I started riding in 2013, in my early 50s. My eldest daughter was doing a charity coast-to-coast ride and I thought ‘what a fantastic thing to do’, so she put my name down.
I’d run very competitively between the ages of 12 and 40 (I was third in the nationals aged 14 at 800m and ran for England twice in cross-country), but stopped due to Achilles and bone-spur surgery.
My brother is a cyclist and for years he’d said I should get a bike but I said, "I haven’t got time to ride, it’s too time-consuming". I felt so unfit and saw the coast-to-coast as a chance to get fitter.
The following autumn, I joined my local club – Team Milton Keynes. I still thought 10 miles was a long way, but I started in the bottom group, gradually progressed and got hooked from there.
It started as club rides, but in August 2017 I did a charity time trial for the first time on my road bike. I soon started competing in the Monday night club time trials and one of the guys lent me his time trial bike.
Some of the older guys were riding with what is now the British Masters cyclists, and said I should come down to the crit racing at Milton Keynes Bowl.
It sounded a bit scary, and when I saw how fast they were going I thought I’d never be able to do it.
At first, I could only keep up with them until they went out of the gate, but it was great training, competitive and very sociable.
It also didn’t matter if you got dropped because you could get picked up on the next lap.
This continued for a few years before I thought I ought to do some more structured training. At the end of 2022, I contacted a coach and started what I call ‘proper training’.
It’s quite structured – I ride about eight or nine hours a week, which is broken down by long rides at the weekend, a good ride mid-week, and then lots of sessions such as VO2 Max intervals on the turbo.
I’ve noticed a big difference: I’m quite a lot stronger.
I’m not always very motivated to do it myself. Out on group rides, I can beat myself up and try to stay up with the chaps, but if I go out for a ride on my own, I don’t work so hard. If somebody tells me to do it, though, then I will.
I really enjoy it and now I work part-time, I’ve got time to actually do some training, which makes a difference as well. I’m still struggling to fit in strength and conditioning – if I didn’t work at all, I’d be fine!
In terms of nutrition, I always have a protein recovery shake, which helps.
But otherwise, I just try to have a good diet. In an ideal world, I could do with losing some weight – I’d be like a racing snake – but I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.
It’s important not to get too obsessed with the details; we’re not pros and it’s for fun.
One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve got older is that you need much more recovery. It’s frustrating because you think you should be able to do it, day in, day out, but you can’t.
On recovery days, I’ll have a day off the bike and take the dogs for a walk to get the soreness out of my legs.
Also, sitting with your legs up on the sofa and having a cup of tea is a good tip.
When I started with a coach, my aim was to qualify for the Gran Fondo World Championships in Scotland in the 65-69 age category. I qualified at the Tour of Cambridgeshire, and the buzz in Scotland was amazing.
I went with no expectations, and the road race was manic. I was up against the 1996 Olympic and multi-time world road champion, Jeannie Longo, and I beat her on the line.
I was very lucky – tactically she was in the wrong place. She had her revenge in the time trial and wiped the floor with me, but she is an ex-pro.
I also had the most phenomenal time-trialling season, becoming national champion at 10, 15 and 25 miles, and I set two national records.
I got to the end of the season and I thought maybe I should retire because I’m never going to top that.
As reigning world champion, I don’t have to qualify for the road race in 2024, so will be heading to Denmark in August.
I’m also carrying on with the British Masters – the veteran time trialling is really good. Riding is a great social, but sometimes it’s nice to have something to focus on.
If you don’t have an upcoming race, you might think “I won’t go out today” and then you drift out of a routine, whereas if you have an event, it gives you more structure.
Plus, if I think I’m old, I go along to these things and there are riders in their 80s and 90s doing it – they’re incredible.
