Mark's Blog

Next week, Friday 6 August is ‘Cycle to Work Day’.

It’s the perfect excuse to blow the dust off your bike and go out for some gentle evening exercise or for those of you who are still travelling into work, to swap your usual drive for a bike ride.

So, whether you’re a complete beginner or just need a few tips to build your confidence, Aaron McTear at P3 Stroud has some tips for cycling on the road …

Photo by Kai Bossom on Unsplash

Useful resources

A very useful website, for anyone new to cycling is: Cycling UK | The Cyclists' Champion.

Another very useful website; if you input your area/town is: Home - Sustrans.org.uk, it gives you traffic-free routes to get from A to B.

A few useful tips if you are new to cycling, or need to purchase a new bike:

Use your local bike shop, rather than eBay, as they will be able to source the correct bike for you, set it up properly, and maintain it for you.

Make sure you are comfortable. You don’t need to look like a pro dressed in Lycra – T-shirt, shorts and trainers will do!

Practice on familiar short routes before your big ride.

Route plan. If you are not confident with roundabouts, or steep hills, plan a route to avoid these. It may be longer, but remember this is meant to be enjoyable.

You don’t need to be a mechanic, but being able to fix a puncture is very valuable, as there is nothing worse than a long walk home. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that can show you how to do this, along with the above websites.

So, if you’re looking for some inspiration to get outside this summer scroll this way …

From accessible keep-fit activities (read more below) to good old-fashioned cycling, outdoor activities can give us a physical way of relieving tension and the added bonus of a fun, positive distraction for the mind. And if you can combine activities with natural surroundings and green countryside, it’s been proven to boost your mood.

Keep spinning!

For some added inspiration, here’s the UK’s Mark Cavendish. Mark won four stages of the 2021 Tour de France and, in doing so, equalled the great Eddy Merckx's record of most stage wins at the Tour. First winning way back in 2008, Cavendish now boasts 34 amazing sprint victories at the biggest race in the world!