Horizon Fitness cycling team member Annie Simpson sends Sportsister an exclusive update. Fresh from finishing university for the summer, Annie Simpson thought her days of all nighters were over for a few months. Here she recounts her 13 hour journey to Belgium with teammate Hannah Rich for training.
It has been nonstop since I finished university for the summer on Tuesday. I’m now out in Belgium after a long night of travelling. I set off yesterday (Thursday) at 7pm to pickup my team mate Hannah Rich near the M25. I met Hannah at the services to find she has a lot of stuff with her! Bearing in mind I have a Micra, it was a fair squeeze but we rammed it all in.
With everything loaded, we headed to Dover for our 2am ferry. The drive went pretty smoothly to London and was nice and quiet. We were using Coca Cola and Bourbons to stay awake.
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Read more from Horizon Fitness’ cycling blog – most recent post is at the top
Sarah Storey blog- Rudy Project Round 4
Gabby Day blogs – A muddy weekend of racing in Bedford
Sarah Storey blogs – The Cheshire Classics
Sarah Storey blogs – Day Out in Dottignies!
Sarah Storey blogs – time trial time
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Sleeping on the ferry was hard. We were trying our best to catch some sleep, but it was difficult since we got stuck on some really uncomfortable chairs. We got to Belgium around 5am and began the next leg of our journey to the team base. I had to adjust quickly to driving on the other side of the road as it was my first time. With Hannah’s support I managed to get the hang of it, though. On the drive the banter was high and we were excited to get there. Then we hit morning rush hour traffic and needed the toilet, but didn’t realise in Belgium you have to pay!
We arrived here at Tielt Winge (the team base) at around 8.30am. We had breakfast quickly and got unpacked before heading out on a ride for two and a half hours with the girls from the house. I’m in Belgium now until about June 14. I want to race as much as possible to get experience and a feel for the racing, and also to help my team mates in races. Our first race is this weekend in Holland which is really exciting. My knee seems to be holding together and my legs are feeling really ready to race! Can’t wait!
Now we are just going to chill out for the rest of the day in the sun. This is the life! I will keep you posted on how it goes out here.
Annie Simpson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
