20th September 2018
How to Ride a BikeMy latest book is out today. Well; when I say latest, it’s a collaboration with Sir Chris Hoy in which we used his vast experience to create a book that will take somebody from buying a bike to wherever they want to go. The book is different to other cycling fitness books, the best way to describe what’s in it is to read Sir Chris’s own introduction.
“It will guide you through everything from buying a bike to techniques that will help you stay safe on the roads and improve your general cycling efficiency, thus increasing your enjoyment.
“But once you are on the right path and have mastered the skills to get the most out of cycling, you will probably find it addictive. I did, most people do. So the next section looks at the world of cycling and the various challenges in it. There will be something there to inspire you, I guarantee it. Even now, after my competitive cycling career ended in 2013, I have found a couple of cycling challenges that inspire me, and I am determined to do them.
“Once you’ve picked a challenge you’d like to take on, something that excites and inspires you, maybe even scares you a bit, I’ll show you how to set goals along the way to achieving it and how to plan for them. I’ll show you how to train for them physically and mentally. My recommended training sessions aren’t complicated, even the most advanced ones. Using a power meter and/or heart-rate monitor can be useful but they aren’t essential. I recommend training by feel as well as by numbers. It’s a vital part of becoming familiar with the sensations of exercising at various intensities that improve your physical capacity.
“Finally, the book addresses an area of sport that is so crucial to performance and yet seemingly shrouded in mystery– the power of the mind. How you think will have a huge bearing on how you perform, not just on the big day of your chosen challenge, but on every session of every single day throughout your journey. I was very lucky to have access to some of the best coaching support in the world throughout the latter part of my career, to grasp the theory and put it into practice.”