Mallorca - Travel Pack
I recently checked out the new mini tubs of VeloSkin with a week riding in Mallorca, The Training Camp Pack. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the last 12 months cycling abroad and I’ve been carrying a full set of VeloSkin 150ml pots around; they’re chunky and it’s just too much, so the Pack looked a great idea for week long trips like this.
The new pack comprised of a couple of VeloSkin bottles, 2 x 20ml pots of chamois cream, and 1 x 20ml pot of each of the other items in the range; shave cream, post shave lotion, daily sports moisturiser and the soothing gel.
For 7 days or less, these are ideal size for traveling with as they’re compliant with flight laws and regulations and can go in your clear plastic bag in your hand luggage if you’re travelling light. Before I went, I managed the first trim of the season for my legs and used my bigger VeloSkin pots, but I took the others with me as it’s something I’m quite fussy about. Every other morning I gave my legs the once over and there was more than enough to do this and I could have used them initially without running dry for the week. The weather in Mallorca was average at best, and probably the worst few days I’ve had in around 10 weeks total riding on the island at various times of the year (including January). Chilly temperatures for the duration and a couple of days of some seriously strong wings coming straight off the North Coast, that said, it was still better than the snow storm at home. However, when the sun did poke it’s head out, it was reasonable enough and I did come away with some sun-kissed skin after some long days out. Perhaps a suncream is on the horizon for VeloSkin? I didn’t actually take any this time so I had to call upon the moisturiser to help out some tender hands. With only 20ml and using it pretty much everyday, I was a little worried it wouldn’t last the week; however, being frugal with this in mind it lasted well and even beyond. It was also worthwhile after the winds we had; I had pretty chapped lips and some dry skin on my face which needed attention with the changing temperatures. The biggest day out I had was actually my last of the week; 100miles with 11,000ft of climbing including Sa Calobra. I was on and off with layers all day as it was particularly cool in the shade, but got warm again on the few ascents we did. I chucked a chamois cream in my pocket for good measure but didn’t need it again, but with the size of it this is a useful option, it could even fit inside my toolkit bidon. I used the chamois cream 6 out of 7 days and only used one of the two pots to empty, so there’s more than enough to cover you for a week. After this ride, and one other particularly intense ride, I gave the soothing gel it’s call to action. It’s useful for these longer days to calm the skin down quickly if it’s irritated, not a lot else needs to be said about that?!
The bottles were good too, I mean, I needed a drink and there it was? They’re based on bottles used by some of the teams in the pro ranks, so you can’t go too far wrong and they’re lathered up with VeloSkin colours and logos, whilst storing all the products together, whilst transporting them in my bike box. All in all, this is decent value and a really neat idea for weight saving, packing light and using if you’re just taking a weekend break abroad or otherwise. The products all performed exactly like their bigger brothers, as you’d expect, and lasted the duration of the week comfortably.
Guest writer: Luis Alcantarilla
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