Since I last reported back to everyone I have been working hard on my training with Cyclism, I’ve been competing in some races and I’ve been scheduled to compete in some more races later this summer. This experience has been so rewarding so far and I can’t thank the team at Cyclism and the generous donation from the Little Bleeders supporter enough. I’m learning so much about training, have seen some big improvements in my cycling and have been encouraged to participate in as many races as I can.
One of the races I’ve completed has been the TT Championships, a ten mile race, which took place in Invergordon, Scotland. We had to travel the 8 hour round trip from my home in Glasgow (crazy to travel so far for a ten mile race, I know, but well worth it!). When we arrived the day before the race, the weather was glorious and there was a heat wave of 15 degrees (well, a heatwave for Scotland anyway!) so we were really feeling positive about the race the next day. But this is Scotland we’re talking about and the next morning, on race day, the heavens opened and let loose rain, wind and hailstorms.
I didn’t let the weather spoil my spirit and at 8:05 am I was in the zone for my start. As I set off the adrenaline kicked in and rushed through me even though I was little nervous. For six miles of the race I faced blockhead winds and for the last four, I dodged cross winds but I took it in my stride, as did the other riders, and I managed a finish in second place only 40 seconds off of the first place rider!
Some of the other races I have competed in have been a lot farther than that one, at 50 miles and usually around Scotland. These have been good and have provided a great learning curve for me to work on my stamina and hill strength which I’m really focusing on now. I’ve also been out to Striking University to race a criterium race on their campus which was a great course.
While it’s been full on training for me the past few months I will have a holiday soon as my dad is going to be working in Abu Dhabi for a while and I will be going out to visit him in June. I’m going to be sure to get in some training time while I’m over there because in July I will be coming back in time for the British Track Championships which I’m absolutely buzzing about. I’m just hoping my legs get me through it!
So far everything has been good with my health and I’ve been careful and lucky to not have had any crashes or bumps considering I’ve been doing so much racing. My haemophilia levels are stable and I am keeping on track by seeing my doctor every couple of weeks.
Working with Little Bleeders has been such an amazing experience and I have done so many cool things like my training, meeting Alex and getting on the BBC! Last year in December I was featured on a show called Victoria Derbyshire and it aired a couple of weeks ago. I talked to them about my condition, my work with Little Bleeders and my cycling. They also showed me cycling on the Velodrome.
