Most of us don't want to spend large amounts of money on a Cycling Power Meter for our bikes, and unless we are training very hard and with particular goals it is more of a luxury than a necessity.

But it is still useful and interesting to know how much power we can generate when we cycle and an understanding of cycling power also makes it clear why we can all increase our speed quite quickly when we start, but it becomes progressively harder to make small improvements as we get faster!

The food we eat before, during and after a cycle ride, especially a ride that is particularly long or arduous, can make a significant different to the result and to the pleasure we get from the ride. I'm not a nutritional expert and the article is based more on my own experiences than expert nutritional knowledge, but if you follow the guidelines below you should be on the right track towards success.

Before starting, and for all rides however long or short, remember the primary rule: eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thisty, and carry plenty of fluids. 'Bonking' from loss of energy will sap all your strength and dehydration is just plain dangerous for your health.

Some people have a natural confidence when cycling downhill, or at least a way of ignoring their natural fears, while others are much more cautious. This nervousness about going downhill is an important weakness to tackle since:

1) if you lose a significant amount of time cycling the descents it is extremely difficult to make it up when going up hills

2) if you arrive at the bottom of the hill at, say, 30 mph instead of 20 mph you have a great advantage for the next stage of the course, whether it is a flat or a hill, so the faster cyclists going down the hill will often be the fastest cyclists going up the hill straight after as well

A few years ago common thinking was that winter cycling was something to be avoided, especially by riders of road bikes. Many leisure cyclists simply stopped cycling for a few months during winter, while others prefered to continue indoors on a training bike, or perhaps using gym exercises instead.

OK, so this is partly an exercise in stating the obvious - but it's a good place to start! Then you can browse through some of the many other more specific articles on the site for more information about these and many other aspects of road bike cycling...

Tip 1: Spend more time on your bike

Do you look forward to cycling and get out on your bike at every opportunity possible? It's fun reading magazines and chatting in internet forums about techniques and the latest equipment, but not actually very useful at improving your overall ability!

Group riding - also known as drafting or paceline cycling - refers to several cyclists riding together, one behind the other.

The cyclists each take it in turns to lead, than after leading the group for a while the leader drops away and joins the end of the line. This has great benefits because it is much less strenuous cycling close behind another cyclist than it is cycling alone - because of protection from wind and reduced air resistance.

Cycling up hills (or mountains) is the hardest part of cycling when you are just starting out. Ignoring problems of speed, most new cyclists can manage to go along a flat road for a reasonable distance without any terrible difficulties.

But what happens when a hill turns up? Even a  small  hill can be a big challenge if you don't know what to expect and haven't prepared.

Note: see separate article for bike sizing (also includes saddle height) which also has a significant impact on your position.

A couple of good reasons to spend some time thinking about the best riding position when you go out for a ride:

- Sitting in an aerodynamic position on your bike is a more efficient and cheaper way to improve your performance than spending thousands of pounds on lighter road bikes each year.

Cycling faster and better on your road bike! Most beginner cyclists approach to going faster is to go out quite often and make a lot of effort. Sounds good, and certainly works to a point. But sooner or later you will reach a threshold.

That may be at an average speed of 22kmh or 30 kmh or whatever, but most of us have a natural ceiling that it proves very difficult to get past.

We cyclists all have a small pouch underneath our saddle, with as few tools as possible squeezed in - because every tool we carry adds a few extra grams of weight. But which tools are really important when you set out on a long ride?

Essentials:

1. Spare innertube - much quicker to replace an innertube and easier than repairing a puncture

2. Tyre levers

When you first decide to buy a road bike the choice can be very daunting. From bikes in the local supermarket costing £150 to those in specialist shops costing up to £5000 or more, what is the difference and what should you look for?

If you haven't ridden a road bike before, or not for many years, it is not easy to 'test drive' bikes, because they will all feel 'wrong' at first. The saddle will seem uncomfortable and too high, your back might hurt, and you won't know how to change gears. Don't be deterred!

In the 'olden days' cyclists wore shoes that simply rested on the pedals during cycling, and life was simple. Then someone had the bright idea of fitting toe clips to pedals, to stop the shoes sliding around so much. Slightly irritating to use, but more or less a good idea.

Then by the 1950's someone had the idea of also fitting something to the shoe that clipped around the back of the pedal. Used together with toe clips that worked pretty well, and it was still essentially possible to move your feet to the ground when necessary (for example stopping at a road junction) without major incident.

Which are the best road bikes? It's a common question - after all everyone buying a bike wants the best one possible - but the question is one that is impossible to answer!

The answer depends on what you are looking for i.e. what you mean by 'best. First you need to consider which of the following is important to you':

• speed over comfort
• comfort over long distances
• a great looking bike
• cheap or at least great value
• easy to upgrade in the future eg frame that is good enough to merit much more expensive wheels in due course