Gemma's fundraising success at Ride London 2022
Tuesday 21 June 2022
Wow, the day finally arrived for RideLondon 2022 after 16 weeks of hard work and enjoyable training rides.
I was surprisingly calm and excited for RideLondon 10-mile cycle ride. I arrived the morning of the event, with blue skies and the sun shining which was deceptive as it was a little chilly.
Once I walked over Waterloo Bridge, passing Big Ben I entered the start area. There was a lot of positive and exciting energy as we made our way to the start line.
Amazingly amongst 20,000 people I found a friend also partaking in the event, which was awesome as we went over the start line together! The first 53 miles was cracking, everyone happily chatting away to each other with one particular rider playing music through a speaker put smiles on everyone’s faces. After the stop at Felsted School, Dunmow I only had 49 miles to go, it was a case of keep turning those legs round, keep eating and drinking.
The supporters along the route were awesome, a husband and wife playing bagpipes; and a gospel choir come to my foremind. Around 80 miles, the legs got heavy but it was okay my thoughts were “just keep pedalling, just keep pedalling” and fair few jelly babies that fuelled me and eventually after turning those pedals I could finally see London again.
The last mile was great with all the supporters cheering us on, and I knew I was nearly finished. Once I turned the corner and saw Tower Bridge I was overcome with emotion from an epic cycle ride and the amazing sight of an iconic bridge.
The day was fantastic; and I’m super ecstatic that I raised £900 for the British Dyslexia Association. A thank you firstly to Matt, my husband who supported me (and looked after our two young children) throughout all of my training and got me to the start area on time. Thank you to all of my sponsors who gave generously to British Dyslexia Association.