Top 5 Tips for Recovery & Staying Healthy while Cycle Touring

[@jennk2199]

Finally, someone suggesting magnesium! Highly recommended for every day use and cycling recovery!

[@davidrowe8747]

I had forgotten about this one, too - have just put a small bottle to take daily on my upcoming 3-week trip!

[@russswanson3820]

Here’s hoping your latest recovery is on track!

[@tomsitzman3952]

If you are touring and going through towns and villages stop at the grocery store and buy a quart of whole milk chocolate milk. The best recovery drink ever. Pickle juice is also a great recovery drink. I like to carry hard cheeses cut into cubes to munch on all the day. A good cheese to travel with that does not melt is Indian Paneer, it is high in calcium, protein and fat = calories. If you don't have a store where you can buy it, make it at home, It is simple and quick to make at home (KZbin) Nosh as you ride, cheese, dried meat or hard Salome to avoid a roller coaster ride of high and low energy. Leave the sugar bowl to prevent spikes and drops in energy level. Keep track of how often you pee. If you are not peeing you are dehydrated. To help work the lactic acid do a cool down at the end of the hard days ride. Slow down the last mile or two and get in an easy gear and you will be more relaxed when you get to your camp site.

[@OverTheHillPhil]

Thanks for all the advice. As for the tennis ball - I've been using one for my hip (old age don't come alone) on the advice of my osteopath.

[@juliewerner9592]

Just love the scrappy quilt on the back of your couch 😊 I am a quilter and a bike camper 🚴🏻‍♀️🥾✂️✂️

[@outtatrex]

thanks, great advice!

[@deanjones4033]

that is a nice shirt, Ryan

[@ianbarr4716]

Ryan, I love you guys and your channel. Thanks for this one. Cheers.

[@ridetillidie8090]

Oh good! Protein! I don't feel so bad about my 10 slices of bacon this morning! :D Damn! Now I need more stuff! Electrolytes! It's what plants crave! Another great video. You're a great presenter! hilarious and informational!

[@mauritzallberg7302]

Great as allways

[@mukkaar]

I love drinking those dissolving multivitamin tablets that also carbonate your drink. It's just so nice to have carbonated drink on go. And to be frank I drink those at home too :D Basically my routine is one tablet of dissolving multivitamin drink and omega 3 tablet every morning. And I take 1-2 isotonic drinks a day. I buy ones that also has some magnesium. Taking vitamins and omega 3 is pretty good since your diet probably isn't necessarily the best when on move.

[@viktorvolaric-horvat5190]

Heeeeey, you guys have got drums!

[@ryanwitt]

Tennis ball 🎾 is a great idea! Definitely bringing that on the next bikepacking trip.

[@radbikeadventure]

Heck yea!

[@antoniocruz8083]

I need to consume pure protein with lots of salts and also kilos of fruit. For protein I always carry dry sausages similar to beef cheeky. I consume them like no tomorrow while on tour. The downside is dogs always come over to smell my panniers.

[@greggodde281]

Lots of great advice.. I started using magnesium for really bad leg cramps. Helps a lot. Thanks Ryan and Darren.

[@MrGenia1991]

wow. thanks a lot for advices )) but this tool looks more like a vibrator for me (time: 7:53) lol. my favourite :) but it's really useful to relax also especially after a long day

[@kamratdennis]

MAsage gun!!! when im fully healed i need to get a massage ! it looked so nice!

[@radbikeadventure]

Yaaaas! It feels amazing. Even on the feet!

[@WheelsonaBike]

Excellent video on a very important, often overlooked topic! have the same foam roller at home and recently purchased the 5" version, which I'll be taking on the road with me.

[@rkentwenger5095]

Lots of good stuff! A couple of notes: 1) You can get a good idea of your hydration status by monitoring the color of your pee. 2) If you want something more aggressive than a tennis ball, a lacrosse ball works well.

[@aaronwissler4408]

A product called liquid IV I used backpacking and now cycling for hydration. I got turn onto "scratch" that's like salty electro lights. I liked to use lotion for my feet some. Also found pickle juice shots that help from muscle cramps after riding.

[@paulahavens2764]

How do you handle menstral cycle products while on tour and for seniors how would you handle the incontinence problem as well. I noticed that in most videos no one handles these problems. Thanks for the videos they are great especially for the womens point of view on tours or just of trike packing for overnight for the beginner. I am from Canada.Especially for camping purposes.

[@810marcel]

Great tips!! Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@radbikeadventure]

You bet! Glad you found them helpful!

[@greggr1591]

As a long-time Boomer, I can attest that stretching is an absolute must; nothing’s worse than trying to ride with legs with the flexibility of 2x4s. Propping your feet up against a wall for 15-20 mins helps drain lactic acid (good nap position). Speaking of recovery, hope Ryan’s shoulder is recovering so that surfing/drumming (kit sighting 👍🏻)/etcetera-ing can resume! RAD On🤘🏻Get #RADified

[@radbikeadventure]

Good point on elevating your legs, I forgot about that! As for the shoulder, it's coming along! I've been going to a PT who specializes in Counterstrain and it's really been helping. Went for an ocean swim and while mobility is still limited we're getting there. Thanks Gregg! #RadOn !

[@m31Robert]

Anyone get acute leg cramps at night in summer? (can be quite painful!) I did, until i COVERED my legs while in bed. Turns out, the muscles in the calves can suddenly cramp up if they're too cold. SImple fix! :)

[@Alex_564]

This is some useful info thank you. Related note I switched to a newer Garmin watch & noticed that days I've had like 6 hour 40mi+(2.5k+ elevation) I can get 9 hours or more of sleep at home; however, the watch would tell me I slept long enough but didn't get enough rem &/or deep sleep. I kind of notice it that I'm a hair logy at work that day.

