S1 E5 Getting out of your comfort zone - Abby Popplestone
Like many of us, Abby rediscovered her love for cycling during lockdown when she decided to take on a challenge to cycle the equivalent distance of LeJoG around her local area. Unfortunately during the challenge she discovered that she had Ovarian Cancer.
After receiving treatment, she decided that was going to do the real JogLe route, solo, unsupported and offroad, to raise awareness for ovarian cancer. In this episode I speak to Abby about her cycling journey, what it was like to dive straight in the deep end, and some of the challenges she’s taken on since. We also talk about her mission to help raise awareness for ovarian cancer and how we can better educate ourselves of the symptoms.
Abby on the Komoot Montanas Vacias Rally in May 2022
Abby’s top tips for taking on a big adventure.
Break it down into steps. When we look at the big picture, it can paralyse us with fear. It feels so huge and scary, we often think we aren’t capable of doing it, so we don’t start. However, my experience of doing huge distances is that you become so focused on what you need to do minute by minute that you forget about the big picture. The minutes add up into hours and days and before you know it, you’ve done it. I look back at some of the riding i’ve done over the past year like Montanas Vacias and I can’t believe i’ve ridden it, but i did, and all honesty, I believe SO MANY people could do it too.
It’s your adventure, you make the rules, and you can change your plan to suit you any time. When I was riding John O Groats to Lands End, by week 4 I was having a miserable time. It was October, the weather had turned and I was faced with howling winds and sleet rain every day, it was becoming way more stick than carrot. I called a friend of mine in tears and he said to me ‘Boo, who you getting wet for?’ and instantly I laughed and thought, who AM i getting wet for? I’m not having fun anymore, this is miserable and I don’t have to do this if I don’t want to. I was half way through, I’d intended to complete the whole route but i’m no purist. So I paused the trip and I’m coming back for it this year. I grappled with feeling like a failure because I’d not completed it like I’d told everyone, but was that really true? I’d just set out on the biggest challenge of my life and completed half of it, could that really be considered a failure? Perhaps some people may think so, but they’re probably the ones sitting in their arm chairs never daring to step outside of their comfort zone. There’ll always be someone with something to say about whatever you do, so you might as well do you. For me, adventure has to be the right combination of joy and pain, when the balance tips too far in either direction, it’s probably time to change things up. It’s a good lesson for life anyway because when does anything ever go to plan? Adapting with changing circumstances is the best way to preserve your mental health.
It won’t be as hard or scary as you think. When I got my place for Montanas Vacias, I felt sick. I had visions of scaling Everest and felt like i’d never be able to do it. I had visions of getting so puffed out that I couldn’t carry on, and I’d be stranded on the side of the mountain waiting for the vultures to descend. I was scared i’d be dropped, that I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the riders. And do you know what? All of my worst fears came true, but they were nowhere near as bad as I imagined.I was the slowest rider by a long way which meant I rode for long stretches, sometimes days by myself. I was afraid how this would make me feel, but in actuality I quite enjoyed it. I like riding by myself, and when I felt lonely I took a shortcut, or I put in a mega day to catch up with the others. I also found the route HARD, I pushed my bike many, many times and often felt like i couldn’t keep going. But then I did. Turns out, the worst might happen, but if you’re adaptable then you’ll probably find a way around it, and
Follow Abby’s Journey