Today I went to Milton Keynes to ride with the UCI road team, Cams Tifosi.
When we arrived, we met Keith the photographer who works with my sponsors Stonham Barns and we went to the area where the team were getting ready.
A few minutes later, I talked to Clover Murray, who came from Colchester and rode for Braintree velo (who my dad used to ride with, and they both knew Chris Broadway). She was very kind and supportive.
There were two choices of course, 20 miles or 40 miles and I chose the 40 miles one.
We had to ride in groups of six because of coronavirus and our group was with Megan Barker (Professional cyclist who won a gold medal at the European games). It was a very nice course and lovely weather. I used my cyclo-cross bike which is a bit heavier than my road bike. The course was quite hilly but also had lots of long downhills.
We rolled out from the café but our group split up quite quickly so Megan and I rode together almost all of the way. I managed to ask a lot of questions and I now know a bit more about how professional riders work.
Everybody was very friendly. The photographer and my dad came past quite a lot and got hundreds of pictures of Megan and I. Megan said “it’s like were celebrities.” It was very windy which affected our speed a bit but we still got round with a 16 mph average.
When we got back to the café me and my dad got a drink and something to eat. I got the biggest bit of Victoria sponge cake in the world! The wasps were attacking us and they wanted my dad’s Danish whirl. After that the team had a quick Q&A session, but we had to leave a bit early, so we could only see half of it.It was a wonderful experience and a very inspiring ride and I’m glad I got this opportunity.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Allan, Keith Suffling (amazing), Simon and Cams Tifosi but especially Megan Barker for looking after me around the course today.
Some great photos from Keith Stuffling of Megan and I during the ride.
Massive thank you to Megan for buddying me around the 40 miles, Clover for being so kind before the ride, Keith for helping to organise the ride and taking all of the photos and of course, Alan Forward of Stonham Barns Park for his support, as ever.
