In this week’s blog our Cycling Club Coordinator, Sheila, discusses some great cycling tips she’s picked up from members of the club. Share some of your cycling hacks with us, we’d love to hear them.

One of the benefits of joining The Lake Foundation Cycling Club has been getting to know other members of the group. We come from all walks of life: from a curtain maker to celebrities, an accountant, to a care worker who has enjoyed a former life as a salsa teacher. The diversity of our group also means that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience between us. Here are a few cycling related gems (cycling hacks) that have emerged from our members.

Apps and websites

One of our cyclists was pretty new to cycling before joining The Lake Foundation Cycling Club. She went from strength to strength and went on to invest in cycling equipment and clothing. She began to ride outside of the club and even took part in the London to Brighton bike ride. It was encouraging to see members of The Lake foundation cycling club support her as she trained for the ride. Whatsapp was a great way to keep up to date with her progress on the day of the ride and cheer her on.

A couple of our cyclists use Strava which allows you to record your sport activities and progress over time. On occasion they’ve then shared the route so we can see how we’re doing as a group.

Our cycling instructors have taken advantage of apps to make their lives easier. One says he’s not a fan of tech. An app like Whatsapp is “far too complicated” for him.  Plot a Route is the exception. He uses it because, “it’s simple and does exactly what it says”. “I can then take a screen-shot and send you the route!” Our second cycling instructor uses Ride with GPS, which also allows you to plot routes in advance but comes with details cue sheets and a wide range of features for the more serious tech savvy rider.

Clothing

A kindly couple in our group took it upon themselves to buy a high-visibility top for one of our riders. Highly visibility clothing has reflective properties or is of a colour that is easily seen from any background. High-visibility clothing can be a life-saver when cycling amongst motor vehicles during day or night.

I’d never had known waterproof socks existed had it not been for one of our more serious riders. It was a cold Saturday morning when we ventured out from Croydon to cycling to Greenwich. I was smug about having layered against the cold weather. I wasn’t prepared, however, for the relentless rain. I re-emerged from the bathroom after a failed attempt to dry my wet socks and was met by laughter of my friend amused by my misery while she enjoyed a hot mug of tea and the comfort of her dry sealskinz socks.

Why not share your cycling hacks with us on Facebook or Twitter #cyclinghacks.

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