At 6am on Saturday 27 February 2021, Digme member Alex Elliott began one of the craziest and toughest challenges we've ever heard of - 24 hrs non-stop on his indoor bike! 

He took on the challenge with a friend to help raise money for Lily, a local girl, who needs urgent medical care in America. You can read more about Lily's story and donate here.

 

We caught up with Alex two days after completing his challenge to check:

1. His legs still worked and

2. How the challenge went.

 

Describe the challenge in 3 words…

Hard. Exhausting. Rewarding!

 

What made you think of the challenge to begin with? 

This was my friend Hannah’s idea and when she first suggested it, I thought we were doing it as a tag team – completing 12hrs each… how wrong I was!

 

What was the furthest you'd cycled prior to the challenge? 

During Summer last year, I challenged myself to Cycle 328 Km / 203 miles on the road in one go! That took about 12 hours.

 

Did you ever doubt if you'd complete the challenge? 

Around 11pm Saturday – my legs were feeling knackered and the motion of turning started to really hurt. I hit the Pic n Mix and powered on and the pain dulled again.

 

What kept you going? [aside from the huge table of treats - yes we saw that!] 

Yes – A LOT of food was consumed! But aside from the sugar I was really lucky with the amount of support I had – so many friends called me, joined me for a Zoom and some even joined on their own bikes for a virtual spin together. I was so overwhelmed by the support. Joining the Live Ride at 5pm with Frances was also amazing – the Digme community is so supportive. Members I’d never met before reached out with messages and donations.

I was keeping an eye on Lily’s donation page - the donations kept coming in for us so we knew we couldn’t stop!

What did you do to motivate yourself during the tough times? 

I watched a couple of motivational triathlon videos, give the Chris Nikic video a watch – anything is possible!

 

What was the hardest bit? 

Haha that’s easy! When planning the 24 hours, we thought it would be a good idea to add in a watt bomb (max power effort) at the end – I hit 877 Watts! Not my best by a long shot but I’ll take it after nearly 24 hours in the saddle!

 

How far did you cycle in total? 

654km / 406 miles [For anyone wondering that’s an average of 27km an hour for 24 hours!]

Lucky I had my trusty Monkey Sox so didn't get a single blister!

Would you it again? 

Ummmm, probably not but never say never!

 

How are you feeling now? 

Not too bad thank you! I have been pretty hungry the last couple of days but have had no trouble refuelling. The Wagamamas and beers went down a treat last night! My legs and bum are still a little stiff but not too bad considering.

 

Do you have any more challenges lined up? 

I have signed up to a 70.3 Ironman in Mallorca and full distance Ironman in Nice later this year! I was due to do these last year so fingers crossed they happen this year. I’ve never completed an Ironman event before.

 

Do you know how much money you raised? 

I think we are at around £4500 currently with donations still coming in!

 

If you would like to donate and read more about Lily’s story please click here.

From us and the whole Digme community – CONGRATULATIONS ALEX!!