Get On Your Bike

It’s all About THE BIKE

There’s something about sitting down while exercising that gives it a refined quality. If your preference is to go backwards then rowing should become your sport of choice. If your preference is to go forwards, then it must be cycling.

Cycling is defined as ‘the sport or activity of riding a bicycle’ with a bicycle being a frame connected to wheels, pedals, brakes, a seat, and a handlebar for steering.

Unlike running or boxing it’s a sport with a low impact factor for the No matter what sort of bike you ride, there’s something uplifting about turning the pedals and becoming self-propelled as Robert Veitch discovered when we put him back on his bike and took off the stabilisers

In this part of the world, we are blessed with a varied terrain that suits all cyclists; including the inland rolling hills and high ground of The Weald, the flat lands just north of the South Downs, the contours of the South Downs, and the coastal area which isn’t as flat as might be anticipated.

In recent years the roads have become populated with mamils (middle aged men in lycra), pounding the tarmac on road bikes, covering a vast number of miles, keeping fit and loving every second of it.

Off road routes remain the playground of the casual cyclist and training ground for young pedallers. The Forest Way, Cuckoo Trail, Worth Way, Downs Link, and the South Downs Way are all bike compatible and freely available. Venues like Friston Forest, Rye Harbour, Bedgebury, St. Leonard’s Forest and Tilgate Forest all offer a variety of routes. When the sun is shining and the kids are enthusiastic, strap the bikes on the car, grab the helmets and get going.

Of course, before setting out, it’s advisable to ensure any bike undergoes some scrutineering to ensure it’s safe. Experienced cyclists might do this themselves, but

When the sun is shining and the kids are enthusiastic, strap the bikes on the car, grab the helmets and get going

joints* but in common with both those sports it instigates a full body workout. The cardiovascular benefit from an increased heart rate during aerobic exercise is a lower resting rate. Overall, cycling contributes to good all round conditioning of the participant.

the novice might be advised to visit the local bike shop for a service.

Cycling charity Sustrans (www.sustrans.org.uk) promote a variety of options on their website; varying from short punchy routes to extended sections of the national cycle network. The Cycling UK website (www. cyclinguk.org) is also a mine of information. There are also many cycling clubs and groups across the county, willing to accept and help new members.

Cycling is an environmentally friendly and sociable activity. Cyclists may generate plenty of hot air from time to time but they produce no noxious exhaust gasses.

In recent times, the advent of the e-bike is slowly revolutionising transportation. E-bikes make that commute all the easier, utilising rechargeable batteries to generate that extra assistance that’s sometimes required for those hills that seem slightly steeper than they look. Why sit in traffic, on the bus or train, if an e-bike does the job in a similar timeframe – with some exercise along the way.

From small acorns mighty oaks grow as Sussex cycling history highlights. The village of Albourne in West Sussex retains a place in cycling folklore, thanks to the industry of James Starley who was born there in 1831 and became known as a the ‘father of the bicycle industry.’ Starley’s first success was the Penny Farthing, but he also developed the Ariel bicycle with the first metal spokes. He later engineered the ‘Starley Axle’ for the earliest quad bikes. The successor to the ‘Starley Axle’ is the differential found in cars.

In recent times Sussex had its own standard-bearer at the top of the sport. Sean Yates lived in Forest Row, cycled at East Grinstead Cycling Club and competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He won a stage of the 1988 Tour de France, wore the yellow jersey for a day in 1994 and was Bradley Wiggins’s directeur sportif when he won the Tour in 2012.

Cycling is a sociable activity, its good exercise and offers a chance to enjoy the landscape while sitting down. Cadence, grupetto, parcours, hors catégorie and peloton may be phrases for the serious enthusiast, but the rest of us can still purchase a yellow jersey even if we can’t earn one on merit. l

12th May 2021

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Photo taken pre-Covid Registered charity number: 1056114