Riding for the Long Haul: Injury Prevention for Cycle Tourers
I have watched hundreds of YouTube videos and read hundreds of blog articles from cycle tourers around the world. They talk about anything from gear recommendations, route navigation, traveling light, mechanics, camping, and even cooking. Something that is almost always missing are injury prevention and recovery.
Injury prevention and recovery are critical practices for anyone engaging in exercise or physical activity, but being a cycle tourer is very unique and requires a unique approach.
Everyone has their own way of cycle touring. For the purposes of this article, I want to offer information with the long-term cycle tourer in mind, however it definitely applies to those who are on shorter tours or even just cycling every day at home.
For those of us living on our bikes, traveling for a year or more, we’re putting our bodies through a lot physically. We’re constantly moving our joints and muscles for hours a day. We’re riding over various terrain; some rough and bouncy, some that call for tighter grips, sudden maneuvers, and fierce concentration. Sometimes we’re cycling up (or down) steep grades that require our muscles and joints (and minds!) to work differently than when we’re cycling on paths that are flat and smooth.
It is a lot of movement, pressure, and strain on our bodies and our minds. In this article, I’m going to talk about injury prevention and recovery for the body. In an upcoming article I’ll focus on how we can train and heal our minds.
Your body needs you
After a long and/or tough day of cycling, it’s really tempting to skip stretching and recovery altogether. We still have to set up camp and cook supper, after all. By the time I’m done with all that, I could easily crash until morning without a second thought.
But my body needs me. I’ve put it through a lot. And if I want it to keep functioning and doing the things I want it to do, I need to take care of it.
Below are some basic tips for how to prioritize your body’s physical health and keep it moving in power and strength for long cycle tours.
Start with the right fit
While it may seem obvious, I actually never gave bike size any thought until I got into riding with friends and realized I couldn’t ride their bikes because they were too big.
The first thing you have to consider is frame size, but it doesn’t end there. You also have to think about saddle height, handlebar position, the length of the top tube. All of these things can make a long ride either more painful or more comfortable. For example, if your saddle is so high that your leg completely extends on the down pedal, you’re likely going to end up injuring your knee or your hamstrings. More commonly, people will position their saddle lower than it should be, which puts a lot of pressure on your joints and can lead to issues such as tendonitis of your knee.
One way you can make sure your bike fits you comfortably is to get a professional bike fit. For long tours, it’s worth the added expense.
Can you handle the load?
The way you load up your bike matters. There are obvious benefits to packing as light as possible, but how light you go depends on many factors. I am certainly not one to tell other people that they’re carrying too much or too little.
If I had it my way, I would be cycling in hot, sunny weather every single day. If that were so, I would need minimal clothing and a minimal sleep setup. But I live on my bike, and since I’m cycling all year ‘round I will, and have, traveled in the cold, wind, rain, and sizzling heat. Because of that, I have to pack clothing and gear that will keep me safe and healthy in varying weather and climates.
What’s more important than what and how much is how you’re loading. It’s not good for you, or your bike, to pack all of your things onto the back rack. Instead, it’s beneficial to distribute the weight as evenly as you can. How you do that will largely depend on your bike’s frame material, your riding ability, and on a smaller scale, what type of terrain you’ll mostly be riding.
This is important because if your bike isn’t loaded properly, it can create a situation where you’re overworking or compensating, which can lead to injury down the line.
If, like me, you prefer to travel off-the-beaten path often, or are traveling in mountainous places, you’re also going to be pushing your bike at times. So the way you load up your bike and the amount of weight your carrying can impact your enjoyment level both on and off the bike.
Fuel the machine
We talk about nutrition a lot in the fitness realm, and not just with regard to weight loss. For people who are engaging in endurance sports, nutrition is a critical aspect of training and optimizing performance.
I suffer from chronic indecisiveness and procrastination, especially when it comes to nutrition. It’s one area I have to be very conscious about, otherwise I tend to forgo eating until the end of the day, which certainly isn’t good for training or cycling long distances.
