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Keep commuting all year round

Autumn is a lovely time to be riding your bike, but winter is just around the corner… so prepare now and you’ll have no excuses to hang up your commuting wheels when the bad weather arrives.

The secret to enjoying riding your bike all year round is feeling comfortable and safe in the saddle. In the winter months, this does get a bit tricky as you have the extra challenges of dark evenings, rain, hail – even snow and ice – and cold, unpleasant temperatures.

However, if you invest in the right kit now so it’s hanging up ready to go, you’ll have no excuse to take a break from riding, no matter the weather. In our experience, when you stop because of the dark or bad weather once, it’s much harder to get going again.

Here are our top picks for year-round kit essentials you need to own:

1- Lights and reflectors
Riding in the dark can be fun and enjoyable – familiar streets and country roads take on a completely different perspective at night – and with the right lights, you definitely don’t need to fear the dark! Covering bike lights is a whole blog in itself, but here are a few quick tips to think about before purchasing.

At a minimum, you need one continuous front and one continuous rear light. There are two fundamental purposes for bike lights: so you can be seen and so you can see where you are going. In most environments, unless you only ride on well-lit city streets, you’ll need a combination of both.

A bright handlebar light with a wide flood beam is great for illuminating what is just in front of you, but if you’re riding fast on a very dark country lane, you also need a beam with distance to pick out the hazards up ahead.

Make sure your rear lights are not obscured by your saddle, rucksack or even your own bottom! Lights on wheels and pedals are eye catching because of the movement and allow you to be seen better side on when passing junctions.

How much can you afford to spend? Rechargeable lights are more expensive initially, but you have no further cost as they are generally more powerful and as long as you remember to charge them, you are much less likely to be caught out in the dark.

2- Mudguards
Mudguards prevent splashes on your clothes, keeping you both cleaner and drier. There are mudguards for every type of bike… Some styles of bike have mudguard eyelets for bolting mudguards onto, whereas others you need separate attachment brackets (bought with the mudguards) to fix them in place.

Mudguards really do make a difference – a dry bottom on a wet winter’s day is heavenly! They also protect your bike from the corrosive grit and grime of winter roads, and help it to stay cleaner.

3- Warm and waterproof clothing
When it comes to your clothing choice, your speed and distance of commute is an important consideration. For slower, shorter rides where you won’t be building up much of a sweat, heavy duty waterproof jackets, ponchos and over trousers can be worn over your office wear. However, if you are pedalling a considerable distance or like to get to work fast, waterproof outer layers will leave you very hot and damp on the inside.

For fast cycling, there really is no way of staying dry – you either get wet from rain or wet from sweat! Instead, your priority is keeping a good consistent body temperature. There are some brilliant jackets on the market for wet weather riding, but they don’t come cheap. However, if it keeps you on your bike and pedalling all year round, they are well worth the cost. Let’s face it – if you live in Britain, a wet weather jacket will see plenty of use!

4 – Winter shoes
Your feet tend to get wet even when it’s not raining, from spray and splashing through puddles. If you normally wear your ordinary ‘civvy’ shoes, a change when you get to work is always a good idea.

If you wear specific cycling shoes, there is the option of overshoes – often made of neoprene and designed to help protect your feet from getting wet and helping them to stay warm on even the coldest of days. If you are happy with the shoes you have, these are a cheap way of looking after your feet through the winter.

A more expensive purchase is a fully insulated, waterproof winter boot – these are the ultimate in comfort in cold or wet weather. If you are serious about getting the miles in, these are a great choice.

5 – Waterproof bag
If you commute with a rucksack or messenger bag, be sure to have some way of protecting your change of clothes, work equipment and lunch! Some rucksacks are already water resistant, with taped seams and high visibility rain covers that can be pulled out when needed. Alternatively, waterproof ‘dry’ bags are great for separating out items within your big bag and make sure everything gets to the office dry and clean.

6 – Tyres
There is nothing more annoying than fixing a puncture with wet and cold hands. Sadly, wet roads and grit during the winter make it a likely scenario, which is why we choose to change to winter tyres at the end of autumn. A good winter tyre has extra grip for slippery road surfaces and is a little bit heavier, with extra puncture protection.

You can also look at solid or foam inserts to protect your inner-tube, or ‘tubeless’ tyres where a latex fluid is used inside the tyre to seal up any small holes as they happen. Speak to your local bike shop for some suggestions for your style of bike.

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.