I'm wondering how you keep your kit secure while on adventures? Clearly there are many times when you'll need to stop at a shop for getting food, drinks etc and I'm wondering what methods you take to prevent theft given that a bike and its kit is so expensive. As someone who has recently had a locked bike stolen from a local railway station, security is more on my mind than usual when on long rides, audaxes etc.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, much appreciated.
Hey Fiona! This is something I used to worry about CONSTANTLY, and still do sometimes. When I’m on adventures, I try to balance being cautious with not letting the fear of theft take away from the experience. That said, I do take a few steps to keep things as safe as possible:
- If I’m just nipping into a shop or petrol station, I always try to keep it in view. I usually lean it right by the shop window or door and rush in and out (which can feel pretty stressful!)
- When stopping for food, I look for places with outdoor seating or big windows and ask staff if I can bring the bike in or park it right beside me. Most are pretty understanding, especially when they see it’s a loaded touring setup.
- If I’m wild camping or staying somewhere remote, I sleep with the bike either right next to my tent or even tethered to it. Some people use motion-sensitive alarms, but I’ve not gone that far (yet!).
- I tend to remove any easy targets (Garmin, phone, bike lights etc) before heading into a shop just to give me a bit of extra peace of mind.
It’s definitely something I stay mindful of, but I try really hard not to let the fear take over. I figure that if someone’s determined to steal a bike, they'll find a way! But honestly, 99% of the time, everything is absolutely fine. Interestingly, when I cycled through Europe (outside the big cities), bike theft didn’t feel as much of a concern, it was almost like people couldn’t understand why you’d want to steal a bike! So yes, definitely be sensible, but don’t let it stop you from enjoying the adventure.
Do you have any tips on getting faster on hill climbs. I can keep up a reasonable pace on the flat but really slow down on the hills. I assume practice riding up hills is a good idea, but any strategies or other things that might help?
I'm not a coach so can't offer any professional advice, but some things that have really worked for me:
- Overgearing workouts. Dropping your cadence and increasing resistance (i.e. grinding in a big gear) to help build strength and power through the legs. If you have access to a turbo or a spin bike, this is a super effective workout you can do inside. Start easy with something like 1 minute on, 2 minutes off, for a set period of time, and then gradually increase the interval time each week. You should set the resistance to something that makes it hard to push through the pedals, and then remove the resistance entirely for the rest so you're just spinning your legs.
- In a similar vein, hill intervals are another thing that has worked really well for me. It's less about just 'riding up more hills' and focussing on pushing hard during the climb and recovering on the flat. I'll pick a route that takes 1-2 hours to complete and make sure I ride easy on the flat, but when it comes to an incline, I'll push as hard as I can until I reach the top, then recover until the next incline.
- And of course, accessory work in the gym is another great way to help build strength and make it easier to put more power through the pedals. Focus on a few key movements (there's tonnes of guides online!) and try not to overcomplicate things in order to keep yourself motivated.
I also think riding with a fully loaded bike during bikepacking trips has helped me tremendously on my climbing abilities, simply because I've been forced to carry so much weight up the hills that when I switch to bodyweight it feels so much easier :)
Thanks for the suggestions. I usually just plod in my easiest gear so will try to work harder in a higher gear and see if that helps. I added a weekly spin class to my training a couple of weeks ago so will concentrate on the harder resistance sections and hopefully might get some benefit there too. And any excuse to plan a new camping trip :)
Sorry, I have another random question. Can I ask what you do for a job? It's cool that you can make it work alongside cycling ultra events and training....plus I'm really nosy 😉🤣
Don't apologise - random questions are exactly what this AMA is all about!
I work as a Product Manager for an Edtech company, which means that I spend the majority of my working week sitting behind my laptop. It's probably part of the reason I try to maximise every minute I'm away from work by moving by body as much as possible - I hate the feeling of being 'trapped', especially when it's sunny outside, so I'll very happily spend the entire weekend riding my bike and going on little adventures :)
I'm also very lucky that I get to work remotely from my apartment, which means I have a lot more control over my time (read: no morning or evening commute!) and have a bit more energy after work than I would have done if I'd spent the day surrounded by colleagues.
