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Getting fit to roll into spring

Spring is in the air, which means it’s time to ensure you’re fit and ready to enjoy long bike rides in the sunshine.

Fit for what?

It’s a classic line most of us have said at some point: ‘I want to get fit’. But when someone says those words, the next logical question is, ‘fit for what’? If you have a serious challenge on the horizon that is going to test you mentally and physically, it’s an easy question to answer. If, however, you just want cycling to feel a little easier so you can go faster or further then the measure of success is harder to define.

Not everything in life needs to have a goal or be measured. With cycling, we think it is enough to measure your success in terms of how much fun you are having but, speaking from experience, it is easier to have fun when you feel fit and energetic.

A little bit of training, but not too much

How do we get fitter? It’s simple really, we put some stress on our body and our body adapts to meet the challenge. When you first start cycling, a 5-mile ride might feel a challenge, but after a year it’s no harder than popping to the shops. So, stressing your body, going out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself is part of getting fitter. The secret is doing enough, but not too much. Enough to help your body adapt, but not so much that you end up fatigued.

If you have a regular route, try to extend it by a few extra miles each week or change the route to include more hills. Hill climbing is an excellent way to improve your leg strength and cardiovascular fitness. Choose sections of your route where you feel safe to go as fast as you can for a few minutes and then recover. Doing something that makes you feel a bit of discomfort for a short period of time will ultimately make you a fitter rider.

Slow and steady versus hard and fast

A cycling fitness myth that keeps hanging around is that the only way to build your endurance is to do lots of long, slow miles. The theory being that, to get good at riding a long way, you need to build up to the distance and spend a long time riding your bike. More recent training advice suggests that you can improve your speed and your endurance with short, hard rides.

Sprint training benefits nearly every type of ride. Even if your goal is a 100-mile sportive and you’re very unlikely to ever find yourself sprinting for a finish line, there are still clear reasons why it would benefit your fitness. When you sprint, you recruit more of your muscle fibres to provide the maximum power to the pedals. During less intense efforts, not all of your muscle fibres need to be engaged.

If you’re short on time but still want to be able to ride long distances then doing short, but very hard, bike rides will help you. 30 seconds of all-out effort followed by 4.5 minutes of recovery has been shown to have similar benefits to endurance training.

Something is always better than nothing

If you have been reading cycling fitness advice, or trying to follow a demanding training plan, don’t be disheartened if you can’t always stick to the plan. We all have busy lives and doing something, pretty much anything, regularly is better than doing one really scientific, well-structured session only now and again.

As the weather warms up and spring arrives, it’s important to prepare yourself and your bike for optimal bike safety. Finding regular reasons to ride your bike, such as commuting to work, riding to the shops or choosing to cycle instead of driving, can help you build your fitness without cutting into your already busy day. Swapping your bike for other transport is better for the environment and road congestion as well as a benefit to your fitness – a win all round!

Tell us about your fitness journey on our social media channels.

For more information about our services or to start your claim, call 0808 100 9995 and speak to one of our specialist solicitors. We’re here to help. You can email us or schedule a callback.

Written By:

Emily Pheysey

Litigation Executive

Emily has over 7 years of experience in the legal sector, handling road traffic accident claims to recover compensation and support her clients. Her focus is to ensure all clients feel comfortable and at ease with the claims process so that they can focus on their recovery.

Emily considers rapport to be an essential part of the role and strives to always provide excellent client care.

Away from work, Emily enjoys spending time with her family and friends and travelling as much possible.

Diane Holderness

Litigation Executive

Diane is a Ministry of Justice (TOJ) Team Leader within our Cycle Department. She has 11 years’ experience managing road traffic accident claims, and 6 years’ experience managing MOJ claims.

Diane enjoys a challenge and always strives for the very best results for her customers; something that is clear in the way her team continually adapts its strategies in order to secure the most desired outcome. Diane has worked her way through the legal ranks here, and is proud to now have a strong, specialist team that is committed to customer satisfaction.

Diane believes that happy clients make a happy working environment, and it is this that ensures a productive and efficient workforce.

