Clocks back - mind that cyclist!

As a schoolgirl in the 70s, we walked to and from school every day in all weathers. Few families owned second cars and while the roads were less congested the instance of traffic accidents still as significant and certainly not taken any less seriously, than they are today.

It was dark walking to school back then. So dark the local council issued us with glow in the dark armbands which we wore on top of our duffle coats. We resembled a mini fluorescent army marching up and down the road to school.

This week the days have got noticeably shorter and as the clocks go back tonight our mornings and evenings will become darker still. ROSPA reports the most dangerous hours for a cyclist are between the hours of 8.00- 9.00am and 3.00 - 6.00pm and that most fatal cycling accidents occur in the dark. One fifth of cyclists killed are children, with the instances increasing as they get older, the age group 10 to 15 years being the most at risk.

As the mother of a 10 year old cyclist I am admittedly concerned. However, what concerns me more is the lack of cycling proficiency skills in this age group and lack of parents cycling with young kids on the road.

I recently took my son for a ride on the roads around central Bath. He was understandably nervous, even a little scared, but he carefully listened to my instructions and gradually built his confidence. The experience was surprisingly good. When cycling with a small boy I found car drivers slowed down and gave us a wide berth. Smiling and thanking every driver as they past us also helped. The sense of achievement that my 10 yr old felt at the end of the ride was pretty good too.

Sharing my experience with other parents and friends, I was disappointed how few felt it was a responsible action on my part and even fewer would consider cycling on the road themselves let alone allow their child to do so. So how do we create a safer cycling culture if we don't teach how to go about it at an early stage? As a cyclist, I see plenty examples of cyclists displaying poor road awareness and as a car driver, witness some equally bad driving.

Not all schools run cycling prof courses, some of that is down to funding but mostly it is not seen as an educational target so it is up to us adults to teach the next generation of riders.  In Bath, the local council offers cycle training and their are examples of learn to ride initiatives all over the country.

Lots is written about who owns the right to a space on the road, inconsiderate and aggressive drivers, inconsiderate and foolhardy cyclists, unobservant pedestrians and so on. Should we maybe focus harder on looking out for each other? Imagine if we just cared a bit more about our fellow man rather than jostling for position. Drivers who care about cyclists and vice versa as well as cyclist caring about pedestrians are surely happier and safer for it.

I for one will be getting my fluorescent jacket on and lighting up a smile for all those drivers, cyclists and pedestrians who watch out for me in the darkness.

100 carbs an hour...really?

Much is written about nutrition and its relationship to sports performance. Reams of well researched data and case studies exist showing how professional sportsmen can and do significantly enhance their sporting prowess simply by changing their diets. All interesting stuff. But how much of this knowledge should the amateur sportsman or woman take to heart?

As a relatively new road cyclist discussing my intentions to take on my first long ride (80 miles) with more experienced riders I was surprised by the almost immediate interest in my ride rations. Energy gels, wraps, bars, basically anything carb based was recommended as a must. Being more concerned about how on earth I was going to deal with a puncture along the way, I will admit this aspect of my race preps was a bit of detail I had completely overlooked. That and the fact I had not cycled further than 30 miles before. The more I spoke to other cyclists the more i could feel my initial enthusiasm for the ride rapidly fading.

I am married to an ex-navy man with a history of taking part in some fairly stupid endurance events, so when I admitted my fears to him, after a conversation with a particularly competitive and dull cyclist who advised "You need to take on board 100 grams of carbs every hour you cycle or you won't make it" his response of "It's an endurance race you are taking part in not a sodding picnic" was not entirely unsurprising. His advice to put a mars bar in my pocket and get on with it seemed a little unsympathetic even by his standards. But thinking back to my first cycling adventures of the early 80s, when a half day ride involved a very heavy bike and no more than a bottle of water and my Dad's extra strong mints to sustain us, I began to reconsider my initial concerns.

 Now taking on board food and drink at regular intervals while cycling is obviously important but there is a risk at being a bit over scientific. A little knowledge goes a long way even when misinterpreted. Gone are the days when sources of reference were a copy of the Oxford Dictionary and several volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Today, with the help of our friend google, we can and do absorb information at an astonishing rate but often without fully understanding the context.

It's little wonder then that we can be guilty of over reading and over thinking what are some fairly straightforward situations and scenarios - umm like riding a bike from A to B. Okay, I am generalising and I recognise if you are cycling at the speed of a small car you do need a bit of extra fuel in your tank, but there is an awful lot of unnecessary information passed between amateur cyclists.

 On the day, the ride was tough (I fell off twice) but I was proud to get in among the early finishers despite wearing a lot less lycra than most. Fitness, the right mindset and sheer bloody determination is what I needed for a long distance road cycle. Mind you the odd Mars Bar and square of Kendal mint cake in my back pocket also helped.