Events

Any changes or additions to my general event schedule will be updated on this page, as will all my future events. Major events (with full event reports) are highlighted in red (in the list below):


Events:

17 March 2024: My next Guinness World Record event will be My 24-Hour Squats World Record Attempt. The target is 25,000 squats in 24-Hours. Learn more here

25 September 2020: 24 Hour Chin-Ups World Record Attempt – On my Mum’s 70th birthday, 25th September 2020, I challenged the 24 Hour Chin-Ups World Record. Read my full event report here.

16 November 2019: 24 Hour Pull-Ups World Record Attempt – On what would have been my late brother Garai’s 44th birthday I attempted to break the world record for the most pull-ups completed in a 24 hour period. You can read about the event on this link and you can view images from the event on this link.

Summer 2018: Longest Ride Challenge – My 2018 goal will be to set a new World Record by completing the longest ElliptiGO ride I’ve ever done! The ride will be a 2,700km/1,700-miles long return journey from Land’s End to John o’Groats and back again. I would like many other riders to join me for some of (or even all of) the ride. Please follow the link above to find out more about the challenge and you can also read the full ride report on this link.

12-13 August 2017: Everesting – Climbing the height of Mt Everest, in one ride!

11 June 2017: 200km New Rider Induction (with ElliptiGO Ultra-Endurance Team) – A 200km Group Audax Long-Distance Cycling Challenge, on ElliptiGO bikes, helping new riders join The Team. We’ll ride either this route, or this one.

20-21 May 2017: 400km New Rider Induction (with ElliptiGO Ultra-Endurance Team) – A 400km Group Audax Long-Distance Cycling Challenge, on ElliptiGO bikes, helping a new rider join The Team. Kitty Vernooij set the new women’s ElliptiGO 24-hour-distance World Record during this ride! Watch Video.

7 May 2017: 200km New Rider Induction (with ElliptiGO Ultra-Endurance Team) – A 200km Group Audax Long-Distance Cycling Challenge, on ElliptiGO bikes, helping a new rider join The Team. Thomas Moench completed his 1st 200km Audax ride after just 4 weeks of ElliptiGO training! Watch Video.

19 March 2017: 225km DIY Audax challenge on ElliptiGO Arc 24-gear bike – a solo challenge ride in memory of my brother Garai Makaya, who passed away on 11 February 2017. A video blog of this ride can be seen on this link.

Dec 2016 – Cambridge Four Counties DIY 215km Audax: Final Ride of my Audax RRTY challenge for 2016.

Nov 2016 – 400km ElliptiGO Winter Tour Weekend (2 x 200km Audax rides) – Part of my ongoing Audax RRTY challenge for 2016.

8 October 2016 – ElliptiGO World Championship Weekend – (Annual hill-climb race up Mt Palomar and Time Trial around Fiesta Island – in San Diego, California).

11 Sept 2016 – Cambridge Four Counties DIY 215km Audax: Part of my ongoing Audax RRTY challenge for 2016.

7 Aug 2016 – Four Leaf Clover 200km AudaxPart of my ongoing Audax RRTY challenge for 2016.

17 July 2016 – Cambridge Four Counties DIY 215km Audax: Part of my ongoing Audax RRTY challenge for 2016.

June 2016 – Cambridge Four Counties DIY 215km Audax: Part of my ongoing Audax RRTY challenge for 2016.

(26-31 May 2016) Solo ‘LEJOG’ Guinness World Record Cycling Challenge – I will attempt to improve upon the ElliptiGO record for riding across Great Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats (‘LEJOG’). The Audax time-limit for this 1,354km (840-miles) ride is 116 hours and 40 minutes and the current Guinness World Record is 6 Days & 10 Hours.

1 May 2016 – DIY 400km Audax Challenge – 2nd Audax ride on the new model ElliptiGO Arc bike. This 260-mile ‘adventure’ was also quite an insightful outing, used as a fitness test before my ElliptiGO Ride Across Britain (LEJOG) on 26 May 2016.

20-23 April 2016 – Virgin London Marathon Expo: Idai will be hosting the ElliptiGO UK exhibition (Stand 360) at the 2016 London Marathon Expo. If you can make it, it’s well worth visiting – so drop by and say hi!

15-17 April 2016 – Brighton Marathon Expo: Idai will be hosting the ElliptiGO UK exhibition (Stand 17) at the Brighton Marathon Exhibition. If you can make it, it’s well worth visiting – so drop by and say hi!

