{"id":8389,"date":"2025-05-27T10:54:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T10:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/?p=8389"},"modified":"2025-05-27T10:54:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T10:54:32","slug":"amateur-rides-the-tour-de-france-femmes-ep-1-how-to-make-tough-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/amateur-rides-the-tour-de-france-femmes-ep-1-how-to-make-tough-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"AMATEUR RIDES THE TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES &#8211; EP 1 &#8211; HOW TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Today on the Balfe&#8217;s Bikes blog we welcome a special guest writer! Lumes has been a customer of our Streatham store for a long time, and is taking on the incredible <a href=\"https:\/\/theroute.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">challenge of riding the entire Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route<\/a> with our charity partner Cure Leukaemia!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Lumes will be sharing a series of blogs on her experience. Read the first instalment below!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"780\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/2277709062-1024x780.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/2277709062-1024x780.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/2277709062-300x228.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/2277709062-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/2277709062-1536x1169.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/2277709062-87x67.jpg 87w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the story of an attempt to be extraordinary. I learned how to ride a bike in 2020 and in July 2025 I\u2019ll be riding all 9 stages of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift a day before the pros to raise vital funds for blood cancer patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Am I a pro endurance rider with years of experience in big bike distances? No. Do I enjoy flirting with the boundaries of self-inflicted human suffering? Also no. Here\u2019s how I decided to do it anyway &#8211; perhaps it\u2019ll help you decide to do the thing you think might be too big for you too.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It all started with an aimless social media scroll trying to scratch that restless itch only a well-structured meme can temporarily distract us from. The itch that day was being fuelled by grief from mourning the sudden loss of a beautiful soul that I\u2019ve been lucky enough to call a friend to another horrific form of cancer, plus an ever-present persistent sense that I could be doing more. Creating more, growing more, moving more. Our brains love to highlight our sense of lack before leaving us hanging on the details.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"604\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/The-Route-Cure-Leukaemia-1024x604.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/The-Route-Cure-Leukaemia-1024x604.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/The-Route-Cure-Leukaemia-300x177.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/The-Route-Cure-Leukaemia-768x453.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/The-Route-Cure-Leukaemia-1536x906.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou too can ride the Tour de France Femmes!\u201d slid into view and something in my brain shifted. The absurdity of contemplating a challenge this big with an FTP in the low 100s made me laugh out loud. It was the equivalent of going from lovely leisurely walks around your neighbourhood to deciding to climb Mt Everest. And yet, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind this was the thing even if I did not see how it would come to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve been asked repeatedly by well-meaning loved ones and curious strangers what on earth I was thinking when I signed up for something so out of my depth. My ability to be certain about the choices I make has taken years to build and cultivate and you can do it too in a much shorter space of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/R0001869-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/R0001869-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/R0001869-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/R0001869-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/R0001869-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/R0001869-270x180.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/R0001869-770x515.jpeg 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These are some of the questions <em>(and answers) <\/em>that form the basis of every big decision I make today:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who do I want to be and how will this decision contribute to that vision?<\/strong><br>For me, I want to be someone who backs herself and her potential unwaveringly. It might take a lifetime but it\u2019s the commitment I\u2019ve made to myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What am I willing to regret? <\/strong><br>I weighed up regretting signing up vs regretting not signing up and my soul found the latter way more stressful. Regret isn\u2019t a static state. It\u2019s a normal human emotion and comes for us all at some point so if we\u2019re likely going to feel it anyway then why not be intentional about what we\u2019re open to feeling it for.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What will success look like for me if I say yes?<\/strong><br>Success in this case for me will be giving it a go, no matter how many times I have to stop or walk or struggle.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How do I want to feel in the future about the choice I made? <\/strong><br><em>I\u2019m choosing to feel proud and grateful now and in the future regardless of the outcome of this challenge attempt.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This might all sound like a vast oversimplification but one of the most magical facts about the human experience is we all have way more agency than we give ourselves credit for. We don\u2019t have to be at the mercy of the whims of the moment. We can choose on purpose who we want to be, how we want to feel, and what that means about how we get to show up. That is why I said yes to riding every stage of the Tour de France Femmes to raise crucial funds for Cure Leukaemia despite the considerable overwhelm from the size of the task at hand.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer. This endeavour is a journey I\u2019m incredibly privileged and honoured to be able to attempt so if you have some spare coins, please consider <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/page\/lumes\">donating to our cause<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 has-custom-font-size has-regular-font-size\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/page\/lumes\" style=\"background-color:#e2a854\">DONATE HERE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today on the Balfe&#8217;s Bikes blog we welcome a special guest writer! Lumes has been a customer of our Streatham store for a long time, and is taking on the incredible challenge of riding the entire Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift route with our charity partner Cure Leukaemia! Lumes will be sharing a series<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":8394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[470,471,289,476],"class_list":{"0":"post-8389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-stories","8":"tag-charity","9":"tag-cure-leukaemia","10":"tag-road-cycling","11":"tag-tour-de-france"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/05\/PXL_20210529_102213510-scaled.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Queenie Waterman","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/author\/queeniew\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AMATEUR RIDES THE TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES - EP 1 - HOW TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS\u00a0 - Balfes Bikes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/balf\/amateur-rides-the-tour-de-france-femmes-ep-1-how-to-make-tough-decisions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AMATEUR RIDES THE TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES - EP 1 - HOW TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS\u00a0 - Balfes Bikes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today on the Balfe&#8217;s Bikes blog we welcome a special guest writer! 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