Mel Parker from Gloucestershire is training to take part in Row2Rio which takes place in 2016

MEL PARKER WAS at a fork in her life when she decided to apply for a place on a team which intends to row and cycle all the way from London to Rio de Janeiro. The rest is history as after she was accepted she has been dedicated in her training and work towards the huge challenge which takes place next year.

The challenge involves following the Olympic journey using human power alone – a combination of rowing and cycling. The route itself has never before been completed, meaning the Row2Rio team will be the pioneers.

To find out more and how you can get behind and support the challenge visit www.facebook.com/row2rio.

Could you tell us a little more about yourself, what made you decide to apply to be part of the team for Row2Rio and how did it feel to be accepted?

I was at a point in my life that I needed a change – I either needed to do something big or I needed to start thinking about the future – career, family etc.  So Adventure it was…

I started to trawl the internet for ideas and set my sights on an ocean row.  And there it was – an advert for my two favourite things, cycling and rowing, in one epic adventure – Row2Rio needed a fourth team mate.

When I went for my ‘interview’ I felt like this was a group I could spend prolonged time with.  The next week was a sports psychology questionnaire to check they felt the same about me, I was a good ‘team player’ and that I wasn’t going to tip them out of the boat half way across the Atlantic. 

I think most ocean rowers will tell you that one of the hardest parts is done when you finally get to the start line. Coming as a professional fundraiser I think the team felt these skills would also help the challenge get to where it needed to be.

Could you tell us about the idea behind Row2Rio and explain what the three stages will consist of?

I understand it started like a lot of good stories – after a few at the pub.  In the summer of 2012, while the excitement of the Olympics was at full force, Johnny wanted to come up with a way of linking the 2012 Olympics to the new site in Rio 2016.  And he thought that physically linking them by human power alone was a good idea.

So the route can be broken down into three stages:

Phase 1 – Cycle from the Olympic park in London down through France, through Spain and to the south of Portugal.  It’s in Lagos that we start the row.

Phase 2 – From Lagos we leave the comforts of proper food and flushing toilets and start the 3,300 mile row to North Brazil across the Atlantic – hopefully just missing the hurricane season.

Phase 3 – It’s from Belem that we find our land legs and start pedalling 1,800 miles right into the new Olympic city Rio.

Could you tell us about the charity that will benefit from the challenge and why people should support you and donate to the cause?

Once we knew the challenge was happening we felt like we could do some good with the trip and thinking of a charity to do it for was a no-brainer for us.

In early 2015 I got a call at work to tell me that my mum had just been diagnosed with cancer – it completely shook our whole family.  In a matter of weeks she was having major surgery and starting chemo. Overnight she went from being constantly active, always horse riding, cycling, running etc, to fighting the effects of chemo.

I guess getting the news about my mum is partly what triggered the whole ‘I need a change, let’s look for an adventure’.  And it’s seeing how my mum has faced it and is conquering it that is spurring me on to make this journey a success and raise as much as possible for Macmillan who have supported mum and myself over the year.

I really hope that people will support Row2Rio and Macmillan by going to our website and donating – www.facebook.com/row2rio.

 

What were your experiences of cycling and rowing before you signed up to Row2Rio and how hard are you currently having to train?

My life has revolved around rowing and cycling for the last three years. 

I fell in love with rowing because of the need for technique, efficiency, power and endurance.  And my passion for cycling started when I agreed to buy a bike and join some friends cycling across England – and it all went from there.  And now the first thought I have when thinking about a trip is ‘where can I take my bike…’

And I have that thought process to blame for the current minor training set-back.  I had a friend’s wedding in Poland in September and I decided to cycle there, but half way across Germany I came off the bike and broke my wrist. Two hospital trips later, wrist in a cast, I got back on the (slightly adapted) bike. It slowed my mileage, but through a mix of cycling, trains and a very patient boyfriend we made it to the wedding.

I’m just out of the cast but it has affected my training for the last two months. Through a combination of rowing, cycling, running and weights I’ve dropped from doing ten to 16 training sessions per week to about eight. But I’m starting to build back up now.

Did you know any of the other members before this challenge and could you tell us a little more about each and what they bring to the team?

No, the first time I met Johnny and Jake was at my interview.  And earlier this year we had a teammate drop out, but I’d met this girl Susannah at several rowing events and I thought she would make a great part of the team as a replacement.  She’d done the Pacific before, and I really liked her, so I asked if she’d fancy a new challenge.  Luckily she said yes, and I’m kind of relieved to have another girl on board. 

Getting a challenge of this scale off the ground is really hard work.  We’re constantly working together to sort out training, sponsors, online, equipment etc.  And we’ve been through some fairly stressful times when it didn’t look like things were going our way, but we proved we work well as a team and figured it out. 

Everyone brings something to the team – such as Susannah, who’s so calm and unflappable. Jake will be the one to sense when the team need a lift and will keep spirits high. And Johnny aka Captain Keevil, has been placed at the head of the ship for his laid back ways but clear leadership style.  

What habits and personality traits are you most worried about in others when sharing such a confined space in the middle of the ocean and what are your worst points that could annoy your peers?

We’ve been through ups and downs, but we’ve found a team that works well together – a group that genuinely compliments each other.

We’ve made an agreement that we’re going to raise issues and bugbears straight away, get it all out in the open and we’ll hopefully resolve them as quickly as possible. 

I haven’t told the team that my nickname that has grown from other cycle expeditions is Princess… I don’t think I should elaborate on that anymore.

How do you expect the challenge to affect you mentally and physically? What are you most worried about and how are you preparing?

I am expecting a lot of tears, especially in the first week or so of the row, as land drifts out of sight.  I’m really close to my family, so I know being away from them, friends and my partner for such a long time is going to be really tough.  I’ve asked friends to make me some playlists and podcasts for when I’m missing them and need a bit of a pick-up.

This will undoubtedly change us physically.  Trying to minimise weight loss, from such calorie-demanding days, we will be aiming to eat at least 4,000 calories a day through dehydrated meals and meal replacement drinks from Huel.

Flat water rowing that I’m used to relies a lot on glutes for power, but ocean rowing doesn’t so much.  And with not really walking around or doing any other movement on the boat we expect to lose a lot of lower body muscle.  To try and minimise stress on my body I’ve been trying to get in as much weight-training and Pilates as possible.

Apart from spending hours in a rowing boat and on an erg I’m not sure if there’s much else I can do to prepare my hands and backside for the salt sores and pain that’s coming.

How can our readers find out more about the challenge and keep up to date with your progress and any news about Row2Rio?

We’ll be keeping our supporters up to date with how we’re getting on through our website and social media.

Follow us at:  www.facebook.com/row2rio