In 2009 doctors gave James Golding less than a five percent chance of surviving. He needed emergency surgery having spent 12 months fighting a cancerous tumour located near his spine. His weight had plummeted to under six stone and a series of medical complications meant his body was unable to take on food.
That was then. Seven years on, now 35, James Golding has just completed one of the hardest challenges in amateur cycle racing. The Haute Route prides itself on being the world’s toughest and highest cyclosportive and consists of three week-long events in which up to 650 amateur riders take on the biggest mountains in the Pyrenees, the French Alps and then the Swiss Alps and Dolomites.
Not content to attempt one of the three weeks, James decided to do all three, taking on the so-called “Triple Crown.” For James this was a 21-day marathon amounting to 2,563 kilometres in distance and over 60,000 metres of climbing, far more than the total in this year’s Tour de France.
Back in 2009 James was at his lowest and was told by doctors at one point that he was unlikely to survive the night. “In hospital I suppose there was a part of me that wanted to be a kid again, I had tubes coming out of me everywhere, I’d been kept in an induced coma for two weeks and to begin with I barely had the strength to lift my head off the pillow,” he recalled.
“But lying in that hospital bed allowed me develop a sense of perspective of what’s important. I wanted to give something back to the people who had supported me, and although I didn’t know it at the time, that meant riding a bike.”
We hear of people beating the odds all the time and this is exactly what happened to James. He had to undergo an operation in which the doctors gave him only five percent chance of survival. James beat those odds and battled his way to recovery, much to everyone’s amazement.
"I thought we had done a pretty good job of clearing up the mess inside his abdomen but I still didn’t think he had the strength to pull through – but then I didn’t know James,” explained Dr. Phil Baragwanath, a Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon at the University Hospital, Coventry and Warwickshire.
Surviving was one thing, recovering was another. James had become so weak and for someone who had been so physically strong, the recovery was both a mental and physical challenge.
“I couldn’t walk but I could just about wiggle my toes,” he said. “Then I remember being able to move my leg for the first time, and in some ways that was when I set my first goal. It might sound stupid but all I wanted was to be able to walk to the bathroom.
“A few months later, when I was able to get back on a bike, I forced myself to cycle a lap of a reservoir near where I grew up. It was only five miles and getting around it nearly put me back in hospital. But rekindling that feeling of freedom, of being a kid again - that’s what drove me on and maybe it helped my recovery. I think it was a sense of remembering what I had lost.”
The recovery was long and hard but for James it was a question of mind over matter: “I developed a realisation that anything is possible if we manage our expectations about how we are going to achieve our goal. Whether it is learning to walk again, getting back on the saddle or a record attempt, it’s a similar process. And in my mind that’s really what the Haute Route cycling event is about.”
According to James the real test of the Haute Route is getting out of bed and clipping in each day; overcoming that mental barrier and realising that your body will keep going. It’s that famous expression of whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can’t… either way you are right.
During the Haute Route 2015 James fitted into the peloton like any other rider. In fact he looked among the fittest as he climbed one mountain after another, always holding a competitive position in the field. He made friends throughout the three weeks and other riders were amazed by his story. He doesn’t boast, but if you ask, he will tell.
When he crossed the finish line in Venice a group of riders were waiting to cheer him on. “From being given almost no chance of survival, let alone hope of riding a bike again, to making it to the finish here is a special moment,” he said after three gruelling weeks.
“Challenges like this make us feel alive. We’ve had to overcome a different hurdle each week but the hardest part has been shutting off from the euphoria at the finish of each week, knowing it wasn’t over. This year’s experience at the Haute Route goes at the top of my list for best experience, best event and personally – my most satisfying accomplishment.”
As any Haute Route finisher will tell you, the things you learn from riding a bike extend way beyond being in the mountains with beautiful scenery. You can push yourself to the limits, you can achieve these goals and that’s a lesson you can take and apply to any situation. If you can get through a week of the Haute Route then you can get through almost anything by learning to accept that quitting isn’t really an option.
Haute Route 2016 entries are now open and James is already on the start sheet, taking on the Triple Crown again. For more information see www.hauteroute.org
From the hospital ward to the Haute Route, a timeline of events
November 2008 diagnosed with 11.5 cm tumour wedged between his spine and bowel
February 2009 Septicaemia, peritonitis leading to emergency surgery; placed in an induced coma and given a 5 percent chance of survival
April 12th 2009 walked 100 yards away from a high dependence ward after learning how to walk again.
July 23rd 2009 given the all clear from cancer
November 13th 2009 (a year to the day on from the cancer diagnosis) James announces plans to cycle across America to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
July 10th 2010 hit by a truck at 70mph, 40 mile outside New Orleans. Admitted to hospital with three broken ribs and no skin on either of his hands or legs.
January 2011 set off once again from Los Angeles heading for Miami, completing the 3473 miles trip in just 24 days, riding 145miles a day.
June 2011 diagnosed with cancer for a second time after scans showed a second tumour to the right of James’ spine.
James still completed the London to Paris over three days, the London Triathlon, 2 mile Great Swim in Windermere, ITU Triathlon in Hyde Park and the Alpine Challenge retuning home the day later for surgery.
October to February 2012 James underwent Chemotherapy and radiotherapy
April 2014 five years to the day since walking out of hospital for the first time, James attempted the Seven Day World Cycling Record which stood at 1740 miles. He completed 1100 miles in four days before his crew took the decision to stop the ride due to weather and road conditions.
James completes the Haute Route Triple Crown - the highest and toughest endurance cycling challenge in the world
