Be seen at night

Lights and reflectors are a legal requirement if riding at night. They also help keep you safe. Here’s why

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I find it really quite shocking how many people I see cycling without lights after the sun has gone down. I know this is happening earlier and earlier at this time of year, which is somewhat depressing, but not having lights is both incredibly dangerous and illegal.

The law is pretty clear on this. Between sunset and sunrise cyclists must have a white front light, a red rear light, a red rear reflector and 4 amber pedal reflectors to cycle on public roads and paths. CTC, the national cycling charity, has further information and explanations.

Everything I’ve read on road safety (and I’ve read a lot) underlines that this is the legal minimum. If you really want to be sure you’ll be seen, you should invest some combination of reflective clothing, wheel reflectors, extra sets of lights or helmet-mounted lights. For one thing, those front and rear lights won’t help you be seen from the side. It’s no good being nicely lit up front and back if a car ploughs into you side-on when you’re crossing a road or hits you when pulling out of a side road – government statistics show that cyclists are particularly vulnerable at junctions.

For accidents that occur at night, the main reasons given included the cyclist wearing dark clothes or not displaying the lights

The most common reason motorists give for hitting cyclists is that they didn’t see the cyclist. This is described as the ‘looked but failed to see’ problem, and it’s likely to affect cyclists – and motorcyclists for that matter – more than other road users because we’re smaller, making us harder to see. There’s likely to be a psychological element, too: there are more cars on the road, so drivers expect to see them; because they’re not looking for cyclists they don’t see us. Motorists’ mental search image is car shaped, not bike shaped.

It’s notoriously difficult to get accurate statistics on road accidents as studies have shown that an appreciable proportion are not reported; the same research shows that reporting rates for cyclists tend to be lower than for other road users. But some information is available. Far more cyclists are killed or seriously injured (KSI) during the summer months than in winter; most KSIs occur in the light (78%). This is likely to be because far more people cycle when it’s warm, sunny and bight. However, severity is greater during the hours of darkness and a collision is more likely to result in death – 11% of fatalities take place in the dark on unlit roads. For those accidents that occurred at night, the main reasons given included the cyclist wearing dark clothes or not displaying the lights (the third reason was alcohol, but that’s a whole different blog post).

I have three sets of lights on my bike. Two static and one flashing. 

There’s no doubt that having lights on your bike makes you more visible, and that makes you safer. A motorist might not see a bike, but it’s hard to ignore bright lights shining directly at them. If you want to stay safe on your bike at night, and reduce your risk of being hit by car, you need to have lights and reflective clothing. But don’t just take my word for it. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) states on its website: “Cyclists riding in the dark without adequate lights and reflectors are at greater risk of being involved in a road accident.”

Sam Jones, CTC campaigns and communications co-ordinator, said: “At CTC we always encourage safe and responsible cycling, and would advise cyclists to use lights and reflectors as required by law.”

I’ve only addressed being seen here, but if you ride at night on badly or unlit roads, you also need to be able to see. Broken glass, rubbish, debris and potholes can all damage your bike or even cause you to take a nasty spill.

It’s simple, really. Lights are a necessary part of your cycling kit. Stay safe, be seen.

It's not just about lights, though. I also use reflective ankle bands, a reflective vest and have reflective highlights on
 all my night-time riding clothes. 

Review: Yoga for Cyclists by Lexie Williamson

VERDICT: a useful, easy-to-read book that should help any cyclist remain fit and flexible; this practical training manual is a great addition to your cycling bookshelf

I’ve put in quite a few miles on the bike by now, and a few weeks ago I started to develop a bit of a niggle in my upper thighs. Not the horrible, sharp pain of a damaged muscle, more the dull ache of an over-used one. To fix this, I turned to yoga, and this book.

As a British Wheel of Yoga and Yoga Sports Science qualified instructor, author Lexie Williamson knows her stuff, and she’s also talked to several experts in the world of sports training. Yoga is fast becoming a powerful weapon in the trainer’s arsenal, improving flexibility, core strength, balance, breathing efficiency and mental focus. Lexie explains how the unnatural slouched posture and repetitive nature of riding takes its toll on the body – hence my aching leg muscles.

