The aftermath – How cyclists actually recover post-ride

The suffering is over. Many hard miles logged, metres climbed. You’re so tired you’re unsure of your own name. After a hard ride there’s only one thing on your mind. It’s not stretching. Or active recovery, or even your ‘nutrition strategy’ otherwise known as eating. No. Get me off this bike, you think. Now. Minute […]

What I think about when I’m cycling

Nothing, usually. Mind empty, this is why I cycle. Complete escape. Meditation without all of that sitting around nonsense. The ability to eat a banana without tasting it. To hurt without feeling it. To drink and dribble down my chin without a care in the world. I am a Zen cycling master. Most of the […]

Best cycling blogs of the year

When not cycling or writing about cycling I’m reading about cycling. Addict! It’s time I share the love. Below is a short list of top blogs in no particularly order or rank bringing you a small selection of the writers who have fed my habit and kept me entertained this year.

Cycle training proper – Hello intervals

A confession. I’ve been lying to you. To myself. All these years I’ve not been cycle training. I was just… riding. Riding hard for sure, too hard. Yet this is not training. This is idiocy. A recipe for burnout and overtraining. Deep down I knew this, that’s why I used quote marks when using the […]

An ode to cycling in Regent’s Park

So long Regent’s Park, circle of madness, of pain, of random chaingangs, of reliable winter cycling. You have been my outdoor indoor trainer for almost five months now, looping around, huffing and puffing lap after lap. Counterclockwise of course, for I have never ridden this popular 2.77 mile cycle route clockwise. That would be just […]

What kind of Strava rider are you?

Strava sometimes splits the cycling community. Most people love it, a few hate it. Some are addicted. Strava is like body fat. Essential and great in small doses but ineffective in too great a measure if you’re out on the roads smashing every segment day after day.