DAVID SMITH MBE

our elderly community is a very special moment.

As a nation and a world, it’s natural that we might be feeling a bit low currently. This is a natural feeling and is linked to a hormone known as oxytocin, a chemical often referred to as the love hormone.

When we experience high levels of oxytocin, we generally feel better and are healthier. But as this hormone comes from connecting with others, we might currently all be lacking some oxytocin – hence why we might be feeling a bit low some days.

How can we get more oxytocin when we can’t go about our normal life?

Just as our wartime compatriots connected in any way they knew how, we are lucky to live in a world where we can connect through technology.

There is no better example of this than what Mark Beaumont and Jenny Craig, who both hold world records for cycling around the world, put together from their homes with my old team-mates Steve Bate and Mel Nicolas.

It is called World In 1 Day, and it’s a sporting community that has been built on the back of lockdown. After Steve told me about it and that he was getting up at 4am to cycle

240 miles on his turbo, I was very intrigued to find out more.

When I say intrigued, let me expand on that... I wasn’t physically intrigued to jump on a turbo and ride 240 miles, but I was keen to be part of the community.

The idea is to experience a day in the life of Mark’s worldrecord cycle of doing 240 miles in one day.

However, this challenge has a slight twist. Unlike Mark’s record-smashing effort, when he did it every day for 79 days on his own, this time he built a virtual peloton via Zoom where around another 100 riders and rowers joined to log their miles on their indoor trainers, all raising money for NHS charities.

As I joined the virtual peloton, the first thing I noticed was not just people cycling or rowing, but a group of people who had come together, with lots of conversation and people sharing stories.

A great example of creating a community to help others. It is certainly helping me. I joined the virtual peloton from the comfort of my sofa to chat with the team and share experiences to help them get through the day, and this week I ended up on for over three hours. The sense of community was incredible and it helped me get through a low day.