Cycling this strip without wrecking your neck

Riding into a south-easter, people drop lower and push the head up to keep the eyes on the road. That is a long, static hold at the base of the neck and across the upper back, and you do it for forty minutes without noticing. Coming home with the wind is fast and feels great, so the ride ends on a high and the neck reports back two days later.

Cold air on a sweaty back on the return leg does not help either.

Break the hold. Change hand position every few minutes, sit up for thirty seconds at a time, roll the shoulders on the flat sections.

Ride the out leg easier than your ego wants. Most of the damage is done pushing a big effort into wind in a position you cannot hold.

Do something for the upper back off the bike two or three times a week — thoracic mobility, rows, anything that is not more time in that shape. A bike fit is worth more than a year of gels if this is a repeat problem.

Warm layer for the return leg, and take the wet jersey off before you sit in the car.

Topical anti-inflammatory gels and simple pain relief have a place for a few days of ordinary muscular ache. They are a bridge, not a treatment plan, and they are not for everyone — kidney problems, blood pressure medicines, stomach history, pregnancy and asthma all change what is sensible. Ask at the counter before you buy the strongest thing on the shelf.

Heat helps muscle. Ice helps a fresh injury. Neither fixes a position problem.

The back of the neck and the ears burn on this route even on a grey day. Sunscreen and a collar. And drink on the bike — the wind hides how much you are losing.

Pain running down an arm, pins and needles, weakness or clumsiness in a hand, pain after a fall, headache with neck stiffness, or ache that is not shifting after a week or two — that needs a person, not a gel. Book a consult and we will tell you whether it is a physio, a GP or a bike fit.