Nahla Summers started her challenge back on August 1st 2020 and ended on the 22nd of November. 5000 miles, 4 months, 2 pairs of Merrell’s, 1 puncture, an ElliptiGO bike and lot of acts of kindness along the journey.

By Nahla Summers

It would be hard to truly convey the multifaceted parts of this challenge.  Persevering through a global pandemic, facing the injury, the isolation and the weather was something that provided many lessons that, in the end, built resilience and turned contentment.  It was certainly a rollercoaster, plans changed weekly, mindset became key and kindness became the mission that kept me going.

I travelled 50 miles on average per day but on each day, this fluctuated from 30 – 80 miles dependant on all the conditions previously mentioned.  I had added up the miles as I went along but just three days from the end, I thought it was prudent, considering the number of issues that had occurred, to double-check the final figures.  I discovered that I was 60 miles short of the figure I believed I was working to.  If I still wanted to achieve the Guinness World Record (GWR) for ‘Furthest distance on an Elliptical bike in a single journey’ I would need to complete a 100-mile day on the final day.  This on an ElliptiGO is not to be underestimated at the best of times but with the light being lost and the winter nights drawing in, this was not something I was relishing. 

Her teammate

But the kindness seems to always find its way. Someone from the ElliptiGO community offered to ride with me in the last 50 miles. Honestly, if I had not had them with me, I am not sure I would I have been able to complete it.  I was on the road from 7.30 am to 8.00 pm, riding in the dark for four hours, not being able to stop for too long because the cold was setting in.  It was a great way to finish, I felt more accomplished with that single day than I had for the whole 5000 miles!

The 22nd November I completed the challenge at the final figure of 5007.8 miles. And, once again, the Sunshine People community had outdone themselves, making stars in different forms in their routes.  It was to imply that I was a superstar for finishing, a message that stretched out beyond words on a message, but in an action that unified a group of supporters who had kept me fit throughout the peaks and troughs.  

However, as I said so often, it was not me, I was just peddling, the movement was about a group of people who said, ‘we value kindness, we will not accept anything else’.  

We only make a change when we as individuals decide to promote that that will make real change in society and kindness has that power, you have that power.