by Heather Bamforth | Dec 4, 2013
I must admit that I had never heard of Multipower before their products arrived on my doorstep for review. However, their website tells me that they are Europe’s leading sports foods producers, with their products for sale in 36 countries, and have been established for over 35 years. They now have a number of brand ambassadors, with Cannondale Pro Cycling their cycling representative for 2013.
I was given three different products to review: Multicarbo Hi-Energy Jelly, Multicarbo Jelly and Recharge Drink.
1. Multicarbo Hi-Energy Jelly & Multicarbo Jelly
Most people will be familiar with energy gels that seem to be popular nowadays. They act as quick and easy energy replenishment which you can just swallow however I am sure everybody will also be familiar with the fact that they can be difficult to open and are also extremely sticky if you have the misfortune of not being able to open it properly mid-ride. If you dislike gels for this reason, then the Multicarbo jellies may be a pleasant alternative for you.
For a start, these jellies are just that – jelly. This means that they are solid rather than liquid, but rather than being difficult to chew, you can nibble at the jelly or just swallow it without chewing. The other positive about these jellies is the packaging that they come in. Unlike the modern gels which have a tab which you have to be able to tear off before you can access the contents, the jelly’s packaging can be opened before you ride, with the benefit of the jelly’s solid nature meaning that it won’t leak in your back pocket. You can also eat half of the packet and put the remainder back in your pocket, safe in the knowledge that you can eat the other half later on in your ride.
For anybody who is counting the calories, both of these jellies have 120 kcal per 50g sachet, which is on a par with other brands of gel, which tend to be 45g rather than 50g. Both seem to be available in orange flavour only at the moment however it is neither too sweet in flavour nor too acidic. Both are also described as being a “time release carb mix”. They are quite expensive with an RRP of £30.99 for a pack of 24 however this is on a par with their competitors.
For more information about the Multicarbo Jelly, visit: www.multipower.com/uk/product/multicarbo-jelly
For taste and ease of use, I would give these products 90 out of 100. For value for money, I would be more inclined to mark them down due to their cost and as such give them 70 out of 100. Overall I give them 85 out of 100.
2. Re-Charge Drink
The final product that I was asked to review was the imaginatively named “Re-Charge Drink”. This is Multipower’s pro-peptide offering, to help you refuel after your ride.
Most of Multipower’s competitors offer protein shakes that can be quite thick and difficult to drink. However, the Re-Charge Drink is 4 parts carbohydrate to 1 part protein and comes in a refreshing orange flavour rather than the more traditional chocolate/strawberry/vanilla flavours. The amount of carbohydrate in the drink means that it is easier to digest however it can be quite difficult to get the texture right – if you’re not careful it can become a bit powdery, so try to be economical with the powder or put more water in to negate this.
I’m sure many readers will be aware of how expensive any recovery drinks are: the benefits of this drink are that it is only £12.99 for a 630g tub which makes 14 servings, which equates to 92p per serving, rather than the competitors’ £2.85 per serving. So, if you feel that most recovery drinks can hit your purse, this might be worth a shot! The other benefit is that because it is much thinner than other recovery drinks, you don’t need a shaker bottle, which means less calories used in washing the bottle!
You can find more information about the Re-Charge Drink here: www.multipower.com/uk/product/re-charge-drink
Marks out of 100 are as follows: taste – 75 out of 100 (I personally feel that there is room for improvement); ease of use (does what it says on the tin) – 85 out of 100 (the carbohydrate content helps replenish your depleted glycogen stores post-ride) and value for money – 95 out of 100 (you will struggle to find a cheaper alternative). Overall – 85 out of 100.
by Heather Bamforth | Nov 18, 2013
No matter what type of sporting discipline you participate in, it is always important to review your season once you have stopped racing.
For those of you who read my beginners’ guide to racing earlier this year, you may remember that I talked about the importance of having goals to aim for during the season (and also beyond), in order to achieve what you want to achieve – it is incredibly difficult to feel satisfied and contented if you don’t know what you want out of the season.
