AS she nears 70, she can still ride 70 miles a day and enjoys the health of someone two decades her junior.

Dilys Gartside puts it all down to her love of cycling.

She said: "As my 70th birthday looms, I can still cycle 70 miles in a day (with no assistance) sit cross legged on the floor, do 50 sit-ups and enjoy the physical health of a 50 year old, despite artificial hips.

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"That's not to mention the mental wellbeing of an outdoor active traveller. And my cycling accounts for 50 miles per week of journeys without a motor so carbon and pollution free for everyone else to enjoy."

The benefits of cycling are huge for Dilys, who cycled the streets of Southampton for 30 years before moving to North Dorset and once completed a 1,000 mile camping trip from The Orkneys to Southampton on two wheels.

She has been riding her Dahon Helios for many years, but came to cycling late in life.

Daily Echo:

Dilys added: "I was not raised in a cycling family. I wasn't allowed a bike as a child but fell in love when, aged 26, I watched my fellow law students ex-Oxbridge arriving in style by bike and felt like an invalid driving my cherished Morris 1000.

"So, I taught myself to cycle bought a bike and cycled every day to the office despite a warning from my unenlightened male employers that it was unbecoming behaviour for a female solicitor as you were then considered as good a lawyer as the car you drove. I locked my cycle between the Jag and Rover beneath my initials on the pole marking my space!"

Dilys loves everything about her bike.

"It's lightweight and folds up but is able to carry me and my luggage on long trips, so perfect for integrated transport eg cycle six miles to town, where I and bike hop on bus to access train station for a stress-free city visit, creating minimal carbon output."

But she is about to upgrade it.

"Im looking to buy my first new bike in 15 years, a Genesis Croix de Fer, if I can get one given the huge surge in demand since Covid. It is a gravel bike and my needs in North Dorset are very different to when I cycled in Southampton for 30 years."

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