Saturday, October 22, 2005

Hannah's Perfect Job

Do you ever fantasize about the perfect job? I think mine's pretty close, but if I didn't have it, I'd want a job riding in spectacular places on new bikes made of trendy materials, sparked by great tips for being a better rider with a wealth of cycling information at my fingertips. If I could write about having this much fun, I'd tell the world.
Meet Hannah Reynolds. Is there, doing that! On a weekly basis. But not at a store near you. Unless you happen to have a subscription to Cycling Weekly. In January, 1891, this weekly UK magazine was born to satisfy riders who felt the current dozen magazines of the time just weren't doing the job. "The Comic", as it's known in the UK, has come a long way since then. For a weekly dose of European and local cycling news, fitness and technical reports along with a shot of straight-up editorial and fresh humor, nothing else comes close.
Cycling Weekly
Hannah is the Fitness Editor of Cycling Weekly. Week in and week out, she churns out pages of articles to benefit all cyclists, from the racer to the club rider. Recent topics include "Fitness Myths", "Sports Testing - How Fit Are You?", "Common Cycling Afflictions", "Hydration Tips", "Know Your Strengths", Get Ahead, Get a Coach" and "Guide to Climbing". Of course, good bike rides are the stuff of inspiration, so Hannah is no stranger to cycling the European haunts of cycling lore. Much like it is in the US cycling scene, she is a woman in man's world in the UK. And enjoying it thoroughly!
I asked Hannah how she happened to land the job:
I started work at Cycling Weekly soon after graduating from University where I studied Sport Science. A friend of mine worked at CW and said she could get me a temp job. At first I was an editorial assistant - glorified secretary - but I got more involved with products and start to contribute to the fitness pages which at the time were being written by a free-lancer. After about 6 months the decision was made to get rid of the free-lancer and for me to take over the fitness pages full time. That was a bit of a shock to go from an under grad to a secretary to having to churn out fitness features week in week out for a national magazine with 30,000 cyclists listening to my training advice! I remember being out on a club run and hearing a couple of guys behind me talking about a feature I'd written - without knowing it was me in front - that made me realise that what I write counts and makes a difference to the way people think.
Where do the ideas come from?
Generally I write about things I am interested in. If I read a new science paper or an article in another magazine and it makes me think about my own cycling and training I want to research it so I can share those ideas with others. Often ideas come out of long rides with my friends when we start pondering whether we could be fitter, faster or thinner! The main thing is that I ride and race myself. By being interested and engaged in the subject coming up with the concepts is easy.
It must be a blast testing all the new bikes that come in.
Bike tests are great - they can be hard work and you often end up riding bikes that aren't quite right but then you also get to ride bikes that normally you could only lust after through a bike shop window. A lot of a photo shoot is riding round and round the same corner for pics which gets a bit dull - but it is normally a beautiful hairpin with fantastic views and the sun beating down which always makes it a bit more enjoyable. We also manage to squeeze in a few rides and a couple of bottles of local vino tinto at the end of a hard day.
Aside from Fitness, some of the most inviting articles in CW this year have been about the UCI'sGolden Bike Series. Have you had a chance to participate in any of those events?
I have done lots of sportivs - the Etape (ed: a stage, always mountainous, of the Tour de France) in 2002 and this year the Beaumes de Venise Mont Ventoux ride and the UCI Golden Bike Quebrantahuesos. The Mont Ventoux ride was great - it went over Ventoux twice in 120 miles. I was very pleased to come second in my age group. I also took a sabbatical last summer and went cycle touring on my own in the Alps - I wanted to ride all the climbs over 2000 metres! I think I've bagged most of them now.
Whew! Not bad! 
Tailwinds,
Georgena