My parents also took a trip to Morocco two weeks before I planned to be there and so when it came to kit choice, I harkened to them when they said it was freezing cold, especially in the mornings. I'd seen the videos of snow, heeded further advice from other riders out there (seemed like every ultra cyclist in the cohort went to Morocco in December/January😂) so when I say I came prepared, I was armed with the full winter works. Two pairs of long bibs, two merino base layers, three pairs of gloves, a full down jacket with hood. I did take one pair of shorts juuuust in case I might be able to get the legs out one day of the trip, but wasn't convinced.
I forgot how much I overheat in general, but this time exacerbated by my lack of riding the three months prior to the trip, I couldn't go more than 100m without taking yet another layer off. And so I ended up carrying the majority of what I had packed for 10 days without touching it (apart from that one night where the power went out and I wore every single layer to sleep), and wore my one pair of shorts every day. Usually on a trip, even if I have one pair that my 🍑 prefers I will still rotate just to change up the friction points, but at no point on this trip was I wishing that I had another pair with me (save for the odd moment in the shower thinking about being lazy and having one less day of hand washing!). My cheeks salute you @petrichorprojects.co 🧡
📸: @_caradixon
#morocco #moroccobikepacking #ultracycling #petrichorprojects #cyclingshorts
Struggling to find the words to adequately describe how brilliant this past week and a half has been. Back on my bike after 3 months off, in the Atlas Mountains no less. Sunburn potential one moment, freezing wind burn the next, 50km/h headblock causing us to battle harder than ever down descents but the promise of tomorrow's tailwind and another tagine keeping morale high. Astonished over and over again by the snowy peaks contrasting against the arid desert foreground. Similarly impressed (but not so surprised) by Cara's capacity to ride up every pass in the big ring because her gears had stopped working, without complaint. Powercuts, vulnerable conversations. New friendships forged, unforgettable memories made. A hard one to top.
#morocco #moroccobikepacking #atlasmountainscycling
I had a little cry to myself last night. Not so little actually - full, deep belly sobs - but I wasn't sad, in fact the opposite. I was overcome with this wave of realisation that the life I wanted - the life that I never thought I could achieve - is the life I am living right now.
There was a long, long time where I was deeply unhappy. I was sceptical of anyone who seemed to want to spend time with me, because why would they? I was a bad daughter, a bad sister, a bad friend. I was selfish. In all honesty I hated myself, and I thought other people should too.
I was desperate for love and approval but rejected any form it came in because I felt I didn't deserve it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but cycling was the catalyst for changing everything. It helped me believe in myself in a way I wasn't able to before; the self-destructive habits I held on to so tightly slowly being replaced by the good ones, the voice in my head switching it's demeaning tone to one of genuine awe and appreciation.
I thought that being injured the past couple of months would have gotten under my skin and caused some kind of regression as it has done in the past, but that wasn't the case. These months have been filled with a cornucopia of joy and friendship and laughter and dancing and a contentment that my younger self could only ever have dreamed of. That moment of realisation brought a tidal wave of gratitude to every version of myself that got me here - the little big cry a thank you for sticking with it.
Be kind to yourself - you are always listening. ❤️
Off the bike and the feet for a bit, but still managing to collect pretty skies. Weirdly enjoying having time to do things that don't typically get prioritised, not looking forward to how unfit I'm going to feel when I can get back to it.
#cyclist #runner #injuries
Thoroughly surprised myself at the weekend! 1st woman🥇 and 10th overall at the Forest of Dean Ultra Marathon on Saturday. 54 (+1)km, 1000+m elevation, 5 hours 31 mins.
In what can only be described as typical fashion, I somehow completely missed the entry for this race and it wasn't until two days before that I had a spot. I had genuinely convinced myself that I'd entered 6 months in advance, so much so that I'd arranged for my parents to come up for a weekend visit to coincide. So I was pretty gutted when a week before the start I was asked why my name wasn't on the start list... (a huge thanks to the organisers for letting me enter after some desperate pleading!).
I came into the morning not feeling wonderful, after a few days of elevated heart rate and poor sleep, but was looking forward to some fresh air regardless. I probably went off a bit fast, legs incredibly heavy from the get go and last weekend's audax. 20km in they were screaming and I thought it was only a matter of time before the wheels fell of but somehow they held it together. My navigation skills left a lot to be desired, as I ended up taking a few wrong turns that totalled up to over a km additional running, and some audible sighs from those who had foolishly followed me... for the fourth time😅.
Someone also told me I was dressed like the Mystery Machine😂 Happy accident.
Massive shout out and congratulations to Nicci who hadn't really done any running training, and estimated she'd take about 8 hours to finish the course but came in over an hour and a half quicker than anticipated!!
#ultrarunning #longdistancerunning #forestofdean #running #ultra
Saturday's audax was the perfect antidote to the lethargy of the past couple of months. With probably my busiest summer to date, there was an inevitable slump upon it's conclusion, one that delicately teetered on the edge between rest and apathy.
Before it fell too far in one direction, I signed up to the Wells, Mells & Broader @gwraudax , 205km and 3000m elevation (not sure I checked the elevation before I entered!). I bumped into some familiar faces and rode the majority of it in company, the boost in morale and giddiness at riding in a short sleeve jersey in October making up for my lack of legs.
Would recommend.
