by John Gray

Created on: August 18, 2009

Sunscreen is surely the last thing a mountain biker thinks of before setting off outdoors. However, considering the length of ride of a typical ride can be up to four hours, they had better think again. Sunscreen is an essential application for mountain biking and when the burn of the sun combines with the wind, as you travel at speed on a bike, you had better hope that you have used sunscreen.

Even if the weather forecast is neutral or the sun does not appear particularly strong, anybody who has ever been outdoors biking will tell you that it is very easy to catch the sun, even with the smallest amounts of sun visible in the air.

The real truth is that we need protection from the sun in order to block out harmful UV rays, many of which can break though even the strongest cloud. It should go without saying that UV (ultra violet) radiation can be an extremely damaging substance for the skin. Too much exposure to UV radiation is one of the biggest causes of skin cancer today.

But it is not just skin cancer that is a major potential problem from the over-exposure to harmful UV rays. Over-exposure has also been linked to the damaging of eyes, even blinding in some cases, not to mention premature ageing in adults amongst other serious and minor complaints.

The nature of mountain biking, as with any physical sport, is that the body's natural defence from heat, sweat, is also the worst thing for getting rid of sunscreen. Thus, the rider during breaks and intervals needs to ensure that along with water and food, they are topping up with sun cream too.

Fortunately, for those wearing a helmet (which should be everybody) this can also help to provide some level of protection for the harmful rays of the sun. Some helmets also come with visors which have the added benefit of blocking out the sun, however relying on this alone is clearly not enough. On every mountain biking session sunscreen should be considered along with all the other essential items.

It is always best to apply the sunscreen prior to setting out on a session which will ensure the body is protected immediately. Most sunscreens recommend that you regularly top-up from anywhere between 1-2 hours, but the rigorous nature of the sport means that it is important not to leave top-ups for longer than an hour, where at all possible.

The neck can be a particular exposed area of the body which should be taken care to protect with sunscreen. The nature of biking means that the position of bending over the bike is going to expose a greater proportion of this delicate are of the body to the sun more than normal. It is important therefore to be aware of this and not to overlook the neck when applying sunscreen.

Mountain biking is a great sport, the combination of physical challenges, thrilling rides and the great outdoors is a great reason to get involved with the booming sport. It would be a great shame however if this wonderful pastime is the result of blistering due to sun burn or even worse aliments. Instead, the simple reminder to pack sunscreen along with lunch and plenty of water will ensure that the day is not ruined by one element of the great outdoors itself, the sun.

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