@manfrommontreal]

9. Hot take video thumbnail

[@adamwallace9790]

Not a mistake... A crime.

[@n22pdf]

Comment of the week 😊❤

[@daryl4841]

Packing a spare tube that doesn't have a long enough valve for my deep section wheels.

[@gcn]

Ah ... that moment of realisation 👀

[@kevinhoffmann3713]

I can't help but notice that Conor and Manon are spending a lot of time on the road together. Are they training for an Epic? That would be great if they would do a big ride together to keep their motivation up and absolutely crush it.

[@GhostTrainPhoto]

Biggest mistake I've made (so far) is switching out a perfectly good saddle with a random saddle I saw laying around the house...just before doing my first century. The first couple of miles, I was sore, but I figured I just needed to get used to the saddle. However, as the miles ticked by, the pain only grew. Tears began to well with each seated pedal stroke. I did what I could to ride out of the saddle, with Si's recent video in mind. The further I rode, the more desperate I got. I started piling grass and leaves on my saddle, adjusting it every which way, raising, lowering, turning, tilting. Nothing worked. At this point, the seat post itself would have been more comfortable. Finally, after 40 miles of being angry as a hornet, I finally found a local bike shop. I dismounted my bike, waddled into the shop, and bought the first saddle shaped object I could find. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to let me finish my very first century.

[@overcookit1433]

The biggest mistake you can make is shown in the pic: drinking (ice)cold water; the place were the body temperature is regulated is right beside the stomach. If this is filled with icecold water, the body takes this as a sign that the body's temperature is going to drop under the recquired minimum (36°C/97°F), so the heating is pulled up on full power (imagine a house with is already warm as usual in summer, and somewhere is a temperature sensor coled as someone stored frozen stuff right there, and as a consequence the heating is being started, which rises the temperature further more), so you start to sweat even more. The best thing to drink is liquid (water or tea - peppermint or whatever, but no black tea) with the same temperature as the body temperature (around 36°C/97°F). If you ride on a hot summer day, the bottle usually has this temperature😬. Luckily, I am like a camel - I don't need much fluid, eeven in Summer it happens I don't drink, although I go not to slow, around 35km/h or 22.5mph on the flat, or 32km/h or 20mph on hilly roads. As I have several allergys (gluten, lactose, fructose) which result in diarrhea, I simply don't dare to consume gels.

[@joebennington]

happened today! ill advisedly smashing it on a less than good condition downhill and having the front wheel slip out on me. I'm gonna be nursing some road rash for the next couple of days now :/

[@stephenhenning2538]

Not eating or drinking enough before & during a ride up Mt Tiede in Tenerife, legs folded 5k from the Crater. Made it 2 days later eating & drinking almost constantly.

[@billkallas1762]

I've seen many Pros make this mistake.......Crashing poorly. Even if they've been racing for years, I still see some Pro racers stick their arms out, when crashing. This seldom ends well.

[@nuttycommuter3718]

The last time I fell over from being unable to unclip I was pleased with myself because I remembered to NOT put my hand out and just land on my arm, spreading the force out along squishy muscle (not much muscle) rather than concentrating it on my wrist

[@dsarcevic]

I've never forgotten to fill my water bottle. I just forgot to bring the bloody water bottle itself. And on more than one occasion.

[@MggW]

#askgcn Is carb loading before an event a myth? And if not, how should you do it? 4:21

[@krehme]

Felt so bad on the way out to the halfway point that I thought I had a head wind, then turned around into the actual head wind… ouch.

[@neilsmyth1812]

Great Vid. . not enough Magnesium. . I got crampped up bad after taking enough water, but no extra magnesium with me on the long training ride. . hurt bad. .

[@jonathanbouchard39]

Remember to bring your lights - you never know when it is going to get dark, or how long you are going to spend recovering over a drink at the end of the ride. Rides that start and finish at the same place are good, because then the way home is the same as the way there (subject to one-way traffic diversions and highway regulations) and (depending on how long you spend recovering over a drink at the end of the ride) going home may be more challenging.