Yoga is fast becoming a powerful weapon in the trainer’s arsenal, improving flexibility, core strength, balance, breathing efficiency and mental focus

The book is split into sections covering such topics as why yoga is so good for cyclists, breathing and the all-important stretches. This last is split into legs, arms and wrists, back, core and so on. The research to back up Lexie’s claims is presented in an accessible and highly readable manner, and I really appreciated this empirical approach. For example, I’ve always thought of yogic breathing as one of the more esoteric elements of yoga, but here it’s explained that a more efficient breathing technique delivers more oxygen to the muscles, meaning an athlete can perform more strongly – simple really.

This book suffers from the same problem as all yoga guides: it’s much easier to correctly adopt a proper pose if shown first. The instructions are clearly written and easy to follow, but the written word plus one image can never adequately replace an instructor. This is presumably why Lexie also advises her readers to join a class.

All the stretches have been adapted for cyclists and I’ve been performing several of them after being on the bike. I can report that they really do help; I can no longer feel that niggling muscle. I’ve also joined a weekly yoga class on Lexie’s advice. There’s also an excellent chapter on flow poses – a series of postures that lead into one another – which I’m very much looking forward to incorporating into my training.

Tech spec
Yoga for Cyclists by Lexie Williamson • Published by Bloomsbury • 194 pages • RRP: £16.99 • ISBN: 978-1-4081-9047-0 • This product was a present

Sitting pretty

Comfort in the saddle is one of the most important things about cycling. Here are my tips for ensuring your sensitive bits stay sore free

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I was asked recently about keeping a comfortable seat when on the bike. If you spend any time at all cycling you really don’t any chafing, rubbing or bumping against your most delicate areas. Cycling is meant to be enjoyable, and bruised and battered ladybits are certainly not my idea of fun.

There are four very simple things you can do to prevent pain down there. Here’s my advice.

Saddle
Pretty much the first thing you should invest in after buying your bike is a new saddle. Your butt and other delicate areas are going to be in contact with the saddle almost constantly, so it’s worth spending as much as you can afford.

It’s best to get a women’s-specific saddle. Why? Because women have wider apart sit bones and wider hips than men. If you use a men’s or unisex saddle then it’s likely to be too narrow and not support your sit bones properly. I also think a central cutaway is a good idea. This allows the saddle to flex more, so it’s less likely to jounce against your bits.

Getting the right saddle really makes a difference.

Try out as many saddles as you need to until you find the right one for you. Most bike shops will be happy to let you have a bit of a ride around so you can test out how the seats feel.

The seat on my main bike is the Selle Italia Women’s Diva Gel Flow. This came highly recommended and I love it. It retails at £79.99, which isn’t cheap but is way less than many out there.

Positioning
Once you’ve found your ideal saddle, you need to make sure it’s in the right place. There are three adjustments you can make for this. First, height. Sit on your bike. You should just be able to touch the ground with your toes. When pedalling your leg should be very slightly bent at the knee when the pedal is in its lowest position. Adjust your seat post until you achieve this.

You can adjust the saddle along the seat
rails to increase comfort.

Once you’ve got the height sorted, you need to look at position and angle. Start with angle. It’s best to first position it flat and go from there. You can then angle the seat up or down depending on which feels best to you. This will depend on your riding style – do you sit up quite straight or tend to hunker down? I have quite an ‘aggressive’ riding style, meaning I lean forward. So my saddle is angled downwards and away from my pubic bone to reduce the risk of bashing against the seat.

You can also move your seat about 4cm forwards or backwards along its rails (the metal tubes under the seat). This will move you closer or further away from your handlebars. The ideal position should mean your body and arms form a right angle. You can check this out in a mirror or ask someone to watch you riding. Again, experiment until you find the most comfortable position for you.

