Battlefield Bike Ride in aid of Walking With The Wounded

In Conversation with Philip Hindes MBE

This September, nine Sunbelt Rentals employees will be cycling eighty miles a day for five days from Amsterdam to Paris in aid of our strategic partners, Walking With The Wounded.

From the 25th to the 29th of September, the team will be travelling through iconic battlefields such as Ypres and the Somme, with the aim of following in the footsteps of those who have served and raising much needed funds for veterans and their families.

One of the nine employees taking part is two-time gold medallist Philip Hindes. We sat down with him ahead of the event as he shared his inspiration for undertaking the challenge, commenting on how his training regime is going, and what he looks forward to most upon crossing that finish line.

What inspired you to take part in this challenge?

Initially, it was a desire to get back on the bike and begin cycling again. Since I stopped training competitively, I’ve enjoyed immersing myself in other sports, such as golfing, the gym and learning jujutsu, but cycling was such a big part of my life and I do miss it.

Once I learned that the challenge was to raise funds for Walking With The Wounded my mind was made up. I’ve worked with Walking With The Wounded in the past and find veterans’ stories and the charity itself very inspiring.

I’m really excited for the route that we’ll be taking and how it’s so steeped in history – it will certainly be an emotional but educational ride. The timing couldn’t be better too – I definitely feel like I’m doing my part for Sunbelt Rental's ongoing ‘Let’s Move’ programme!

Supporting our communities, our dedication to social impact, and enabling our colleagues to thrive are essential to Our Planet— our plan for a brighter future. How does this challenge encompass all three?

As our strategic partners, we’ve supported Walking With The Wounded in challenges in the past (I was lucky enough to take part in the Walking With The Wounded Cumbrian Challenge in 2022) and I’ve also worked closely alongside veteran colleagues here at Sunbelt Rentals.

As a result, I’ve witnessed first-hand the impact that the work Walking With The Wounded has on both veterans and their families. Having seen and heard individual stories, I think that it will be an eye opening, educational experience for everyone participating.

This challenge also really feels like we’re coming full circle in our commitment to Our Planet by helping to support veterans and the wider community, but also doing it alongside our colleagues as we encourage and enable them to thrive. It’s a fantastic initiative, and one that I’m honoured to take part in.

You helped Great Britain win gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, as ‘man one’ in the team sprint event. How do you feel about an endurance cycling challenge?

When I first started training competitively, I initially did a lot of endurance cycling training and racing and a lot of road cycling – much of my youth was spent cycling in Mallorca. However, in 2012 our team physiologists altered our training method and from that point on road cycling didn’t play as big a part in our training regime. I actually haven’t cycled a distance exceeding forty miles or so on road rides since then! It’s also been at least twelve years since I last completed a long-distance bike ride of a hundred plus miles, so this will certainly be a challenge, but one that I’m really excited for.

I’m particularly looking forward to cycling through Holland and Belgium again. Having grown up in Germany, I cycled in Holland quite a lot in my youth, and I’m excited for the others to see the cycling infrastructure in Holland, it’s much more cycle friendly and creates a really enjoyable cycling experience.

What does your training regime consist of?

Now that I’ve stopped cycling competitively, I’ve enjoyed trying my hand at other sports. So, it’s actually been quite hard dedicating solid time to cycling again!

Up until recently, I was only training every two weeks, but now that the challenge is looming, I’ve recently increased to three bike rides per week. I aim to do around forty miles a bike ride. In a few weeks’ time I’m hoping to complete my first hundred-mile ride though!

I think the first day of the challenge we’re supposed to cover a hundred miles, then after that we’ll drop down to around eighty miles per day for the remainder of the challenge. I’m really keen to get a hundred-mile ride in ahead of the event, just to make sure that I won’t get too much of a shock on that first day!

How many miles have you racked up so far in training as a team?

By the end of last week, we’d cumulatively achieved around 5,000 miles as a team.

Some members of the team are training together on a Wednesday after work, meeting outside the Warrington offices, so it’s nice to be able to train together and support each other when we can.

A few members also took part in the Manchester to Blackpool charity bike ride last Saturday, so the training is really beginning to increase now!

How would you prepare mentally ahead of a big race? Which methods will you be drawing on for this challenge?

When I was training for the Olympics, mental preparation was a big factor for us due to the intensity and small margins of the events.

For this challenge however, with it being such a different type of challenge, I know that as long as I feel physically prepared, I’ll feel mentally prepared too. So, train, train, train essentially! It doesn’t matter how fast or slow the training is, I try to never focus on that, just focus solely on getting those miles in on the bike. It’s quite simple, really.

Cycling in a group will also make it that bit easier, I’m looking forward to being able to encourage and motivate one another when the going gets tough!

You will be cycling through three different countries – is there a certain part of the route that you envision being the trickiest??

I think that days three and four are going to be pretty tough. We’ll be in the middle of the challenge by that point. In the first few days everyone will be quite excited, the adrenaline will be pumping and the route that we’re planning to take is relatively flat. But by the third day the route is going to get hillier, and we’ll be in the middle of the challenge with the end point feeling very far away still.

On day three we’re also visiting the Somme and spending the evening attending a military ceremony there. We all anticipate there being some heightened emotions during the ceremony – on top of being physically drained from the cycling, there will be the added element of feeling emotionally drained throughout the course of the trip too, as we reflect on those who have served and the history of the battlefield. I imagine everyone will be quite exhausted by Thursday morning.

?And finally, what do you look forward to doing most once you’ve crossed the finish line?

Honestly? Just being able to sit down on a seat that isn’t a bike seat! To enjoy a nice meal and beer with the other cyclists, knowing that I don’t have to sit back down on a bike the following day! Seeing the final sum of money raised for Walking With The Wounded will also feel very special.

To donate and for more information visit the team's JustGiving Page: https://lnkd.in/eU7prTvU