Staying Warm

Cycling tips include wearing a beanie hat under your cycle helmet, nobody will see it and as most of your body heat is lost through your head it will help a lot and if it is really cold you can pull it down over your ears but if you don’t fancy the idea of a beanie hat then you could get a waterproof cycle helmet cover which will keep you dry as well as warm, also don’t forget the lip balm to stop your lips getting chapped.

Your toes can get very cold when you are cycling so if you are only going on a short trip try warming your shoes up on a radiator before you go out, or wear bigger shoes and thick woolly socks, but for longer trips buy a pair of waterproof overshoes.

Gloves or cycling mitts are a must for any sane person and in winter you may consider wearing two pairs of gloves, although if you buy some really good insulated ones you should get away with wearing one pair, I have see cyclists wearing a long pair of socks on their hands with holes cut out for the fingers and thumb but if you need longer gloves then there are arm warmers on sale and they do a much better job of keeping your arms warm.

Detering Thieves

Whenever you can you should keep your bike parked inside somewhere but obviously that’s not always possible if you ride to work and they won’t let you so spend some money on some good locks and chains, if you have an expensive bike it’s worth spending £100+ on making sure that it’s there when you come back to it. Look into getting bicycle insurance, it costs nothing to get a quote.

Don’t just lock the crossbar to a bike stand and walk away thinking it’s safe because it isn’t, always lock the wheel and frame to an immovable ojbect and make sure that it is immovable, remember thieves can remove drainpipes and the tops of signs to slide bikes up and over and you should remove anything that can't be secured such as lights, pumps and quick-release saddles, use a plastic covered stainless steel chain with a lock that they can’t saw through as well as a D lock and you have a good chance of keeping your bike.

Don't leave a gap between your bike and the bikestand when locking it. thieves use the gap to insert a crowbar or large screwdriver and twist the bike free, don’t leave your chain or lock in contact with the ground because thieves can use a hammer and chisel to break the lock or chain. There are locks now that have alarms fitted inside that activate if somebody trys to break them.

In case all else fails make a note of your bikes model and frame number and store it on your mobile along with a pic of the bike, this is really handy if you are unfortunate enough to have to report your bike stolen to the police.