Hi Jess, I know you have found your seat and bib shorts winning combo but how did you get to there - seems like trying loads of different seats and bibs to find best for you could be really expensive?!
Jo, you're absolutely right! It was a total pain having to try so many different saddle / bib combos to finally get it right, and I'm afraid I don't have a huge amount of wisdom to share in order to speed up the process. A few things that DID help however:
1) London Bike Kitchen (which has since closed - booo!) had a saddle library where you could as many as you wanted for two weeks at a time until you found one that worked. That was a great, cost-effective way to try lots of saddles in a real-world setting.
2) Once I'd got a sense of the kind of shape that worked for me, I took to eBay to buy a few second hand options. Whilst I still had to spend a little bit of cash, they were significantly cheaper than buying new, and I could always sell them on again if they didn't work out.
3) The saddle I have now was recommended to me by Niel Copeland during my last bike fit after I explained (explicitly) where the problem areas were. I was lucky that he had helped other women with similar problems in the past, so was able to recommend something that had worked for them. However, the worst saddle I've ever, EVER ridden on was also recommended to me during a bike fit...so this definitely isn't always the answer!
Bibs are a little harder because you can't try them on easily in real-world scenarios, and not everyone is comfortable purchasing second hand. They're also really, really expensive for something that might not even work out, which makes it even harder to know where to invest! I'm afraid I don't have much advice here aside from trying to get the saddle right first; I think the right bibs on the wrong saddle is always going to be a recipe for disaster, even if the bibs are spot on.
Hi Jess. Was wondering if you are planning on going to that ‘King of chaos’ film with Justinas Leveika at Via Atelier in London on Wednesday 25th June?
I'm wondering how you keep your kit secure while on adventures? Clearly there are many times when you'll need to stop at a shop for getting food, drinks etc and I'm wondering what methods you take to prevent theft given that a bike and its kit is so expensive. As someone who has recently had a locked bike stolen from a local railway station, security is more on my mind than usual when on long rides, audaxes etc.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, much appreciated.
Hey Fiona! This is something I used to worry about CONSTANTLY, and still do sometimes. When I’m on adventures, I try to balance being cautious with not letting the fear of theft take away from the experience. That said, I do take a few steps to keep things as safe as possible:
- If I’m just nipping into a shop or petrol station, I always try to keep it in view. I usually lean it right by the shop window or door and rush in and out (which can feel pretty stressful!)
- When stopping for food, I look for places with outdoor seating or big windows and ask staff if I can bring the bike in or park it right beside me. Most are pretty understanding, especially when they see it’s a loaded touring setup.
- If I’m wild camping or staying somewhere remote, I sleep with the bike either right next to my tent or even tethered to it. Some people use motion-sensitive alarms, but I’ve not gone that far (yet!).
- I use a lightweight café lock for quick stops, and try not to leave it unattended in busy town centres or train stations because those are definitely higher risk.
- I tend to remove any easy targets (Garmin, phone, bike lights etc) before heading into a shop just to give me a bit of extra peace of mind.
It’s definitely something I stay mindful of, but I try really hard not to let the fear take over. I figure that if someone’s determined to steal a bike, they'll find a way! But honestly, 99% of the time, everything is absolutely fine. Interestingly, when I cycled through Europe (outside the big cities), bike theft didn’t feel as much of a concern, it was almost like people couldn’t understand why you’d want to steal a bike! So yes, definitely be sensible, but don’t let it stop you from enjoying the adventure.
Thanks for your remarkably comprehensive answer. Great tips and thanks for sharing!
Do you have any tips on getting faster on hill climbs. I can keep up a reasonable pace on the flat but really slow down on the hills. I assume practice riding up hills is a good idea, but any strategies or other things that might help?
