Every year, we say we’re going to take more care over our bike, lose weight to climb faster and finally learn how to fix our own bottom bracket. This year, we’re sharing our resolutions in the hope it will keep us accountable. Feel free to borrow one of ours or let us know your own!
While the New Year seems like an obvious time for a fresh start, in so many ways it’s actually the worst time of year to try and do anything life changing. It’s still cold, wet and dark for the majority of the day, nobody has any spare cash because of Christmas, we all feel fat and lazy and the house is still full of half-eaten selection boxes and unfinished bottles of port. However, we still like to set ourselves a good challenge, so here are our cycling related resolutions:
I will always clean my bike chain before oiling it
Gunky, oily chains, dripping in black grease and clogged with grit are bad for our bikes, but sometimes it’s just so much quicker and easier to give a squirt of fresh oil without bothering to clean off the old stuff. But no more! 2019 is going to be the year of the clean bike chain.
I will learn how to change my own brake cables
We know it’s a simple task to do (most of the time), but it makes us nervous. With a bit of help from an expert mechanic, we’re going to learn how to do it – how hard can it be anyway?
I will do my physio after every ride
Our knees are shot and we have backache after every long ride, but do we remember to do our physio exercises properly? Do we heck! This one is really important – we know it’s for our own good.
I will always charge my bike lights
How does this get forgotten so often? Arrive home in the dark, charge lights, simple. No more are we going to get ready to ride, only to find the batteries are nearly flat.
I will ride somewhere new every month
There are so many amazing places to ride in this country that we are setting the challenge of riding somewhere new every month. It could be a sportive, a visit to a friend or a weekend break… it’s time to discover all the great places that are right on our door step!
I will persuade at least one new person to start riding to work
To put it bluntly, the more people riding to work, the better. It means roads are safer, more money gets invested into infrastructure and it’s one less person behind the wheel and one less polluting car on the road. Without wanting to sound evangelical, this is a resolution that benefits everyone.
I will stop complaining about riding up hills
We know they are good for us, we know they make us fitter and we know that they are an intrinsic part of riding. So in 2019, we pledge to stop moaning and start pedalling!
