Cycling Heroes and Me

Cycling is something that I enjoy, but have always been a little scared of! Not so much the act of getting on the bike itself, more a fear of negotiating roads, traffic, public transport to get to my start point and generally anything a little more complicated than just putting on a pair of running shoes...

A couple of weeks I completed my longest ever ride of 40miles - ok, so we broke it down into two 20mile sections with a baguette at a pub in the middle but I'm still pretty proud of that accomplishment. My knees were not a fan the next day- I think I may need to raise my saddle - but I loved the feeling of freedom and exploring on my own two wheels!

We cycled the Worth and Forest Way as I've blogged about before - it's a trail route along a disused railway line so perfect for my new Liv Rove mountain bike hybrid, and with only a few very short sections on the roads so I didn't freak out too much...

I'd love to incorporate more cycling into my daily/weekly life - I've said this so many times before but always seem to find excuses!

Pearl Izumi Tour Series and Matrix Fitness Grand Prix

I live in Croydon and was lucky enough the other week to catch the Matrix Fitness Grand Prix and Pearl Izumi Tour Series cyclists take to the streets. It was a rather surreal experience watching loads of professional riders in lycra speeding past Pizza Hut and Poundland on the High Street!

I didn't know much about the series beforehand - the race involved a 1.1km route, and racers had to complete as many laps as possible in 45minutes (for the women) and 1hour (for the men)- or so I understood it!

In the women’s race Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International riders Gabriella Shaw, Katie Curtis and Paralympic gold medal winner Dame Sarah Storey were among the most active in a fast and sometimes fraught women's race- there were some pretty tight corners and Sarah Storey actually collided with a mother and child who were crossing the route whilst the race was on!

Team WNT's Commonwealth Games medallist Charline Joiner took her first win in the Series, with Nikki Juniper in second- and there were big cheers for Croydon local Louise Mahe who came in third. The crowds were generally good, banging the barriers and cheering, although many didn't realise what the race was about or why the roads were closed - there definitely needs to be more publicity of these sort of events leading up to the day.

Bradley Wiggins Hour Attempt

In another great result for cycling Bradley Wiggins recently broke the hour record by cycling 54.526km in 60minutes in the Olympic Velodrome - he stuck to a metronomic rhythm with an average speed of around 33mph, which only dropped slightly in the last 15minutes, pretty incredible!

I'm hoping that some of these inspirational stories will rub off on me! Although I probably won't be reaching 33miles per hour any time soon...

What's your biggest cycling achievement? Who inspires you?

Beki x