Start my LEL journey with part 1 here At Louth I spoke to one of the staff and she told me about Shermer’s Neck, something that many long distance cyclists have suffered. Shermer’s Neck is a condition where the neck muscles fail from fatigue and can no longer support the head. She told me another …
Day 3 Alston – Brampton (South) Distance covered: 337.90km Ascent: 2630m Moving time: 15:35:53 Stopped time: 08:13:01 Average speed: 21.7kmph The weather was now really awful, torrential downpours and headwind but it didn’t seem to fracture our spirit, today we were an unstoppable machine. I hated myself for entering this ride yesterday but today I …
I arrived at Barnard Castle and I met the physio, he’d traveled from Italy to offer his services as a volunteer to the riders. He gave me a pot of cream, it was down to the last dregs, so many other riders had been before me. He told me to rub the cream all over my …
I was on my commute home from work, scrolling through Twitter and I noticed a Tweet from British Cycling. Without hesitation I found myself clicking through to the registration page and before I’d even had time to stop and think I was signed up for British Cycling’s South East women’s track skills session at Lee Valley Velodrome. …
I made a mental switch to start appreciating the challenge of going up, I learnt to love hills and it made a big difference to my cycling.
On Saturday 12th December, Rapha invites women around the world to clip in for a wintry ride, whatever the weather. Join one of over 40 rides leaving from Rapha Cycle Clubs or organised by ambassadors throughout North America, the UK, Europe, Japan and Korea. I will be leading a ride from my hometown of Ampthill, …
I was watching Bradley Wiggins wear the yellow jersey when I decided I would ride L’Etape du Tour. I was on my maternity leave and watching Le Tour had become my daily life. I started reading blogs from cyclists and one, in particular, caught my attention, they talked about the struggle, the adventure, the final climb, passing …
I was on the road to the big one, L’Etape du Tour and I was feeling good. I felt like I’d done as much training as I could and I’d had some rest. I’d also made a real effort to drop a few lbs, my mind was really positive.
As my alarm went off at 06:00am we pulled back the curtains to discover the forecast for heavy rain was showing itself on this summer Saturday in June. A wise man once told me your skin dries but the fabric of tights might leave you feeling cold so despite the seasonally low temperature I took …
A DNF (Did Not Finish) is a bitter pill to swallow; it’s one I’ve never tasted before. In the past I’ve always found a way to recover and fight back no matter how bad things have become. Despite putting on a very brave face the experience knocked my confidence and I was shattered. I’ve sat …