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It can be challenging to eat well when on tour, but it’s not impossible and in fact it’s extremely important. You should be intentional about what you eat, with the goal of staying strong and optimizing performance. By performance I’m not talking about winning races. I’m simply talking about utilizing your body to its fullest capability, especially since long-term cycling requires pushing your body (and your mind) further.
Eating often, and this the part I struggle with most, is just as important as what you eat. How often and at what times of day will vary for each person — there’s no correct standard. I highly recommend starting the day off with a healthy meal. For the rest of the day, it’s about listening to your body and understanding at what point it’s asking for energy.
Hydration is technically separate from nutrition but is often put in the same category. That’s partly because we sometimes thing we’re hungry when actually we’re dehydrated. It may seem obvious, but hydration is something that a lot of cycle tourers neglect. I’m included in that group. Maybe it’s because I’m from the desert, but I often forget to stop and drink. Staying hydrated will help you keep your energy levels up and your mind clear.
I’ll cover nutrition more in depth in future articles but for now I’ll repeat the same ol’ nutrition adage; eat your protein, carbs, and healthy fats. But I’ll add one more, because I believe in treating yourself every now and then - just eat the damn cake.
Get ready… get set….
Raise your hand if you always do a warm-up before getting on the bike.
It’s okay if your hand is still in your lap. Many people neglect to warm-up before exercise, but it is critical to preventing injury.
Cycling all day means being in constant motion. It also means pressure on our hips and knees. We’re constantly extending and pushing.
We’re all aware that we’re using our leg muscles — quads, hamstrings, calves, and even glutes — when cycling. But our lower body is not all that’s working. Many muscles in our mid to upper body are being used and should be incorporated into our warm-ups. These include our core and abs, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and elbows.
And, one of the most important muscles, the heart, is working a lot for us when we’re cycling.
I know that sometimes we want to get on the road as soon as we wake up and break down camp. But do your body a favor; take a few minutes to warm-up before you begin.
Start with some mobility exercises that can get your joints warmed up. This will help with stabilization and ensuring that your muscles and joints are working in unison. Don’t forget to incorporate some exercises for your hips because when your hips are out of alignment, it can spell trouble for other areas of your body, such as your knees or ankles.
I highly recommend dynamic warm-ups because they increase blood flow, help prevent injury and muscles soreness, and take your joints through their full ranges of motion while stretching and activating muscles for work. That is basically what a dynamic warm-up is, moving while stretching. Make sure to incorporate some light cardio to get that very important heart muscle warmed up.
I’ll later post an article to break this down further and offer some specific warm-up routines.
Show those muscles love with a good stretch sesh
Just as important as warming up is cooling down. While for some taking a few extra minutes to warm-up before getting on the bike feels like a lot to ask, for others taking a few extra minutes to cool down is equally as hard.
Sometimes, at the end of the day, we’re just tired. All we want to do is eat and sleep. Plus, we still have to set up camp and if we really want to eat, cook our meal.
But your body needs you! It’s worked really hard all day and deserves some TLC. You only need 5–10 minutes a day to stretch out those muscles.
I’ve spent the entirety of my adult life in outdoor sports, and I’ve learned valuable lessons about the importance of recovery. So in addition to daily stretches following a workout, I also like to throw in some longer stretch sessions.
When I’m at home it’s easy to spend 15–45 minutes with an evening stretch sesh, but on tour it’s a little harder. I try to utilize my off days for those longer stretch sessions and throw them in at least once or twice a week.
You can’t go far unless you stop
Every. body. needs. rest. If you’re anything like me, resting feels like active suffering. BUT, I know it’s necessary if I want to be like those 75-year-old badasses finishing the Cocodona 250.
Not to sound like a broken record, but we’re putting our bodies through a lot when we’re cycling long distances every day. Our bodies are so amazing, and they deserve time to rest and recover.
If we don’t allow time to rest, we risk causing injury to our joints and muscles. Overuse injuries are extremely common for athletes, and if you’ve ever dealt with one you know how painful it can be — and the worst pain is felt in your spirit.
Rest helps repair our muscles, prevent overuse injuries, and relax our minds. So next time you find yourself in an interesting village, or someone offers to let you stay with them for an extra night, take advantage of it. Your body, and your mind, will thank you.
