Better Together!

Why waste money on wining and dining this Valentine’s Day when you could bond for free on your bikes? Rebecca Charlton speaks to cycling couples to find out how riding together can mutually benefit relationship as well as fitness.

Cycling is a particularly time-consuming sport, and many of us think nothing of disappearing off-grid for the best part of five hours at the weekend. That’s fine if your nearest and dearest is a fellow cyclist, but can be problematic if not. To mark Valentine’s Day, we decided to delve into the world of cycling relationships.

What is the reality of training with your partner or spouse? Though it may conjure up images of mid-ride domestics, childcare worries, mismatched pace and scuppered sessions, maybe, just maybe it can actually add to the enjoyment and effectiveness of your training. We spoke to cycling couples across the ability spectrum, from once-a-week cafe riders to WorldTour level pros, to find out how to make it work.

When Chanel, 29, got together with Alex Dowsett, 30, she was keen to fully embrace his sporting lifestyle. “My other half has this weird job where he dons more lycra than me day to day,” jokes Chanel. “I wanted to try the whole pro cycling scene, but it’s a hard one to crack.” These days, cycling provides some of the couple’s best ‘quality time’ together.

“It’s one of the only times we get, in a very busy and chaotic life, free from other distractions — no phones, only each other,” says Chanel, who is a barrister. “It’s pretty neat that a bike can give us that. A lot of our in-depth conversations and life plans are made on the bike.”

Cycling may be a peaceful retreat now, but Chanel admits that their first ride together, a year ago, was “testing, hilarious yet frustrating all in one.”

Giro d’Italia stage winner and five-time national TT champion Alex, who now rides for Katusha-Alpecin, was a well-qualified — and enthusiastic — teacher.