Last week I shared my recipe for goals, you might remember the ingredients had to include a sprinkle of fear, and a good dollop of excitement – that’s just what last year’s challenge included. It took me out of my comfort zone doing distances I’d never cycled before, in a different country, and with no knowledge of the route! So there was enough fear to bring it to the boil…but of course it had to include enough excitement -the seasoning- to make it an appetising meal! And that came in two major ingredients, firstly the place. I chose Italy – and The Dolomites specifically. In 2018 I went to Geneva to speak at the United Nations about sport, on the flight home I looked below and saw breathtaking snow capped mountains as far as I could see, from that moment on, I knew I needed to go. So the ride would begin in the Dolomites, and finish in Lake Garda.
But before saying Bon Appetit, a meal is best when enjoyed in good company. I played football in America for 5 years in the mid 2000s, and I’ve stayed in touch with many of my old team mates, in December 2022 I was chatting to a former team mate, Sabrina, who is also an avid cyclist and I mentioned that I was thinking of this bike ride in Italy, to my surprise, she said she’d like to join me, and so out came the A3 pad, colourful pens (for colour coded plans of course!) and the planning was underway.
By early 2023 it was all booked and the next few months were all about trying out different cycling gear so I’d have the most comfortable clothing for the ride, and obviously training to make sure I was physically ready. Having a consistent training routine, a goal to focus on, and eating healthily meant I had a spring back in my step. Before I knew it, July had arrived and the night before setting off I was packing my back pack to the brim with an array of padded shorts, cycling accessories and the all important anti friction cream!
Meeting up with Sabrina at Venice airport was brilliant, we last saw one another in 2018 but no matter the time in between, with old team mates it’s always like you’ve never been apart. We stayed overnight in Venice, it was busy, sweltering hot, and one night was plenty! We picked up our rental car and headed off to the great outdoors. One of my stand out memories was the moment we drove across a gigantic bridge suspended over a huge valley, and as we turned we caught a glimpse for the first time of the beautiful, majestic, mighty Dolomites, we couldn’t wait to be immersed in the belly of the mountains.
Before starting the bike ride we hiked in the Dolomites, everywhere we looked we were in awe of the beauty around us, it didn’t feel real what was in front of our eyes, clear blue lakes seemed to sparkle on the surface, and the sheer magnitude of the peaks made us feel very small, but in a way that was somehow comforting. I kept thinking that
I couldn’t believe how fortunate I was to be experiencing something so incredible.
Then it was time to conquer the ride! Over the 5 days we had a few challenges, including navigation head aches, the intense heat wave which swept across Europe and sapped our energy day after day (and left us with very silly looking tan lines!) and a storm on one of the days where we found ourselves cycling up a big hill just as the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard bellowed in our eardrums, and lightning so bright it seemed to light up the whole sky, resulting in us and several other cyclists taking shelter under a tiny bridge for about 20 minutes! But what an experience! We passed through some stunning little villages, through mountain passes with peaks which towered above us, swam in the lakes, met some lovely people who were all on journeys of their own for different reasons, and sharing the experience with an old pal was brilliant. The simplicity of the process of waking up, eating a good breakfast, cycling lots of miles, then recovering with a swim in a lake and a good meal was a joy – far away from the regular stresses of everyday life.
The last day of the ride was July 13th, I planned it this way as it marked exactly 5 years since I won the Commonwealth title in Zimbabwe. Each year previously I’d spent the day feeling a sense of sadness and loss that my boxing career was over, and I was determined that 5 years would be marked by doing something positive, something that signified that I was now moving onto my next chapter with new goals, taking on new challenges. On the final day I did a huge hill climb that I wasn’t even sure I could manage, but I did it, and I had a photo at the top courtesy of two German women who celebrated as they reached the summit. It was a special moment as I stood taking in the stunning view of Lake Garda, reflecting on the miles we’d covered and most of all it was the first time I felt like myself again since injury had forced my retirement. I felt a rush of emotion, overwhelming gratitude, pride that I’d made a big step forward, and that familiar feeling that only a challenge can give me, which I can only describe as the feeling of being alive. Nothing will ever match the feeling of making that walk to the ring, the surge of adrenaline through every vein, the heightened senses and the rush of blood – but all of us at some point will experience the loss of something or someone which leaves a void, but every now and then there are still experiences which make us feel full, and present, and joyful.