Andy Keegan

Ibuilt this training room in the garden during the first lockdown in 2020, when I couldn’t go to the gym anymore. It had to be less than 30m² so as not to need planning permission. We put down a concrete base and erected the timber frame, boarded out and cladded with Japanese-style charred wood. The design was all about light: there are floor-to-ceiling windows along the full length, which open out onto the garden. Inside, there are 24 spotlights and the internet is hard-wired in, to avoid connection drop-outs.

I have a partner and two young kids, so the room needed to be a functional space for everyone, not just my personal gym. There’s even enough floor space for kids’ birthday parties! During the daytime, it’s also my workplace – I’m a sports massage therapist.

As for my own sporting life, I’m literally average at everything, an all-rounder. As well as cycling, I do swimming, triathlon and strength training. I’m doing Boston and London marathons this year too. I rode the Etape in 2019, which was 83 miles with 4,563m of climbing including an ascent of Val Thorens. I had to take it steadily, as it was so hot and so hard that some people were abandoning their bikes!

I’ve been cycling since 2014 and enjoy doing 40-60-mile weekend rides with mates around the New Forest. I no longer do organised cycling events, as I don’t like the pressure. Zwift is brilliant – I use my Wattbike all the time, three or four times a week. I’m a C-cat rider and love the social and competitive elements.