1. Cycling 100 Miles For The First Time – Great Yorkshire Bike Ride
My first ever cycling sportive was from Leeds to Filey. In order to reach 100 miles, we had to extend the route all the way to Scarborough. We arrived there around 90 miles in and made the last 10 miles cruising up and down the sea front. Obviously, we wanted to celebrate the accomplishment, so we responsibly drank tinnies on the bike for our victory lap.
Leeds To Filey Then Filey To Scarborough – 100 Mile Strava Evidence
Classic New To Cycling Clobber – NO CYCLING SHOES
We’ve all had the starter set at some point!
Looking back, I still can’t believe I used to complete big cycling endurance events NOT clipped in wearing cycling shoes. Not only am I making it harder for myself, but also far less enjoyable.
2. Completing 150 Miles For The First Time
This was honestly was one of my proudest accomplishments not just on a bike, but in my sporting career!
The challenge was to cycle from Leeds to Filey and back. We began at 6am, comfortably cruising along for the first 50 miles but from 50-70 miles we probably got carried away on our way into Filey. When we arrived at Filey I was in all kinds of trouble, my head was all over the place, dizzy, disorientated, and on the verge of bonking.
I remember sat in a cafe ploughing down a bacon baguette trying to re-fuel but nothing seemed to be working. My cycling partner tried persuading me to get the train back from Filey to Leeds but my stubbornness and fear of failure was enough to convince me to get back on the bike and give it ago.
From miles 70-100 the lights were on, but nobody was home. I had absolutely nothing, it got that bad I was literally eyeballing a house in the distance and doing my best just to make it to that point.
The lightbulb moment happened from 100 miles through to 150!
The lights came on, my energy levels returned, and the sunset was absolutely out of this world. It was at this moment I realised TWO things. Firstly, I knew I was going to complete a new distance PB of 150 miles, and secondly, anything is possible if you’re just willing to stay in the FIGHT!
I was absolutely dumbfounded and in disbelief that this was possible. How can you go from being completely done and dusted at mile 70 to completing a further 80 miles. My mental resilience as an athlete has always been one of my strongest assets, this was without doubt the moment that solidified this belief.
The 6am Start – Wrapped Up For The Wind Chill
3. GNNAS Yearly Ride Out – 80 Miles With Some Serious Climbing
This was probably the hardest 80 miles I have ever done in terms of elevation. We actually signed up to do 150 miles but the event had to re-route the due to a last minute schedule of unavoidable road works. This messed with my mindset, I was preparing to go 150 miles in the build up. When they emailed us the week before I knew we was only having to complete 80 miles. This led me to not fuelling properly because I stupidly took the distance for granted. I massively underestimated the elevation and had to grind my way round with a decent dose of hamstring cramp for good measure in the latter stages.
Strava From The GNNAS Yearly Ride Out
The Views Were Marvellous – Once You’ve Climbed Obviously!
Surely It’s Time For Some Cleats?
The Medal At The End!
4. The Biggest Ride Of My Life – 200 Mile Club
What an unforgettable and unbelievable experience this was!
When you’re cycling for nearly 15 hours you can expect plenty of up’s and downs along the way. I can’t possibly explain every little bit of detail within this post, but I’ll try and share some of the notable highs and lows.
Starting at 2am in the morning, we set off from Bingley heading towards the Lake District. Fast forward 90 miles and I ran into my first problem on the bike, my gears went absolutely AWOL (they needed Indexing). I had access to probably 3 gears which was far from ideal on big hill climbs.
We had been lucky with the weather up until 140 miles. From Kendal back to Bingley we had torrential rain for the last 60 miles which was around 3-4 hours of cycling. It was brutal, I was exhausted by this point and honestly, it got to the point where we was cycling through puddles (more like lakes) that went above my pedals. As my feet disappeared under the water and the Friday traffic continued to steam past us on a busy A road, all I wanted was to arrive at the finish line.
Cycling Clothing & Shoes UPGRADED!
5. Tough Century – 100 Miles of WIND & RAIN
This was one of many tough 100 mile cycling rides I have done!
When you’re preparing for a 200 mile cycling endurance event, it’s wise to get a few 100 milers under your belt as a bare minimum. Time in the saddle is obviously important, but you need to gain exposure to all kinds of different scenarios that may arise being on a bike for such a long period of time.
You need to fully understand how you are going to fuel for your event, be prepared to adapt when a problem arises. Yes you might puncture, yes you might need your gears indexing, and yes you will require the appropriate clothing for 15 hours of cycling as conditions can quickly change.
Brutal Conditions!
