13 Feb
Trek Prizewinner Lynne Grainger talks about her 2020 ride
I’ve been road cycling for three years, and to start with I was just commuting 10 miles from Stockport to Salford. Around two years ago, my dad, Steve, signed up for a 380 mile 4-day charity bike in Italy, from Pisa and Rome. He is 72 and had never really cycled before. I knew I had to do it with him, and this motivated me to discover group cycling and getting out into the Cheshire lanes. A whole new world opened up to me, and I was addicted!
When the Italy ride got cancelled due to COVID, we entered the Tour de Manc as a way of marking our season of training. Sadly, my Dad had a bike accident in the month leading up to the virtual ride so he couldn’t join me on the day (he’s fine now).
In terms of choosing a route for the virtual Tour de Manc, I knew it had to include the Brickworks as that’s my favourite climb. The rest of the route was built around that. The ride started with a minor accident when a navigation miscommunication led to me and my friend Fran clashing bikes and falling off. A trip to the local garage to buy duct tape for ripped shirts led to the photo that was entitled ‘don’t look back in anger’ which won the caption competition and the fantastic helmet from Trek (pictured).
The ride pushed me to my maximum, but I loved every minute of it. I look forward to being involved in my first non-virtual event once we get past COVID-19.