Preparing for a Charity Bike Ride

So you have decided you’d really love to do something for charity. You’ve watched friends achieve great results and, until now, you have shied away from the challenge. More popular than ever, cycling offers a multitude of benefits for both body and mind. Not to mention the positive effect being part of a fundraising event has on your own self-esteem, confidence and motivation.

The UK is home to a vast variety of rides including; fun rides, competitive races, intense long-distance and cross country adventures. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or expert, there is certainly something for everyone. One thing is for sure, a bike ride is the ideal way to explore and appreciate the beautiful English countryside.

As you wait on the start line huddled amongst thousands of other keen riders, your face is sure to reveal anticipation and anxiety as you edge towards completely uncharted territory. What goes on beneath your helmet is crucial for your own enjoyment of this first experience and challenge. Before you have even begun with the rigorous training and long evenings spent on the saddle, if you aren’t already telling yourself ‘I can do this’ – you’ve set yourself back. Truth is, if you’re not mentally confident, the negative thoughts will eat away and drown out any enjoyment before you put your foot to the peddle.

Do not assume that it is only beginners who are afraid. Even the most experienced cyclists will be feeling pre-competition anxiety. What do they have to be afraid of you may question? Failure of course! Self-esteem is the prime source for any athletes’ identity, and to fail tarnishes that. Failure in sport is often perceived as weakness, deeming the sportsman worthless. So my first vital piece of advice is this: do not let endless worrying and concerns over your results destroy the joy of the event and cycling itself. Having unshakeable self-belief is by far the most essential mental strength and attribute.

Social media is of course an increasingly important channel for charities, and an even better channel for you, the fundraiser. Unsurprisingly, the two leading channels used widely and successfully for fundraising are Facebook and Twitter, closely followed by YouTube and LinkedIn.

Whether it be a cancer bike ride you chose to sign up for or something a little smaller, social media will be your best resource for raising both awareness and money. To identify exactly the best way for you to utilise these channels to your best ability - you must identify interest indicators. A huge number of people will also be talking about charity and fundraising events in correlation with you. Engage on trending hashtags, strike up conversations and generate interest. Facebook in particular will have multiple well established communities and groups for you to begin building relationships on, as well as using these groups to promote your own event and fundraising page. Gradually, people will begin to familiarise with your campaign and interest will build.

One thing that holds an incredible amount of worth, especially when trying to get people to engage with your situation and journey, is a blog. Documenting your whole journey from beginning to end in the form of a blog is a great experience. It’s vital you have a strong, emotive message, and you need to show people exactly what they are contributing towards. Utilise your blog by regularly sharing posts on your social media channels as well as in the groups mentioned previously. Content such as photos and videos will instantly put viewers in that moment with you. By sharing insider stories – who you are trying to help and why, you will be generating interest for all of the right reasons. Just be sure, when you come to the end of your event, to thank and send personal messages to those who kindly supported you throughout this journey. Social media is, after all, all about being ‘sociable’.

Endurance sports, such as running and cycling, have been proven to be 90% mental. That’s not to say that the copious amount of energy you are putting into daily training is worthless, because that’s not true. However, huge weight lies on your mental strength and ability to push through any mental blocks that may come mid race.

Have you ever noticed how much more difficult it is to push yourself mid race or exercise when you have not done it for a long time? The reason why it’s so important to train regularly before a race is of course to raise your fitness levels, but interestingly your mental strength and resistance is pushed also. The less we train, the less we remember what it is like to push through the pain. Extreme exercise has the potential to bring us great joy and fulfilment, but it also hurts a lot.

Sometimes you'll hit the crucial moment during the cycle, where you have to decide whether you push through the pain or give into that small voice in your head telling you to give in: it’s vital you have an end goal. Establishing your goal way before you embark on this challenge will save you in this moment. The power of visualisation is spoken about in business constantly – nothing is different with large sporting events. Visualise yourself crossing that line, hands in the air, feeling nothing but pure ecstasy. That rough patch you felt a moment ago will be nothing in comparison.