Jon Gunson cycling

Jon Gunson advocates wearing a helmet – just probably not this helmet.

Having returned to cycling after a hiatus of half a century, Jon Gunson offers his personal advice for others getting back in the saddle.

It seems that an increasing number of people are choosing to travel by bike, electric or otherwise, rather than by car. Obviously, this is a Good Thing – it keeps you fit, reduces your carbon footprint, saves you money, and helps you reconnect with nature (though on this last point, see below). However, some of us have not ridden for quite some time – in my case, about half a century – and, since there is much that one forgets, and much new stuff to learn, perhaps a few words about health and safety may be in order.

1. Not Falling Off

I had always assumed that moving bicycles were kept upright by some kind of gyroscopic effect, but apparently it is more to do with something called ‘trail’, a concept beyond my understanding. Whatever the cause, though, we have all had practical experience of the effect. If your front wheel hits an unyielding object, or falls into a pothole, you will go over the handlebars and probably land on your head. Wear a helmet. I have read a series of articles explaining that this is unnecessary, and tempts one into a dangerous illusion of invulnerability – and anyway, the Dutch don’t wear them, do they?

My conclusion is: wear a helmet. If your rear wheel skids on grit or dust or mud or ice, the bike will fall sideways. I suppose you might be unlucky, and break a leg; you will certainly feel like a complete bloody fool. There is also a rather exotic way to fall off which is specific to electric bikes. If you thoughtlessly depress a pedal when moving slowly in a tight curve, the machine will get excited, and accelerate faster than the wheels will allow. Do avoid this if possible.

2. Not Being Run Over

Not all motorists are trying to kill you; some are using their mobile phone, or arguing with the kids in the back seat, or perhaps having some kind of fit. From the cyclist’s point of view, the outcome is the same. Cycling magazines recommend that you should cycle confidently: I would go further, and suggest that you should cycle melodramatically, making gestures so exaggerated that only an idiot could fail to notice that you are turning right. However, do remember that there are plenty of idiots out there. And wear a high-vis jacket, or one of those reflective baldrics. How often do you get a chance to wear a baldric? One can escape from the motorists by using cycle paths, which, around Lewes, usually means the Egrets Way, or one of its tributaries. This is a delightful way to travel, but does, of course, present its own challenges. The network is very much a work in progress, and the surface under your wheels varies a good deal. Take care. As I have mentioned, you are more at one with the natural world, and it is pleasant to find yourself spinning along amid a charm of goldfinches. If you want to watch crows mobbing a buzzard, though, stop, and get off, before you end up in a ditch.

3. Cycling in Winter

If you have a mountain bike, fit decent mudguards. I suspect that cycling fanatics see a line of mud up their back as some kind of badge of honour, to be worn with pride. Nobody else does. If it rains – and it will, of course – you need a rain suit, which can be bought for under £20, and is worth its weight in gold. Wear something warm under it, and a good pair of gloves. Wind chill is not funny. As for cycling in the dark: lights and reflectors are a legal requirement. It is worth buying a decent front light, not only so that people can see you coming, but to show the hazards on the road in front of you. Having said all that: cycling home through a howling gale on a cold, dark night brings the kind of wild exhilaration you might feel if you had just completed an ascent of Pen y Fan, naked, on a pogo stick.

Mind how you go, now.

3 Comments

  1. Jill Goulder

    More thoughts: check your brakes! especially if you plan on going down twittens. Well-pumped-up tyres make pedalling much easier (though they rattle your fillings in Cliffe High St – and yes, it is two-way for bikes). Keeping your chain oiled will save you money re worn chains and gears; your friendly bike-repairer will advise you whether to use thick or thin oil, depending on where you keep your bike and how you use it. If you’re going off into the blue yonder, worth carrying a spare inner tube (easier than mending punctures at the roadside) and learning how to change it. Spend a bit of time adjusting your bike (saddle/handlebar height, position of brake/gear levers) as that’ll help a lot to make for a comfortable ride. Buy a bell and use it!!
    Need help mending your bike? Doctor Bike, in normal times, mends bikes in Harveys’ Yard on Saturday mornings, for the cost of parts plus a donation; currently I think they’re only doing home visits, but check on info@drbikelewes.com.
    Finally, have a look at the Cycle Lewes website https://www.cyclelewes.org.uk/ – they campaign for better cycling facilities around Lewes.

    Reply
  2. Devon Seamoor

    What a great subject to discuss! I’m from The Netherlands, and cycling is a normal part of our lives. It’s my country of birth, the most densely populated in Europe, and therefore I’ve left it in 2015, travelling to Britain with a one-way ticket, living for almost 5 years in Somerset and Devon. Hills and potholes were obstacles for me, and cycling was a rarity for me.

    The narrow lanes in Devon, with hedges on both sides, are dangerous to go on a bike, due to the speed of cars, usually, rounding a bend without reducing speed. The potholes were true neck-breakers to me, and I always cycled slowly and carefully, when I used a bike.

    Last year October I’ve bought an e-bike, so that climbing hills is a bit easier, and making long trips as well. I’m 70 since NewYear’s day, and I’ve made many long trips on it since I’ve returned to The Netherlands on March 11th 2020.

    Why I’m enthusiastic about this topic of cycling in Lewes, is the decision I’ve made to visit Britain again, early springtime, and find a home for myself on the Isle of Wight, or Arundel, somewhere near the South Coast. After Dartmoor, my heart goes out to living near the sea, with a daily view towards the South and West.

    I’ve visited Lewes on one of my many summer holidays, in 2004 and enjoyed spending time, walking, visiting the castle, and I’ve made a picture of the beautiful statue of the woman with a wreath in her raised hand. I’m sure to visit Lewes again, once I find myself settled in a home in Sussex or IOW, not too far away. Volunteering with planting trees or on a market garden, organic, is one of my skills, and I might find pleasant connections with some of you in due time.

    I’ll be living not too far from Lewes, at least, not for a Dutch cyclist who learned to ride a bike at the age of 4, went to school all years, on the bike, and now enjoys the convenience of an extra “wind in de rug” = “wind in the back” bike.
    That’s how we call e-bikes in The Netherlands

    Reply
  3. Jill Goulder

    Devon Seamoor, what a lovely post! We look forward to seeing you in Lewes again before long. Certainly I’m always tremendously impressed by the bike-oriented society in the Netherlands. Wish we could say the same here….

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *