So I guess this started when I first visited Sweden in 2014 as my husband was taking part in a bike ride called the Vatternrundan.

Since then I have taken up cycling and have thought about going back to Sweden to do the ride myself and mentioned it to my friend Laura who was also keen on the idea so together, with her other half James, we signed ourselves up to take part!

It’s a very different registration process than any other event I have taken part in where you have to register interest in advance and then you get an email to confirm and then you have to log in and sign up and it’s only once you get confirmation that you know if you have a place or not and people come from all over the world to take part in this event.

It is also part of a bigger event called the Swedish Classic where you have to complete the following in the space of one year:

• 90km Vasaloppet cross country ski
• 300km Vatternrundan bike ride
• 3km Vansbrosimningen open water swim
• 30km Lidingöloppet cross country run

I was just intending to do the bike ride!

A little bit about the Vatternrundan – it is a 300km bike ride in one go around the Vattern lake.  Why? Because we thought the challenge, sounded cool and we like to ride our bikes.  The distance is a lot and around a lake sounds a lot but its only when you see the lake, that looks like an ocean, and you can’t even see the other side that the reality of the challenge settles in!

We left on Thursday and were staying in Jongkoping, which also happened to be one of the places on the bike ride. On the Friday we headed to Motala, where the ride starts and finishes, and got registered and tried to sleep!  When you sign up you can pick a start time which are in two minute intervals and can be anywhere from 7pm on the Friday to early afternoon on the Saturday.  All entrants have a cut off of midnight on the Saturday to complete.

We were starting at 9:22pm so would be riding through the night, something we’ve all done before.  We actually missed our start time so headed out in the 9:30pm wave.  This was not because Laura is the most methodical person we all know and has to lay her kit out one million times at all, no way, nope (ha ha)! Good job we love her ❤️

We had our pockets on our jerseys stuffed with everything we thought we might need on this ride from nutrition to rain jackets to battery packs and this was on top of our bike bags that had other essential kit like gas canisters in case you get a dreaded p word (puncture).

On the number you wear on your jersey on the ride is your name, where you are from and your start time.  We were less than half a mile in and we noticed the name of someone in front of us who sounded English and that is how we met Adam.  Adam lives in Sweden with his Finnish wife and children and he was doing the ride on his own as his second event of the Swedish Classic – he had also shaved his legs as he thought this would make him more aero dynamic but had underestimated how long this would take and how much shaving foam he would need so had run out and the top part of his thighs were still hairy, we laughed a lot about this.  And that is how our three became four during the Vatternrundan.  You can learn a lot about someone when you spend so long with them on the bike – when he met my husband at the end he told him he already knew so much about him!

There are a lot of rest stops on the ride with warnings 5km in advance and then another when there is 1km to go to ensure you have the correct positioning on the road to turn off should you wish.  We had a plan to only stop three times and that was more to ensure we could refill bottles and apply what we assumed would be much need chamois cream.  I won’t go into detail about chamois cream but if you cycle and know that saddle sore feeling and don’t use chamois cream then let me educate you in two words – get involved! Look it up, it’s self explanatory and you will be pleased once you start using it (even if the first couple of times you feel like you’ve wet yourself)!

So we stopped first at Jonkoping at 104km where we were given meatballs and mashed potato.  We were all in agreement to make the most of the proper food and not try to do the whole event on energy gels – personal preference but for us proper food works better for endurance.  This rest stop was in an ice rink, which was a little odd and it also started with the cyclist in front of me stopping dead in his tracks as we entered it resulting in me having no time to unclip and promptly falling off my bike in front of quite a lot of people.  Only the day before we were discussing cleats and I had said I’d not yet done the standard falling off your bike from not unclipping – I’d spoke too soon.

Our next rest stop was at Hjo at 171km where we had lasagne and blueberry soup – I know it sounds odd but it hit the spot.

The last rest stop was at Medevi at 274km, towards the end and more of a loo break as we had been told the last 40km was quite hilly.  It was at this test stop we spoke to a veteran on the ride.  Veterans of this event have blue bibs that actually day Veteran and I was explaining to the others that these are people that have done the event a certain number of times.  So I asked a very nice Swedish man how many times he had done this event and he said to be a veteran you must have completed the ride 25 times.  He was 72 and this was his 44th time doing the ride and he had done the Swedish Classic 40 times – absolutely amazing! I wished I’d had a picture with him now he made all of us smile as he was explaining this.

The ride is what cyclists would call undulating.  No hills that would test you too much but lots of smaller hills and a lot lot lot lot lot of false flats and long drags where the incline is not much but could go on for up to 12km in one go and these really zap your energy.  My husband had told me it was flat.  My husband is a liar.  Don’t get me wrong it was almost 6,000 ft of elevation and I’ve done more on much shorter rides though the drags as I said make a difference to the legs.

One thing I can say about Sweden is that it is very green, there are lots of beautiful lakes, it’s very clean and there are lots of gorgeous wooded areas – really picturesque!  The ride includes cycling through all of these – its stunning! We stopped on a bridge toward the end purely to take a photo that was too good to miss.

We had a great ride working as a team and each taking our turn on the front, building up the pace following rest stops and joining pelotons of riders when we could.  As a peloton approaches it sounds like a car – I shouted car back at one point then had to say no it’s bikes – I’m not that thick but it really does sound like a car when 20 cyclists hammer past you at speed!  The pelotons are very quick and if you want to ride with them you have to jump on quick and work to stay with them.  Some were very welcoming and some not so – if they are there as a team you are not allowed to join their peloton which is fair enough and is more for safety than anything else as you ride very close and they will be used to riding with each other and not strangers.  At one point we were in a peloton of at least 40 people and it was so much fun!

The event has been going for a lot of years and they have the organisation down to a fine art! Registration is seemless, the expo/merchandise tent has anything and everything you could want or need – I managed to bring my light and forgot the bracket to attach to my handlebars so got myself a new light.  The marshalls are amazing and spread the whole way round the long course (this is not a closed road event).  There were a lot of rubbish points to throw anything you were finished with in the form of large nets on the side of the road – brilliant idea!

I have to mention the locals too – the course is studded with people the whole way through the night that sit out for the whole event cheering you on, camping out and eating and drinking with music playing – I was given a toasted marshmallow on a stick with a jelly sweet on top as I cycled past and lots of high fives too – amazing!

We started together, we finished together, we laughed, we sang, we joked, we smiled and we shared chamois cream and ate too many honey buns and quite frankly we smashed it even if I say so myself! I was beaming with pride coming down the finish line as my husband was waiting and cheering us on.

I would absolutely recommend this event and I have no doubt I will go back and do it again at some point.

I completed the Vatternrundan in a ride time of 10 hours and 26 minutes and event time of 12 hours and 42 minutes – boom!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking part in the Breast Cancer Care Pink Ribbon Tour.  This was an amazing event that saw over 1,000 women cycling a closed course on the streets of London.  The course was 25km, comprised of four laps, to commemorate the 25 years the “Pink Ribbon has been a symbol of hope, strength and unity for everyone affected by breast cancer“.

It was the most amazing sea of pink!  I am biased as pink is my favourite colour but it was everywhere and all for such a good cause.

Those taking part were normal women who cycle but also those who had beaten cancer and those who were still battling too!  There were almost 1,000 ladies participating in this event.  

I will share the most amazing quote from the Breast Cancer Care website from an extraordinary lady who I can now call a friend, Nadjie:

“When something traumatic happens in your life, you have to find a way to cope. For me, having breast cancer, it was cycling. Through chemotherapy, surgery and a mastectomy, I cycled my way through – wearing pink lipstick along the way!”

Most of us have been touched by cancer in some way, shape or form whether it be personally or someone we know and there are many events such as this one that encourage people to participate and raise vital funds.  Visit the website and see how you can get involved.

Following the pink ribbon ride was the final leg of The Women’s Tour, where the professionals took on the same route.

I work in the city and it’s surreal when the roads are closed for events such as this and I will admit I really wanted to give a good sprint but in the spirit of the event we all kept behind a ride leader though it was amazing that we got to ride the same course as the pros! 

 

On Sunday I took part in the Action Medical Research Suffolk Sunrise bike ride.  I had signed up for the champion route of 102 miles and was completing this with two friends from my cycling club, Romford CC.  Action Medical Research are a company funding medical research to beat the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children.

