For me, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of racing your bike, and in London the large range of races and competitors offers an atmosphere quite unlike any other. However, for new racers it can also be a pretty intimidating and daunting, especially if you don’t have much of an idea of how it works. 

I started racing in March this year and was immediately struck with how supportive and encouraging the community is. Having now raced for 6 months I am able to call some of my competitors my closest friends. But... getting started was a bit challenging! Hopefully this blog will give some insight and answer a few of the questions that might be stopping you taking the leap. If you are interested in racing I would say go for it. It's not as scary as it seems from the outside - I know because I was there just a few months ago!

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Zwift is pretty hot right now, as all things 2020 combined to force the cycling world indoors and onto their turbo trainers (if they were lucky enough to get one in time). For professional riders, 2020 brought in the first ever virtual Tour de France, World Championships and a whole host of other rides. You can't imagine a young Alejandro Valverde, when he became a pro 42 years ago, ever imagined he'd be racing the tour in his living room.

However the real story of Zwift in 2020 was the numbers of new and amateur riders taking up Zwifting this year. With a reported peak of nearly 20,000 Zwifters at one time in May, the number of virtual riders has certainly increased alongside the general upwards trend in Cycling numbers.

The vast majority of those 20,000 would have been Zwifting 'solo' (i.e. not taking part in an organised Zwift event) but we are noticing more and more people are using their Zwift time to enter a race or a group ride. Like most new riders when they get into cycling, the novelty of solo miles soon wears off as you crave interaction with other riders, and dare I say it, a bit of competition.

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With the lockdown continuing and the British press ganging up on law abiding cyclists, we thought it a good idea to produce a list of central London cycling routes that can be completed in around an hour, the allowed exercise time. 

Also the roads of central London are pretty quiet right now, so this is one of the only chances you'll get to ride some otherwise busy roads in relative peace. All of the below below London cycling routes start and end at our clubhouses (cafe partners), but please pay attention to each establishments distancing rules/take away set up etc.

All of the routes can be adapted to start and end at your home, but please make sure to adhere to official guidelines about social distancing and staying close to home. Please take it easy - you really don't want to end up in A&E right now.

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One of the most common things that I see (and change) on a bike fit is saddle height. Most people have their saddle too high, which leads to problems. The widely accepted knee bend range is between 35 and 45 degrees, when measuring the angle of the knee bend in the ‘BDC’ position (your foot/pedal at the 6 o’clock position) on your pedal stroke.

Think of doing a bicep curl – your arm is much stronger in your ‘mid-range’ rather than when your arm is dead straight. The same is true of your legs when pedalling. If your leg is completely straight at the bottom of your pedal stroke (because your saddle is too high), you won't be as powerful through the stroke. The 'correct' saddle height will increase your power, cadence and reduce your aerodynamic drag. Win, win, win!

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If one good thing comes out of the coronavirus crisis of 2020, then it's the huge number of people either taking up or reconnecting with cycling. Sport England have reported that the numbers of people cycling during lockdown have doubled, Sigma Sport have seen a 600% increase from last year on entry level bikes, with Halfords even reporting that women's bike sales are outstripping men's. This is all great news, and provides a great opportunity for cycling to again become a popular, normal and in no way marginalised mode of transport.

However buying a new bike, or digging the old one out of the shed, is the easy bit. There are sadly many barriers to cycling which, when you start riding to work (or even thinking about it), can make you feel very anxious or even put you off completely. 

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Finding a great cycling route is one of the pleasures of cycling. Whether recommended by a friend, unearthed online or plotted by your own fair hand, setting out on a great route is a real treat. This is also true of hiking, running and walking; there's just something special about the excitement of a new route!

We're very proud of our London cycling routes here at Dirty Wknd. They've been created, tested and finessed over the last 5 years, and we think they're some of the best around. However we're always looking for new routes, new route providers and new tools for our members to be able create, find and use the best routes too. 

So we're very pleased to announce Komoot as our official route partner. Club Members will now be able to access free 'region bundles' to unlock extra maps, areas and other features. Normally only available to premium Komoot users, Dirty Wknd club members will get access to these tools for free.

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