Cushions

When my Parents were incredibly busy designing and making their own house, my Mum would spend hours making cushions. There were decisions to be made and walls to be built in this enormous house, but Mum was still to be found making perfect, matching cushions for an unfinished- and if Im truly honest barely started house.

I never really understood the logic in this, although my parents have always been delightfully eccentric (who else would contemplate building themselves a 5 bedroom house to retire into?) But making cushions for a plot of land?

I now understand. There were so many big decisions to be made that Mum held onto something that she could do. The cushions were simple to start and finish and although it drove us all totally bonkers, gave her a sense of accomplishment and control.

I am now sitting at home with enough 'to do' lists to make a fat book I really dont know where to start.  I had no idea when I decided to go to the world championships that there would be so much to organise. Bike on plane, ride a bike, fly home - job done. Oh how I underestimated it!

 I have been planning this trip to Australia since May and all I have really achieved is the successful making of more lists. There in lies the problem. The lists are so long that I dont know where to start- so I make a new list. List making is my new hobby. List making puts off the task of actually doing anything on the list. But as long as I am making lists I can convince myself I am actually doing something! I am making metaphorical cushions! ( I am turning into my Mother?!)

I really need to do something on these lists otherwise I am never going to get to Australia with the right stuff to race. And worse than that, the kids and the kind relatives who are coming to look after them when I am gone are will all be clueless.

  I am going to start at number 1. and work my way down. Anything with an asterisk is urgent, anything with a ring around it, a priority and anything underlined has to be done quickly.

I am half tempted to make a new list to prioritise the priorities- but with only days before I fly its all urgent! I force myself away from the "cushions" and onto the important stuff.

Packing up bikes

 Like writing my blog??.....;-)

The COTIC KP24

Today I rode a bike that made me grin so much that at the end of the ride my face hurt more than my legs! 


The bike is A COTIC KP24, and its rightful owner is Kate Potter. It was by chance that I am able to borrow it for the world solo 24 hour champs. 


 I first met Kate Potter at Mayhem where she was racing solo and I happened to catch a few word with her after she won. 

Despite being incredably busy, she remembered our conversation and emailed me loads of information about solo racing. My race plan was born!

At every race after that she would always shout encouragement at me as she zoomed past, and when I quallified for the world 24 hour champs to be held in Australia I emailed her again.
Being Australian I figured she would be able to give me some tips. Bingo! She had raced at Mt Stromlo! I heaved a huge sigh of relief as I took in all her advice again- I was no longer leaping head first into the dark. 

One of her tips was to go and practice riding rocks, absent in Surrey! And what better place to practice rocks than at AQR (A Quick Release, ) Kate and Ian Potters Guiding company in the pyrenees.
To my amazement Kate lent me her bike for the week- the prototype KP24,  I instantly fell in love with it. I had heard about this bike but never imagined I would ever get to ride it!

The KP 24 built my confidance on rocks and drops. (As did Ians coaching) My normal bike is quite twitchy and I usually choose to mince around things. (Not a technique the Potters seem to understand!) The KP24 is an incredably honest, trustworthy bike. You point it at something and it simply keeps rolling- no fuss, it just worked.
To my double amazement The Potters said I could borrow the KP24 to take to Canberra to the world 24 solo championships. Yippee!

I have just come back from a 3 hour blast across my local trails on the Cotic KP24. I am buzzing! how much fun can you have on a bike even when you are grown up and responsible?

The KP24 is a one of a kind bike. It was designed by Cy at Cotic for Kate potter to be the perfect 24 hour race bike. It has the same suspension as the hemlock but shares the geometory with the soul. Cy designed it to be as light as possible so that Kate could use it for endurance races. The only thing it shares with the hemlock it the seat tube and the pivots. everything else being lighter and smaller- the weight of frame with mad dt carbon shock is a mere 5lbs. Not bad for a non carbon full-suss bike! 

I knew it could handle the rugged terrain out in the pyrenees but was shocked how it 'owned' my local twisty forrest singletrack! It flew over the roots, cornered like it was on a rail, (Thanks also to Maxxis for the crossmark tires) and was fast up the hills to boot.

I am now sitting in a coffee shop, taking advantage of the time the KP24 saved me on my normal loop by being able to sit down to eat cheeky tea and cake! Winner:-)

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

When I started mountain biking 6 years ago aged 37 I had no idea that I would end up representing England at the world solo 24 hour championships. The reason for me learning to ride a mountain bike was not that I wanted to compete, I just wanted to get a bit fitter.  Lots of people now say to me that they wish they could get fit, Well they can! It often surprises them to find out that I have not always been an athlete. Far from it!

As a child we were forced into riding our bikes every Sunday with the family. The only reason I went along with this was the promised stop at the sweetshop on the way home.  As a student I begrudgingly rode my bike because I was too poor to afford the bus. My parents for my 21^st bought me a road bike, which I thought was a strange present because all my friends were given jewelry, cars and big parties.

