Implanted ‘Iron Maiden’ to cycle Australia

Adi Coventry-Brown is gearing up for a 5500km cycle trail across the ditch with hopes to inspire older women and those with artificial joints.

The 64-year-old veteran cyclist from Appleby will set off on the Indian Pacific Wheel Race in March, which winds from Fremantle, Western Australia, to the Sydney Opera House via Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra.

Adi says since completing the close to 7000km TransAmerica Trail in 2016, becoming the oldest woman at the time to finish the course, she soon discovered her cycling years had caused osteoarthritis, resulting in metal implants for both hips, her left knee and left ankle.

“The surgeon said I had worn out my joints earlier than most people due to all the cycling I’ve done in my life,” she says.

“I’ve also broken nine bones in the last eight years, so my body has been through the wars, but I’m determined to get back to what I love doing… I might not be able to walk or stand very well but I sure can ride a bike.”

Adi says her broken bones included five ribs, along with a leg laceration, in a cycling injury prior to Christmas, but she has since recovered to get back in the saddle.

“At the moment, even though I’ve just recovered from these injuries, I’ve been doing 400km a week and I intend to up that for the event to about 500km, all through the Moutere, Motueka Valley, and Cable Bay from where I live, going to Brightwater first.

“I do a lot of stretches before I go so that none of the joints are stiff and sore and I do the same stretches when I get back, and at the moment, with the heat, I have to drink a lot. It’s teaching me how much I need to drink when I’m crossing the Outback which is going to be very hot and dry.

“The TransAmerica Trail taught me a lot about how to overcome fears that also happen like heat stroke, saddle sores, and weak necks.”

Adi says she and a group of up to 40 riders will embark on the race on March 19, and she hopes to ride into Sydney by early May.

“Everyone has a pseudonym for the [Indian Pacific Wheel Race] and mine is Iron Maiden, because I’ve got so much metal in my body,” she laughs.

“For those who race it or want to be first to the end, they’ll do it in about a month, I’m hoping to do it in 40 to 50 days, so I’m hoping to do 120-160km a day, younger ones would be going further but they’re not 65.”