100km ride
DEBBIE GUNSON, 57, FOREST OF DEAN
I started road cycling for fun, but I soon wanted to challenge myself. I’d come from a sporty background, with a lot of hockey, running and cricket. But I hadn’t been riding long, maybe four months, when I decided to try for a 100km ‘century’. If you set yourself a challenge, it keeps you motivated. I wanted to see if I could do it. And I wanted to do it solo, not in a sportive, because I wanted to do it at my own pace. So I set a date for it and got focused.
I got a bike fit, with the right saddle and set-up. I then worked with a coach and we nudged up the distance and intensity very slowly over the weeks. You soon learn a lot about yourself. I realised that I didn’t like having too full a belly before a ride, so I had porridge for slow-release energy and boiled eggs for protein too.
The big challenge on the day was the weather. I live in the UK but I did this ride back in New Zealand. It was freezing cold, with rain and snow. But I knew if I didn’t do it, I would keep putting it off. So I got rugged up with clothes and said: “It’s now or never!”.
I had already learned that cycling is a mental battle. In training, there were days when I didn’t want to go out, but I would do ‘turnaround rides,’ so I would ride to a certain marker and then home, so you can’t cut the ride short. And during my 100km challenge, I had mental battles, between saying, “I am cold and I’ve had enough!” and saying, “I’ve got enough food and I can do it!” I had a little talk to myself and said: “You wanted this challenge! So get on the bike and get home!” If you set yourself a challenge, you’ve just got to stay motivated.
When I made it home, I was really proud of myself. It took four hours and 40 minutes. Even though I thought I had lost my fingers and toes in the cold, the challenge gave me the confidence to try other things. I have now done group riding, track riding and gravel riding and I am looking into sportives. That morning was a ‘do or die’ moment for me – and I’m so glad I did it.
“If you set yourself a challenge, it keeps you motivated. I wanted to see if I could do it, but do it solo, not in a sportive, and do it at my own pace.”