Name: Martin Cheatle
Zwift Group Leader: D
Age: 48
Profession: Information Technology Storage Engineer
Martin! First off, how long have you been riding?
On and off since I was 15
Do you ride with a club?
I currently ride with Dynamic Rides on most Saturday mornings, I have also ridden with Royal Sutton CC last year to do the TT on Tuesday evenings, this was a return to my old club from when I was a teenager.
What type of rider would you describe yourself as?
I would consider myself a good rider, keeping up with the DR’s B group most Saturdays with fairly decent riding skills and I will get better, even at this age :-)
So how many rides / miles do you ride per week?
At this time of year I only ride at weekends outside or on the trainer during the evenings making for about 3 to 4 rides, with current mileage around 100 miles. Once the daylight lengthens I will commute to work at least 3 times a week.
That's a good amount of riding! Why do you do it?
Mostly for my health - both mental and physical. I also run but don’t swim so I’m not a crazy Triathlete, yet ;-)
What made you start riding?
I got back in to it this time around as there was a 100 mile charity ride with work and I could not resist the challenge, I was running plenty so had a decent base fitness and loved the training rides I did to get ready.
So you fell back in love with riding - what do you love most about it?
For me I love the challenge of riding, making the bike go fast, or the distance I can achieve by myself during the day. Riding is not as meditative as running as you have to focus on your surroundings so much more, so I love to ride with a group of talented riders, great conversation, more speed and distance and the added challenge of working together.
What are your ambitions for the 2019 season?
My biggest challenge this year will be another charity ride with work covering 334 miles in 3 days.
Wow a three day voyage! Sounds amazing! What are your ambitions for your cycling career?
To become a better climber and make it around the “Full Monty” without having to stop on any of the 4 climbs, I never walk just stop to allow my heart rate to settle and then get back to work and completing the challenge.
What has made the biggest impact to your riding?
The indoor trainer has been a God send I love my Tacx Neo especially with tools like Zwift. It has meant winter training is so much more fun. I still have a set of rollers but they don’t see any use these days.
Why have you decided to ride the Mad March / Summer Hare?
Due to the fantastic work of Dan, Coz and the rest of the Madhare team, these are fantastic Sportives well organised making it easier to focus on the challenge of the day, overcoming weather and terrain etc.
That's great to hear. Is there anything else you would like to share?
I have to thank Dan for asking me to help with the Zwift training rides that we are doing on Wednesday evenings at 19:40. I have really enjoyed being the D group leader, learning a new skill and meeting more riders online. It would be great if we could arrange for the online groups to meet up on the “March Hare” that we have been working towards, to that end any Group D’s that would like to ride as a group on the day please get in touch with me and we’ll organise a common start time.
Brilliant! There we go then - if you want to ride with Martin's D group ride join the madhare cycling page (www.facebook.com/groups/madhare.cc) and get in touch! We'd like to thank Martin for his awesome ride leading every Wednesday night with the D group. Legend.
(Pic: Mr Cheatle leading the D group around the Watopia Volcano Flat course)