3 April 2016 – DIY 213km Audax Challenge – First Audax ride on the new model ElliptiGO Arc bike. This 132-mile ‘adventure’ was also quite an insightful outing!

24-26 March 2016 – World Half Marathon Championships Expo: Idai will be hosting the ElliptiGO UK exhibition (Stand 63) at the World Half Marathon Championships Expo in Cardiff! He will also be giving a number of presentations on the main stage at the expo, focused on impact-free ElliptiGO training for runners. The likes of Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe will also be giving talks at the expo, so get there if you can!

19 March 2016 – DIY 400km Audax Ride Idai will take on this 400km unsupported training challenge under Audax UK verification rules, as a preparatory ride building up to his ride across Britain in May 2016.

20 February 2016 – DIY 300km Audax Ride Idai will take on this 300km unsupported training challenge under Audax UK verification rules, as a preparatory ride building up to his ride across Britain in May 2016.

2 January 2016 – Poor Student 205km Audax – This challenge was an interesting ‘experiment’ in which Idai rode with fellow endurance athletes Andy and Tim, largely in a bid to prove that Tim could actually train for a long-distance cycling event, to be ridden on the ElliptiGO, using long distance running for most of his conditioning! See how it unfolded by following this link

16-20 August 2015 – Paris Brest Paris (PBP 2015) – Held every four years (and having run regularly for the last 120 years) PBP is a 1,230km cycling event running between the French cities of Paris and Brest; with a time limit of 90 hours (within which riders must get from Paris to Brest and back again). It is the world’s premier amateur long-distance cycling event.

Over 6,000 participants took part in PBP 2015 and Idai rode in the event on his ElliptiGO elliptical bike, alongside a Team of 7 other ElliptiGO riders. Read Idai’s PBP 2015 event report here – and for the full team results, also see the team news blog, hereFor a Summary of All my PBP 2015 Training & Qualification Events & Results click here.

4 July 2015 – Dunwich Dynamo (Double Ride) – 227 Mile PBP 2015 Training Ride.

30 May 2015 – Windsor Chester Windsor 600km Audax – PBP 2015 Qualification ride.

9 May 2015 – Asparagus & Strawberries 414km Audax – PBP 2015 Qualification ride.

18 April 2015 – Skegness 300km Audax – PBP 2015 Qualification ride.

29 March 2015 – Stevenage Start of Summertime 210km Audax – PBP 2015 Training.

3 January 2015 – Poor Student 210km Audax – This was an early season fitness test and also an official PBP 2015 Qualification ride with members of the PBP 2015 ElliptiGO Ultra-Endurance Team. See the full report here.

27 September 2014 – ElliptiGO World Championship Weekend – (Annual hill-climb race up Mt Palomar and Time Trial around Fiesta Island – in San Diego, California).

13-14 September 2014 – The Flatlands 600km Audax – This is a 600km long-distance cycling event, starting from Great Dunmow, Essex. Idai will be riding in this event as his final ElliptiGO long-distance cycling challenge of 2014.

7 September 2014 – ElliptiGO European Championships – Idai got together with ElliptiGO riders from around Europe (and the USA) for the 2nd ElliptiGO European Championship Challenge (a ride to the summit of Mt Revard, in Aix-les-Bains, France).

16-18 August 2014 – 400-Mile Audax Challenge: Idai took on a solo Audax DIY 600k challenge in August 2014, tasked with riding a 400-mile course within a time-limit of 41 hours and 57 minutes.

Severe weather warnings turned it into an epic challenge as Idai battled fierce winds, ferocious rainstorms and the fatigue of riding such a long distance under those dreadful conditions.

12 July 2014 – ElliptiGO London Tour – This is a social tour ride around London for local ElliptiGO riders to mark International ElliptiGO Day. Catch up with Idai and the rest of the UK ‘ElliptiGO crowd’ in Central London at this fun event! Watch the video on this link.

27 to 29 June 2014 – Mille Cymru 2014 – Mille Cymru was a 1019km Audax UK cycling event, taking place in Wales. Idai Makaya, Stuart Blofeld and Alan McDonogh attempted the challenge on ElliptiGO bikes. It was undoubtedly the toughest amateur cycling event to take place in Britain in 2014.

Riders had just 75 hours to complete the challenging 1019km route (including over 16,000 metres of cumulative climbing) travelling the length and breadth of Wales on an epic quest across ancient lands of myths and legends – and passing through some of the finest landscapes and cycling roads in the principality. Read Idai’s full event report here.

