Christmas but it’s about to get a good work out next week when she plans to ride 800km in this year’s Tour de OROC fundraiser for the Macquarie Home Stay facility in Dubbo.
The longest bike ride local Claudine Griffiths has ever done was 90km and she just completed that on Sunday.
Now she plans to ride 800km next week with the Tour de OROC peloton to raise money for the Macquarie Home Stay in Dubbo.
“I had a goal this year. I was going to try and run a marathon. It didn’t work out because my knee’s too sore,” Claudine said.
Claudine took up running last year when she needed to lose weight for a knee replacement.
She found she really enjoyed running but the training she was doing for the marathon was putting too much stress on her knee.
“I thought I might have been, but it turns out I’m not quite up to it.
“My body prefers riding, rather than running at the moment, and my knee’s been really good since I started riding,’ she said.
After talking to Trudy Griffiths (her cousin-in-law), Claudine decided to give the Tour de OROC a crack.
Trudy had also planned to do this year’s ride (for a third time) but has however had to pull out for family reasons.
“I’m not even a bike rider at all. I’m a complete amateur,” Claudine admitted.
“I got my road bike last Christmas.
“The most bike riding I’ve done is the local triathlons and that’s it.
“The longest ride I’d done really up until probably the last six weeks has been 10kms
“Then I did 90km on Sunday. It took me just over four hours.
“I’m worried I’m still a bit slow but I can see how much I’ve improved over the past six weeks, so hopefully I’ll be okay.
“But I’m a bit scared because I thought I’d have Trudy with me, but she keeps pushing me to keep going,” Claudine said.
Trudy’s given Claudine lots of tips about riding, what to wear and not to wear, and how to manage soreness.
Claudine said it’s taken her a while to get used to riding with cleats (the clipless pedal that attaches to the bottom of her shoe) but is proud that she hasn’t fallen off in the last three days wearing them.
“I’m still very “unco” trying to get my water bottle to have a drink while I’m riding and I’m definitely not used to riding with others.”
However after recently riding 40km with a friend (which Claudine said made the ride seem like only 10km), she’s now looking forward to riding with the Tour de OROC group.
“I hope to learn a lot. They tell me that if you get tired, they put you in the middle of the group and the peloton will drag you along.”
“My first day’s ride from Dubbo to Warren on Monday is about 110km. Second day, I think it’s about 80km, third day is Nyngan to Cobar, then the next day is Cobar to Bourke and then 90km to Brewarrina.”
It’s the Cobar to Bourke leg that Claudine thinks will be her toughest test.
“I’m going to try and do whatever I can.
“My aim is to ride the whole distance.”
The Tour de OROC cycling event is a fundraising initiative of the Rotary Club of Dubbo South and covers more than 800km across the western region.
It raises funds for the Macquarie Home Stay accommodation facility in Dubbo which provides essential accommodation for people from regional and remote communities needing medical treatment in Dubbo.
“I just think the services like the Macquarie Home Stay are just so important for rural communities,” Claudine said.
“Heaps of my family members have used it, we’ve used it as well, so I think it’s really important to support it as best I can.”
While her mum did question if she might be too old to do something like this (and Claudine has also asked herself the same question a number of times), Claudine’s family is very supportive and proud of her efforts and will be there to see her ride off in Dubbo on Monday and will also be at the front of the welcoming party when Claudine and the peloton arrive in Cobar next Wednesday.
Between them, Trudy and Claudine have already raised more than $5,500 in sponsorship.
