Making Cycling Better Q&A With Raúl

At See.Sense - we want more people to ride their bikes. We believe that giving decision makers the right information at the right time can play a huge role in creating the transformative change that is required to get more people cycling more often. That’s why we have established a Smart Cities team who are working with partners in local government and organisations like British Cycling to use the insights from our lights to help plan for better cycling infrastructure in our towns and cities.

We like to call this 'Making Cycling Better' - but one thing we wanted to do was keep our customers involved in this side of our business. That’s why we thought we would take a few moments to look at some feedback from See.Sense cyclists - how they got into cycling, why they love it, and what kit makes their rides better. The third, is Raúl, who is from sunny Spain.

What is your background?

My name is Raúl, I am from one of the best city to study in Spain, Salamanca. It is a small city but you can find a lot of places to ride: mountains, windy roads, routes near to the river, etc. I am 24 years old and I am studying sport sciences after finish the teacher degree two years ago.

What got you into cycling?

Since I was a kid, I always have had a bike in the garage of my parents but I didn’t use it a lot, only in the summer time, because I was a futsal player. I used the bike like a method to prepare the futsal season. In my first year in the first team, I was a very important injury in my knee so I had to break my relationship with the futsal. That was the moment when I started to use the bicycle every day and I can’t be happier about this change. Thanks to the bicycle I can find new places that could be impossible without it. For example, I have been able to ride in Portugal, Ronda (small city near to Málaga), Girona, Bilbao, Madrid, etc. Now, I can say that the bicycle is my passion.

What is your favourite ride?

I am not going to be very original because I think that the most people who had climbing this mountain could be their favorite. I am talking about Morcuera, it is a mountain near to Madrid and Segovia that, in the summer and autumn, it is an excellent place to ride and enjoy (Morcuera is an easy climbing, so you can see the views and enjoy). Also, it is very good located, if you have to do a long ride you can climb Morcuera, Canencia, Navacerrada and more.

Who is your favourite cyclist to follow?

I have grown up watching Alberto Contador’s races on TV but I have to say that I don’t follow any specific cyclist, I like to watch the races on TV and I like the battles but I don’t care about what cyclists are fighting. However, I have very good memories of the battles between A. Contador and Andy Schleck climbing the Tourmalet.

What brands or products do you use to help make your rides better?

I am very proud and grateful to Pimiento Negro (Spanish socks brand). They were my first collaboration and we have a very good relationship. I have to say that I use their socks every day in my physical classes of the university and when I go to ride my bike and I didn’t have problems. Also, this year I discovered to MontonSports and Siroko. The first one it is a clothing brand that their quality is excellent and their clothes fit very well. The second one it is a sunglasses brand (but they have clothes too) whose quality-price is very good.

More equipment:

• Helmets: Giro and Spiuk
• Bicycles: Orbea (road bike) and Wilier (MTB bike)
• GPS: Polar
• Nutrition: Decathlon, it is not too bad but neither too good. For me, it is enough.
• Lights: well, We are in 2019 and I didn’t find a very good brand yet, I need your help for this… I’m joking haha See.Sense’s lights are the best lights that I have never had. Their lights have a very good battery, intelligent, the brightness is excellent and, why not say it, it is very beautiful lights and look very good in the night photos.