HOW CYCLING CHANGED MY LIFE...
Carole cycled the length of Britain in search of stress relief
Now: a confident club cyclist and mentor with several long tours in the bag. Then: off work with stress and struggling for fitness.
HOW WAS LIFE BEFORE THE BIKE?
I first came to cycling while off work with stress for about six months. I was looking around for a remedy and didn’t want to start taking tablets, so my doctor recommended getting some exercise.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CYCLING ACHIEVEMENTS?
The first ride that I did was 10 miles and I remember ringing my mum after I came home to tell her about it. She said, like mothers do, it was “too far for a woman of my age.” I’ve since gone on to cycle the length of the UK from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and The North Sea Cycle Route, taking in six countries in six weeks. It was all solo and unsupported to celebrate my 60th birthday!
WHAT GOT YOU STARTED?
I bought my first bike after my Great Aunty Madge, who was 105-yearsold, died and left me some money. I’d picked up a leaflet about the Stockton Active Travel Hub with a list of rides on. I did one ride and I ticked it off, then I did another one and that’s how it started.
HOW HAS CYCLING CHANGED YOUR LIFE?
I come home from a ride feeling energised. I don’t need antidepressants to give my mood a natural lift. By going beyond my comfort zone, being in charge of planning routes, finding a place to sleep each night and talking to people I encountered on my journey, I’ve improved my self-confidence and discovered a world full of lovely people too.
TOP TIPS
Do a bike maintenance course. In a café in Norwich a couple of young lads asked other male cyclists if they could repair a broken chain. No-one knew how except me – “not all Nanas just knit,” I told them as I fixed it.