Life In The Saddle

Cyclists are tough on their bodies; from aching muscles and feet, to wind burnt faces - we put our bodies through a lot, as we spin those pedals. Sportique is a Swiss-Czech brand of skin and body care products. Over the past few years of using their lotions, balms and gels, they have firmly secured themselves as my favourite 'care products' for cyclists. The Sportique range is extensive: with everything from hand creams to deodorants - in a whole host of varieties. In this blog post, I've selected the ones that are especially good for cyclists; products that feature in my personal bathroom cupboard and wash bag, all year round. Sportique Century Riding Cream Let's start with a true essential... chamois cream! This is a must for anyone that is putting in serious miles on the bike, and helps to reduce friction and discomfort between the seat-pad and skin (it can actually be used to reduce friction against any piece of clothing). The Century Riding Cream from...

Last year, I wrote a post on Cross Country Ride: 'My Every Ride Carry' ; featuring all the kit that comes with me on a weekend trail outing. In this post, I turn to the tarmac, and what I would take with me on a weekend endurance road ride, or middle-distance event. Wearable kit: Kask Infinity Helmet POC Do Blade AVIP Sunglasses GripGrab Cycling Cap GripGrab Windster Gloves GripGrab HiVis HeadGlove GripGrab HiVis Thermo Overshoes These products have fast become my favourite kit accessories for autumn/springtime rides. The Kask Infinity helmet does a fantastic job of providing an enhanced shield from the cold. The POC Do Blade AVIP sunglasses, are perfect for giving added wind protection for your eyes, whilst their lenses are suitable for bright sunshine and dull days (Review of the POC Do Blade AVIP Glasses ). Then, the GripGrab Windster Gloves, Hammerhead Overshoes , HiVis HeadGlove and GripGrab Cycling Cap , are ideal for shielding your vulnerable extremit...

Everyone likes kit comparisons. Whether it is what you take on a mammoth assault on the Himalayas, or what you carry in your everyday life (your EDC); it is interesting to compare personal preference and choice. In this post, I focus my attention on my off-road carry, and what comes with me on a cross-country weekend ride. Saddle bag or hydration pack? Hydration pack or saddle bag? For a long time, I've tossed up the pros and cons of riding with these luggage options on a mountain bike. There are significant benefits and disadvantages of both, but at the moment I've pared back my riding kit a bit, and I'm opting for the freedom of a saddle bag and jersey pockets. This is my XC Every Ride Carry (ERC)…  The Saddle Bag: Scicon Hippo 550 Saddle Bag The Hippo 550 is one of Scicon's biggest saddle bags. Yet, it is still compact enough that it doesn't swing about under your saddle and create irritating thigh rub. It uses Scicon's patented and highly effe...

Going travelling with a bike is one of the greatest joys in life. It can have its difficulties though; one of which, is the need for a pretty extensive packing list. In this post, I thought I'd feature five products that always make it into my wash bag, whenever I travel to a big ride, event or training camp. Sportique Century Riding Cream Any big ride deserves chamois cream. Whether it is hot and dry, or damp and humid; protecting your seat region from friction is a worthwhile preparation. The Century Riding Cream from Sportique is one of the best I've tried, and is formulated using natural ingredients, with a pleasant scent. You'll be grateful of this when you rack up the miles. Sportique Elements Cream It's not just your seat region that will benefit from some TLC when you are training/racing hard, you should also consider how you are protecting other areas of exposed skin. My favourite 'barrier cream' for riding, is the Elements Cream from Spor...

Most of the regular readers of the blog will know that I'm a big fan of the Sportique products, and I've previously reviewed a number of their balms and gels ( Link ). Recently though, I've been keen to demonstrate just how useful they are: a few weeks ago I posted on ' Hints and Tips: Treating and Recovering from Road Rash ', and mentioned how much better the Sportique Road Rash Balm was than your standard antiseptic cream. In this post, I focus on pre-event preparation and post-event pampering, tying in the Sportique products that I use for the purpose. Pre-Event Preparation Before a race or other major riding event, it clearly pays to be prepared; whether that be your bike, your kit, or your body. For most enthusiast road cyclists, preparing their legs includes the task of shaving, and often applying warm-up balm to reduce the chance of injury. Neither of these tasks are particularly scientific in their backing, but they are common place amongst cycl...

A month or so ago I reviewed a number of Sportique Balms and Bodycare Products ; they were so good that I felt compelled to share my thoughts on some more products in the range. The quality has been similarly impressive... Elements Cream Wind, rain, sweat and dirt are hard on your skin; the Elements Cream is designed to protect against the "Elements". The cream is effectively a high quality moisturiser; stopping chafing and chapping of skin that is exposed to the weather conditions. For example, in the colder weather I have used the Elements Cream on my lower legs that are left exposed below knee warmers. The cream is effective at keeping your skin from drying out and chapping, and is easily absorbed and applied. Elements Cream is available from Wiggle Bike Shop (Link) Shea Butter Hand Cream Your hands are another area that often suffers in colder weather. It is important to keep them moisturised as the skin on your hands is a major barrier to infection, and fo...

Sportique has a clear mission with its skin and body care products: to produce completely natural, highest quality balms, ointments and creams for the active sports person. Over the last few weeks I have been testing out the products from their range that are particularly tailored towards the cyclist's world; including muscle rubs, massage oil and chamois cream. I've been thoroughly impressed by every product that I have tried, and every product has been different. Below I give a short review of each product within the cycling range... Century Riding Cream (Chamois Cream) The Sportique Century Riding Cream is essentially a high end chamois cream; a friction reducing bottom butter that will help to avoid saddle sores, irritation and abrasion during long rides. The product is completely natural (like all the Sportique formulas), so it doesn't have any petroleum jelly or other synthetics mixed in there.The natural botanical nature of the product is also reflected in the f...