Padding
Cycling shorts and tights come with pads. It’s recommended that you wear padded shorts for any rides longer than about two hours. But I say that even if you’re only doing a half-hour commute, if padded shorts make things more comfy for you then wear them.

I’ve got a mix of padded and non-padded shorts and leggings. The non-padded ones are generally meant for running and quite often have reflective patches so runners can be seen at night.

Padded shorts can take some getting used to, but they do help.

Padded shorts really do make a difference. I wore them on the London to Cambridge and my god am I pleased I did. I even occasionally wear them on my short work commute and can even feel the difference over that five-mile distance.

They do feel a bit weird when you first put them on – a bit like wearing a nappy, probably – but you soon get used to them. And it really doesn’t matter if you’re doing 100-mile sportives, commuting every day or just pottering around on the weekends, if wearing padded short or tights means you’re more likely to get out on your bike, then wear them.

Go commando
Yes, you did read that right. Leave your knickers at home (or if you’re commuting to work in your rucksack). Padded shorts are meant to be worn sans pants anyway – the chamois is specially designed to sit next to your skin to reduce rubbing, so wearing undies will negate all the work that went into perfecting the design.

I decided to experiment with pant-free riding after wearing padded shorts for the first time. Previously – in running shorts – I’d had a bit of chafing where my knickers rubbed against the shorts. Using padded shorts (with no knickers) resulted in no chafing. Hmm, I thought, would this work with normal shorts too? In a word, yes. And I’ve been happily riding undie free ever since.

The chamois provides a layer of padding between
you and the saddle.

If you’re worried about cleanliness and don’t want to wash your kit every day – and let’s face it, who does? – do what I do and invest in some baby wipes. A quick wipe of the crotch area leaves everything fresh and clean for your next ride.

Review: Anker Astro Mini USB Charger

Keeping my iPhone battery charged is necessary if I’m to get home after a long ride out; will this portable charger do the job?

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In its pouch, the charger, plus cables, fit
easily into my backpack.

I couldn’t do half the riding I do without a smartphone and Google Maps. Or I guess I could but it would involve paper maps and lots of stopping to figure out where I am and just wouldn’t be as enjoyable. As it is I just attach my iPhone to my handlebars, key in my destination and follow the directions.

However, having the screen on all the time drains the battery, especially on longer rides to Battersea Park and Richmond. In fact my first trip to Battersea could have ended in disaster when my battery life was down to 10% in a totally unfamiliar part of east London. Luckily I got to Bethnal Green before the phone died and knew my way home from there.

I still don’t know what I would have done. I might as well have been in the middle of nowhere – no cab offices to be seen and not a chance of finding a black cab. I don’t know my home phone number or The Chap’s mobile number, because they’re safely stored in my phone. And therefore would have been totally unaccessible. I guess the best I could have hoped for was finding a corner shop whose proprietor would let me phone a local taxi service.

It was this near-disaster that made me realise that I needed some way of charging my iPhone while out and about. I needed a portable charger. I wanted something that could fully charge an absolutely dead phone, but was small and light that would easily fit in my rucksack or saddlebag; it also had to look good.

After a bit of research, I went for – to give it its full and somewhat unwieldy name – the Anker Astro Mini 3000mAh Ultra-Compact Lipstick-Sized Portable Power Bank Pack External Battery USB Charger. It comes in a variety of colours, and I chose pink. I make no apology for liking pink; anyone who thinks pink is too girly clearly hasn't watched Grease enough times.

Pouch, charger, USB cable and pink iPhone
cable (purchased separately).

The charger is cylinder with USB and micro-USB ports at one end. It comes with a USB-mini-USB cable, but if you want to use it with an iPhone you'll need to buy the relevant iPhone-USB cable. Luckily a pink one is available for iPhone 5S. You can charge the product via the mains if you've got a USB plug, or via a computer. An orange light comes on while charging; this turns green when the battery is full.

I've used this a couple of times now and it does exactly what I want it to. After a longish ride to Battersea Park my iPhone battery was showing more than half gone, so I plugged it into the charger while I had lunch and by the time I was ready to head home the phone was at 100%.