The three of us are taking part in the Vatternrundan next month, which is a 186 mile bike ride in Sweden and so this was perfect as part of our training and made a nice change to do a ride somewhere different.

I’ve taken part in rides with Action Medical Research before and I am always so impressed.  Everything is done to such a high standard from registration to marshalls to rest stops:

• Registration is seemless and as well as being efficient and simple you are also given an energy gel, emergency contacts, band for distance you are taking on, timing chip and number and then bags of jelly babies and sweets – can’t complain about free sweets!
• The marshalls are always happy, helpful and encouraging on route.
• The signage is always clear and easy to follow.
• The rest stops are always the best!  There is tea and coffee, cake and biscuits, energy bars, crisps and freshly made rolls – proper food to fuel on as well as water, squash and energy drinks.  There is a mechanic at every rest stop also.
• Vehicles drive the route also to ensure they can assist if someone has a mechanical.
• Goody bag at the finish which included locally made marmalade and coffee, energy bar, a discount code for future rides and of course a medal (its all about the bling after all).

The ride started and finished at Framlingham Castle otherwise known as the Castle on the Hill from the Ed Sheeran song – I can’t claimed to have known this prior to the ride but my friends did!  Sadly there was no Ed Sheeran to sing us in as we arrived on the finish line.

When we ride we enjoy ourselves – you should always enjoy yourself when working out otherwise why do it?  We laugh and we joke and we sing – the three of us were quite the choir singing around the route (also available for weddings and bahmitzvahs).

The ride, quite honestly, had the most twists and turns I think I’ve ever encountered on a bike route though I’m not complaining – it kept it interesting.  It was described as a flat and fast route and there were sections that were but these seemed to also have the worst wind.  Don’t get me wrong there were no mountains at all but small up and downs for 100 miles meant you felt it in your legs for sure – great for training though!

We also encountered a first for a ride – a 12 foot long python going across the road!  Ok so this is a slight exaggeration it was actually just a grass snake probably no more than 2 foot long but still was a first – the last Action Medical Research ride I took part in we had to stop down a country lane to allow a pack of approximately 40-50 Labradors – what will we find on our next ride with them?

There were many funny moments on the ride, most of which I cannot share in a blog post, but one included a funny feeling on my inside thigh where I found the velcro from my new saddlebag had rubbed a hole in my favourite bib shorts so I spent almost 50 miles checking it was not growing and I was exposing myself to innocent passers by.  Laura kept telling me to stop fingering my hole – in my bib shorts dirty minded people!

I must also say the people of Suffolk were the most courteous for cyclists!  Coming from a London borough that is busier this, and cycling for miles and miles on car free roads, was lovely even if those car free roads had more than their fair share of gravel, which to be honest is not ideal for a road bike, so there were many cries of ‘gravel’ as we turned again and again and again and again.  I had visions of loading my strava ride and seeing the map similar to a running track session.

I would definitely recommend a planned ride with these guys (both Action Medical Research and Laura and James) – currently looking at what one I will do next!

I also had the time to take note of my riding style and will be working on a few things such as:

• my sore lower back – need to sort that prior to Sweden! Recently the base of my back has been on fire but my set up has not changed so unsure of the cause?
• I don’t pedal round corners and coast around so naturally slow and then have to pick the pace back up.
• Since my fall last year I hardly drink on the bike until a stop and this is something I have to work on getting my confidence back to do.
• Not to rely on people I ride with to tell me to eat – I’m terrible at this and it’s not a good habit!
• Protein is great but I must ride with my mouth open and eating bugs on route is protein I could do without!

I can just see my husband right now reading this shaking his head, mouth open, mock outrage, saying ‘I’ve told you all this a million times’ and yes I know but thanks in advance lover as a cycling coach I will be coming to you for help! 😘

#thisgirlcan #thisgirlcanessex

Yesterday I took part in the Human Race cycling sportive L’Etape London.  I was due to take part in this ride last year and due to injury I was unable to do so.  I had hurt my wrist by falling off my turbo.  Yes you read that right I basically fell off a static bike and whacked my wrist against a wall in the process.  Impressive right? Not really I know!

