Coast to coast. East to West. Sunrise to sunset.
Chase the Sun was the monumental ride undertaken by Pete Stokes and Jess Pomfret last weekend. A 205 mile ride covering 3000 metres of elevation and the width of England in a day in an epic race against the sun.
This is a salute to the legendary effort they put in to raise money for Momentum Fitness Charity and write their names into cycling history.
The work began way before the first sunrise on race day for our two cycling legends. Both Pete and Jess committed to a gruelling training programme so they were match fit.
“Me & Pete both put a lot of training in for this. My longest ride was 130 miles and another couple of 100-mile rides which takes a lot of time up. Training wasn’t just about getting miles in either, it was a constant effort to find a fuelling strategy that worked for that amount of time on the bike.” – Jess
“I logged 1900 miles training since February preparing for the event. One of the toughest parts was heat training, whether that was very long, very hot baths (much worse than it sounds!) or 1.5 hour sessions in clothes where I would lose over 2litres of fluid!” – Pete
Jess, our resident statistician and self-confessed data head kept track of all her training and logged an amazing…
- 1,777 miles ridden (2,861 km) across 92 rides
- 129 hours on the bike
- 25,582 metres climbed — nearly three times the height of Everest
- Longest single ride: 130 miles
Every hour on the saddle would be needed.
The alarm on the day went off at 3AM so they were travelled and ready for sunrise at 0439. Pete and Jess watched as dawn broke over the shore alongside 1000 other cyclists on the Minster-on-Sea start line.
The cycling adventure of their lives began with the rising of the sun.
The chase was on.
“It felt magical that we were already on our way on this big adventure and it wasn’t even 5am yet! I have a fond memory of riding past a mother and baby cow stood facing the sun rise taking in the first rays of the day.” – Pete
The 200+ mile route bi-sects south London and bridges the Thames onto Wiggin’s Olympic time trial route before seeking green country lanes, quaint villages and the lush Vale of Pewsey. Before climbing the Mendip hills, descending breathtaking Cheddar gorge and finally arriving on the seafront at Weston-Super-Mare.
As well as the race planning, each section provided its own challenges.
“The logistics and planning for this ride were so challenging. Planning fuelling for the ride, how we’d get to the start line, where we’d meet support cars and what we needed to pack for 14 hours of potential weather conditions.” – Jess
“Coping with pain in my left foot from 7am in the morning. I had suffered with it in the training so I knew it would probably make an appearance but managed to bear with it with the help of pain killers and caffeine and adapting my pedal stroke.” – Pete
But even when exhaustion and pain hit, the challenge was made a little easier by remembering what they were riding for.
“The most rewarding part was raising so much money for such a great charity. I know that money will go to great causes, so knowing I was riding for that gave me extra motivation to make it to the finish line.” – Jess
Dorset and Hampshires countrysides began to blur into one. Mile after mile ground by as the colossal trip across the country approached its destination.
“Descending Cheddar Gorge on empty roads with less than 15 miles to the finish was very special experience.” – Pete
“Turning onto the pier in Weston there was a lot of people clapping and cheering and I was pretty overwhelmed with what we had achieved.” – Jess
And as the support team of family members who had tracked them across the country came into view at the finish line, the knowledge of completing everything they had was realised.
205 miles had been ridden.
The width of the entire country had been crossed.
And the sun had been successfully chased.
“Having Kelcie (Jess’ wife) waiting at the finish line for probably the most disgusting hug of her life was amazing. Kelcie & Ali (Pete’s partner) provided support all weekend. Meeting us at several spots to help fill bottles, provide food and keep us on track to beat the sunset!” – Jess
I felt satisfied, but really grateful at the finish line. To have been supported on the day by my partner Ali and Kelcie, as well as to look at my phone and see all the messages of support and people watching our dots on the live tracker as we made across the country. – Pete
Pete and Jess’s unbelievable fourteen and half hour slog raised more than £3,500 for Momentum Fitness Charity.
We couldn’t be more grateful to them for choosing us to fundraise for and want to say a special thank you to them both from everyone involved in the charity.