So for those of you who set goals this season, whether those were distance related, time related, or just getting on your bike more, it is important to revisit the aims that you set yourself at the beginning of the season and to compare them to what you did actually achieve.
Original Goals – Realistic or Unattainable?
At the start of the season, you would have had an idea, whether you wrote it down or not, as to what you wanted to achieve. Nobody can tell what the future holds and nobody can tell you that you can’t achieve what you want to achieve, as everybody has to have a dream, but it is important to be true to yourself. This means that you have to be honest with yourself too. For example, there is nothing wrong with wanting to win a Premier Calendar or a National Series event this season, but if you only started racing this season and were a fourth category rider at the start of the season, the likelihood is that you will struggle to get a ride in a National Series event, and if you are a male fourth category rider, then you can’t even enter a Premier Calendar. Don’t get me wrong, being honest with yourself is not easy – everybody wants to feel that they are better than they are, it’s only natural, but you have to have a reality check at some point, if only for your own sanity. Otherwise you will spend your spare time dwelling on the fact that you have failed in your mission, wondering where you went wrong and basically mentally beating yourself up.
Achieving Targets
If you achieved your targets, congratulations! And, if so, the next port of call for you is to ask yourself how you can build on what you have achieved this season, and whether you feel that you pushed yourself in achieving those goals, so that you set some more SMART goals for next season.
Missing Targets Is Not The End of the World
Sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes you get ill. For the majority of people (and that will include most readers of this article), cycling (or any sport in actual fact) is a hobby that you do in your spare time. It is important that you remember that fact. Cycling is fun, a way of keeping healthy and fit and making friends. Even if you are competing, you still should always remember that you are doing it because you enjoy it, not because your life depends on it. And if you feel that it is the latter, and your whole sense of being in life is dependent on the results you get, then you need to have a word with yourself, my friend, because getting depressed about what you haven’t achieved is not healthy. And if your “team mates” are not supportive enough, you do not have to stay with that team or club. Your mental well-being is paramount – without that basis you cannot prepare yourself mentally for the challenges that life throws at you.
Evaluating the Season
If you haven’t achieved what you thought were reasonable goals, ask yourself why that might be. Maybe you have had a stressful time at work, or a member of your family has been ill, or you just haven’t had the spare time to dedicate to training. Some things are out of our control and as an adult you just have to accept that fact and move on. Instead, look at what you have achieved this season in spite of all the other issues you have had to deal with and take those achievements as a positive. Don’t beat yourself up about not getting the results that you thought you were capable of, but use them as a stepping stone for what you want to achieve next season. Don’t underestimate the British weather either – if you wanted to go under the hour on a 25 mile time trial but every single time you rode an event it was horrendously windy, that is something out of your control, so just deal with it and move on.
In Conclusion
If you have missed some of your targets this season, do yourself a favour and list the goals that you wanted to achieve at the beginning of the season in one column, then in a second column list how you did in reality – you will probably find that you were not too far wide of the target, and if there were things that appear to be out of reach, think about why that might be and how you might be able to change things to achieve those goals next season. If you use a training diary, or an on-line tool such as Garmin Connect or Strava, have a look back at all of that data you will have created and try and evaluate it to see whether you might have done too much leading up to the event where you didn’t hit the target, or you might have not done enough.
In the grand scheme of things, life is incredibly short. This isn’t a dress rehearsal and you have to take the best out of the challenges that life throws at you. Be honest with yourself, think about what you could have done to make things better and then you can start thinking about what you might want to achieve next season!
So until next time, enjoy riding and keep safe!
by Heather Bamforth | Jul 1, 2013
I caught up with recently crowned National Time Trial Champion Joanna Rowsell MBE to find out her plans for the next few months and her thoughts on the whirlwind of a year that brought her further success at the Olympic Games in London and her seamless transition to the road.
