Independent field notes
Keep It Rolling is a practical and energetic guide to recreational road cycling. It covers riding technique, fitness, safety, bike setup, maintenance, essential gear, and the habits that make every ride smoother, stronger, and more enjoyable.
Maya ReynoldsI’m Maya Reynolds, a dedicated recreational road cyclist who believes a good ride is equal parts preparation, persistence, and the freedom of moving under your own power. I write practical guides about riding technique, fitness, safety, bike setup, maintenance, and the lessons that make every kilometre more enjoyable.
Common difficulty: the drops can feel low, cramped, and harder to control than the hoods. I’ll show you how to enter them smoothly, use the brakes confidently, and build comfort without forcing an aggressive position.
Read articleWhen your legs feel heavy after a hard ride, the right recovery choice may be rest, walking, mobility, or an easy spin—not another test of willpower. I’ll explain how to recover productively while keeping your training moving forward.
Read articleI’ll clarify how easy a recovery ride should feel, when to schedule one around intervals or hills, and how to choose between riding lightly, resting completely, or adding endurance volume without undermining your harder sessions.
Read articleI’ll help you keep the key purpose of a cycling training block while fitting rides around sleep, work, weather, and family commitments. You’ll learn which sessions to protect, which to shorten, and when skipping a workout is the sensible choice.
Read articleWeekend riders often have enough time for two sessions but not enough recovery to make both hard. I’ll show you how to use one focused ride and one longer ride to build fitness without wasting limited training time.
Read articleI’ll show you how to build climbing endurance gradually, pace your first long ascent, and avoid the common mistake of treating every hill workout like a race or fitness test.
Read articleI’ll help you avoid choosing a training metric just because it looks precise. You’ll see what heart rate, power, speed, and feel can—and can’t—tell you, plus a sensible way to match your method to your budget and riding goals.
Read articleTraining progress is easier to recognize when repeatable efforts, recovery, and perceived exertion are viewed together rather than reduced to speed or distance. I’ll show you a simple weekly test that reveals whether your cycling is becoming more durable and reliable.
Read articleA new chain that skips on familiar gears may reveal that the old chain has already worn the cassette. I’ll explain how to measure wear, read shifting symptoms, and time replacement before a small job becomes an expensive drivetrain repair.
Read articleHeadset looseness can range from a simple preload adjustment to a sign of worn or damaged steering parts. I’ll show you how to check for play, separate headset noises from nearby problems, and decide whether a careful ride or a bike shop is the sensible next step.
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