[@pinjaliina]

My biggest mistake was a combination of ignoring both heat acclimation and a proper route recce: I left for a 100 km hard, zone 3-4 ride in hot weather on my TT bike, which is a good bike, but not exactly compliant, and onto a route I wasn't familiar with. The route was a loop, with no shortcuts available. After just 40k the road surface turned worse, but I pressed on. After 60k the heat and vibrations had made me very tired already, and soon after the road surface became even worse, with seemingly all the vibrations from the road getting pushed right through into my body. At 80k, I totally bonked, and groveled back home with speeds less than 20kph (no significant elevation), with the aero position feeling totally impossible, and the basebar position feeling uncomfortably low. I also had made the single bottle mistake, and felt like couldn't drink anything sugarised anymore, although at that point the temperature had luckily started to drop a bit. It obviously took me over an hour to get back home with that slow speed, and during that hour I seriously contemplated calling a taxi for quite a few times.

[@williampompella3928]

I could listen to Manon talk all day!

[@brittle1]

How about slamming your stem just to set the hoods way up high on the handlebars? Looking at you Conor 😉

[@KitagumaIgen]

Training on days I should've rested only to wake up with a cold the next morning. It took me years to learn to recognise the "taste in my mouth" and respect the rest - but then I cut down sick-days by much and got a couple of good years.

[@redryder1146]

My biggest mistake, not eating enough before the ride or during the ride. I was off the bike for two years because of a back injury. I just started riding again, two weeks ago and two days ago I went out on a ride and bonked very hard I was trying to push too hard I believe too early and I only rode 6 miles that day, but I went up a very steep hill. I felt like crap when I got back home.

[@willmo1725]

Have bonked a few times. The worst ive made was a water shortage, on a monday or tuesday ride. Many shops are closed monday tuesday since the pandemic. Was ery clise to empty, and it was very hot. Plan ur rout take into account shops open close times. Make sure if its hot take more water. Remember its the heat that will get you first. My regular 28 mile ride, usually takes 3 bittles of water. I decoded i needed to go for a ride on a 106 degree farenheit day. Same ride took me 5 bottles, 2 before i left 3 on the down trip. Bought a galon of water at grocery store and drank all of that. Stay wet stay cool. Enjoy the ride!!!

[@henryschoon7816]

My biggest mistake was taking a sandy corner too fast and shattering my two front teeth

[@ashleyjarvis954]

Ouch, been there !

[@slipperman61]

I went on a winter trail ride and started off early in the AM when the gravel mix was frozen. On the return leg the sun had melted the surface into a swampy mess. A real slog back to the trail head.

[@matt_acton-varian]

Equipment choice: not being conservative enough in changing conditions. On Wednesday I went on a ride where the weather forecast was schizophrenic. The last one on the morning said conditions should be cloudy but drier. I had 16 miles to the start and it was perfect, overcast but dry and comfortable. I made a last minute decision to switch to my best bike, spares, food and drink all set. I was even early and ended up waiting a while for the other riders. Then 5 minutes into the group ride, rain came. I didn't put my rain cape on at base (not skilled enough to do it on the bike in a group)and I was on a bike with carbon rim brakes and no mudguards. Fair to say I was lucky it wasn't cold but being wringing wet with limited braking ability meant for a bit less fun of an experience. Then just for the irony the sun comes out strong on the ride home sans suncream. Had I been out in it for much longer I probably would have been sunburned.

[@JediMasterHilljr]

Great looking bike Manon!

[@hawkeye2816]

When you're changing a tube, always always always double check it's not kinked or pinched. Learned the hard way that it's not fun changing a tube on the side of the road only to blow out the new tube 30 seconds after getting back on.

