“Whizzing round the Manchester velodrome showed me cycling could be more than just transport”
A brush with the boards in 2012 encouraged anchor Louise Minchin to buy a race bike and get more competitive with cycling
Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been riding bikes. For years I cycled in London but it was only ever as a means of transport – working on the BBC News channel I’d ride from Wandsworth to White City because it was always the quickest and most reliable way of getting to work. I’m well used to the London roads so I’ve never been afraid of riding on them, but I would divert my route to avoid the big, busy roads. It was another two miles but still far quicker and reliable than any car, bus or tube.
The point where I changed from commuter to hobby cyclist was during the Breakfast Christmas Cycling Challenge in 2012 at the Manchester velodrome. I’ve always enjoyed watching track cycling on the TV but before this I’d never even set foot in a velodrome as a fan, let alone onto the track itself. Olympic gold medallist Ed Clancy showed us the ropes, and whizzing round with no brakes or gears was just the most fun thing I’ve done in years. The race at the end was Charlie Stayt and I against Bill Turnbull and Susanna Reid. We won and it was particularly satisfying to beat Bill, who – and he said this himself – didn’t want to be beaten by a girl. I was so pleased!
It was an experience where I thought, ‘I’ve been wasting my time just using my bike to get to work, this is a brilliant sport.’ A friend had watched me and suggested I get involved in triathlons, so I bought a racing bike and I haven’t looked back. I started with sprint triathlons, but cycling is my favourite part of it. I’ve done a Cycletta event and plan to do more and this summer my husband and I did a charity three-day, 312-mile ride from Cornwall to London.
It was in aid of the RNLI and Child Bereavement UK – two friends of ours, Nicko and Emily Milligan, were killed in a speedboat accident in Cornwall last year. When I signed up I wasn’t working quite as much but in the last six months my work on Breakfast has expanded, which put a big dent in my training. I did as much as I could, yet not quite as much as I hoped. By the end of the first day I was wishing I’d done more – 94 miles, 3000m of elevation up and down climbs like Tavistock Hill, and over Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor. It was just relentless! There were times when I had to get off and walk and I definitely got my gearing wrong. But for every climb there’s a great descent and that’s what I love about cycling: the speed. Maybe it goes back to that time on the track…
One thing the tour taught me is that I’m perhaps never going to be a long-distance cyclist. Maybe I can do one, big ride in a single day but the relentlessness of getting up day after day, in agony, after little sleep... At the moment I’m saying that sort of cycling and me are done. But at the end of it we were saying we’d never even get on the bike again but we’re already back riding. I’m sure if someone asks me to do another challenge I’d do it.
“For every climb there’s a great descent. That’s what I love about cycling: the speed”