I'm not a coach so can't offer any professional advice, but some things that have really worked for me:
- Overgearing workouts. Dropping your cadence and increasing resistance (i.e. grinding in a big gear) to help build strength and power through the legs. If you have access to a turbo or a spin bike, this is a super effective workout you can do inside. Start easy with something like 1 minute on, 2 minutes off, for a set period of time, and then gradually increase the interval time each week. You should set the resistance to something that makes it hard to push through the pedals, and then remove the resistance entirely for the rest so you're just spinning your legs.
- In a similar vein, hill intervals are another thing that has worked really well for me. It's less about just 'riding up more hills' and focussing on pushing hard during the climb and recovering on the flat. I'll pick a route that takes 1-2 hours to complete and make sure I ride easy on the flat, but when it comes to an incline, I'll push as hard as I can until I reach the top, then recover until the next incline.
- And of course, accessory work in the gym is another great way to help build strength and make it easier to put more power through the pedals. Focus on a few key movements (there's tonnes of guides online!) and try not to overcomplicate things in order to keep yourself motivated.
I also think riding with a fully loaded bike during bikepacking trips has helped me tremendously on my climbing abilities, simply because I've been forced to carry so much weight up the hills that when I switch to bodyweight it feels so much easier :)
Thanks for the suggestions. I usually just plod in my easiest gear so will try to work harder in a higher gear and see if that helps. I added a weekly spin class to my training a couple of weeks ago so will concentrate on the harder resistance sections and hopefully might get some benefit there too. And any excuse to plan a new camping trip :)
Sorry, I have another random question. Can I ask what you do for a job? It's cool that you can make it work alongside cycling ultra events and training....plus I'm really nosy 😉🤣
Don't apologise - random questions are exactly what this AMA is all about!
I work as a Product Manager for an Edtech company, which means that I spend the majority of my working week sitting behind my laptop. It's probably part of the reason I try to maximise every minute I'm away from work by moving by body as much as possible - I hate the feeling of being 'trapped', especially when it's sunny outside, so I'll very happily spend the entire weekend riding my bike and going on little adventures :)
I'm also very lucky that I get to work remotely from my apartment, which means I have a lot more control over my time (read: no morning or evening commute!) and have a bit more energy after work than I would have done if I'd spent the day surrounded by colleagues.
Hi Jess, I know you have found your seat and bib shorts winning combo but how did you get to there - seems like trying loads of different seats and bibs to find best for you could be really expensive?!
Jo, you're absolutely right! It was a total pain having to try so many different saddle / bib combos to finally get it right, and I'm afraid I don't have a huge amount of wisdom to share in order to speed up the process. A few things that DID help however:
1) London Bike Kitchen (which has since closed - booo!) had a saddle library where you could as many as you wanted for two weeks at a time until you found one that worked. That was a great, cost-effective way to try lots of saddles in a real-world setting.
2) Once I'd got a sense of the kind of shape that worked for me, I took to eBay to buy a few second hand options. Whilst I still had to spend a little bit of cash, they were significantly cheaper than buying new, and I could always sell them on again if they didn't work out.
3) The saddle I have now was recommended to me by Niel Copeland during my last bike fit after I explained (explicitly) where the problem areas were. I was lucky that he had helped other women with similar problems in the past, so was able to recommend something that had worked for them. However, the worst saddle I've ever, EVER ridden on was also recommended to me during a bike fit...so this definitely isn't always the answer!
Bibs are a little harder because you can't try them on easily in real-world scenarios, and not everyone is comfortable purchasing second hand. They're also really, really expensive for something that might not even work out, which makes it even harder to know where to invest! I'm afraid I don't have much advice here aside from trying to get the saddle right first; I think the right bibs on the wrong saddle is always going to be a recipe for disaster, even if the bibs are spot on.
Hi Jess. Was wondering if you are planning on going to that ‘King of chaos’ film with Justinas Leveika at Via Atelier in London on Wednesday 25th June?
https://www.tailfin.cc/king-of-chaos-film-tour/?mc_cid=56f92f1b9e&v=7885444af42e
I actually didn't know this was on, but it looks brilliant! It's right after Solstice Sprint so it all depends on whether I can move my legs or not(!)
Moving ones legs often is not an issue. The pain/discomfort associated with it is lol. Anyway it would be great if you could make it Jess.