[@MichaelZ-1]

My worst mistake; putting my bike at the side of the road, when a tractor came from the other side… there was a girl with a horse standing there as well, just when the tractor tried to make some space for me to pass, she decided to get that horse moving. Just so happens that she didn’t look before starting to give the horse the spurs and she ran me over. Thankfully, only my bike had damage and though I saw the horse from the wrong side (good side is but into pieces, baked and on my plate), it stepped over me and I didn’t have anything except a few scratches.

[@woodee8948]

When should I make the shift to a 130bcd chainring?

[@williamschultz8198]

Manon is looking up at almost a 45 degree angle talking to Conor!!!

[@mikaelklasson3213]

Conor and Manon, my favorite presenters!

[@kristijankrog2026]

Adjusting the position on the bike just before the big cycle is a big No nO.. Stick to what you're used to and adjust when you have shorter cycles to test if adjustment actually works!

[@mrx1979ua]

Would love to see the video about a proper carb loading

[@msudlp]

I forgot my cycling cleats for a group ride that was 40 miles from my house. My wife had to meet me halfway to ive me my cleats. Needless to say i missed the group ride, but got in some good solo riding for the day.

[@nikkismith8750]

Not carrying a spare inner tube. All very well having a mini pump, tyre lever + a few patches, but when your inner tube rips and it is a long walk home in rigid road shoes... :(

[@Tuffydipstick]

Forget to put sun screen on yourself on sunny days.

[@gcn]

If we could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it 😉

[@-NewDay-]

I just got a gravel bike! I’m freaking out. Do I get clip in? How do I change my tire

[@alexandrabikes]

Not eating enough before. I get nauseous from nerves and have to plan to eat enough pre race without making myself sick but enough to start the race on.

[@JamesSmith-zs8fl]

I either forget to fill my Bottles or don't top off the air in my Tires. Mostly, remember to have fun!

[@williamschultz8198]

Hey Dan...I only counted six...But who's counting.

[@hennrysmustache]

Leaving key gear like your shoes... you turn into the sag real quick

[@shellypalumbo5297]

Manon,, I noticed that your stem is rotated slightly high and your hoods looked to be tipped slightly in. @gcn why?

[@gerrysecure5874]

Recovery days are massively underrated. I always shake my head about the bragging macho guys who skip rest day midweek in training camp and falter on friday. I never search my bottle, I have dozends, but always the keys and wallet 🙈

[@paulreimann3424]

Make sure your friend you wanna visit from Hamburg with your bike still lives in Bremen and not in Berlin...🤦‍♂️

[@iwantum]

Stark

[@nigelhough7856]

Maybe wearing a black helmet and clothing and complaining in A/E he didn’t see me 😢

[@TiagoMorbusSa]

As an amateur cyclist, packing for a race and forgetting your shoes.

[@johnstrac]

This.

[@gcn]

Hahaha yes.. we've all been there 😂

[@Escawo]

Nice

[@johnrwilker]

I went out for a long ride on a “nice” day in the winter. I was dressed appropriately when I went out but didn’t account for the drop in temperature as the ride went on. By the time I got home, I was on the verge of hypothermia. Worst ride ever!

[@m.neilsmith6317]

Another reason to always have one bottle with plain water - you don't want to be washing out road rash with carb mix.

[@AndrewOliverHome]

Not checking the weather and heading out in shorts when the forecast is colder and wetter later in the day

[@adamweb]

Great video, I think I've made all these mistakes at some point! 😂 A lot of people don't realize how important rest days are... Your muscles only get stronger when you rest, not while you're breaking them down!

[@lukewallenbeck7645]

Not checking tire pressures before leaving the house!

[@bibifromsenegal3617]

Too many lunch beers and having 60k ride home

[@jalebkhan]

I didn’t want to stop for a bio break, so I didn’t drink enough water. I cramped up and had to go thru physio…

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Going too hard too early. I call this the type IIa trap. If you start your ride and your type IIa fibers are still fresh, you are tempted to sprint up every little hill and it feels great but you are using more carbs than you can eat without noticing.

[@mitch_smith]

I've showed up to group rides without: helmet, shoes, water, even managed to not have pedals once.

