Commute more regularly (every day?!)

Effective goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-related. So if you want to make commuting a way of life, decide on the number of days you will ride to work each week. Many people opt to use Monday and Friday to commute by car or public transport, dropping off or taking home clothing, towels or other items. If your journey is long, look at ways of making the distance achievable so you stick with it (like driving halfway or investing in a folding bike to combine with a train journey).

These might help… 

• What you need to get started: TWC Catalogue of Commuting, Top Tips to Keep you Commuting by Bike Through the Winter, 7 Most Common Commuter Bike Light Mistakes to Avoid, Bike Lock Buying Guide and Winter Ready Urban Cycle Clothing for Women
• Cycling safety: Defensive Cycling Tips for Confident Commuting and 7 Things You Need To Be Able To Do To Commute By Bike Safely
• Motivation: How to Spruce Up a Boring Commute and Busted: 5 Top Reasons for Not Cycling to Work
• Inspiration: The 3,000km Bicycle Commute (those short journeys add up!)

Plan to race, ride a new distance or complete a certain event

If you want to race, become more competitive, ride a new distance or complete a specific event then you’re going to need a goal. That goal needs to be specific (eg ride 25 miles in XX time, complete 100 ride by September) and you need to draw up a plan to get you there.

• Above all else – read this: How to Actually Plan Training and Stick to It. Created in collaboration with a cycling coach, this article explains how to break your year into phases, allowing you to devise specific training that fits with your day-to-day life each week but also slots into a larger plan.
• Crit, road or time trial racing? 10 Tips for Riders Thinking of Crit and Road Racing This Year and Corners, Cobbles and Obstacles: Jo Tindley of WNT on Bunch Riding Skills
  or How Do I Ride the Perfect Ten Mile Time Trial? (plus How to Corner at Speed)
• Sportives and ‘the century’: Everything You Need to Take to Your Next Sportive and 6 Things that Happen to Your Body over a 100 Mile Ride
• Mega distance: Endurance Racer Jasmijn Muller: How to Train for a 24 Hour Event and How to Prepare for and Ride your first Audax
• Training: How to Find a Group to Cycle With, Everything You Need to Know About Training With a Heart Rate Monitor, Everything You Need to Know About Training With a Powermeter and 6 Pro Worthy Turbo Sessions for Winter Fitness

Eat like an athlete

What you put into your body has a dramatic effect on what you get out of it. You need to start your rides with enough fuel in the tank, keep nibbling throughout long rides and make sure you give your body what it needs afterwards.

Check out…

• Pre-ride: What Can I Eat Before a Long Ride?, Refined Carbohydrates vs Unrefined Carbohydrates? and Does Carb Loading Work for Women?
• Mid-ride: Energy Gels Explained, Should We Eat Energy Gels or Normal Food on the Bike?, How to Manage your Hydration Levels on the Bike and Six Healthy Bites for the Bike 
• Post-ride: How to Use Protein to Your Advantage in Recovery and Weight Loss and Top 10 Protein Sources plus Should Athletes Eat High Carbohydrate or High Protein Diets?

Improve technique

When it comes to technique, practice makes perfect. However, reading up on some of the essential skills ahead of that practice will help so it’s well worth checking out the theory.

Take a look at…

• Corning: 5 Mistakes Slowing You Down when Cornering on a Road Bike,
  The ultimate exercise to improve handling and group riding skills and
  How to Corner a Road Bike at Speed
• Climbing and descending: How Breathing Properly Really Can Make You a Better Climber, How To Use Hill Repeats to Become a Stronger and Faster Cyclist and How to Use Your Gears When Cycling Uphill plus How to Overcome the Fear of Descending by Bike in 7 Easy Steps
• Commuting: Defensive Cycling Tips for Confident Commuting and 7 Things You Need To Be Able To Do To Commute By Bike Safely
• Mountain Biking: How to Tackle Steps and Roots When Riding Uphill, How to Corner your Mountain Bike in Wet Mud and How To Ride Rock Gardens, 4 Essential MTB Skills

Try something new

Maybe you’ve been riding a road, hybrid, mountain or ‘other’ bike all your life – and now it’s time for a change? Trying something different is a great way to boost motivation and you’ll learn new skills and techniques along the way that will help across the cycling spectrum.

Here are some ideas…

• Track: 7 Reasons You Should Try Riding Track (Whatever your Ability) and UK Velodrome Guide
• Cyclocross: Everything You Need to Know About Cyclo-cross, Cyclocross Skills Videos and Surviving My First Cyclocross Race (and Tips for Yours)
• Long distance: Endurance Racer Jasmijn Muller on How to Train for a 24 Hour Event and How to Prepare for and Ride your first Audax. Inspiration: Winning the Transcontinental Bike Race and Feeling Strong, Powerful, Unstoppable
• Enduro: The Velocity Vixens on their first Enduro race and Coming Soon Couples Enduro Stage Race

We hope that gives you a few ideas to get you started. Remember to ensure that your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Assignable/Achievable, Realistic and Time-related. So this January, pick a goal you know will make a difference to your life whilst still being attainable, and work out a path to get you there.