Explore new roads

One sure-fire way to stay motivated for riding and training is to mix up your training routes, and with extra time to plan and ride over the Bank Holiday weekend, it’s a great chance to get exploring.

You could follow your nose and see where you end up, stick the bike in the car or jump on a train and head further afield, or use a route-mapping app like Strava to find out where the best riding is in your area.

– Six training loops to build form and motivation –

Strava’s ‘Explore’ feature picks out the most popular segments – why not build a route to take in a new climb? Otherwise, if you’re short of inspiration, here’s how to put together the perfect training loop.

Introduce a friend or family member to cycling

An extra day off work is also a great chance to catch up with your nearest and dearest, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some time in the saddle too. In fact, why not introduce a friend or family member to cycling?

Plenty have been bitten by the cycling bug in the last five years or so, with the sport exploding in popularity in the UK, so why not try and tempt family or friends to join you?

 – Buyer’s guide: Five essential items for new cyclists –

That might mean taking them on a short ride, visiting your local bike shop to look at a prospective purchase, or simply offering advice on how to start cycling. After all, one of the best parts of cycling is the chance to enjoy the ride – and the cafe stop – with someone else.

Give your bike some TLC

Having an extra day at the weekend doesn’t mean you have to go riding. You could use the extra time to give your bike some well-deserved TLC.

Why not use the long weekend to tick off some of those jobs you’ve been putting off? After all, if you’ve been riding all summer, chances are your pride and joy could benefit from a good check-up.

– What’s that creak? How to identify and fix annoying creaks coming from your bike –

That might mean giving your bike a thorough clean, changing your brake cables, tuning your gears, taking it into the shop for a service, eradicating an annoying creak, or treating it to a fresh wrap of handlebar tape. Every little helps and youre bike will feel like new the next time you ride.

Go on tour

OK, so commitments to friends and family may limit this one, but for those cyclists not bound by those shackles, the long weekend is the perfect chance to get away for some serious time on the bike.

Even an overnight stay is a great chance to explore new roads. Why not pick a point on the map, ride out there, stay the night, and take a different route back the next day? The Bank Holiday also opens up the possibility of a three-day ride.

The world is your oyster but Britain is packed with stunning roads to ride, from Dartmoor to Snowdonia, the Lake District to the Scottish Highlands, and everything in between.

Decide on your n+1

Embedded in the ‘laws of the cycling’ is the oft-reproduced phrase about the correct number of bikes to own being n+1, where n is the number currently owned. We’re not going to argue with that.

Which means as you sit and read this, you are one short – and so, for that matter, are we.

– Model year 2017: the latest new bikes from the biggest brands –

So what will your next bike be? The curtains are coming off all of the best new bikes for 2017, including the Bianchi Oltre XR4 aero road bike, the revamped Lapierre Sensium endurance bike, the disc-equipped Canyon Endurace CF SLX, the innovative Trek Domane SLR, and plenty more.

So what are you waiting for? Why not use the Bank Holiday to dream about what your next bike will be…