Do:

Pack your favourite energy drink/ gels/ bars and take them to camp with you, says performance researcher Andrew Hamilton, BSc Hons MRSC ACSM. "Having access to a tried and tested top-up source of energy is a great asset, especially when you’re far away from home and churning out the miles."

Do:

Spread your riding out sensibly across the camp, says Oli Roberts, coach at pbscience.com. "Set a plan for the total time riding, how hard you want to ride and roughly how long you want to spend riding per day before you go. Remember that while the camp will give you the chance to ride more and rest more to cope with the load, you’re still working with the fitness you have rather than what you wish you had. I like to plan on a three-day rotation: medium length ride with quality work, longer steadier endurance ride, then easy day or day off."

Don’t:

Fall into the mega-ride suffer-fest trap, cautions coach Oli Roberts from pbscience.com. "I usually set a maximum ride duration of 5hrs in a long camp and a minimum intensity around 30W below lactate threshold (except on easy days). There can be a place for much longer and easier riding but in most cases backing up sensible endurance training around LT is a much better use of time."