How having wind makes you a stronger cyclist
Wind can be painful, it slows you down, and it often arrives with something wet. But cycling in the wind can make you a stronger, more resilient and more aerodynamic rider, once you learn to work with it rather than resent it. Of course, I’m talking about the infamous invisible force that destroys our speed […]
Meditation and cycling performance
Silence gives you an opportunity to sit with your thoughts, reflect on your training and check in with how your body and mind are feeling. Meditation for cyclists can be a simple, time-efficient way to build mental toughness, improve focus and better manage the thoughts that arise before and during a ride. During this time, […]
Why you should get bent… and stretch…
Stretching for cyclists is one of those topics that tends to divide opinion. Do you need a routine, and will it make any difference to your riding? The answer is not a simple yes or no: it depends on your training, your available time and what the rest of your life looks like. Covered […]
Does endurance training make us stupid?
Does endurance training make us stupid? In the long term, probably not. Regular endurance exercise can support mental wellbeing and cognitive function—but during a hard race or long ride, fatigue can temporarily turn even an experienced cyclist into a questionable decision-maker. Most of us have experienced it: forgetting to eat, missing an obvious turn, attacking […]
How stress destroys cycling performance
Stress and cycling performance are more closely connected than many cyclists realise. Training stress is necessary if you want to improve, but when it is combined with work pressure, poor sleep, family commitments and other demands, the total load can quickly become more than your body is able to recover from. That can affect far […]
Cycling training and mental health challenges
Having spent my entire life learning to live with the swings and roundabouts of Bipolar Affective Disorder, I know that balancing cycling training and mental health can require more than simply getting out for a ride. I have also spent a lifetime coaching people, including ten years coaching cycling, and I want to share practical […]
Seven Summits: a world record ride
It started in a goal-setting conversation with my coach, Aitor, as we looked for a way to test how my training was progressing ahead of a second attempt at the fastest crossing of Route 66. The Seven Summits cycling challenge became that test: climb the equivalent elevation of the highest peak on each continent, on […]
Route 66: more than just a road
Cycling Route 66 had been a dream of mine since my father and I first talked about driving America’s most legendary road. Years later, after rebuilding my life through some very difficult times, I stood at Santa Monica Pier ready to attempt a 2,500-mile ride across the United States. For me, life has always had […]
How to accurately gauge your commitment level
Accurately gauging your commitment to cycling training is something I’ve been passionate about since I started coaching cyclists. You do not need to commit 100% to every aspect of training to make meaningful progress, but your goals need to reflect what you can realistically give while still enjoying the journey. Covered in this blog […]
How your mentality affects your cycling performance
Cycling performance is not only shaped by the training you do, your nutrition or your tactics. Mental fitness for cyclists matters just as much: how you approach commitment, stress, setbacks and difficult efforts can influence what you are able to get from your training. For many years, I’ve advocated looking at cyclists holistically and helping […]