As the 2018 World’s Biggest Property Bike Ride draws closer, Joe Stather, CBRE’s associate director of investment advisory for EMEA hotels, talks about his preparations.
I always look forward to The World’s Biggest Property Bike Ride – it’s a well organised and friendly event, which raises an incredible amount of money for charity, and this year we are delighted to be supporting our new charity partner Action for Children. Over the next two years, CBRE will be working with Action for Children to support more than 700 children in the care system by helping to build a safe and loving environment within their foster homes.
It’s always a great challenge to tackle some of the famous Surrey hills, where much of the action of the 2012 Olympic road race took place, including the famous zig-zag road of Box Hill and Leith Hill -which reaches a gradient of 12.4%!
Last year I rode the 100km in 3h12, and this year I’m aiming to achieve an even better time. I train three or four times a week with my cycling club as I find that riding with a group helps with motivation and throw in a few gym classes for balance and variety. If you’re new to cycling, the ride can seem like a daunting task, I’d recommend getting as much time in the saddle as possible. Try and get out for regular rides and increase the mileage gradually. Cycling to work is also a fantastic way to clock up the miles.
The Strava App can also make training rides more fun as it allows you to track of rides and measure progress against friends. You can also try to take the virtual King/Queen of the Mountain titles on your local climbs.
I’m always hungry, which makes it hard to resist convenience food and snacking. But you get out what you put in – I always carry fruit, nuts, etc. with me to satisfy those cravings. Eat good, protein-rich food and stretch post-ride for faster recovery.
Another great tip is to make sure you keep on top of your bike maintenance – you reach some high speeds when descending and must have full confidence in your bike, also a good bike set-up (saddle and handlebar height, etc.) will also help to prevent aches and pains during the ride. Have a fuelling strategy for the ride, when you’re going hard, eating can take a back seat but if you run out of energy and hit the wall, it’s hard to come back. Carbs the night before, a good breaky and easy-to-digest snacks on the ride – if you’re not used to energy gels then cereal bars and dried fruit are a good alternative.
If you’re not a cyclist then get involved. The beauty of cycling is the freedom, flexibility and simplicity of jumping on your bike, exploring and keeping fit. The CBRE ride, with various distances, can be a great first event for a beginner – it’s friendly and sociable. You might just catch the bug!
Last year 800 riders took part and this year we are hoping to break the 1,000-rider mark. It’s a fantastic challenge and the more people that participate the better, as it’s raising money for a very worthy cause.
No comments yet