I make no apology for liking pink; anyone who thinks pink is too girly clearly hasn't watched Grease enough times

It's small and light enough to fit in my small rucksack and will easily slip into a saddle or handlebar bag. But describing it as 'lipstick sized' is something of a stretch, unless your lipsticks are flipping massive.

The only drawback I've found so far is that there's no way of knowing how much charge is left in the battery. A small window with a percentage, as found on phones and laptops, would be really useful. As it is, I have to charge it after every use as I don't know if it'll have enough power left to charge my iPhone next time around. There's no way of telling if the battery has totally run out of juice either – until you actually use it, by which time it could be too late.

Pros
• Small and light enough to fit in saddle or handlebar bag
• Fully charges iPhone from empty

Cons
• No way to gauge how much charge remains
• Not 'lipstick sized' as described

Tech spec
Weight: 76g • Size: 9x2x2cm • RRP: £39.99 (currently available from Amazon for £13.99) • Supplied with micro-USB cable and travel pouch • I bought this product myself

We are the champions!

The London to Cambridge – my first-ever sportive, and it won’t be my last

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We did it! On 27 July CP and I cycled 60 miles between London and Cambridge. And it was AWESOME. In fact the whole weekend was fantastic, with lovely food and drinks with lovely friends and a great festival in Lloyd Park in Walthamstow.

I was pretty nervous the night before the event. I had never cycled 60 miles in one day before and I’d never taken part in one of these ‘sportives’. I don’t know how to fix a puncture or change an inner tube, and what on earth would I do if I buckled a wheel? I was also concerned about the amount of time I’d be spending in the saddle.

Never having taken part in something like this before, I really didn’t know what to expect. Would the route be well signposted? Would I turn up at the start line and just find a few people milling about? Would it be properly organised? Would there be medical people on hand? It’s entirely possible I worry too much.

As it turned out the event was fantastically well organised and I had nothing to worry about. Not only was the route fully signposted, there were volunteers pointing out the right direction at every turn and roundabout.

Our start time was 0830, but CP and I arrived early because she’d managed to forget her number and registering card. We didn’t know how long it would take to get replacements, but it was sorted in mere minutes and we quickly progressed to the start line.

As soon as I was on my bike all my concerns were forgotten. Cycling’s like that for me. Everything bad disappears, and it’s just me and my bike and a great big smile on my face.

We were quickly outside of London and cycling along country lanes through picturesque Essex villages and crop fields

The ride itself was so enjoyable. We were quickly outside of London and cycling along country lanes through picturesque Essex villages and crop fields. Sailing through the first rest stop, where lots of other cyclists were taking a break, felt amazing. We had a quick toilet break at the next stop and then another – taking time to munch on a flapjack – at the penultimate stop. The rest of the time we were in the saddle.

Mechanically we had no issues at all. I think that’s because CP used up our quota of punctures on the Friday she came to mine. Three punctures in one day. One of which was just five minutes after getting a new inner tube from Halfords and the chap there saying there was nothing in the tyre. Luckily we took the bike to someone who knew what they were talking about the next day. A very nice lady at Dr Bike fixed the puncture and pulled three bits of glass out of the tyre.

We finished the event in 4 hours and 14 minutes, according to my Strava. I don’t know how this compared with other entrants, but I was thinking it would take about six hours, so I was incredibly pleased. Our parents, who were meeting at the finish line, had been looking forward to cheering us across the line, but we actually arrived there before they did – oops!

So we had a great time and between us raised more than £600 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. I'd like to thank everyone who sponsored us. I'm so incredibly touched by how generous my friends are.

Now I want to do more sportives. More and longer. A 100 miler is my next goal.

A happy me after completing the ride.

The London to Cambridge bike ride

This Sunday it’s the London to Cambridge ride – so am I ready for it?