[@BennyHubba]

Not checking the weather before you go!

[@franky12]

My biggest mistake: Doing a factory reset on my Garmin the moment I was about to leave.... all tracks were gone... 🤣

[@PeterLasky-ij1bq]

Definitely i have trained too hard 😂

[@jtjones3]

Reaching down for a water bottle that wasn’t there…luckily I was on a short ride!

[@tokosepedangudirejeki1722]

Keren sekali bosku

[@declanfaughey8471]

I overcame my not drinking enough by setting a timer on my Garmin which goes off every 15 minutes.

[@gcn]

That's a great idea! 💡

[@askmeaboutmattweiner]

Yeah eating/drinking reminders on Garmin and wahoo are a game changer

[@namedescription320]

I set mine to 4 minutes. After some time, I got used to it so much that when I feel the need to drink, I know the timer will ring in a few seconds :D

[@AnnieMakilopi]

Forgot my helmet! Had to divert to Argos to buy another for the day.

[@nineoneoh]

Cheers from Wilmington, NC, USA!

[@brysimm404]

8. Wearing a black kit when it’s a sunny hot day

[@anishdubeymtb]

The "Not drinking enough water" initial scenes remember me of a meme: 'Paani paani paani, Uncle Ji! mujhe paani pila dijiye' 😂😂

[@hansschotterradler3772]

Some of my really stupid crashes.

[@scottburkettmichael8696]

9. not clicking "like" when watching GCN

[@bruce_356]

Im new to cycling and my first bike is rb and its damn hard

[@bruce_356]

I don't even know what shifter are💀

[@toddhamblin8743]

Is she wearing two jerseys?

[@shamevonn1164]

Ever heard of a vest?

[@wyhllothere6125]

Not eating on a 4 hour ride with 2000 meters of climbing

[@johnf285]

Thumbnail: “Don’t end up like WVA.” Yeah, that would be a big step down for me…

[@Thezuule1]

I cry in aero a little whenever I see her clothes just flapping in the breeze.

[@jpoodle]

My biggest mistakes were all from becoming distracted mid-ride. Crash city! Keep your attention sharp everybody

[@gcn]

Ouch! Hope you weren't too badly hurt? 👀

[@jpoodle]

@@gcn years ago! and don’t affect me at all. We focus on the future rides today!

[@WarHammerWH]

Being late and not having enough water or food happened a few times, but the worst is forgetting my shoes. Comes down to good preparation the night before.

[@richardstoner866]

I do like Manon’s bike….

[@bonotoli]

Crashing. Happens to everyone at every level of the sport.

[@michaeltucker35]

5th comment!

[@donwinston]

Almost no one trains "too hard".

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Conor: “The last time I saw some of my teammates, they were naked down the back of the bus.” What’s the problem? I thought everyone raced in a skin suit these days.

[@TBATTIECYCLING]

Biggest mistake has to be getting on the wrong bike and joining a group ride on my Brompton

[@gcn]

hahahaha did you keep up? 👀

[@TBATTIECYCLING]

@@gcn no I ended up folding it up and getting the train 🚂

[@cruachan1191]

I feel like Manon is trolling us by telling us what we're doing wrong whilst her unzipped gilet flaps like Superman's cape 🤣 I have been guilty of a few of these training for long runs though, and another one I'd add is NEVER use a new drink mix/gel/bar on a race. I'm glad to say I haven't done that but I did once on a training run buy a fairly well known brand of sports drink and the thick and syrupy nature of it disagreed with me.

[@aljaliah6868]

Absolutely NOOOOOOT !!! 😂😂😂

[@SY-ve5qm]

Eating too much? Kinda obvious…

[@BikesKomsCRO]

More copy and paste content from years previous.. dislike.

[@jestag2]

9. Subscribing to GCN and believing in everything good they say about new bikes or components they put to the test then head to the bikeshop to spend your hard earned cash.

[@BramVantasner]

What else better would you possibly spend money on?!? Everything else is highly overrated 🙃