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There are lots of iconic bike races that you can participate in throughout the Southern Lakes region. At Outside Sports we sponsor and actively support the Motatapu, The Mackenzie, The Hawea Epic, and the Glenorchy Gravel Grind - and the are several other smaller ones as well. All of these events take most riders between three and ten hours to complete.
Image Credit: Sean Beale
Team members at all our stores regularly compete in all these endurance bike races – one of us even holds the women’s course record for the Hawea Epic, so we know from experience what works. If you’re thinking about entering an event like these, or you’re counting down the days to the start of an event you’ve already entered visit us to have a chat about what you’re doing, and to see gear that’ll make your race a whole lot better – whether you’re chasing a record time or are just in it for the experience.
Races of that duration mean you need to take nutrition, water, wet and cold weather protection, and the event's mandatory emergency survival gear, with you on your bike. The standard go to is a backpack, but they’re not ideal. They can get very hot and uncomfortable to wear, and nothing you need is right at hand. You have to stop and lose time while you take off your backpack and delve into it for your snacks, warm jacket, or whatever.
A much better solution is to use a handlebar pack from the world-leading bike packing specialists Apidura and Aeroe, in combination with a super lightweight Salomon running vest. Things like extra clothes and emergency gear go in the bag, and snacks and extra hydration are in easy reach in the vest, and you don’t have to stop riding.
The Apidura Expedition Handlebar Pack 9L mounts securely to any type of handlebar with burly straps and has heaps of space for your mandatory gear and emergency bag etc
Very similar to the bag above, the 8L Heavy Duty Dry Bag from Aeroe has the added benefit of extra waterproofing, which might come in handy for you, as the Motatapu, Hawea Epic, and Mackenzie all feature river crossings and it's not unknown for people to drop their bikes into the water. To mount the Aero Drybag you’ll also need the Aeroe Handlebar/Front Fork Cradle, which has a very handy quick release mechanism for the bag built in
It’s called a running vest but there’s no law against using it on a bike, and lots of savvy bikers do just that.
Salomon have a big range of running vests at Outside Sports, but for endurance events we recommend the Salomon ACTIVE SKIN 12 because it provides the biggest hydration volume in this range.
The fabrics are soft and breathable, and if you’re a female competitor you can get the women’s specific Salomon SensiFit™ vest that’s designed to fit women’s body shape.
The chest pockets give instant access on the go to your flasks and snacks (a place a place to put your rubbish).
