Six essentials to bring (and leave at home!) on a Neilson cycling holiday

You won’t get far on a cycling holiday if you don’t have a bike but don’t worry you won’t have to bring your own (unless you want to). Mountain biking is an inclusive activity available in every one of our beachclubs which are all stocked with our TREK mountain bikes, the perfect bikes for the terrain you will be riding on our guided bike rides. They range in frame size from 15.5” to 21” and come with a wide range of gears. 

At seven of our beachclubs we also offer road cycling. At these beachclubs you can use our Trek road bikes, they range from sizes of 47cm to 60cm and consist of lightweight frames and have all the gears you’ll need to take on the road.

Of course if you’d rather be riding your own bike to tackle the climbs, single track and thrilling descents or want to put your bike through its paces cycling up mile after mile on the road, you can bring your own bike with you. You can add a bike to your booking but availability and price is dependent on the airline you are flying with. Interested? To find out more have a look at your luggage allowance. If you decide to take your bike make sure you box it up correctly to prevent being charged extra or the bike being turned away at check in. We recommend that you book your bike in for a service before you travel to ensure it is in perfect condition, allowing you to make the most of the rides.

Normally when you go on holiday you’re told to stay off your phone but not on a Neilson cycling holiday. If you have been on one before there is a good chance you would have come across a number of phone apps useful for cyclists but the one our bike guides use and recommend is Strava.

Strava is a mobile app designed to enhance the experience of sports like cycling. Using the app you can track the rides you go on while you are on holiday enabling you to see how far you have cycled and how long it took you. More detailed analysis is available if you want to improve on your performance, from information on speed, pace and distances to comparisons between your performance and previous attempts.

On top of this you can connect with friends who also have the app. So you can share all your cycling holiday pics with your friends and family back home to make them jealous!

Whether you’re a professional cyclist or cycle into work, sunglasses have become a vital part of a cyclist’s kit in recent years. Apart from the obvious reason that they help make you look cool while you’re riding, they do play a very important role.

Firstly sunglasses help protect eyes from dirt, dust and other projectiles that get thrown into the air while you are cycling, and secondly they help protect your eyes against the suns UV rays. When you’re cycling you are exposed to high levels of UV rays and this is especially the case in our summer beachclub resorts where the weather is hot and sunny. On top of this, the sun can reflect off of cars and roads making it difficult to see clearly if you don’t have sunglasses on to dim the reflected light.       

So make sure to pack your sunglasses when packing for your Neilson cycling holiday, if you don’t have a pair be sure to invest in a good quality pair before going on holiday.

This might seem like an obvious one considering our beachclubs are situated on beaches (it’s in the name after all) across Greece, Sardinia and Croatia. However based on the number of people with red “tans” it seems that every year people seem to forget to use sun cream or re-apply it, resulting in them getting sun burnt. So if you were to remember one think when packing, let it be the sun cream. That way you can cycle till your heart’s content without being in constant pain!

Whether it is shorts and a t-shirt or brightly coloured lycra you will need to bring kit to ride in. Before leaving for your holiday be sure to check the weather out in resort to ensure you have packed the appropriate kit but it should be safe to leave the waterproofs and cold weather kit at home. Make sure that you have a comfy pair of trainers or cycling shoes especially if you are planning to take on some of the more challenging rides, and if you’re planning to wear cycling shoes that have cleats you should bring your own pedals to ensure the two are guaranteed to fit.

At all of our beachclubs where cycling is available helmets, gloves and water bottles are all provided free of charge. For safety reasons, it is compulsory to wear a helmet if you are using our bikes and joining in with our guided rides. If you want to save space in your suitcase you can use one of our helmets but if you don’t want to you will need to bring your own. 

Cycling gloves are also available to use when mountain biking and road cycling. These aren’t just an optional fashion accessory, they play an important role in maximising your cycling performance and enjoyment. They provide grip and reduce friction between your hands and the handlebars helping provide a smooth and stable ride as well preventing blisters. On longer rides it is common for cyclist’s hands to become numb from the vibrations felt during the ride, gloves serve to dampen these vibrations so you are less likely to experience this.

Water bottles are an essential part of a cyclist’s kit and our bikes are set up with bottle holders attached to the frame. Our beachclubs are situated in very warm climates, during rides you will lose a lot of water from sweating. To prevent dehydration you will need to replace the water you are losing by drinking plenty of water before, during and after your rides. We have water bottles that fit the bottle holders on our bikes, which you can use on our rides. All our kit – helmets, gloves and bottles – is washed thoroughly before and after use.