In my mid twenties I fractured my spine. This resulted in pain and a weak right leg. Surgery sorted out the pain but I was left with muscle weakness and a limp and although I could walk a short distance I would soon start to struggle.  Luckily, being a Physio, I understood the rehab process and devised my own strengthening program. Gradually the limp went and I maintained a basic level of fitness by walking and occasional cycling.

Life became busy with having kids and then setting up my own business. I suddenly realised that I was preaching fitness and health to my patients but really had no fitness or health myself.  ‘Im not a good example’ I decided. Not one to remain idle once I have decided something, I remembered my old bike in the garage.  I dusted it off, pumped up the tyres and went for a ride, I’m not sure what creaked more- me, or the bike. I managed less than half an hour and had to come home, red faced and exhausted! I was utterly ashamed of myself. I vowed to get fitter- to be role model to my kids and my patients

Not being able to fix the creaking bike I bought a new one, I wanted to ride in the countryside so bought a mountain bike. I am lucky enough to live near some stunning countryside and fell in love with riding my bike through the woods. Concentrating on where you are riding, trying not to fall off while negotiating tree roots and rocks certainly focuses the mind. This I found to be ideal therapy to my busy mind, always returning from my rides refreshed in mind albeit weary in body!

I spent the first year of riding covered in bruises and mud from falling off, but I just loved the challenge. That year, I went to watch a 24 hour mountain bike race. It was incredible! 2000 riders racing around a 10 km course in relay teams or solos for 24 hours. The energy and the buzz from the riders was infectious. Instantly, I knew I wanted to race a 24 hour race- not as a team, no! I wanted to ride for 24 hours solo. This was a massive leap up from me riding for an hour around my local woods twice a week. If I had stopped to think about it I would have seen how mad this idea was. At that time I could ride for an hour max, I had neurological weakness following on from my back injury, I had no real skills on a bike and I was contemplating racing for 24 in a national level race!!!??

My ethos for my patients is ‘perform to your potential’ and I strive to help them reach that goal.  I knew I had not reached my potential, I wasn’t sure how, but I was determined to see how far I could go!

Over the next 2 years I practiced and practiced. I got some skills lessons, asked lots of questions and I fitted in riding my bike as much as I could. I managed to squeeze in rides between patients, the kids activities and often at night after they had gone to bed. I worked diligently on my core stability, learnt Pilates and devised a specific cycling rehabilitation program that eradicated my muscle imbalance to make me stronger on the bike.  My strength, endurance and skills gradually increased.

By 2007 after many, miles, lots of determination, hours of core strengthening work and a huge dollop of naivity I felt ready to enter some national level endurance races.

Team 24 hour Endurance racing is extreme. Solo 24 hour endurance racing is insane! The object is to keep riding your bike on an off road, technical circuit (typically 10 miles long) from mid-day on Saturday to mid-day on Sunday. You eat and drink as you are riding and stop only for comfort breaks. The person who rides the most miles in the 24 hours wins.

 Racing solo is not so much a race against the clock but a battle with in.  You have to know yourself and your limitations, you have to leave your ego at home, being prepared that you will be overtaken a million times by the team sprinters on the same course. You have to know that your pace is the pace that will keep you going for 24 hours. You have to know that whatever you are going through, it will pass. The race goes in waves and you have to put your mind in the place that a ‘high will follow a trough’ you just have to pull yourself along enough for that to happen. Pain gives way to numbness and back to pain again. Tiredness ebbs and flows. A bad lap where you are riding like a turkey can be followed by a lap where you are riding like a trail god! Filling your body with enough food to fuel you makes your insides feel peculiar - you have to understand your body incredibly well to manage it surviving for 24 hours.  You have to have the will to succeed and the stubourness to keep going.

My background as a Mum and A Physio is perfect training for endurance mountain biking. There were many days when the kids were young that I was so tired from lack of sleep that I could barely stand or string a sentence together. But then the baby needs something so you learn that there is always something in reserve; that you can dig deeper and keep going with a smile on your face. The same as being a physio, seeing patients one after the other you do not have the luxury of a coffee break or a daydream break whenever you feel so inclined. You have to remain focused, cheerful and in the moment 100% of the time. This crosses over to riding my bike because if I loose focus, I risk falling off. If I stop smiling, a negative thought can make me want to give up!

My knowledge of how my body works has also been invaluable. I am a Pilates instructor and have developed the ability to feel and change how my muscles are working, allowing me to keep pedaling for hours and hours. 

Since 2008 I have been placed in every national level endurance race I have taken part in. 

2008

Transwales 2008 7 day stage race 2nd overall ladies vet (winner of night special stage 2nd/3rd in all other special stages), 

2009

24/12 in Plymouth - 24 hour mixed pair: 2nd

Torq torq in Hampshire - 12hour solo: 3^rd

‘Dusk til Dawn’ in Thetford, - 12hour solo enduro race (through the night): 3^rd 

2010

Mucoff 8, -8 hour enduro: 1^st  Ladies Vets

Gorrick 100 - 50 mile enduro : 1^st Ladies

Exposure 24 - Natiional 24 hour solo championships: 2^nd Ladies Vets 

24/12 in Plymouth – 24 hour mixed pair: 1^st (7 hour lead on second place.)

