The Lancashire Cycleway. Jon Sparks
pay for itself sooner or later. If your employer is signed up to Cyclescheme (www.cyclescheme.co.uk), you should be able to get tax breaks on any new bike up to £1000, saving you up to 42%.
Do you regularly get off and push on hills? A really vicious climb will have most people walking, but if you’re regularly getting off on slopes of 15% or easier it’s worth reviewing your bike’s range of gears. With the right range of gears, cycling’s easier than walking on any incline you’ll meet on the Lancashire Cycleway (the maximum is about 18%).
If your bike’s existing gears aren’t low enough, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need a new bike. New sprockets and/or chainrings may be all you need, with perhaps also a new rear derailleur – ask your bike shop.
If you do have a mountain bike, you’ll almost certainly have low enough gearing for any climb on the Cycleway. For long days on tarmac, do yourself a huge favour and swap those knobbly tyres for something smoother. Those chunky knobs are for soft and loose surfaces; road tyres generally have pretty minimal tread. Higher pressures give a harder ride, but transmit your pedalling effort efficiently. However, current thinking is that wider tyres and proportionately lower pressures can give a smoother ride with minimal penalty in effort. For road bikes, 25mm to 28mm tyres have become much more common in recent years, even for racing. Mountain bikes and hybrids will have wider tyres anyway.
One other thing: traditional ‘ladies’ frame designs have little to recommend them, unless you actually plan to go riding wearing a long skirt. It’s unlikely you’ll want to do this on the Lancashire Cycleway, but if you’re using the same bike for riding to work, then lots of bikes, including many contemporary road bikes, have a sloping top tube (‘crossbar’).
Correct riding position
Whether you’re on a brand new bike or you’ve dusted off an old one, a vital and yet frequently neglected issue is getting the riding position right. Cycling might require effort at times – all exercise does – but it shouldn’t be continuously uncomfortable, and there’s no need to make it harder than it has to be. All too many give up after a few outings because their knees or back always hurt. It’s simply tragic that so many people have never experienced the pleasure and sense of ‘rightness’ of a bike that’s set up correctly for their individual dimensions.
A decent bike shop will be able to help you: in fact, if they don’t take the time to fit your new bike to you, they aren’t a decent bike shop. A real bike shop will also help you check your position on your existing bike. A basic assessment can be done in five minutes, and many bike shops will give you a quick once-over for no charge, especially if you’re buying new tyres or other bits and pieces. However, if you’re planning on riding far, or fast, or both, then the finer points of your riding position assume greater importance.
These riders both have an efficient but relaxed position on the bike
A full bike-fit is a serious and skilled business, and likely to take at least an hour. You can’t expect that level of attention for nothing, but it’s money well spent.
While a proper bike-fit requires skilled professional input, you can at least make a rough assessment for yourself. There are two essential elements.
First, get the saddle position right – not just height, but fore-and-aft as well. This is vital for efficient pedalling. Once it’s right, you’ll be able to ride faster for the same effort, or the same speed for less effort. A correctly set saddle also greatly reduces the risks of problems with your knees – usually when the saddle’s too low, or hips – more likely when it’s too high. The longer and harder you ride, the more important this becomes. As a very rough guide for saddle height, your leg should still be slightly flexed at the bottom of the pedal stroke. As a similarly rough check on the fore-and-aft position, set the cranks horizontal: you should then be able to drop a plumb line from kneecap to pedal spindle on your leading leg.
Second, get the handlebars set right. This affects stability, control, aerodynamics and above all comfort. Aches in the back, shoulders or neck (possibly all three!) are all too likely if this aspect is wrong. Again, both height and fore-and-aft placement need to be right. This may mean spending money on a new stem. Again, it will be worth it many times over.
If you find it impossible to get these elements even approximately right, it may be that the bike itself, and specifically the frame, is the wrong size. If it is, no amount of fiddling with saddle and handlebars will make it completely right. With so many different frame designs now available, it isn’t possible to give a short explanation of how to resolve this: consult your bike shop or one of the recommended books/websites listed in Appendix A.
With the riding position sorted, nothing can make or break your ride more decisively than the saddle. Choose one that’s too hard and the results are obvious. But too soft a saddle can be just as bad. It may feel comfortable to sit on, but pedalling isn’t sitting. There are many weird and (mostly) wonderful designs available nowadays, including cutaway types that may look like instruments of torture but actually relieve the pressure in crucial areas. Male and female anatomy differ significantly in these areas, and there is much to be said for gender-specific saddles. Saddle-fit is very personal, but is dictated above all by the spacing of your sit-bones (ischial tuberosities). This must be measured: you can’t judge it by eye or infer it from other vital statistics.
Cycling is healthy, sociable and above all fun
Clothing
Having just discussed saddles, let’s consider the bit that sits thereon. In warm weather shorts are great, but neither everyday nor running shorts are designed for cycling. Proper cycling shorts are cut for comfort when riding, and have padding in the crucial area. You can also buy padded inner-shorts which you can wear under ordinary trousers or tracksuit bottoms. Close-fitting, stretchy tracksuit bottoms are OK but baggy ones will catch on chains and gears and make your life a misery. In fact, baggy clothes in general will flap infuriatingly at speed and act like a sail when the wind’s against you. Cycling shorts (or those padded inners) go next to the skin. Do not wear underwear beneath them: this grievous faux pas is potentially painful.
Shoes are equally important. A firm sole unit ensures that effort is transmitted to the pedals, and that the pedals don’t feel like they’re cutting into your feet after an hour or two. Trainers are not necessarily better than traditional shoes: it can be worth going through your wardrobe with an open mind. Cycling shoes are, of course, made specifically for the job. Out-and-out racing shoes can be difficult to walk in: mountain bike or touring shoes are better.
Old-style toe-clips and straps are now rare, as so-called clipless pedals have almost completely taken over. These greatly enhance pedalling efficiency, but must be matched with compatible cleats fixed to the shoes. There are many different cleat/pedal systems: Shimano’s SPD is the best-known, but even this comes in two incompatible flavours; the ‘mountain bike’ variety is better if you plan on walking any distance.
For the upper body, dedicated cycling kit is great but can be pricey, and isn’t entirely essential. There’s no need to become a mobile advertising hoarding like the Tour riders, although bright colours make you more visible to other road users. A lot of cycling kit isn’t vastly different from other outdoor clothing, except for being cut longer at the rear to avoid exposing the lower back when riding. Cycling jerseys often have rear pockets, a good place to carry essentials like wallet and phone, although not if you’re also using a rucksack or bum-bag.
It can get pretty warm going up hills, and a lot cooler going down the other side. Traditionally, Tour de France riders would stuff a newspaper up the front of their jerseys for those long, chilly, Alpine descents. As newspapers aren’t readily available at the top of Cross O’Greet, a light windproof layer is a good alternative for descents on cooler days. Although it rarely rains in Lancashire, it won’t hurt if it’s waterproof too.
Gloves have two