155. Buying a good bike pump will save you in more situations of need than you think! During a recent road trip in the SRAM neutral support vehicle, we flatted twice, we had a “plug kit” to fix the tire, and our bike pump, with our muscle, filled the car tire with air just fine.

156. Talcum powder (baby powder) works excellently and can help prevent tube punctures. Most neutral support organizations apply it to their tubes and tires before mounting, which prevents the sticking of the tube to the tire, and therefore alleviating punctures caused by objects that barely penetrate the thread of the tire.

157. Mix your recovery drinks in warm water the night before. They mix much easier and you can avoid drinking chunks of powder later. Put it in the fridge the night before so it’s cold in the morning.

158. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers work great for cleaning white shoes.

159. 3M or other brands of selfsticking felt furniture pads work great when you lose your helmet pads.

160. Invest in a few musette bags for summer road races. Three bottles at a feed can keep you well-hydrated. Use two on the bike and one in your jersey pocket to cool your head and core temperature.

161. Use a carbon assembly paste on seatpost and handlebar stem interfaces. It allows you to use the proper torque spec. This helps avoid the overtightening of hardware that is so prevalent.

162. Most manufacturers print the torque values on stems or seat collars, and it is very important to adhere to those or you risk fatiguing products.

163. Once you have your position dialed in, take note of all the heights and lengths, so next time you buy a bike or travel with it, you will be able to build it up to size swiftly and easily. There are smart phone apps for keeping track of such measurements.

164. When cutting your seatpost/seatmast/steerer tube, the rule of thumb is the same: measure twice, cut once.

165. If you ride a century, it’s good to be mindful of the road for others, but being the rider who incessantly barks orders will ruin the ride. Nobody likes to be bossed around.

166. Always carry spare spokes, a derailleur hanger and cleats on extended cycling trips. These are the parts that no one thinks about, but always end up needing.

167. ID tags (such as RoadID) are great, but go a step further When traveling abroad: laminate a card with vital info like blood type, emergency numbers and even hotel phone numbers where you are staying.

168. Cheap plastic cereal bowls make great cassette covers when packing a bike for travel.

169. Desperate times call for desperate measures. A long way from home and having chafing issues? A tube of Chapstick can be a lifesaver. Probably an even better idea is to mark it accordingly to avoid its original intended use.

170. Know your race course. If at all possible, get in a practice lap, even if it’s a crit where they don’t give you a sight lap. Ride around the best you can and make a mental note of road surfaces, road paint, dips, manhole covers, etc.

171. Wear a matching kit. It makes you faster — or at least perceived faster.