{"id":171832,"date":"2018-12-21T11:21:38","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T11:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=171832"},"modified":"2018-12-21T11:21:38","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T11:21:38","slug":"turning-your-dreams-into-reality-lessons-from-women-who-are-making-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/12\/21\/turning-your-dreams-into-reality-lessons-from-women-who-are-making-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning your dreams into reality: Lessons from Women Who Are Making It Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Figuring out how to take your cycling to the next level is a challenge for any rider but it can be especially frustrating for women. Less funding, fewer events, and an overall smaller community make it harder to find the support and motivation to take the next step. Yet, as any cyclist knows, pursuing your passion is fundamental to feeling good both physically and mentally, so finding a way to push through is vital.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is our first piece in a series about managing work and play while figuring out how to turn your cycling goals into reality. We\u2019ll be talking with several inspiring women who are at different stages in their cycling career and development, discussing real strategies for making it work without burning out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 Profimedia, Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harri Wilson is a final-year medical student. She works a full-time placement at the hospital, cooks all her meals from scratch, loves spending time with her boyfriend and friends, and she wants to be a professional cyclist. She started her cycling adventure on an old mountain bike in 2016, cycling a few hundred miles around the west coast of Scotland and completing a trek from Peru to Bolivia that summer. She was hooked right away, loving the immersion in your surroundings that only cycling can provide. She upgraded to a BMC Teammachine in early 2018 and now rides around 150 miles a week, over 200 if the weather is good. This summer, she competed in the Scottish National women\u2019s road races and is looking forward to building on her standings in 2019.<\/p>\n

We talked to her about training, gear, budgeting, finding balance, and avoiding burnout. Whether you\u2019re an aspiring pro or just looking for ways to incorporate more cycling into your schedule, she has some very solid advice for achieving your goals while enjoying the time you spend on your bike.<\/p>\n

Listen to your body and stick to what works best for you<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What\u2019s an average day and how do you manage competing obligations?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Generally, I leave to cycle to the hospital between 7-8 a.m. Then I\u2019ll have a full day on the wards and teaching, usually getting home between 4-6 p.m. Then I have to fit food shopping, cooking, washing, etc. in with training, socialising, and studying. It\u2019s a lot, but with experience I\u2019ve learned to be more realistic about what does and doesn\u2019t work for me \u2013 I know now that I don\u2019t study well in the morning, for example, so that\u2019s a good time to do any training or food shopping that I\u2019ve got planned for that day. Equally, realising how long a session actually takes \u2013 to set up, complete, then dismantle the trainer, eat, and shower afterwards \u2013 means you don\u2019t end up late for the next thing because you hadn\u2019t expected to spend 10 minutes eating toast and looking at Strava afterwards!<\/p>\n

Make a plan and stick to it<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Any scheduling tricks or tips?<\/em><\/p>\n

To fit everything in, I draw up each week on a sheet of A4 paper, with a column for each day. Then I can block off the times that I\u2019m at the hospital or have other obligations, and that leaves the gaps where I can fit in studying and training. I found when I started doing this that it meant I used my time a lot more efficiently, as it makes the gaps in your day where you can slot in a task or a session much more obvious. Living in Glasgow, training is somewhat dictated by the weather, so I plan my outdoor rides by the forecast and slot the rest in around those. Those weekly timetables mean I don\u2019t have to do any more deciding during the week, and also mean I\u2019m less likely to bail on training sessions \u2013 it\u2019s much easier to follow a plan than wait for motivation to strike!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buy good gear but be smart about it<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How much do you spend on cycling every year?<\/em><\/p>\n

Hmm, my boyfriend asks that a lot! I\u2019ve bought two bikes this year, which inflates it a bit, but probably just shy of \u00a31000 apart from those. The money goes on high-quality kit (unlike most sports I\u2019ve done, in cycling, unfortunately, you do get what you pay for!), nutrition \u2013 including the extra meals I eat each day to reach my calorie requirements \u2013 and things like train tickets, coffee stops and the odd weekend away to try somewhere new. The price of cycling is definitely a barrier, but I\u2019ve got all my bikes for over 50% off the retail price (either by buying ex-display or second hand). You can get very good cycling kit for over 50% off on sites like Wiggle, Pactimo and Evans Cycles \u2013 it doesn\u2019t have to break the bank and makes a huge difference to your comfort and enjoyment of the ride.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to enjoy the process<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How do you justify spending so much time on your bike?<\/em><\/p>\n

Cycling makes me happy \u2013 when I clip into my bike, it\u2019s like a weight lifts off my shoulders and I feel totally stress-free for those few hours. Spending so much time exploring the world is a really special thing and an absolute privilege. Secondly, I train because I have goals that I want to achieve \u2013 and I know I won\u2019t get out what I don\u2019t put in. Where motivation fails, the determination and discipline to believe the hard work will pay dividends is what gets me on the trainer when my friends are in bed watching Netflix.<\/p>\n

I had a period of burnout last year, when I was sick of all the local routes and frustrated by the inequality in cycling. After a few weeks with no mojo, I sacked off the intervals and went away for a long weekend by myself in a really tranquil part of Scotland. Three days of new roads and no commitments really allowed me to relax and rediscover the joy that cycling had brought me in the first place.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Training smarter lets your train harder<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What has been the biggest challenge for your progress?<\/em><\/p>\n

Not having a proper setup for interval training. The roads around Glasgow are exclusively steeply uphill or downhill, so I can\u2019t directly translate an interval session to an outdoor ride as many people do. Living in a tenement flat, it wouldn\u2019t be fair to my flatmates to do a lot of riding in the flat \u2013 they have finals too, and the noise and mess would be too much of an imposition. I trained for two years on a Wattbike at the university gym, but the air conditioning isn\u2019t suitable for indoor riding, and I was fainting off the bike from the heat. This year, I have a quiet magnetic trainer and a power meter, and I\u2019m doing my sessions in the stairwell with the windows open. It\u2019s better but not as good as a smart trainer and a fan would be (I\u2019m getting those next).<\/p>\n

Learn to make the most of your time<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What would you say to other riders who would like to commit more time to <\/em>riding but are struggling to do so?<\/em><\/p>\n

You probably have more time than you think. I know I pack about six times as much stuff into my days as many of my peers \u2013 it\u2019s about finding those time gaps and learning how to use them. Interval training means you can gain a lot of fitness in just a couple of hours a week, and if you head out early (7 or 8 a.m.) on a Saturday or Sunday morning, you can get a great longer ride in before your family (and the traffic) are properly awake. You get faster at getting out the door with time, too. There\u2019s a lot of evidence that exercise makes you less likely to procrastinate and a more effective learner \u2013 coupled with the good mood that comes from a ride alone or with friends, any effects on the rest of your life should be pretty positive!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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