In May 2010 I entered the first ever UK National 24 hour solo championships.

The race was the hardest yet; massive hills, long laps with blistering 30’ heat through the day making hydration difficult.

I managed to ride 132 miles through the mountains of Scotland clocking up over 6000 meters of climbing (the equivalent to cycling ¾ up Everest and down again from sea level)

This feat qualified me to represent the UK at the world solo 24 hour championships to be held in Australia this October.  I will be cycling against the worlds best and I cant help but feel amazed, proud and a little bit- ok a lot nervous!  

If I had time to stop and think about it I would realise what a massive challenge I have undertaken. But I have not stopped. Stopping and thinking risks you putting up false ”I might fail” barriers to hamper your progress. Im a “yes” kind of person and I have never even considered that I might be too old, too fat, too unfit, too inexperienced….It’s amazing what you can achieve if you ignore the negatives.

I have to stop, only to say thank you to all those who have made it possible so far. My parents for not getting me a car for my 21^st! Olly Townsend from Cloud9trails who taught me how to ride a mountain bike, Kate Potter, Elite Mountain bike racer and skills coach who inspired me to race. Simon Usher my partner and pit manager who willingly helps sort out the domestic stuff and stays awake all night to look after me while I race, Petra Cycles in Oxted, who look after my bike and make sure it works, The boys from Oxted MTB who ride every sunday morning, making me ride faster than I really want to, Natterbox, and Candela Capital who have sponsored me to go to Australia, AQR holidays and Cotic who have lent me a KP24- a protype 24 hour race bike to take to Australia,  Westminster Physiotherapy and Pilates Centre where I work, for supporting me with time away from the office to train and treatment from the very talented Sudhir Daya to keep my muscles balanced, CC Tweaked for re building my wheels (what an amazing job they did!), for Goodness shakes for their recovery drinks, Maxxis tires for donating enough cross marks to keep us riding for ever! Lastly to my kids for giving me ability do anything despite being exhausted!

My initial goal of ‘perform to your potential’ has allowed me to get to a place I never even dreamed of.  If I had said I would like to run a marathon, I might have stopped there because it was a dead end goal- my open-ended goal called potential has allowed me, via inertia to continue achieving. 

My next goal? To inspire more ‘ordinary’ people to reach their potential wherever it might be, to finish the world championships with a smile on my face! Then, who knows?

Low calorie energy drink

I always keep my eyes open for new products to fuel my cycling. This one arrived as a sample in with a packet of knee warmers. I cant help wondering what the point of this product is. The words oxymoron float into my head.
 I am often seen in the supermarket scanning the ingredients and calorific content of food. It must be very strange to all those who are on a constant diet and place of denial to hear me put back an energy bar saying " no, not enough calories in that" But why are they in denial? why are they trying to make their bodies into a certain shape?
Body image is something I come across every day in my work. I have a strange job as a physio in that i see people in their underwear every day. I get to see everyone- even those who would never , ever expose their bodies in public. I get to see the real human race, not the airbrush variety and I am always amazed by the huge variation in body size, shape, and function.
 The glossy magazines dictate our view of normal, we think the lady with cellulite and soft curves is the minority. Its just not so! They are with out doubt the norm. We are just fed 'perfection' through the eyes of the media.
We are conditioned into believing that its the way we look which is important. The way we look will give us happiness and confidence. We are encouraged to exercise and diet because it will make us look good. Is it really looking good which makes you feel great? What is looking good? Who has to think you look good to make you feel good? Should we really be relying on others perception of our shape to make us happy?
How about turning that philosophy on its head?
Ive got the body I was born with, genetics dictate that I have my Mums hips and muscly thighs and my Dads broad shoulders. You might think that with big hips and shoulders that there would be an illusion of a curvy waist- not so,  I have been blessed with my Grans column torso too. I am really happy with the way my body is, not because I think it looks like the 'adobe people' in the mags but because it works really really well. I can run , walk and ride my bike for miles and miles and miles.

Exercise for me is not about making my body look great, its about making it feel great. How it looks is transient and subjective. How it works is tangeable and real. No one can dispute that I am fit and able to cycle 24 hours. My thighs which used to upset me as a teenager are now loved because I know they are strong and essential for endurance racing. How strange that they have not changed, just my perception of them has.

So when I get a free sample of low calorie energy drink I cant help but feel we are being given the wrong message. Exercise should be about making your body stronger, your heart fitter. A byproduct of that is leanness, but if you dont have the energy to exercise none of the above benefits can be achieved.

Peoples shape is individual to them and their genetic heritage, the ideal shape changes in different decades, dictated by fashion and the media.  I need fuel to make me work, water to keep me hydrated and the motivation that the machine I am working is the best it can possibly be. Ok I am lucky because I am surrounded by people who have a similar philosophy as me. That a beautiful body is one that works well not one that is half starved, on a constant quest to make it a different shape.
 Stop thinking about your shape and concentrate on how efficient, healthy and strong you are. Measure your improvement in miles gained - not in inches lost.