So this year I was signed up and ready to do the long route.  I’ve only been doing shorter rides since I had an accident on my bike in August leaving me unconscious and I am still pretty nervous so when I woke up and saw that it was torrential rain outside I started to panic and worry I would come off again.  I had seen some other people I knew signed up on social media saying because of the weather they were giving it a miss.  I was literally sitting at home in my dressing gown ready to get back in bed when a friend of mine who was doing the shorter route asked me to cycle with her and another friend and as the rain had cleared my husband quickly drove us to the start just in time to join the ride.

I would like to be able to say there was no rain but we got wet from the beginning and then as the rain stopped we promptly cooked like boil in the bag chickens in our waterproof jackets.  However, then the skies cleared and I was so pleased I had gone after all.

I have had so many people ride with my and help me as I got into cycling and my friend Becky is relatively new to cycling so myself and Steve were more than happy to ride this for her.  I will tell you something about Becky – she bought a bike last year and signed up to do the Prudential Ride London 100 mile ride and with relatively little training in comparison with most who participate in such a distance she completed it and went back again this year.  She is someone with such determination and says she may not be quick but she is happy to get on her bike and put in the miles and that she did yesterday, smiling all the way.

We rode the 50 mile route and we laughed and chatted and had fun and that is what its all about – fun with friends on our bikes.

Steve was unsure as to why his banana didn’t taste nice – could it be because it was green?  Clue is in the colour!

The ride starts and finishes at the Velopark in the Olympic Park and as you cycle on the open roads the route takes in some of Stage Three of the 2014 Tour de France.  As you near the finish line you complete a 1k lap of the Velopark.  It was such a good feeling to go through the finish line with two lovely friends and take our well earned medals and have a photo on the podium.

Chris Froome was also at the event and took part in the long route.  I was keen to catch a glimpse of the man I had spent hours watching through various Tour de France’s on TV and as I saw a very unassuming man in jeans and a shirt be asked to sign a piece of paper I realised it was the man himself and so with my cleats on I ran over before he was surrounded by many people.  Anyone who knows me knows I can chat for England and so I was not embarrassed to thrust my phone in front of me and him for a photo and I asked if I could be one of the many weirdos who asks to take his photo.  He laughed and chuckled at my reference to weirdos before I took a quick photo and thanked him profusely.

He did also then look at my like one of the weirdos I referred to when I asked to take the pic ha ha.

I’ve never been disappointed with a Human Race event and this was no exception – so well organised and will ensure I return next year for sure!  I especially liked the little signs in the toilets!

My race entry was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

 

As you know I have been training hard on the bike for my main event of 2016, which was Newcastle to London 315 miles by bike in 24 hours and it was last weekend.  There were four of us taking part, Laura, Helen, Kat and myself, and we were both nervous and excited in equal measure.

The weekend started on Friday heading to Newcastle which was a mission in itself with everyone coming from any direction being delayed by hours including us.  We finally made it to Newcastle just in time to register and head to the hotel for dinner before getting in bed.  Saturday morning we were due to be off at 10:30am and both Laura and I had already had little moments thinking about the extremity of this challenge though agreeing we would tackle it stage by stage in order to get through it.

We had heard there would be terrible winds and most sections predicted rain but we had signed up for this and raised over £2,500 between the four of us for MacMillan Cancer and so we would be completing this whatever it took.  Little did we know what that would be but we were ready.

The first stage was lumpy with constant ups and downs mixed with rain and mixed with heavy winds making everyone work extra hard, which is not something you want to do on an endurance ride.  We saw the results of a horrific accident that left a cyclist with a broken back and fractured skull and pray he recovers fully! We regrouped and off we set on the next stage.

The second and third stages I had done last year with Helen when she took on this challenge and so I knew they were relatively flat and would be quick.  This was of course based on the weather of last year which was almost perfect and in fact the polar opposite of what we were facing.  Any cyclist knows how demoralising it is to be working your heart out but in the wind seeing yourself getting nowhere fast.  Apparently the winds were up to 40 mph and so we were making sure we worked as a four taking ten minute turns on the front to share the load.

