Mix up your Bike workouts

Variety keeps your workouts fresh, stimulates your mind and works your muscles in different ways to keep the strength gain.

Here are some ideas for the next few months:

1. Road bike by train - getting bored of the same old routes from home? Cycle to the nearest train station and get on a train to somewhere new, then cycle back. From Oxford and Didcot a train to Pangbourne provides a lovely route back along the Downs through Aldworth, Compton, and the Ilsleys, dropping back down to Wantage from Farnborough. If you book your bike onto the train there are two carriages on the Great Western that accommodate 2 bikes each.

2. Cycle City Days: How about cycling tours round a city. Bristol and Bath have lots of cycle parking to lock up your own bike and explore using the resources from betterbybike.info. This amazing website has a new Cycle Trip Planner for road and off-road and maps of areas covering: Bristol City Council, Bath & NE Somerset, N Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Or you could book a bike and tour with https://www.cyclethecity.org/.

3. Book onto a sportive or event. Whether you prefer road or mountain biking there are loads of summer events. Try searching www.wiggle.co.uk/sc/events-calendar, you could even end up booking a day trip to and round northern France for just £75 (inc ferry, support and food stops). If you volunteer for Wiggle, you can get a free event. There are many independent rides like the Uptonogood in June in Upton (www.uptonogood.org.uk), RIDE IT is a series of non-competitive cycle events taking place across the country and aimed at riders of all abilities organised by Evans Cycles (www.evanscycles.com).

4. Try a technical trail - Swinley Forest is part of Great Windsor Park in Bracknell. It has amazing graded mountain bike trails. Try the beginner green, intermediate blue, or advanced red. You can take your bike or use the cycle hire shop (www.swinleybikehub.com) next to ample parking.

Alternatively Moors Valley (www.moors-valley.co.uk) in Ringwood, New Forest is a large Country Park & Forest offering approximately 1000 acres of managed woodland and Country Park to explore, including miles of mapped walking and cycle routes. There are graded forest routes and a cycle park.

5. Cycling in a Box - try Cyclist's Britain in a Box. by Duncan Petersen. This is a guide to many routes around Britain all on handy laminated cards which you can put in your pocket.

Mix it up and enjoy the journey.