The West Bromwich Albion and England goalkeeper reveals how football injuries have turned him into a cycling addict
Injury got me back on a bike. As a kid I had a mountain bike. Me and a load of mates would go riding in the woods nearby, but it was only when I got injured as a footballer that I got into cycling again. I’ve had three cruciate ligament injuries – two in the right knee and one on the left – and for a big guy like me running for rehab isn’t an option.
Riding London-to-Paris took my cycling up a gear. About four years ago I did my left knee. I was about six weeks into the eight month rehabilitation, training on a Wattbike, when the charity CureLeukaemia. co.uk asked if I wanted to ride London to Paris. It was amazing. Riding 100-mile days for four days on the bounce opened my eyes to what cycling can bring; the camaraderie, the lovely scenery, especially in France. It just made me hungry to do more.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2017-Ausgabe von Cycling Plus.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2017-Ausgabe von Cycling Plus.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Air Apparent - Pollution hasn't gone away. It's still there in every lungful, even if we can't see it in the air or on the news. But there are reasons to breathe easier, thanks to pioneering projects using cycling 'citizen scientists'. Rob Ainsley took part in one...
The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
No limits
Not every adventure needs to be that epic, says bikepacking Scotland founder Markus Stitz
UNBOUND UNLEASHED
Josh Patterson was one of 34 starters for the inaugural edition of Unbound in 2006. Now, with more than 5,000 riders taking part in today's event, he charts the rise of the most important race in gravel
FOREST COMMISSION
Looking for a goal race in 2025 that'll stimulate the synapses and live long in the memory? You'd struggle to do better than ENID CRV in Finland
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Featuring Yorkshire, the USA, Sri Lanka and more, here are our picks of the world's greatest gravel races and routes
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Ned sings the praises of the Paris Olympics road-race course
"I rode 3,000 miles around Britain on a bamboo bike to highlight our climate crisis"
Recordbreaking cyclist and triathlete Kate Strong, 45, took to the road to raise awareness of environmental issues
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
We venture into the hidden gem of the glorious Creuse, one of France's least populated regions
STAR TREK
New tube shapes and carbon lay-up makes the eighth generation of Trek's legendary Madone an aero and climbing bike all rolled into one
GOLD RUSH
With conflict around the world, Paris 2024 was a ray of light. Here are our highs of a mighty Olympics
