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Young woman having healthy breakfast in the morning in her apartment.

What to eat before your commute

What you eat and drink has a huge impact on how your body feels. Choosing the right breakfast makes the difference between riding to work full of energy or slumping over your desk exhausted.

 

Unless you are one of the lucky ‘morning’ people, getting ready for work can be a rush, especially if you are also battling tiredness. However, skipping breakfast for an extra five minutes in bed isn’t going to make you feel any better, especially if you are a cycling commuter. As with most things in life, a little bit of thought and preparation can make your morning commute easier.

 

A good breakfast normally has a healthy mix of carbohydrates for energy and protein for our muscles. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, especially if you are short on time, but choosing unrefined foods over highly-processed or synthetic products will help start your day right. They are naturally richer in vitamins, minerals and fibre, making it easier for your body to absorb. Even Tour de France riders, who are burning upwards of 5000 calories per day, still stick to natural whole foods for the greater part of their diet, employing team Chefs and mobile kitchens to prepare fresh, natural food from scratch.

 

Eat and ride breakfast smoothie

Whizz up a banana with some milk or yoghurt, porridge oats and fresh fruit for a great balance of nutrients that you can eat on the go.

Healthy cooked breakfast

Eggs are a great complete source of protein. Scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast will keep you feeling fuller for longer, as well as giving you the energy you need to get pedalling!

Cyclist’s favourite

Porridge is a perennial fixture on the breakfast menu of any bike rider. To increase its nutrient density and boost the protein content, try adding a handful of mixed nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

 

Cycling is a great way of burning calories and even gentle cycling can build quite the apetite.  The number of calories you burn on a ride is dependent on your body weight and the intensity of the exercise. Lighter riders burn less than heavier riders and easy rides consume less calories than hard ride. However, a very simple rule of thumb is to multiply the distance cycled by 40-50 calories. So, a 10-mile ride would need an additional 400-500 calories, which is approximately two slices of toast and peanut butter!

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.