The Gabem Umbrella Companies Blog:
Home of Umbrella Company Gossip Online

If you regularly work through umbrella companies you need to keep up to date with the expenses you can claim, because that is the main advantage of using an umbrella company. So for any of you cycling in to work as a way of getting fit for the summer here's a heads up.

You can claim mileage for cycling. You will be getting 20p per mile so you may immediately think it's half that of driving, but the only fuel you'll be burning is calories.

Owen the IT manager here has been cycling in over the last couple of months, so I asked him for any tips for people considering the healthy option. Here's what he had to say.

Get a comfortable saddle, I cannot stress this enough. If you are cycling every day an uncomfortable saddle is not something you want to put up with. The Gel Sprung Saddles you can get from places like amazon are brilliant and make the ride relaxing rather than a bruising experience.

Plan your ride using a site like www.walkjogrun.net it's a great site for planning cycling (or walking, jogging or running obviously), because it also provides you with the different elivations you will be navigating over. Google maps has the terrain feature, but it's very deceptive because the heights it's intended for are significant.

Rehearse your ride prior to the first ride to work, and make sure you have time to change if you are planning on doing so, you don't want to be late because of the change in your habits.

Lastly pack some wet weather gear, we're not talking an umbrella and wellies, but a waterproof coat with a hood and a dry set of clothes are always useful. This is the UK after all and our summers can turn nasty very quickly.

Best of luck and ride and drive safe.

Hugo
@GabemUmbrella
12/07/2010