My Activity Tracking
2,671
mi
My target 220 mi
Please support my Ambitious Challenge!
This will be the toughest challenge I’ve ever undertaken on a bike. I will be cycling 220 miles in a single day on Sunday 22 June 2025. Starting in Manchester and finishing in London.
Seeing first hand the challenges that autistic children face, this is an opportunity for me to support a cause I care deeply about, I’ll be leaving my limits behind to raise vital funds for Ambitious about Autism.
Ambitious about Autism is the national charity standing with autistic children and young people. They champion rights, campaign for change and create opportunities for autistic young people and their families.
How your support can make a difference
£5 could help parents and carers experiencing challenging situations access vital information and support through the Talk about Autism online platform.
£10 could buy seeds and gardening equipment for our horticulture programme. Our ‘Seed to Sell’ initiative helps autistic children and young people enjoy time outdoors and develop their entrepreneurial spirit.
£25 could reduce loneliness and isolation through an autistic young person accessing a special interest group through our Ambitious Youth Network.
£50 could support a family in crisis. Our family support team provide telephone advice and guidance on welfare, health, and legal matters.
£100 could provide autistic young people with one-to-one careers information and guidance. With very few autistic people in employment, providing this support is vital to accessing the workplace.
My Achievements
Shared page
Self-donated
Added a profile pic
Added a blog post
Received 10 donations
25% fundraising target
50% fundraising target
Fundraising target reached
50% distance target reached
Challenge complete!
My Updates
February - More like the plan
Sunday 23rd Feb
January - Follow The Process
Thursday 23rd Jan
January is never an easy time to get outside for a long ride, but I have a plan & you’ve got to follow the process.
I’ve been sticking to the plan & increasing my weekly distance. Doing shorter Vo2 and threshold rides on Zwift or Rouvy whilst also doing 2 or 3 yoga, core or strength sessions each week.
On the 17th Jan, after a week of freezing but dry weather. There was a small increase in the temperature, reaching a balmy 7°c. Add to this a well timed day off work meant I could do my planned 100km ride for this month.
I wanted to ride this distance at a low perceived exertion & without a cafe stop. I planned to eat every 10km & drink every 5km. There was no target other than the distance. I wanted to see how long it would take me. The route was flat & also included a few new tiles for motivation. I often experience cramp on longer rides, thankfully not on this time, but it’s something I’m very conscious of as the distance increases.
My ride time was 4:35 mins, with elapsed time of 4:42. Meaning an average speed of 22km/h. With improved fitness and lower body weight over the coming months this should increase.
Not quite to plan
Sunday 5th Jan
In my last update I talked about using the autumn to drop a few Kg & improve my endurance. I’d like to say I’ve made some progress, but alas, I can’t. In fact the weight has gone in the wrong direction (it’s Christmas) & I’ve not ridden as much as I planned, due to work, lurgy and family life.
Thankfully the Christmas break gave me a little more time. This allowed me to increase my weekly distance to 140km last week. Riding in the mist & gloom, but motivated by spending time outside with others in my local club V-Sprint. This week I’ve managed 150km, although with the snow & ice about half of this was on the indoor trainer.
I’ve also put some time into creating a simple training plan. During Jan the aim is to maintain 150-160km each week, then start increasing weekly mileage by about 10 percent week. I also plan to do one (maybe two) long rides each month, starting with 100km in Jan & increasing by 50km each month. By mid April I should have at least one 200km ride in the legs, just short of my longest distance ever ridden. In May & with the benefit of longer days I plan to do a 12-14 hour ride & see what distance I can cover.
I plan to ride three times a week, with 2 short mid week rides to focus on threshold and improving V02 max. It’s not all bikes though, to keep some variation I’ve included some yoga, core and weight workouts.
My next goal for end of Jan, is to maintain 150-160km per week & lose 3-4kg. If you’ve got this far, thank you for reading & supporting me with this challenge, it’s certainly outside of my comfort zone.
Share
When to start training?
Sunday 4th Aug
Thank you to my Sponsors
£50
Lis Gardner
£50
Loz & Al
Smash it Russ
£50
David And Claire Stokes
Good luck, Russ. Cheering you on for this epic challenge! 💪🏻🚴🏻♂️
£50
Lee Gardner
Mike H picked you
£25
Dawn Pattison (for Gary)
Good luck Russ on your epic challenge
£25
Andrew Davey
Quite a challenge, Russ. You’ll smash it though. Absolutely no doubt.
£20
Lin Ashford
Best of luck Russ on your mamouth ride next year.
£20
Andrew Davey
£20
Russell Ashford
£20
Jamie
Go Russ you amazing piece of athletic meat Love Jamie and family x
£20
Jason Smith
You the man Russell. I’ve no doubts that you will smash this. My confidence is mainly due to Jamie thinking you are athletic meat. Go tiger, grrrr
£20
Heidi
£15
Sadie, W & E
Give us a wave on your way through the Midlands! We’ll be cheering you on all the way!
£10
Andrew Thomas
£10
Matthew Stanway
Good luck Russ 💪🚴🏼
£5
Best of luck Russ Lis and Lee xx