Once you’ve enjoyed a few LSD rides (Long Steady Distance) add some variety to your training with faster, shorter runs or some interval training on your road bike.

If you want to apply accurate science to this you can get a heart rate monitor, work out your maximum heart rate, then develop a series of rides at various percentage effort levels of that max heart rate. But if your mission is general fitness, then just head out for an hour at a pace which makes it hard to chat but never so hard that you build up painful lactic acid in your legs.

You can also go for a gentler ride with a series of interval sprints in the middle of it. Once you’re warmed up choose a nice level section of road, set your countdown alarm to 30 seconds, and then begin your sprint training.

There are many ways to do this but a simple option is to go flat out for 30 seconds then drop a few gears and pedal gently to recover for 2 minutes, then sprint again. Repeat 6-8 times. As you get fitter over time you can shorten the recovery gaps, lengthen the sprints, do more reps or try a combination of all three.