Page 164 - Mind, Body and Spirit 2016/17

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY CYCLE CHALLENGE
For the majority of 2016 I had the honour and privilege of being the coach and mentor to the Countess of Wessex for a challenge she had decided to undertake in support of
the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award, Diamond Anniversary. The challenge involved her cycling from Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh down to Buckingham Palace, a total of 445 miles over 6 days. My role involved regular liaison on coaching, feedback and advice, programme design, then recce-ing and taking her on the routes. It all started when I was invited to her home in Bagshot Park to meet her and see if she liked me (warmed to me were the words chosen). I quickly discovered the Countess had limited riding experience, had never worn cleats before and had only ever been on family rides around a park, meaning I most certainly had my work cut out.
Training
I arranged some dates with her Private Secretary for her to come over to RMAS to do an initial assessment to ascertain her tness level, thus allowing a progressive programme to be devised. The programme started with low level cycling, core stability and general tness in order to build up her strength and endurance. We also loaned her a Wattbike which was soon to become her best friend in times of bad weather. She was fortunate enough to be sponsored by Boardman Bikes who provided her with a top of the range carbon bike, allowing us to start our training out on the roads. In the early days we used to meet fortnightly, with rides starting with as little as 10-12 miles, progressing nally onto 2-3 times per week closer to the event with rides then ranging from 40 to 80 miles on hilly terrain, ensuring we always got a cake stop in. I now feel like a walking google map of every country road in the Surrey/Hampshire area. We had a few wobbles along the way, a number of falls (mostly from being unable to unclip on time) and plenty of laughs.
Super sel e with the Countess
Training ride, cake stop at Devils’ Punch Bowl
Throughout the training we were involved in various media opportunities which included footage and interviews on ‘This Morning’, BBC News, Hello magazine and Phillip Scho eld’s documentary of the Duke of Edinburgh and the award scheme which I ensured all featured the infamous RAPTC strip. I was also in regular contact with the other 5 team members who were representing the various af liations the Countess has with the Armed Forces (5 Ri es, QARANC, RAF Wittering, CAMUS, Boardman Bikes and now the RAPTC) organising group rides, event briefs and giving them programmes and advice.
Probably my biggest challenge was continuing with my busy day job as a Syndicate Leader at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and catching up once I had been out on long rides.
Event
The challenge started on the Monday so the team (bar the Countess who ew up!) travelled up to Edinburgh on the Saturday and stayed overnight in Edinburgh Castle. We were then invited for a pre event dinner at Holyrood Palace on the Sunday where I very excitedly got to sit next to the Duke of Edinburgh and alongside the Earl and Countess of Wessex. I was so overwhelmed with the experience; I couldn’t even tell you what I had to eat!!
After numerous interviews and photo shoots we left Edinburgh to a urry of camera ashes and started the long journey that would take us 6 days, making our way through Scotland and England, with lots of delicious cake stops and being hosted to the highest standard at the various military camps we stayed at. I got so
WO2 (QMSI) R L Mckenzie RAPTC
Team at Holyrood Palace ready to start the challenge