Hannah Reynolds - 1001 Cycling Tips

Hannah Reynolds John Walsh

Hannah Reynolds is a writer and bike rider who has worked in the cycling industry for over 20 years. She loves racing and demonstrates that lack of talent is no barrier to participation, having competed in everything from downhill to road to 24-hour mountain biking with varying and limited degrees of success. Formerly fitness editor for Cycling Weekly and editor of Cycling Active magazine, she is now a freelance writer covering everything from human interest stories and cycling adventures to nerdy tech and fitness pieces. Hannah has co-written three cycling guidebooks: Fitter, Further, Faster; Get on Your Bike and France en Velo. Working as a guide for Saddle Skedaddle gets her out from behind her laptop and into the hills of the UK and Europe. Based in the Howgill Fells in Cumbria, she can often be found dragging a toddler in a bike trailer up ridiculously steep climbs because cycling changes as life changes but its always there. www.hannahmreynolds.com

HANNAH REYNOLDS
1001 CYCLING TIPS

First published in 2021 by Vertebrate Publishing. This digital edition first published in 2021 by Vertebrate Publishing.

Vertebrate Publishing
Omega Court, 352 Cemetery Road, Sheffield S11 8FT, United Kingdom.
www.v-publishing.co.uk

Copyright 2021 Hannah Reynolds and Vertebrate Publishing Ltd.

Hannah Reynolds has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as author of this work.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-83981-109-8 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-83981-110-4 (Ebook)

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanised, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher.

Front cover illustration Julia Allum represented by www.meiklejohn.co.uk
All photography individually credited.

Design by Nathan Ryder, production by Cameron Bonser and Jane Beagley, Vertebrate Publishing.

Every effort has been made to achieve accuracy of the information in this guidebook. The authors, publishers and copyright owners can take no responsibility for: loss or injury (including fatal) to persons; loss or damage to property or equipment; trespass, irresponsible behaviour or any other mishap that may be suffered as a result of following the advice offered in this guidebook.

Even though I have written all these tips down, I cant take credit for the creation of more than a handful. These are all tips that have been passed on to me throughout my cycling life by people I have ridden with, talked cycling with or worked with. A mixture of club cyclists, amateur racers, old pros, new pros, physiologists, coaches, physiotherapists, bike guides and mechanics.

The cycling community is very generous with its advice. Just watch out, not all advice is good advice. There is a lot of received wisdom in cycling, and a fair amount of received nonsense too, that many of us like to follow as it is part of cycling culture. A good argument about sock length can kill at least an hour of a five-hour training ride.

If someone mentions following the rules to you, ignore them, unless it directly relates to a race or event. No one can be disqualified from being a cyclist because their valves werent at six oclock in a photo or they have hairy legs. No one with a bike can be disqualified from being a cyclist, full stop.

When I started cycling, I was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of some very knowledgeable and patient riders who helped me navigate my way around common beginner errors, but some things can only be learnt through practice and experience. Ive had my fair share of avoidable mechanicals, navigational errors, embarrassing kit choices and etiquette faux pas. Ive blown-up, bonked, been caught out by the weather and been dropped on more rides than I can remember! Hopefully these tips will offer a few shortcuts, or life hacks, so that my mistakes can save you from doing the same. Ive almost certainly left out as many tips as I have included. I am sure there will be many that cause disagreement and there will be many alternative ways to arrive at the same solutions. I look forward to the debates! My most vital tip is to lean on the cycling community around you it is a limitless source of friendship and advice.

Enjoy the ride!

Thank you to the many people who have given me tips and advice through the years. A special mention to my former colleagues at Cycling Weekly, Norwood Paragon cycling club and the late Keith Butler, and my Evans Cycles teammates of the past. Thank you to John for all the cycling adventures; if it werent for you, many of them wouldnt have happened!

If you have any feedback or questions regarding this book, then please drop me a line:

hannah@hannahmreynolds.com

Im also on twitter as @HannahMReynolds

For writing and public speaking assignments please visit www.hannahmreynolds.com; for the joys of cycling in France, and more on my guidebook France en Velo, visit www.franceenvelo.cc

VII

Sarah Ross on the North Coast 500 in Scotland. Stephen Ross

VIII IX

Cycling through Shedden Clough, Lancashire, England. Joolze Dymond

Cycling isnt a seasonal sport. You can ride all year round, provided that you have the right kit and the right attitude.

Clowne Greenway, Derbyshire, England. Rosie Edwards

Gravel biking into the Peak District from Sheffield, England. John Coefield

CHOOSING A BIKE [123]

So, you want to be a cyclist? I could say something cheesy about cycling being a state of mind. But that would be nonsense. The only thing you need to be a cyclist is a bike.

When choosing a bike, the first thing to think about is not the bike, but you and your lifestyle.

Bike genres are getting increasingly niche and nuanced, and drilling down into the detail can be overwhelming, but it starts with identifying your needs.

Narrow down what you want to do with the bike, starting with the big questions. Visualise your bike ride where are you and where are you going?

On-road or off-road? This sends you down two distinct paths (although hybrids and gravel bikes like to blur that boundary a bit).

Do you want to carry things on your bike? If you do, then it is time to explore bikes with racks or even cargo bikes.