Strapping your bike with the bare essentials for a mini-adventure and a night under the stars is a concept that is simply second nature to some. But for plenty of others it is something totally new, that scares and excites in equal measure. What kit do you need ? How will it all fit on…
RACE AROUND THE NETHERLANDS: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES !
After scratching from the Race Around The Netherlands in 2019, it felt oh so good to come back this year and finish what I started. Read on if you want to find out more about this flat but far from easy race, why it was so different for me this year and how I approached…
Tough Girl Podcast
Ever since finding the Tough Girl Podcast when I had my DVT in 2016, this has been one of my favourite podcasts for motivation and inspiration. A real honour and pleasure to feature on it myself this week. This interview was recorded at a time when I couldn’t talk about my new business venture yet….
48H Pure Peak Grit: from hill-hater to hill-lover
When Alaina invited me to join the inaugural 48 Hour Pure Peak Grit event, I initially declined. I am Dutch. I am a flatlander. I am scared of painful hills and have done my best to avoid them. I’d choose a headwind any day over a climb, taking my chances battling an invisible enemy rather…
Try new things: hilly, bloody hilly and mountain madness
The last few years July has been all about the National 24 hour time trial championships. No holidays could be booked; no other events could even be contemplated. It is a great event, one I am proud to have won once (and even came third overall), and one I still warmly support, but I am…
BikingMan Oman: A new start!
As I swing left to rejoin a properly tarmacked road, I realise that it is here that I have just won my own race, regardless of what will happen next. This is the defining moment of BikingMan Oman for me. The moment where I overcame my fear of gravel and freed myself of the excuses. I have bloody well done it. I yell into dark, into the wind, to nobody else than myself…
Oman Oh (wo)man!
2019 is the year of new challenges, of trying new things, of seeing how I get on in unsupported ultra-cycling races, and of combining my cycling with seeing my family who are scattered all over the globe. First up is seeing my sister in Dubai and lining up for BikingMan Oman. I will do a…
Flipping Flapmash
It is not uncommon for cyclists to openly refer to saddle sores. But usually that is where the descriptions end. An understanding nod, a painful grimace, followed by silence as if to say “please spare me the gory details”. After years of suffering several #flapmash episodes, I feel there is value in sharing some details…
And in the End …
How do I do justice to a project that took up nearly three years ? How do I reflect on lessons learnt from it? And how do I let go, heal and move on? If you want to find out more about why my End to End record breaking dream ended the way it did,…
The women of the End to End
The ‘End to End’ is a goal for many cyclists in the UK. Most people wisely ride from Land’s End to John o’Groats in 1 or 2 weeks, taking their time to enjoy the great scenery along the way. But the UK also has a rich history of people doing the End to End (which…
4 weeks until LEJOG …
Thank you TrainingPeaks for showing me every day how much closer my second opportunity at breaking the Land’s End to John o’Groats record is getting! With just over 4 weeks to go until the first possible start date in early July, it is time for a brief update on how the preparations are going.
Duracell Bunny on a Bike 