Category: Features

Last January, I was feeling reckless. The kind of reckless that makes you think, ‘why the hell not?’ and buy bikes and apply for dream jobs and force life to move a little bit faster – I was basically having a midlife crisis at 24.

 

For years I’d had it in mind to cycle a long way to somewhere. The kind of trip that ‘would be great to do next summer’, but then never happens. But cue a change in circumstance, a change in attitude, and the asking of that wonderful question: ‘Why not?’

 

I worked out where I wanted to end up – Venice – and what I wanted to see along the way. My planned route would take me through France, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, before cutting south, back into Switzerland, through the Alps and into Italy. I bought a bike (an essential, I figured), I bought panniers and a sleeping bag and solar panels and a helmet. I downloaded all the maps I’d need. And then I trained… 8 months and 2000+ miles of country lanes and rolling hills later, and I was ready.

 

On August 18 I was stood with my bike and all my gear in a queue of cars and motorhomes, waiting to board a ferry to France. The pipedream was being realised, and it was the oddest feeling.

 

Day one was 95 miles of small towns and open farmland, followed by a terrifying night ‘sleeping’ in a small wood just outside Arras. I determined never to sleep rough again. There were things in that wood and as much as I told myself they were deer, I’m still not so sure that I lacked human company. Unsurprisingly, I was up early with a little over 100 miles to cover to get to Reims, where a hostel bed and good food awaited.

 

I had two nights and a full day in the old city, and they were wonderful. I drank champagne; ate like a king, and slept like a baby. On the second evening I followed a tip to go to the Cathedral at 10pm. When I arrived, about 100 others – well stocked with wine and cigarettes – sat or stood around; looking up at the building, lost in the darkness. Then it all sprang to life. The following 20 minutes were a glorious blend of music and projected light and colour, which needed to be seen to be appreciated.

 

The following morning I began four days of hammering through France, hopping from campsite to campsite. Mile after mile of straight roads and rolling inclines. God, those French roads were dull. So dull that, after a couple of days, my sat-nav decided to take me on a much more ‘interesting’ route.

 

Tarmac was replaced by gravel. I checked the map, but, yeah, that was the road, and yes, it went where I wanted. I ploughed on. By the time the gravel had become dirt track, I was too far down the road to turn back. Woodland replaced farmland, then the road vanished amongst the trees – I made it out, but I never quite trusted my sat-nav again.

 

After the unexpected beauty of the Alsatian mountains, I made it to Switzerland, and crossed the country in a day. Zürich was my halfway point, and – though my credit card would say otherwise – was just what I needed. I’d covered more than 500 miles in 6 days riding, and needed the rest. My hostel was good; the chocolate was better, and I wasted a day reading by the lake and looking across to the mountains beyond.

 

On day 9 I set off in great spirits. So what if my morning coffee had cost me 6.90CHF (about £4.50) and I had intermittent, yet crippling, lateral knee pain? It was nothing industrial strength ibuprofen couldn’t fix and I’d cycled to Zürich in a week. I felt awesome!

 

50 miles later, at the top of my first Swiss mountain, my chipper mood snapped, along with my chain.

 

Enter Marco, the builder. I’d been talking to him whilst I ate my lunch and I barely had time to thank him for his offer of help before my bike was in his truck and we were on the way to the bike repair shop in the town below. An hour later, I was back at the point where the chain had snapped, a new one fitted, and shaking hands with the modest man who’d saved me a great deal of hassle.

 

Two days later, I’d crossed into Lichtenstein, slept in a barn and was back in Switzerland; steeling myself for what was to come. I was at the foot of Splügenpass – 21 hairpin turns that drag you 7000feet into the air. If you’ve never ridden a high mountain pass, do it: the views are incredible; the feeling indescribable, and when the soundtrack is as good as mine was (Blue Swede’s ‘Hooked on a feeling’ heads my ‘Mountain’ playlist) the shocking inclines get lost amongst the experience. I reached the top and rolled into Italy.

 

The following days are a blur of blazing sunshine, lakes, and ferocious storms. I swam in naturally warm water for the first time; I discovered that Italian coffee is €1 a shot, and barely slept because of the weather. I visited cities I hadn’t meant to (Bergamo’s high Medieval plateau was a surprise I’d happily repeat), and got lost on a road network that was being completely overhauled.

 

When I reached Verona and my B&B on day 16, I’d covered 1000miles with fatigue starting to bite, and by the time I reached Padua two days later I was exhausted, but just 30miles from Venice.

 

Enter my second chance encounter of the trip. As I cycled around Padua’s impressive main square, I overtook other cyclists who obviously weren’t so desperate for pizza as I was. I rang my bell as I passed. One man didn’t hear. Neither did he look. Neither did he signal before he swung across the road in front of me…

 

The crash severed my rear cassette’s transmission cable, bent my left handlebar and buckled my front wheel. I was angry beyond words. There wasn’t enough damage to make the bike un-rideable, but it was hassle that a tired man doesn’t need. The police took their report, and my insurers would cover the cost, but my last day’s ride wasn’t the triumphant parade that I’d hope for.