That was until about 75 miles in when I stopped pedalling for seconds to get my bottle of water.  In that short space of time a massive gust of wind moved my bike so much I ended up being taken off my bike with full force being on the back of my head.  I was unconscious and woke to my fellow lovely team mates surrounding me and a small group of strangers.  Out of these strangers was an off duty paramedic and fireman and before I knew it I was shivering with cold, crying (a lot) and being covered in foil blankets before an ambulance was called and police had closed the road.

My main thought was that I needed to get back on my bike – we had a timetable to ensure we made the challenge within 24 hours and our first stage was 7 minutes behind so we were hoping the flat stages would see us gaining some time back and me being on the floor would not do that.  I even asked my friend Laura to pause my garmin (I’m not joking) and if my bike was ok after agreeing to have a selfie for this blog post (at the time it made sense).

My husband had been called and was on his way and next thing I knew I was in the back of an ambulance.  I have a sizeable lump on the back of my head my right ankle/knee/leg too the brunt of the impact so was sore and my helmet was done for.  I was then told I was not allowed to continue.

Devastated, heart broken, gutted are not the words. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing pleasurable in cycling in gale force winds but I had spent the best part of the year training for this ride.  I had put in over 2,300 miles and many hours in training and so to be told at 75 miles of a 315 mile event that I was done left me in a very sorry state and I would be lying if I said I am ok with it now as I’m not I am absolutely gutted.  I know it could have been worse and I was lucky not to have been hit by a car – my poor friend Helen thought I was dead as I didn’t move or respond for over a minute.  Thank god for my helmet – why some people don’t wear one is beyond me!

After crying a lot we headed to the next rest stop and I changed out of my cycling gear as I would no longer be needing that but we would continue as unofficial support car for our friends and stay with the ride until the end.  The girls were lovely and super supportive given they could see how upset I was as they fought on in terrible conditions.

As the rest of the ride continued I got more and more stiff and sore and I will admit there would have been no way I could have continued.  Last year as unofficial support we drove from rest stop to rest stop via sat nav for the most direct route but this year we followed the actual route and one word many used which I completely agree with is brutal, just an absolutely brutal ride.  It is described as flat but let me tell you it is not.  I am not too proud to admit I am not sure given the conditions I would have been able to continue and complete the ride anyway as the wind was wiping people out in huge numbers with 140 people dropping out the day before and over 260 people at the last stage pulling out.  Helen in our group was one on stage 4 – I think my fall had affected her more than she realised and her head had given up on her.

It was the most physically and emotionally draining thing I have ever experienced and my husband said the same.  Seeing the pain of people continuing on the ride knowing they wouldn’t make it in 24 hours and seeing coaches full of people who withdrew from the event because the conditions made it too much made it heart breaking to watch.  In hindsight many said it should have been cancelled but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Laura’s partner James and our friend Steve got on their bikes to help Laura and Kat and were a god send completing 180 miles with them especially given they had not event signed up for it!

Despite the weekend completely not working out as we had originally planned there were some funny moments including Kat applying chamois cream behind our car but unintentionally maintaining eye contact with my husband and this became a running joke of who she would look at when she was next applying.  I also mooned the foursome at one point as they cycled past – I couldn’t spend the whole weekend crying!

Between my husband and I and Helen and her partner Adam we became the weirdos who were driving the route and helping out with words of encouragement, inner tubes, lights, punctures and food and drink as we went.  People were very grateful though I think they all just thought we were nuts.  A lot had spotted me when I was out cold as I was wearing pink compression socks that stuck out of the foil blanket and so at every stop someone would ask me how I was and if I was ok, which was very nice given most were suffering a lot in completing this challenge.

I am pleased to say that both Laura and Kat continued and they did so bloody well!  Absolutely earned their medal!  Very few people perhaps only a handful they think completed the challenge this year within the 24 hours and Action Challenge realised this and were very flexible with the finish times.  Everyone who completed I am in awe of – brutal ride in brutal conditions with broken cyclists coming over that finish line – they should all be extremely proud of what they have achieved!

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Me?  I am broken, fed up and still wallowing in selfish self pity and will take some time off the bike now until I am less sore and stiff and of course have a new helmet!