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London to Cambridge: 60 miles and around six hours of cycling. That’s quite a challenge and I have to admit I’m nervous. I keep thinking about backing out, but I’ve told so many people I’m doing it (raising £270 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer in the process) and I’ve got a friend coming over from Switzerland to ride with me, so there’s no chance.

London to Cambridge: 60 miles and around six hours of cycling – that’s quite a challenge

I guess the lesson to learn there is that if you really want to force yourself to do something properly challenging, make sure you tell lots of people and ideally get a friend to do it with you. On the other hand, if you want to be able to quietly give up, tell no one! I’m not really the giving up type, though. Once I set myself a challenge I tend to do it.

Be prepared
I do feel like I’ve trained a decent amount. I cycle to work four days out of five. That’s 10 miles per day, 40 per week, and while that’s not a huge distance I have been pushing myself to do it faster so as to build up my fitness levels.

I’ve written previously about cycling around London. Well on those rides I’ve been gradually building up distance: a 12-mile round trip to Victoria Park, an 18-mile one to Kenwood House. Then 22 miles to Greenwich and back, until finally, the biggie – a 45-mile round trip right across London from Walthamstow to Richmond.

This last ride was fantastic. Just under 24 miles on the way there, via the Lea River tow path and Victoria Park. Then past the Gherkin, the Shard, the Cheesegrater and the Houses of Parliament. Although Google Maps tried to take me through Horse Guards Parade which was blocked off for an event and meant I had to do some emergency route recalculating. 

We start off at Pickett's Lock, luckily not too far from home.

Google Maps isn’t perfect and there was one part of the route that I just couldn’t work out. I cycled round and round looking for the roads mentioned but couldn’t find them. In the end I just headed in the direction I thought looked right and it turned out OK.

The ride back was even better. Shorter at just under 22 miles, it took me along the south of the river to Hammersmith Bridge. Then a lovely route through Kensington Gardens, Green Park, along The Mall and then Victoria Embankment.

I stopped for lunch in a pub in Richmond, so it really was an enjoyable day out. And so should Sunday be – the organisers make it clear that the event isn’t a race. It’s meant to be fun, and I’m sure it will be. My family (I’m from Cambridge) will be waiting for me at the finish line, and we’ll be going for a meal – something to look forward to on the long ride!

The finish line at Midsummer Common, Cambridge.
Photos from commons.wikimedia.org.

Review: Abus Liix Design Sumo lock

I like this lock which combines cute good looks with some sturdy protection

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The Abus Liix Design Sumo lock.

Bike locks aren’t the most exciting of purchases. A lock’s job is to keep your bike secure, and so long as it does that then anything else is unimportant. Unless, of course, you’re like me. I want a lock that looks good in addition to performing well.

The Liix Design lock from Abus is wrapped in material with a red and white polka dot pattern. The print makes it look ultra cute. But that cuteness disguises a really heavy-duty chain-link lock, while the locking mechanism itself is encased in thick plastic. I haven’t had any qualms about leaving my bike while it’s protected by the Sumo.

The lock wraps nicely around my handlebar post.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

The polka-dot material is pretty thick, so nicely protects my paintwork from getting chipped by the metal chain. It’s also waterproof so should help keep the lock rust free – an important feature in rainy ol’ Britain. When not in use it wraps neatly around the handlebar post, keeping it well out of my way when I’m cycling.

I’ve got the 85cm version, and this is the longest available. It’s just long enough to fit through the front wheel, frame and round a handy post. I would have preferred something a bit longer, maybe 100cm. But then it wouldn’t fit so snugly around my handlebar post, so swings and roundabouts really.

The print makes it look ultra cute, but that cuteness disguises a really heavy-duty chain-link lock

I’ve also found that the key can quite easily fall out of the lock, which means I’m quite likely to lose it. My other lock securely held onto the key until the locking mechanism was fully engaged, which felt a lot safer.

This lock is available from Amazon for £32.99, plus p&p. I bought the product myself.

Pros
• Heavy-duty metal chain
• Protective covering
• Looks good

Cons
• Could be longer
• Key falls out