Sports | Thursday 29 January, 2015 4:44 pm |

With the much anticipated RAKBANK RIDE event taking place in less than six weeks, the RAKBANK team has put together a list of useful cycling tips and advice that will help all participants get into gear for March 6th:

Make sure the bike fits your frame: It’s important to ensure your bike fits your body frame as a wrong frame size can slow a cyclist down or you’ll run the risk of seriously harming themselves.  

Nutrition: It’s not all about carb overload: Getting this right before a race is crucial. Consuming the correct amount and quality of food is so important for preparation. Energy bars and gels can be beneficial too but be careful not to eat too much!

Pace yourself: Save your energy for the last third of the race. Most of the time, it’s the last part of the race that makes the biggest different whereas most people will try to get away at the beginning of the race. It’s the last big efforts that count most.

Help Your Muscles: After a long uphill ride, don’t coast downhill without pedalling. This will only contribute to lactic acid build up and muscle soreness. Instead, pedal lightly but constantly while you are coasting—even if there’s little resistance.

Stay Focused: Maintaining a consciousness of your thoughts enables you to focus on the tactical processes that you need to maintain in order to keep on track. And as we all know a healthy body, ensures a healthy mind!

Participants can register for one of two categories available at the RAKBANK RIDE; a 70-kilometer course for individual cycling enthusiasts and a 22-kilometre course for corporate teams, each of which must comprise of four cyclists including at least one senior manager and one female who will all ride in business attire. All the registration fees will be donated to a very worthwhile cause, Red Crescent RAK. 50% of the fees will be given by RAKBANK to their choice of the 8 focus causes, for example supporting local orphans or children with special needs, and the remaining 50% will be split amongst the first (25%), second (15%) and third (10%) teams to the causes of their choice.