From nothing to novice to sportives to six-dayers in two years. And that's just the start.
+ 43 watts from '16 to '18.
3.63w/kg: 10th highest female score at Njinga.
In July 2017 in 6h17m, only two years after getting first-ever road bike
Completed six day stage race in April 2018.
Before Njinga: my first road bike and first 50 miles
A couple of years ago, rather randomly and extremely cluelessly, I bought a road bike and started tentatively on my current cycling journey. I was inspired by a colleague talking about cycling to work in the summer and I wanted to find something other than the gym to improve my fitness.
Six months later, I rode my first 50 miles, still in trainers and without any of my own nutrition. My friend kindly supplied the snacks and it all turned out better than I expected, so much so that I was talked into taking up a charity place for Ride London 100. I continued to workout at the gym, supplemented by cycling to work every so often and a few weekend rides. But I didn't really think too hard about how I was actually going to get around 100 miles and up the Surrey Hills.
Enter Njinga: Preparing for Ride London 100 with an eight-week programme
The turning point came when another friend suggested I attend one of Togo's talks about preparing for the event. It was actually aimed at intermediate to advanced riders so I found all the talk of gold standard times, training techniques, data, and equipment extremely intimidating! My initial impression was that Njinga was for advanced riders only, but when I saw Togo was doing another talk for beginners, I tried again.
Mary on an Njinga Training Camp in Wales.
Mary with fellow Njinga riders.
Mary on an Njinga Training camp to Mallorca.
Mary during a Njinga training camp in Wales.
Mary during a 6 day stage race in Sardinia.
Mary during a 6 day stage race in Sardinia.
I'm sure the shiny new bike has helped but the main credit to massive pedal strokes forward, particularly outdoors, is due to the Njinga team.
Ride London 2.0 & the shining support of the Njinga community
I recently completed Ride London again – this time the full 100! – but due to sustaining three punctures, my times were not what I'd hoped for. But when I reported back to the Njinga team and my fellow riders, they helped me see the positives in what had happened by highlighting my determination to keep going in the face of adversity.
That's the thing about Njinga: when things go wrong – and they do, from ride incidents to blowing up during an FTP test, or just generally a bad day! –
The kindness and encouragement from the team is so fantastic that I've never lost my confidence.
Mary at the end of completing a 6 day stage race in Sardinia.
Mary during her cycling trip in Sardinia.
Thanks to Njinga: I've never been fitter
In summary, thanks to these guys, I've never been fitter. Thanks in particular to Josh for scraping me up and putting me back together again after some tough FTP tests.
I've learned so much about cycling and myself, and I've found something I love doing as part of a community.
I know they'll be riding with me as I continue my cycling journey and achieve new goals.
Mary on a cycling tour in Marrakech.
Mary during the 100 mile Ride London sportive.