#longdistancecycling #ultracycling #audax #audaxuk #greatwesternrandonnees #womenscycling
The Land Between!🥈 515km in 32h 35m. 10th place overall and 2nd female finisher. Had a busy few weeks in the lead up - Sussex Mystery Tour, The Long Lost Day and then my oldest friend @_laurenkemp_ 's hen party (that included a HIIT session so hard I wasn't able to walk properly until the morning of the race) so came into it quite tired and unsure what to expect, other than the opportunity to explore somewhere I hadn't been since my first year of university 10 years ago.
I also came into it planning on riding through the night for the first time in a long time. It's been quite some time since those first few races, where I was full of excitement and eagerness to ride as hard as I could for as long as I could, and experience the violently cyclical nature of push too hard on no sleep, suffer, claw your way back to some semblance of normality, suddenly find elation to then find yourself in another pit; rinse and repeat. I've become more sensible in my approach over the years which has meant I've enjoyed myself more and more, but with this race I wanted to see if I could have the best of both worlds: ride for a really long time without stopping, and also have the best time ever. Turns out I absolutely could!
A lot of that came down to the company - I wasn't without it for the entire 32.5 hours out on the course. A special mention to George who I definitely shouldn't have tried to keep up with along the coast road with how loud my legs were screaming at me but meant I was entertained overnight by some rather amusing questions, and Matt who we stumbled upon hunched over a garden fence in the dark and kept morale high until the finish. Glad he didn't attack me at the line like I know he wanted to😉.
Not many photos because I was being ✨efficient✨ (other than when live dotwatching) but we were treated to some very lovely views and the longest list of animals I've seen during a race before. 2 punctures, 1 lost mars bar, 100 mosquito bites, 1 big grin.
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#tlb2025 #thelandbetween #alwinton #northumberland #ultracycling #bikepacking
Most of the time, I like to come into things with low expectations, and be surprised when something brilliant happens. But because I'd already been in Peru for three weeks before lining up for the Andean Raid, and had already witnessed how beautiful the country was, I held the highest of expectations. And they were still surpassed in every way.
The route had everything. Breathtaking high altitude passes, hot and sweaty jungle, kilometres upon kilometres of flowy gravel descent, smooth tarmac climbs and sections that you really had to concentrate on. And a hike-a-bike that might not have actually been part of the route but I somehow ended up on.
I was nervous that I wasn't going to enjoy it. Not because of the daunting amount of elevation that lay ahead, and not even because of the lack of riding I'd done in the months leading up to it, but because I hadn't felt the urge to do this kind of race in a while. I was excited, but worried that the indifference to riding my bike that I'd held since crashing last year would come back mid race and I would struggle to find a reason to continue.
Luckily, the complete opposite happened.
I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. The entire way round. The more I rode, the more I wanted to ride, and I even had to stop myself from continuing into the night too long because I was having too much fun. I'd set myself some rules that I think worked incredibly well for me - the two hours before sunrise and two hours after sunset were my warm up and cool down hours - all daylight was for riding and the remaining 6 hours of darkness were for sleeping. Two full hours of the day were mine to play with, where I could do anything I wanted (i.e. not ride) and not stress about being in a rush to finish. Usually these rules wouldn't sound very conducive to being fast, but they made the hours I chose to ride - and not to ride - an absolute joy and I'll definitely be carrying some of the ideas into any races I do in the future.
The encounters I had during the race were some of my favourites ever. Reaching the 4300m peak of Abra Malaga on the final night after three hours of driving rain in the pitch black - bar the beaming headlights (cont.)
I can't quite believe I've been in Peru for three weeks now. This trip was initially meant to be purely a cycling trip - we were going to ride from Lima to Cusco, or from Arequipa to Cusco, or somewhere else to Cusco (all lines lead to Cusco!) but a week before we were due to fly something just felt off and we completely switched up our plans. I'd spoken to a few friends about where we were headed and they said we couldn't come to Peru without a trip to Huaraz - they were completely right. Now, over 170km and 10,000m of elevation of walking in my legs, all at some pretty high altitudes, I feel more excited than ever to be on the start line of the Andean Raid tomorrow morning. 660km, 15,000m+.
Considering that my bike milage has been next to none since crashing last year, opting instead to just be on my feet for a while, I think the hiatus has done me good. I feel nervous - a feeling that's been missing for a while, one that I think is really important. It stops you from being complacent, and making decisions that you would once have thought twice about. I'm nervous as to how my body will react cycling at such altitudes - multiple passes on the route go over 4000m, the highest over 4500m. I'm nervous about the temperature variations we will see - likely between below freezing in the mountains and 35 degrees in the valley. As its winter here, and having just had the solstice, we won't have many daylight hours to ride - just over 11 in fact. And I'm actually quite a scaredy-cat when it comes to riding in the dark.🤫
I could be more prepared (let's face it, I could always be more prepared😂), but I think part of the beauty of this one is that I feel an eagerness to ride in a way I haven't in quite some time. This country has blown me away, and I can't wait to explore more of it.
As ever, tracking link in bio. Race starts at 4am Peruvian time (10am UK).
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#ultracycling #bikepacking #longdistancecycling #ultradistancecycling #selfsupported #andeanraid #peru #cusco
Basically the moral of the story is being prepared is a really good thing (apart from the whole packing thing that can always be done last minute) but it so easily could have been my bike rather than my bag that decided to run away and knowing that it was covered was a huge peace of mind to me.
I'm not even joking when I say this is only half of what's gone on already... It couldn't all fit in one reel😂. Peru, you're fantastic. And your dogs are so wonderful.
Code "India15" for 15% off bike insurance from @sundaysinsurance_uk
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#cycling #ultracycling #lostluggage #airport #bikepacking #sundaysinsurance #ad
