A RIDE WITH REBECCA CHARLTON

Wechattoracerturned cycling presenter and authorRebeccaCharlton

LOOPY FOR LONDON

When I’m home from a busy work schedule I like get out on my favourite loop out from south London to the lanes of Kent. There’s a myth that we don’t have any real hills down south but I beg to differ. Church Road and Brasted Hill are almost 20 per cent out of Downe and Westerham respectively!

LANE DISCIPLINE

There are a lot of single lanes where cars aren’t often anticipating a group of cyclists. I’ve had to perform some swift manoeuvres into hedgerows in the past!

LIKE LITENING

I ride a Cube Litening, which I’ve upgraded to a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, Vision Metron 40 wheels, for a bit of free aerodynamics, and a women’sspecific San Marco Glamour saddle. On average I’ll ride for two hours. Now I’m not racing, I eat a bit more of whatever I fancy but I always hydrate properly and throw in a flat white at Westerham Cyclery.

SHORTS STORY

Gear-wise I always go for a good chamois - particularly the women’s-specific Assos shorts – for a long day in the saddle. It’s then a tough call between the Oakley Jawbreaker and Flight Jacket glasses. I’m a bit obsessed with neon glasses at the moment - embracing the ’90s. I’m not one to follow rules when it comes to kit but I do feel quite strongly about a pristine pair of socks and that glasses should always be outside of the helmet straps!”

BRIGHTON ROCKS

The lanes of Kent are testing and force you to embrace the climbs as there’s not really any flat riding to be had. For Londoners, it’s a really quick way out of the city to get straight to the idyllic sights of the country lanes, and there is always an option to expand the route for endurance training. Brighton and back is a nice one. Rebecca is an ambassador for OVO Energy, the UK’s largest independent energy technology company and sponsor of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour, ovoenergy.com