The Effect of Endurance Cycling on Human Performance‏: A case study

What will happen to my body after 50,000 miles on a bicycle?

To answer that question some of the Consultant Physicians and the Muscle Research Scientists at Kings College and Guys and St Thomas Hospitals are putting me through some physical and physiological investigations to gain insight into the impact completing this challenge will have on my body. I will repeat these tests on my return to the UK in 2014 to get a sort of ‘before and after’. Part of this research will involve taking a biopsy from my quadriceps and freezing it at -80°C for 5 years when another sample will be taken and the two can be compared under the microscope. 
             

The results could perhaps merit inclusion in a medical publication. I also plan to do lots of talks to children in schools on my return and being able to describe some of the physical changes that occurred to me following long distance cycling could perhaps help to promote both the health benefits of exercise and the idea of cycling as the ultimate in healthy eco-friendly tourism.

Investigations performed so far include:

Exercise capacity (including VO2 max and anaerobic threshold)
Isokinetic dynamometry
Quadriceps strength and endurance
Quadricep biopsy - painful! (looking specifically at muscle fibre type, mitochondrial density, hypertrophy and enzyme levels)
Quadricep and leg MRI scan
Electrocardiogram
Echocardiogram
Cardiac MRI scan
24 Blood pressure monitoring
Pulmonary function tests
Respiratory muscle strength tests
Body composition tracking system analyisis