Think about the term ‘cycling skills’ and your brain may follow a natural route to bike handling, power output, tricks, race craft and Madison hand slings, but look a little deeper and there are a bunch of transferrable skills that riders have evolved – almost without realising! How many of these can you relate to? 

Route planning 

There is something hugely comforting about knowing the network of lanes, trails and paths around your local area so well that you can head out for a spin without making a plan. As long as you have a starting direction your earned memory can unravel the rest, adjusting for factors like closed roads, floods or doing a cheeky extra loop before having to get back.  

Think back to how often you’ve planned to head out for “something like an hour and a half”, only to stop your cycle computer a minute or two either side of 90 minutes. It’s impressive, given the territory covered! Plus a powerful attribute for . 

Café knowledge 

Whether you’ve a weekend on or away from the bike coming up, your network of good café intel is invaluable! There aren’t many better suited than a cyclist to advise on where does the biggest slices of lemon drizzle cake, who serves a great veggie breakfast and how to source the best ice cream in the summer months. Also important of course is bike parking, access to facilities and where the best coffee is at. 

Café stops are a big plus of riding with a club or group, plus they will have a huge network of recommendations both near and far. We’d also recommend checking out Cold Dark North’s #LoCafKnowledge map (from their 2020 blog post, though kept up-to-date). 

Meteorological alignment 

We riders are understandably pretty obsessed by the weather and very likely clock up more visits to forecasting apps in the days leading up to events and adventures, than at any other time of year. But beyond making the decision whether to head out and play – or delay – we’ve a wealth of analytical processing power. 

Take, for example, wind direction. Linked to the first point on route planning,  for a regular rider it probably seems effortless to factor the strength and angle of the wind into your ride plans to best avoid gusts to the face.

Layering 

Also key for the conditions is your choice of kit, and those with many miles or years of experience will have the ability to fine-tune their layering strategy for a comfortable ride. There will of course always be that Indian summer afternoon when you massively overheat or a spring spin when temperatures really weren’t as high as you’d hoped, but largely your interpretation of the forecast will provide a clear steer. 

Facial recognition 

Spot another rider when you're out for a pedal and despite the fact that they are likely to be relatively covered up (with a helmet, glasses and clothing that you won't have seen them doing the big shop in), your brain has an uncanny ability to 'scan' them in a split second and figure out if you know them. Whether you both clock each other in time to say a proper hi and maybe even ride together for a bit is another matter.

And if you follow pro cycling, there is of course the nuanced way that someone bobs around out of the saddle when climbing or the particularly narrow bars they run. Being able to work out the kit and components someone is riding in the blink of an eye is pretty incredible when you think about it!

Mood management

Cycling is our happy place and very often it's the fix we need when nothing seems to be falling into the right place in life. Whether you pedal solo or pass the time with a group, a bike ride is an accessible way to release, where you call the shots as to how far you travel, how hard you work and what you see.

And while consistent time off the bike through illness, injury or simply life putting too many obstacles in the path can make it even harder to get motivated, cycling can be overwhelmingly transformative and a powerful force for good.

So next time you're having a bad day on the bike or if you're struggling to get your head back in the game, take a moment to remember all of the cool stuff you've got up your sleeves that we riders can count as superpowers.