This weekend saw GO TRI Local VeloPark celebrate its first anniversary of monthly duathlons taking place on the cycle track at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, with this ‘Diary of a GO TRIer’ giving a glimpse into what it’s like to take part in one of the hundreds of opportunities around the country throughout the year to give swim, bike, run a go.
My alarm goes off at 8am and I hop out of bed to check what the weather’s doing. It’s a nice sunny day in East London, but I can see the wind blowing in the trees of the gardens opposite my block of flats. Unsure of what it’ll be like when I’m at the GO TRI, I throw an extra jumper in my bag and pull a pair of trackies on over my shorts to wear on the train.
This is my second taste of GO TRI Local VeloPark but the first of this year, and I’m excited to get back to the track with Rav and Suhela who head it all up. They were both so helpful to me the first time I went.
Breakfast done, I check my tyres are pumped up, fill my water bottle up and chuck a banana and chocolate bar in my bag for afterwards. Trainers on, helmet on, and out the door to grab my bike from the communal shed downstairs.
Getting off the train at Stratford I cycle past the Olympic Stadium on my way to the cycle park. There’s always something different about the Olympic Park when I ride through here and there’s a great sense of occasion even on a Sunday morning when nothing’s really going on.
Arriving at the cycle park, I wander round to where the GO TRI is taking place and chat to a few of the others who are there. It’s only my second time but I recognise Rav and Suhela and one or two others, but there are plenty of people there for the first time too who I don’t know. There are also two Paralympians in paratriathlon who have come along to help celebrate the first anniversary of the event.
A few of us wander over and lean our bikes and bits against the fence on the grass bank that’s transition, and then wander down to Rav for the briefing. Two laps on the run, six laps on the bike, then two more laps on the run to finish. There are a couple of guys in wheelchairs who are taking part, and they’ve got handcycles for the bike leg that they lay back in. I can’t imagine being that close to the ground!
We set off on the first run and I find my pace with a couple of the ladies who I’ve met before. It’s not a race, but we still try to push ourselves and each other on. There are a couple of hilly bits but the ups have downs, so it all evens out. Before we know it we’re picking up our bikes and setting off. It’s the same route as the run but we stay on the other side of the cones.
One of the girls gets a puncture so has to stop on the bike. The rest of us keep going around and it’s a challenge on some of the hilly parts, but really good fun. We don’t cycle together as a group but decide to let each other go at their own pace. I try and go a bit quicker because it’s a safe circuit and it’s nice to not have any cars, pedestrians or lampposts to worry about.
The feeling is so freeing, being out on my bike. It’s nothing special, just a bike I picked up online, but the freedom it gives me to travel around town and to also explore things like GO TRI is fantastic.
Before I know it, my laps are done and I slowly get off my bike and walk it back to my spot in transition. I lean it against the fencing, take off my helmet and have a quick drink.
The girl who got a puncture joins me as I start the second run and we set off together. It’s only one lap to the finish, but my legs feel a bit weird having just cycled. I soon get over the slight feeling of jelly and start to enjoy it. Before I know it we’ve only got 500m to go. We decide to make it a bit of a race to the finish – slowly around the corner and then as fast as we can along the straight bit.
Some of those who have already finished see us coming and cheer us on, we’re not going quickly but it’s fun all the same. Not quite sure who got to the finish first, but it doesn’t matter. Rav hands me a flower garland for finishing – he runs a club called Aloha Tri so it’s a cute alternative to a medal. I cheer the next set of people over the line and once the final people have crossed the line we all have a group photo.
A hot chocolate in the café to finish and time to go home. All that done and not even lunchtime yet. Same again next month? I think so!
GO TRI Local VeloPark is one of 18 initiatives around England that provide monthly opportunities for participants to give swim, bike, run a go in a supportive and friendly way. Each one is slightly different, but they all provide an opportunity to combine two or three of swimming, cycling and running.
They each take place in the same location, at the same time, and same date each month, helping participants to feel at home during the activity.
Find out more about GO TRI and activities near you on the website here: https://gotri.org/