 

Still, as I crossed the long bridge into Venice, I couldn’t help but let it all sink in. I’d made it. 1140 miles. Job done.

 

Not quite.

 

It turns out Venice is a maze – a maze that hates two wheels. I arrived to locals gesticulating violently, telling me to dismount. So I walked the final mile and a half, carrying the bike through tight streets and over endless bridges. I battled through the crowds until, finally, at 11:57 – 17days, 23hours, and 57minutes after leaving Calais – I stepped across the finishing line at St Mark’s Square, exhausted and elated in equal measures.

 

Three days and four trains later I was home. Over three weeks, I cycled across Europe on my own, and arrived home safely at the end. Yeah, I had a crash. Yes, it rained a lot of the time and wasn’t a laugh a minute. But I met people. I saw things, and rode passes and bridges and incredible roads that I may never ride again.

 

I drank too much coffee, got ridiculous tan lines, and spent more money than I meant to. But it was all worth it. The experience is one I’ll draw from and build on for the rest of my life, and will remind me to always ask the question, ‘why not?’

 

Feature by Max Howells – More on Max’s adventures at nonsensepeddler.tumblr.com

Conditioning your body for exercise is key to avoiding injury and, for cyclists, there are some very key, prominent areas that are commonly injured. More often than not knowing which muscles to stretch and which to strengthen can prevent such injuries. Physiotherapist Claire Warburton looks at some of the most common problems…

 

Lower Back Pain

This is the most common complaint I’ve seen in cyclists. We all lead very sedentary lifestyles where work often involves long periods of time in a sitting position. This means that our hip flexors become very tight and overactive. This in turn causes the gluteals (your bottom) to be inhibited (not work very well) and you have a muscle imbalance. As the hip flexors originate from your lumbar spine as they become overactive they pull on this and you feel stiff and in pain.

 

Common Causes: Overactive hip flexors, weak core and gluteals.

Prevention: Stretch your hip flexors, strengthen the core and the gluteals.

 

Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome

The iliotibial band (ITB) runs from the side of your hip down the outside of the leg and into the front of the knee. If your gluteals are not strong enough then as you push down on the pedals your knees will drop inwards past the midline and the ITB will tighten up in an attempt to stop this. Over time the ITB will become very tight and cause some pain, often at the insertion around the side and front of the knee.

 

Common Causes: increased side to side pelvis movement in the saddle, weak gluteals, overactive hip flexors.

Prevention: Strengthen the gluteals, roll or stretch the ITB and increase the saddle height.

 

Hamstrings Strain / Pain

When making the transition from trainers to cleats often the hamstrings will bear the brunt. In trainers all your power occurs when you push down and in cleats you have a much more equal balance between pushing down and pulling up as your feet are fixed to the pedals. Due to this change if your hamstrings are weak or too long or too short then you will feel pain. Commonly this pain is felt in the outside of the hamstrings, close to the head of the fibula bone just below your knee joint.

 

Common Causes: Weak hamstrings, overactive quadriceps and hip flexors.

Prevention: Stretch the quadriceps and hip flexors and strengthen the hamstrings and gluteals.

 

Calf Strain / Pain

The calf muscle plays a key role in how much power you can generate when you pedal. A common mistake is to push through the ball of your foot and allow your heel to rise up. When this happens the calf will be held in a shorten position through the push down and pull up phase of your pedal stroke. A good way to be more efficient is pedal as if you are trying to scrape your heel along the ground. There shouldn’t be too much movement from your calf at your ankle as the calf will be lengthened and shortened by the bending and straightening that occurs at the knee.

 

Common Causes: Incorrect pedal technique, cleats positioned incorrectly and overactive calf muscles.

Prevention: Alter the cleat position, stretch the calf muscles, have a bike fit to assess the pedal technique.

 

Neck Pain

Again our posture plays a part in how we feel when cycling. When we sit at our computers, iPads, phones we often allow the neck to be held in a sustained position and the shoulders hunch forwards. This causes a lot of stiffness in the upper back and weakness in the deep postural neck muscles. Add this to a poor bike position and you will find you are reaching too much for the handlebars and the neck has to extend more than it comfortably needs to.

 

Common Causes: Stiffness in the upper back joints, poor bike fit, poor core

Prevention: Roll or stretch the upper back, strengthen the core and neck muscles and have a bike fit to assess your neck position in relation to your reach to the handlebars

 

Feature by Claire Warburton, Physiotherapist at BodySync – You can follow Claire on Twitter @cawarbu

 

There are numerous guides to conditioning and strengthening online and Cyclo would also recommend Anatomy, Stretching & Training for Cyclists: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting the Most from Your Bicycle Workouts by Lisa Purcell, available from Amazon.co.uk

 

Please note that the above is intended for general guidance only and is not intended to supersede the advice of your own medical practitioner(s). If in doubt always seek the advice of your GP, physiotherapist or other healthcare professional.