About this episode

Phil Cavell discusses the psychological and physiological aspects of cycling, including his book 'The Cycling Addiction'.

This week, James is joined by the bicycle polymath himself, Phil Cavell. Cyclist, bike fitter, author, writer, speaker, racer, shop owner, bike designer, wrench and generally very clever bloke, Phil, together with friend and long-term business partner, Julian Walls, helped pioneer bike fitting back in the early 2000s, opening Europe’s first dedicated bike fit studio, Cyclefit, in London on 2003. Over the years, Phil has worked with top pros like the Trek team and a young Tom Pidcock, to amateurs from all walks of life. Bu whoever they are, they are all concerned with one thing – staying fit and getting the best out of cycling a bike. Phil has written numerous articles for Cyclist magazine – we are real paper magazine you can buy in a real shop, issue 178 out now! – but more importantly, he's penned several books, the most recent of which, The Cycling Addiction (Bloomsbury), which we discuss today. Concerning ‘suffering, speed and the search for meaning on two wheels’, The Cycling Addiction seeks to discover what it is that draws us to such a punishing sport, and what functions of the mind, body and evolution are responsible for cyclists producing extraordinary feats of endurance…

People in this episode

Host: James

Guest: Phil Cavell

Topics covered

• cycling
• fitness
• bike fitting
• endurance
• psychology of cycling
• personal identity
• philosophy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cyclefit, Trek, Cyclist, Bloomsbury

Books & works: The Cycling Addiction

More episodes of Cyclist Magazine Podcast

• 164. Doping, with James Witts · August 20, 2026 · 1h 23m
• 163. The art of the climb, with Simon Warren · August 6, 2026 · 1h 18m
• 162. The simple (yet complicated) truth behind bike design, with Chris Dodman · July 23, 2026 · 1h 17m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Cyclist Magazine Podcast podcast page.