1 June 2014 – Chiltern 100 Sportive Gran Fondo (110 miles) – Taking in approximately 177 km of beautiful Chilterns scenery riders in this event were challenged with almost 2700 metres of climbing. This route was relentless in its pursuit of hills – with 21 in all. Idai used the event as his final hard training ride before the Mille Cymru Audax (later in the same month).

24 May 2014 Milton Keynes to Brighton & Back (240-Mile Fitness Test) – This was Idai’s main long distance fitness test prior to taking on the 2014 Mille Cymru Audax. Most notable, in relation to this ride, was the fact that it was the first time anyone in the world had ever attempted to cycle non-stop for 24 hours whilst fasting (that’s taking in no calories at all during the entire ride). This ride was the longest ever fasted training ride at the time it was done – and it was a demonstration of some of the new applications of intermittent fasting in endurance sports training (to enhance fat burning efficiency).

10 May 2014 – 12 Hour Indoor ‘Trainer Spinathon’ (ASDA Bletchley Store, Milton Keynes) – Idai will set up his ElliptiGO on an indoor trainer alongside fellow ultra-cyclist Chris ‘Hoppo’ Hopkinson and they will both carry out a non-stop 12-hour indoor training session on their bikes to raise awareness (and funds) for Chris’ designated charity, the Fraja Ellie Appeal.

The event is also intended to help Chris raise ongoing public support for his Ultra-Marathon Cycling Racing campaign in 2014. Fellow ElliptiGO riders are invited to join them in this event, so if interested please contact us to register your interest at the earliest opportunity.

16 November 2013 – Audax UK Annual General Meeting and Award Ceremony – Idai Makaya was the Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker at the 2013 Audax UK (Long Distance Cycling Association) Annual General Meeting & Awards Ceremony.

At the Reunion Dinner Idai gave a presentation about how he prepared for and tackled LEL 2013 by ElliptiGO bike – covering the lessons he learned and how these learnings can be applied to long-distance cycling in general.

12-13 October 2013 – ElliptiGO World Championship Weekend (Annual hill-climb race up Mt Palomar and Time Trial around Fiesta Island – in San Diego, California).

1 September 2013 – Mt Revard ElliptiGO Hill Climb Race (Europe’s first large-scale ElliptiGO hill-climb championship race to the top of Mt Revard in Aix-Les-Bains, France).

28 July to 2 August 2013  London Edinburgh London (LEL) 2013 – Idai Makaya and Alan McDonogh conquered Britain’s longest and toughest continuous-timing cycling event of 2014. Held by Audax UK every 4 years, the LEL 2013 course was 1419km long with a time-limit of 116 hours and 40 minutes. Read the full event report on this link.

16 June 2013 – London to Brighton Bike Ride (UK’s biggest bike ride, a 54-mile fun ride from London to Brighton. A training ride with the Milton Keynes ElliptiGO Club).

8 to 9 June 2013 – Ride UK 24 (Read a detailed account of Idai’s 2013 Elliptical Cycling 24 Hour Endurance World Record Attempt here).

12 May 2013 – Suffolk Sunrise 100-Miler (A 100-mile cycling challenge event organized by Action Medical Research).

24 February 2013 – Phil Cooke Memorial 100K Challenge (100km LEL Training ride – with LEL team mate Alan McDonogh).

8-9 September 2012 – ElliptiGO World Championship Weekend (Annual hill-climb race up Mt Palomar and Time Trial around Fiesta Island – in San Diego, California).

15 July 2012 – Winchester 100 (A 100-mile cycling challenge event organized by Action Medical Research – and at the time the largest collection of ElliptiGO bikes to complete a 100-mile cycling event, with 7 ElliptiGO riders).

24-25 June 2012 – Ride 24 (2012) – (Read a detailed account of Idai’s 2012 Elliptical Cycling 24 Hour Endurance World Record Attempt here).

19 May 2012 – London Revolution (Annual 100-mile Sportive ride taking in the sights of London and the Greater London area).

5-6 November 2011 – ElliptiGO World Championship Weekend (Annual hill-climb race up Mt Palomar and Time Trial around Fiesta Island – in San Diego, California).

25 September 2011 – Ride Around London (Annual 115-mile sportive cycling event).

19 June 2011 – London to Brighton Bike Ride (UK’s biggest bike ride, a 54-mile fun ride from London to Brighton).

5 June 2011 – Chiltern 100 Sportive (One of Britain’s toughest and hilliest annual sportive cycling fixtures at 110-miles long and Idai’s qualification event for the ElliptiGO Century Club).