An Interview with CyclingFitness
Words of wisdom from one of HubPages' premiere cycling and fitness experts
You've published some of the best guides to cycling that I've ever read- how did you develop so much expertise?
Thank You. I grew up watching the Tour De France on television and the passion for cycling grew from there. I was always interested in teaching others and that led me onto a Degree in Sports Science which forms the basis of a huge amount of my knowledge.
Cycling is a sport where so much is dependant on so many variables. We all have our opinions on what works and conversations vary from everything to riding position within a group to eating habits and bicycle bicycle bits. Newcomers are always asking lots of questions and as a result I've played a mentor role to many over the years. Some of the questions they've asked have gone on to become Hubs.
What is it that made you decide to start publishing articles online?
I've always loved to read about sport but have been left a little frustrated at times with the information that's already out there. I wanted somewhere that I could find a voice and hopefully be listened to. There's still a long way to go but I hope by publishing online I can provide the information people are looking for to answer the questions they have.
You share on your bio that you're a sports fitness instructor and studio cycling instructor- do you ever direct your students to your Hubs?
I actually find that many of my Hubs have come about after questions from the people around me. Cycling is great as it's a very social sport and you can be training alongside someone whilst having a conversation about anything from photography to politics. That means that I can mainly answer any questions while riding but they often form the basis for some of my Hubs. I like to deal with questions as soon as they're asked.
Most of my directions to Hubs are in cases where I've used images of an athlete within a Hub. I often ask them to check the Hub over and confirm that they're happy for me to keep the photograph in place on the net. I regularly find that the athletes are more than happy to be associated with the content; they'll give me their personal opinions on it and if I'm very lucky they will share the photo or a link on forums or Facebook, which helps me obtain increased exposure. Athletes featured in my Hubs can also potentially send links to sponsors for increased publicity.
Most Hubbers who write about fitness and sports have trouble taking original photos since it can be tough to both work out and take action shots- how do you manage it?
One of my closest friends is an avid photographer and I used to bring him along to events where I'd be racing. Whilst I enjoyed seeing the images he took, I never quite felt his shots had captured the action in the right way. That led to me buying my first DSLR camera at the start of the summer and I haven't looked back.
I would recommend any Hubber get him or herself a good camera as images can add so much more to a Hub. My cycling focus is road racing, although I live a 10 minute drive from a local weekly Time Trial event, which I've used to develop my skills over the course of the summer. I can have an easy ride out to them with my camera in a bag and have the mobility to simply take a set of photos before moving further along the course to take more.
The riders love to see the images I take- particularly side-on shots which showcase their positions on the bike. I even get emails from riders prior to events telling me that they've just fitted some new wheels or changed their riding position and would like to see what it looks like. There's been so much interest that I'm considering taking the sports photography further in future and have been offered money for photographs.
In addition to writing great sports and fitness Hubs, you've written some super delicious-looking recipe Hubs. Is cooking one of your hobbies? What are your specialties?
I'd rather say that food and drink is one of my hobbies than cooking. I like to cook, but in all honesty I prefer someone else to cook for me. I will go anywhere when there's good food involved. Back in November I was out in Morocco sampling some amazing Tagines and Berber Couscous.
HubPages can open doorways, and on that trip I was treated to a fantastic journey up into the snow-capped Atlas Mountains with some amazing food thanks to a local company called Atlas and Sahara Tours that I've helped to showcase in some of my Hubs.
My next big trip is up to Scotland where I will search for the ultimate Whisky and hopefully discover some great local food on the way. It's likely that some more Hubs will be published as a result. When I'm in the kitchen my speciality is baking and I bake a fantastic Yorkshire Parkin Cake.
I'm thankful that cycling helps me burn off the calories as I have a real sweet tooth. I've not really showcased this penchant for sweets in my Hubs as yet as I'd like to think I'm holding something back for a rainy day or the dreaded "writers block".
Where does your Hubbing inspiration come from? Questions from clients and customers? Personal research? Day to day activities?
I take inspiration from everywhere I can. Clients and fellow cyclists often ask questions in general conversation which sparks a Hubbing idea in my head although I could be seeing a program on the television which leads to a seed being planted.
I also read a large number of popular sport and fitness websites looking for inspiration. I've started to look very specifically at the information that is on many websites and assess whether I could potentially do better and if the question that was asked has been adequately answered. I tend to do a lot of research when I'm publishing and sometimes an initial idea can change dramatically as a result of what I read and see an opportunity within.
You're great at leveraging your professional expertise to create great Hubs- what advice can you give to other people on the 'share what you know' front?
Always look at what your competition has done and ask yourself if you could do something better. I find that the Livestrong website often ranks very highly for the kind of things I write about regularly (Cycling and Running) but rarely find what I'm looking for on their pages. In these cases my mind kicks into overdrive.
Unfortunately for my expertise, there's already a lot written on the Internet about health and fitness-related topics, so it's going to take something special or uniquely different to succeed in many cases. I find that people are more likely to search for and find articles on specific aspects of fitness-related subjects, so I tend to tailor my writing to reflect that.
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