Nina Haddock

Chartered Legal Executive

Nina has over 30 years’ experience in the legal sector. She specialises in recovering compensation for injury claimants as a result of road traffic accidents. Her focus for each and every claim is to help her clients secure the funding that they need to pay for ongoing treatment and support.

Nina became a CILEX Fellow in 2006 and now helps her clients and their families at a time when they have been through a traumatic experience, and everything they hold dear to them appears to be changing.

One case Nina is particularly proud of is supporting a client who had successfully sought asylum in the UK, following a road traffic accident. The claim was successfully pursued through the MIB and the client was left with significant injuries. Her client was able to use the compensation to aid family members with their applications to seek asylum in the UK.

Julian Fox

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Julian qualified as a Solicitor in 2005 and has worked in all areas of personal injury since 2000. Julian has a well-rounded understanding of personal injury law, having represented both claimants and defendants.

Julian always aims for maximum damages to meet his clients’ needs for injury and rehabilitation expenses, and can often secure interim payments to help meet clients’ financial needs. Julian is highly proactive in ensuring cases are progressed, ensuring a timely conclusion.

When not at the office, Julian is a keen cyclist, both on roads and virtually -he will often do an hour of ‘Zwifting’ in the mornings before starting work.

Richard Atherton

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Richard has 12 years of legal experience and qualified as a Solicitor in February 2014. He has been a Team Manager with us since 2019. Throughout his career, Richard has specialised in personal injury, handling an array of Road Traffic Accident cases, in addition to employer and public liability.

Richard prides himself on his very strong strategic and planning skills, which come into their own in complex injury cases where more technical arguments are involved. On every case, he is committed to ensuring that his clients receive full compensation for their injuries.

Away from work, Richard enjoys sport; he is a season ticket holder at St Helens Rugby Club and a Liverpool FC fan. Not only a spectator, Richard also likes going to play golf as often as he can.

Dave Gardner

Litigation Executive

Dave has over 20 years of experience in the legal sector. His specialism is personal injury and he has dealt with hundreds of cycling injury claims during his career. Excellent client care and communication is paramount to Dave. He prides himself on being accessible and available, attending court hearings where damages are in dispute to ensure the best outcome for his clients. One case Dave is particularly proud of is when he supported an elderly client who suffered serious injuries following a road traffic incident. The police had not taken any action against the defendant, so Dave had to be proactive and act within a 24-hour window. The case proceeded and the client was in receipt of £30,000 in damages, which he would not have been entitled to had the client not approached Dave. He is also an avid supporter of Glasgow Rangers and travelled abroad on many occasions to see them play in European competitions.

Gerard Horton

Partner

Gerard is a Senior Solicitor at Cycle SOS. In his 13 years of experience, Gerard has built a national reputation in the catastrophic injury sector, dealing with high value and complex cases. Alongside his legal role, Gerard supports several charities including Headway Central Lancashire, Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre and spinal injury charity, Back Up.

Julia Eyton

Partner

Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Cycle SOS team.

Specialising in representing those who have had life changing injuries, Julia handles some of the most serious and complex personal injury cases both within Cycle SOS and nationally.

She often works on high value claims and is skilled in winning complex liability cases.

NADIA KERR

Partner

Nadia has over 30 years of legal expertise and has represented hundreds of vulnerable road users. With a focus on ensuring timely rehabilitation, speedy repair or replacement of bikes and kit, and securing fair compensation, Nadia is committed to advocating for justice and client rights. Alongside her legal career, Nadia actively participates in national campaigns to benefit vulnerable road users and acts as a Trustee/Director for the national cycling charity, Cycling UK. Nadia was named in Cycling UK’s ‘100 women’ and was a founding member, now running a women’s cycling group, TeamGlow in South Manchester. Among her many achievements, Nadia takes pride in her spot on BBC Breakfast, where she provided expert commentary on long term government funding for pothole repairs.

Caroline Morris

DIRECTOR OF SERIOUS INJURY

Caroline has specialised in personal injury for over 25 years, recovering more than £56 million in damages during that time, to help clients rebuild their lives after injury.

Caroline is committed to achieving rehabilitation options early, meaning her clients benefits from the best care and treatment at the earliest stage possible.