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Hello and welcome to my new regular blogging spot. My name is Jo Goodall, I work as a Management Consultant in the City by day but like to spend the majority of my time training for and taking part in endurance/adventure challenges. I am also training to be a Personal Trainer so I hope to bring some of that new found knowledge to you via this blog.

Previous challenges of mine have included a trip to Borneo for a tri-expedition through the rainforest; running The London Marathon; cycling around Lake Geneva in a day; and most recently completing Deloitte Ride Across Britain 2016 – cycling 969 miles in 9 days from Lands’ End to John O’Groats. I must also mention that I am a fairly new cyclist – I only bought a bike 6 months before completing RAB!

So in honour of the upcoming challenge, I thought I would give you my 5 top tips for Deloitte Ride Across Britain 2017:

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Bike luggage has noticeably evolved in the last few years. We’ve moved from heavy pannier racks to inline seat packs, frame bags and handlebar bags, then all the way back to pannier racks except this time excruciatingly expensive and made from carbon fibre. Through all of that, the humble backpack has persisted. It’s hard to beat for practicality on short trips, commutes or shopping trips.

Craft Cadence are a relatively young manufacturer who sent the club one of their new backpacks to test out. It’s targeted at commuters and - given that I’ve commuted and run most of my errands by bike with a backpack for more years than I like to think about - it’s over to me to give some impressions.

It’s traditional to add a disclaimer that no money changed hands for this review but they did send it to me for free, so make up your own mind about the extent to which that compromises my opinion.

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Functional Threshold Power (FTP) has become a much used term in cycling, bandied about at club rides and in cycling cafes, but what does it actually mean? And do you need to know what your FTP is? The answer is yes - if you are able to measure your FTP you absolutely should!

Traditionally it has always been hard to measure, unless you have a power metre on your bike or a smart turbo trainer at home, so we've teamed up with Digme Fitness to allow you to use their high tech bikes to test your FTP.

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Cyclists currently fall into two camps - those who managed to buy a turbo trainer before lockdown, and those who didn't. As rare as hen's teeth, trying to buy a turbo trainer now is a tough ask!

But where do you start if you've not got much clue how a turbo trainer even works? Or the difference between wheel on or direct drive turbo trainers? Or what a ANT+ cable is? Spending a couple of hundred quid on something you really don't understand is never a good idea.

Luckily for you, we've created a beginner's guide to turbo trainers that you can actually understand. No jargon, no 'experienced cyclist only' nonsense, just relatable answers to the questions you have asked us about turbo trainers. Whether that's how turbo trainers work, what the different types of indoor trainer are, or which is the best turbo trainer for your price bracket. We've tried to answer below.

You can also still buy a turbo trainer during lockdown, but it's not easy. We've gone ahead and done the leg work for you there too. Keep reading for how to buy a turbo trainer during the coronavirus lockdown. 

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Let's face it, the Coronavirus crisis sucks. Lockdown, whilst vital to stop the spread of the disease, means we can't go outside and ride our bikes with our friends, However this extra time does provide hours and hours to scour the internet for awesome cycling videos to try to fill that hole. Well we've done the scouring for you, and compiled a list of our favourite cycling films and documentaries that are currently available on Youtube. 

This is, or was supposed to be, purely a list of cycling documentaries on Youtube, hence no Breaking Away (I know right!). We have deviated from the Youtube only rule however to include some great women's cycling content. There is frankly sod all on Youtube, and we'll be damned if we're going to let that stop us. So for some of the entries you can watch the trailer on youtube and the full film by following the links.

We hope you enjoy them - please add your own suggestions in the comments, or berate us on social media (@dirtywknd). 

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