[@radbikeadventure]

That's really interesting. I usually feel like I sleep better after a good hard workout, but maybe it's too much on your body, or perhaps you need to up the caloric intake/add more magnesium in? Not an expert of course, but maybe the sore muscles are not allowing you to rest properly. I've also been told not to have a super hot shower or hot bath before bed, which can be temping after a long ride, but can negatively impact your sleep. This was coming from a sleep psychologist who studies getting proper rest. just in case that's a factor!

[@Alex_564]

@@radbikeadventure Last time my watch told me that after I had a big ride, I wasn't sore. Calorie intake makes sense, but would need to look into some studies about that to see if that's the case or not. I will up my magnesium intake during rides to see if that's the case or not. But, everything I gather from my watch daily is that longer deep sleep & rem seem to be more key than just regular long sleep.

[@Vinaykumarel]

Great video Will be glad if you show us specific streches for Cyclists which will relax the sore muscles.... This time Darin shall instruct it... 😁😃

[@radbikeadventure]

Great idea Vinaykumar! And you're right to choose Darin to instruct, she has a lot of experience w body mechanics and muscle strengthening. 💪

[@Vinaykumarel]

@@radbikeadventure Thanks in Advance

[@Vinaykumarel]

@HuskyOps Due to a Bad Slip Disc, I can't do Yoga...

[@Vinaykumarel]

@HuskyOps Yup

[@evadent515]

Great video!! Love the tips. Going to have to try to incorporate Magnesium. Also, I agree on the massage gun.. I call it the thumper for my bumper 🤣🤣

[@towtowstrailtalk6853]

Thank you for all the great tips great video as always, Love your wardrobe choices the survey cool fashion sense, I definitely need a video on how to dress like a cyclist lol

[@kingedwin]

Don't forget to hydrate when you're using massage tools, especially the gun. You're moving a lot of stuff around in your body, and you're going to feel like crap until you get it out. If you're dehydrated, you can end up with a wicked headache.

[@radbikeadventure]

That is a very good point Edwin. I should have mentioned it because it's definitely true! Thank you for sharing.

[@davejohn5876]

I would just like to add to the comment from Ryan about nutrition or snacking while you're riding. This is my understanding and please add any comments if I'm wrong or my information isn't complete. Keeping yourself fueled while riding is extremely important but as important is what you're feeling yourself with. The dreaded bonk which Ryan refers to is when you're glucosamine stores in your muscles have been depleted. These glucosamine stores are comprised of carbohydrates. When you were cycling or doing any sustained activity your body needs energy that he can utilize and put to use right now. Proteins and fats are obviously important for a well balanced diet and are necessary to remain healthy and are important for recovery but don't do you much good when it comes to on demand energy. That's where simple and complex carbohydrates come in. Carbohydrates burn quicker so your body can utilize those calories while you're active. So even though eating peanut butter, nuts meat sticks or whatever may taste good and not upset your stomach while riding they are not doing you much good in terms of supplying your muscles with needed calories. Other words helping to restore your glucosamine reserves that are being drained. Foods that are high in fat and protein just simply can't burn fast enough. You can burn fat while you are active but your activity level or intensity would need to be much much lower then when you are cycling. Especially touring with a full rig. So yes make sure that you're periodically fueling while riding, but make the vast majority of those calories carbohydrates.

[@alexmorgan3435]

Not in my experience. I used to eat lots of carbs as many cyclists myself included back then seemed to think it is the best and only way. I changed my diet so now I eat much more protein, meat, eggs, fish but also healthy fats from avocados, nuts, eggs and oily fish, beetroot, lemons for vitamin C. My endurance although good before, has really increased. I don' suffer massive sugar cravings any longer because of eating a lot of sugar and carbs from what ever foods they are in to fuel my cycling which spikes blood sugar and insulin production. Once the carbs you have eaten are quickly metabolised you feel ravenous again and end up eating even more of them. Unfortunately I think a lot of cyclists don't realise that with all the sugar and carbs they eat they are risking developing type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease which is serious.

[@clarelafrance306]

Is there anything to be said for breaking through tiredness on tour? My partner and I are training for a tour on the weekends and are not sure what to make of how pooped we are on a Monday.

[@nonamehawg7068]

What if you are 20 to 30-lbs overweight. Do you still need to eat as much?

[@DH_Stills]

Nice video with some good tips. However, i wpuld expected to find "hygiene" in here somewhere.... I know, its hard to select just 5 points, but without proper hygiëne you will get in trouble really fast. But hey, at least we have a massage gun😂 . Again, great video and love your channel!!!

[@buuh7592]

Yeah they have whole videos about that, one about menstruation and it's the best one about the topic ive found, a life saver for me when I was planning my first bikepacking trip.

[@markperry4474]

Another useful video. I have a question about Kaitlin's big bag of magnesium powder. Was she by any chance using gym chalk, as that is the only bulk magnesium powder I can find online?

[@cameronbryan5195]

No it's not gym chalk is magnesium carbonate that stuff if you eat it can cause a minor fever and unfortunate blockages, you want magnesium citrate you can get tubs/bags on amazon just type in magnesium supplement powder :) seriously don't eat chalk it's bad for you :)

[@cameronbryan5195]

Painkillers? Pain is your body's way of saying somethings wrong. Don't take painkillers, change what you're doing/how you're doing it and get the problem fixed at the source

[@carmelaella2583]

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