Behind the ‘gram | Cycling Advocate, ‘Melissa Jane Marshall’

2. For those who are a bit more of a beginner on a bike and want to venture out for only a couple of hours, could you recommend any cycling routes around the North East?

We are so lucky in the North East to have some amazing cycling routes and with a range of distance there is a route for everyone. Below are some of my favourite regular routes:

• Newburn to Prudhoe: This route is great as you get to basically follow the river from the beautiful quayside and all the way to Prudhoe. With this route you could stop at Wylam or even keep going and head up to Corbridge. It’s a lovely flat route from Newburn to Wylam so perfect for beginners and families and a good route if your lucky to start off small and build up your fitness.

• Tynemouth to Whitley Bay: I find this route to be perfect for families. North Tyneside have just created a whole new cycle lane all the way along the coast from Tynemouth town centre up to Spanish city. It is great for families or beginners as the wide land is great. It is also a route that can be extended up to Seaton Sluice or Blyth. Seaton Sluice has a great section of cycle pathway that goes through the dunes which is lovely for children to ride as its safe and wide.

5. You're currently training for a virtual duathlon! Firstly, congrats! Secondly, would you live to delve into what exactly a virtual duathlon is and what sort of training you're having to do?

My gym was closed throughout the lockdown meaning that my fitness goals for 2020 had taken a bit of a hit so, instead, I set myself a new challenge and something to focus on.

A normal duathlon is an event that includes participants running and cycling over a certain distance, however, I am doing a sprint duathlon which means that the distances are not of a traditional Duathlon. The event this year (ran by Try on the Tyne) is being ran virtual so it will I do the event (5k Run, 20k Bike and 2.5K run) on my own rather than at a specific location like normal and I will send my results via an app.

Training wise, I haven’t been really strict with it but I have a bit of a program. When it comes to the cycling I have a time in my head that I want to get that 20k done in and through lockdown I was riding a lot (on average anywhere between 100K-200K a week) so I know that I can do that distance comfortable but have been focusing on getting a good pace, I really want to get the cycling part done in 45 minutes.

The running part on the other hand is where the training is being strict, I haven’t ran 5k in many years due to having weak knees so I’ve had to go back to basics and I’m completing the couch to 5k so I should have just completed that course the week before the event. I’m feel confident that I can do it in the time cap that I’ve set myself, so fingers crossed that on the day it all goes smoothly!