Jo was about to ride the Great Manchester Cycle ride. Launched in 2012, the first Great Manchester Cycle was a resounding success, with a staggering 7,000 riders taking up the challenge and this years event was even bigger. Lizzie Amitstead, who brought home Britain’s first medal of the Games last summer in the Women’s Road Race, along with former Olympic champion Rebecca Romero were among those to take part in the inaugural Great Manchester Cycle, with Armitstead describing the event as “a fantastic day out”. This year Jo got to experience the buzzing atmosphere, the olympic champion seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself with her signature beaming smile visible at all times under her helmet.
Related links:
Joanna Rowsell MBE’s website
Follow Jo on Twitter @JoannaRowsell
Great Manchester Cycle’s website – Enter now for 2014!” Great Manchester Cycle’s website – Enter now for 2014!
by Heather Bamforth | Jun 19, 2013
Last year, Huw Williams initiated a number of race training sessions for women at Cyclopark in the South, with a view to providing specific training for women who were either complete novices or were third or fourth category riders. They proved extremely popular and many women wanted to attend a similar set up in other places around the country.
For women riders who are able to get to the Tameside circuit in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, Frances Newstead, a level 3 British Cycling Road and Time Trial coach has worked with Huw to deliver a number of similar sessions up North on 18 & 25 August 2013 followed by a race (restricted to 3rd & 4th category women riders) on 8 September 2013. Places will be limited, so if you are new to racing or are maybe thinking of racing for the first time next year, get involved with Frances’ session. She will be covering a variety of skills and topics, including what type of training to do over winter. Further details can be found in the flyer below:
by Heather Bamforth | Jun 2, 2013
Manchester Wheelers is turning 130 years old on 7th July 2013 – one of the oldest and most well established clubs it has a long history in the world of cycling. To celebrate the 130th year, the club is putting on a series of events over the course of the anniversary year. Kicking the festivities off is a day of racing at the Tameside Circuit in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, Manchester on Sunday, 14 July 2013.
There are races for all age groups and abilities:
- Under 8/Under 10’s
- Under 12/14/16’s
- 4th Cat only
- Women Only
- 2/3/4
Prize money will be equal in men’s and women’s races.
The event, organised by Ruth Taylor on behalf of Manchester Wheelers, is set to be more than just a series of races with food stalls and refreshments available. After the official racing there will also be some fun events to get everyone involved. The club would love to see a big turnout of Manchester and area cyclists young and old to come and help them celebrate 130 years of the Blue, Red and White jersey. Entries are available online at British Cycling and will also be available on the day.
To enter online, please visit https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/87811/Manchester-Wheelers-130th-Birthday-Day-of-Racing
by Heather Bamforth | May 31, 2013
Bath and North East Somerset Council opened up a brand new facility in April, the Odd Down circuit, funded by British Cycling, which has meant that a number of local clubs can now benefit from mid-week racing. VC Walcot is one such club, and Laurie Chalk, the club secretary, has been in contact to tell us about their new evening series, which includes races for all categories, from youth to men’s E/1/2, to men’s 3/4 and even a women’s only event (which are hard to come by mid-week).
Last year, the local clubs around Bath, including VC Walcot and Bath CC organised a mid-week evening series based on a circuit in a local park, which proved extremely popular, with over 200 people turning up to watch, and the men’s events often seeing a field of 60 riders. This year, due to the opening of the £600k facility, the series is moving from the park, and there will yet again be a women’s only event, as well as the men’s events and supporting youth races.
VC Walcot Summer Series
This series is by no means the only mid-week series of events in the South/South West regions however it is one of the mid-week series that has a dedicated women’s race. All mid-week racing is now classed as Band 5 (10 points for the win, with points down to 10th), so this series is no exception however, with the first event next Tuesday (4 June 2013) it looks like no better time to try your hand at racing the new 1.5km circuit.
For more information about the events, visit www.vc-walcot.com, or follow them on Twitter @VeloClubWalcot or on Facebook at facebook.com/vcwalcot. More information about the Odd Down circuit can be found at http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/sport-leisure-and-parks/health-and-fitness/ride-bnes/odd-down-cycle-track.
The final product that I was asked to review was the imaginatively named “Re-Charge Drink”. This is Multipower’s pro-peptide offering, to help you refuel after your ride.
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