I am doing the TransWales for the first time in 6ish week’s time.
My question is what do I need to take or should I take to make life easier?
I have to obvious:
Bike,
Tent,
Sleeping bag,
Carry mat,
Cloths,
Camel back,
Spare tubes (don’t know home many maybe 4),
Spare pair of tires,
Lube,
Tools,
Spare Brake pads,
Is there anything I have missed?
Make sure to take lots of your favourite snacks along - the food provided is pretty good but you can get fed up with it after a week.
Also make sure to take clothes for all weather: hot/cold/wet/dry as it can get surprisingly cold if the weather changes.
Enjoy it!
Good point (all weather cloths added to the list)
is it worth upgrading from silver to the gold?
No, stick with the silver. No need for gold, 1st day or 2 is a faff getting set up but then you get a routine going.
Snacks are available there, if you run out of anything the guys do shop runs for parts etc. Take beer money
Enjoy it it's great fun! Remember to pack a sense of humour the days can be tough but if your laughing they become easier
Sounds daft, but make sure your tent is one of those 5 second pop up ones, or at least very quick to pitch.
When you're tired and grumpy, spending 10 minutes twice a day pitching and un-pitching your tent is rubbish (especially if it starts raining!)
See ya there! 😉
Ditto that on the pop-up tent. Sooo much easier when you are knackered.
Other things I found useful last year are:
A pot of Assos chamie cream. Use lots. You DO NOT want a sore arse.
If there is a night stage then you will need some lights.
Ear plugs for blocking out the snoring by other campers(I kid you not).
A washing line is also really useful.
Take sense of humour and use at all times.
Have fun, its a great week.
I should be ok with the tent, it have been up and down more that I can remember.
Assos chamie cream added to the list 🙂
Forgot about light (I have a good set anyway from winter night rides) but still added to the list.
sense of humour mmmmmmm I feel i will need a lot more 😐
Have you thought of B&Bing it?
Waterproofs 😆
You'll be reet Neil. Good luck, pal. I reckon you'll kick ass.
Cheers simon, I think I'm more likly to get my ass kicked by the welsh hills 🙂
I must admit I am really looking forward to it 🙂
Lots of carrier bags or a few bin liners always come in handy.
Keeps dry stuff dry and smelly stuff contained (recycle bags are semi-transparent so you can see what's in them).
On stage races I tend to wear my better shorts first then work down to my worst ones last.
This helps prevent saddle soreness rather than later trying to cure it.
Assos creme is a genuine wonder in this department too. I've not tried others but one tub does last years, especially as I don't otherwise use it that often.
On one of the wet years in TransWales I bought a cheap multi-pack of socks and threw the soaking, stinky, filthy, worn pair out every day.
Flip flops, Crocs or similar are good for the showers.
A variety of energy bars so you don't get sick of your favourites and never want to use them again.
A newspaper so you can put it in wet shoes overnight if necessary.
I also use a sleeping bag liner to save me washing my sleeping bag.
A newspaper so you can put it in wet shoes overnight if necessary.
disposable nappies will suck the moisture out of shoes quicker then newspaper, however, fellow competitors will not think your a wierdo if you use newspaper. 🙄