Dubai: A British cyclist is set to pedal her way from the southernmost tip of South Africa to northern Norway in a bid to complete a record-breaking 20,000-kilometer journey.
Dubai resident Paula Ralph has set herself the target of becoming the first female to cycle from Cape Point, in Cape Town, to Norway’s North Cape, in under 100 days.
The sports therapist, who specialises in pre-habilitation, is tackling the challenge after seeing a meme online showing someone walking thousands of kilometres on a single road. Inspired by the distance, Ralph decided to set herself her own challenge and cycle a version of the route herself.
19 countries
“I saw a meme talking about the longest walkable road in the world, from South Africa to Russia, and I said to a friend of mine it would be amazing to do, and they suggested cycling it instead of walking and I thought it was a good idea, so I went and bought a bike,” she tells Gulf News. “I did amend the route slightly so I’m going to veer into Türkiye from Iraq, go up through Europe and finish in Norway.”
Ralph’s journey will see her, and her two-man support crew, travel through 19 different countries from start to finish. Faced with hours alone on the bike, Ralph explains it’s the thrill of the changing landscapes that she believes will keep her mind busy and the journey exciting.
Real challenge
“I’m most looking forward to the different scenery to keep me from getting bored. I’ve learnt along the way that you have to go into things with a positive mindset. It’s a case of having a laugh and a joke while seeing the whole world from bottom to top and letting my eyes feast on what I see. I’m looking forward to Africa in particular. Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia are my three top places and Austria is going to be a real challenge because of the mountains.”
Nutritious snacks
The trip, labelled The Long Ride C2C, is funded by sponsors who will also be providing nutritious snacks that Ralph will have with her on her bike throughout the journey, as she expects to burn anywhere between 700 to 1,500 calories a day and has already dropped 10kg in weight by training for the challenge.
“I have a snack pack on the bike,” she says. “In the morning I’ll have a protein shake with blended fruit, I’ll eat granola bars while I’m cycling, and we’ll stop for lunch and then dinner at the end of the day. We’ll stock up on non-perishables like pasta and rice. We’re prepared because we know of a couple of stretches where there won’t be much about but there’s a refrigerated cooler in the support vehicle, so we’ll have some red meat in there.”
Preparations
Ralph’s preparation has been a mixture of strength and conditioning training to build up strength on the bike, which has helped build endurance. She has a coach whose strategy is to make sure she’s strong enough to overcome challenging hill climbs while having the lung capacity for the endurance needed for the duration of the trip.
Ralph has enjoyed the support of the cycling community in Dubai including a large group of Brits that cycled 100 kilometres with her around the Al Qudra cycle track. “I’ve got a lot of support,” she says, “some friends might actually come out and cycle some of the route with me which would be cool.”
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Guinness World Record attempt
Ralph is aiming to begin her ride in the first week of February and hopes to have her achievement officially recognised by the Guinness World Records upon completion. “I haven’t contacted them [Guinness World Records] yet but I’m hoping that when it’s all done and dusted it’ll be officially recognised but it’ll be a record regardless of whether it’s in the book or not. I’m hoping to get it in there of course.”
If all goes to plan, Ralph will complete the feat in 83 days by cycling up to 15 hours at a time and covering around 250 kilometres daily. Upon returning to Dubai Ralph’s post-ride aspiration is to open her first sports therapy gym, with a clear focus on injury prevention.
“When the ride is done the idea is to work with athletes and help them prevent injury. The market is geared to rehabilitation and an athlete is never the same when they’re coming back from an injury so if you can prevent injury first and foremost it makes a huge difference for the longevity of the athlete.”
