WATT WORKS FOR ME: Bithja Jones

The reigning national hill-climb champ talks about defying pain, age and gravity

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You didn’t buy your first road bike until 2018, and two years later you were national hill-climb champion. How did you make such fast progress?

I think it’s because I literally cycle everywhere: it’s my main mode of transport. I don’t even own a car. I cycle to get my shopping, to take my kids to school, to get to work, every single day: 100-200km every week just getting from A to B. So I didn’t start from zero – cycling for transport had given me a base level of fitness.

What initially motivated you to get competitive?

After buying my first proper carbonfibre road bike from Pankhurst Cycles [in Reading] – which is also the club I ride for – I started posting my rides on Strava. The first comments were from the guys at the shop who said, “You keep beating times set by Emma Grant [MassiTactic Women Team]”. I realised I was particularly fast going uphill, but I was literally just having fun on my bike! I was only using a GPS watch, so had no idea of my speed as I was riding along – I was just enjoying having a light bike for the first time.

In February you told CW that you don’t use a heart rate monitor, power meter, or have a coach. Is that still true?