Cycling: which types it suits

Cycling for sport usually means riding tens of kilometres along riverside paths, quiet lanes or open roads. Some riders chase speed and distance on road bikes; others take a hybrid or folding bike and stop for every view. Many people start on a city's shared bikes, then buy their own once they're hooked and move on to longer routes. Long-distance cycle routes, often with stamps or checkpoints along the way, give riders big goals to tick off.

Cycling suits people who enjoy both tinkering with a machine and travelling a long way under their own steam. A lot of riders love choosing and maintaining their kit, and logging distance and average speed after every ride, while others spend each weekend hunting down a new route. Riding alone is great, but group rides, with everyone strung out in a line, are a big part of the culture too.