The Symes Report 2(clone) | Page 34

BH: Tell us about the bike charity ride you participated in lately?

MK: In March, I, together with my front rider, Mike Ryan and 99 of our colleagues had the amazing opportunity to do a Tour de Cure ride to raise funds for pioneering cancer research, support and prevention projects. We were each placed in pelotons depending on experience and fitness. Our peloton rode 328km over three days starting in Panania to Bowral to Wollongong back to Sydney.

What an awesome experience and to do it on a tandem (well that was not only awesome but extremely tough). It is interesting as many people think if there are two riders it is much easier. This might be true riding down hills outside a peloton but not so when you are riding up hills with a gradient of 12 per cent and the hills go for ages. I had numerous people ask what was the highlight of the ride and it was completing day one – wet weather most of the day (rain and more rain) 1600m of climbing and 117km of riding.

I had never ridden in such weather, climbed so high and ridden so far in one day. There were times when I was questioning myself as to why I was doing this. It was about my family and friends who have suffered with cancer or looking after someone going through treatment.

BH: What role does mental toughness play in your day to day life?

MK: Every day my mental toughness is challenged. Once I step outside my front door I have to not only be focused on what I am doing, what is going on around me but also the conversations I have or comments thrown my way. We all experience situations in life which can either put a smile or frown on our faces and therefore for me mental toughness often gets me through some of these situations.

BH: Majella, what does

mental toughness mean to you?

MK: Living life. Mental toughness is embedded in nearly everything I do. For me mental toughness is pulling on my resilience and therefore confidence to be successful in all aspects of my life including my career, physical activity and life in general.

BH: Majella how do you stay mentally tough when completing a sporting challenge?

MK: Focusing on the end goal and the feelings of accomplishment and achievement once you cross the finish line or complete an event. There is not much that beats those feelings. During an event you may want to quit or keep asking yourself "why am I doing this?" – but at the end of the day the majority of us don't want to fail in anything we do, including sporting challenges.

And for me, I am never doing a sporting event solo – every event I have a guide who has given up their time to do the event with me, so there is no way I am going to quit.

Majella and Mark have raised $15000

for Tour De Cure

"We all experience situations in life which can either put a smile or frown on our faces and therefore for me mental toughness often gets me through some of these situations."

Majella Knobl