When Wight challenge was launched, my wife (Maria) and I hadn't ridden our bikes over any distance for over 6 months, and before that it was sporadic at best. So the chance to join a challenge and the pressure of 100% participation of my work colleagues was too good to miss. So we registered, dusted down the bikes and made a start. Maria had a mountain bike that was freakishly heavy, so the journey to work was not an option at the beginning, as it was a 13 mile journey from home. I had a lighter hybrid, but this was still hard work riding the roller coaster Forest road, 9 miles to Gurit. But each day we either cycled part way or rode in the evening for "pleasure" and slowly added the miles up, driven on by the challenge. Having a journey log gave us a focus and a little competitive edge too. As the weeks went by we got more adventurous, and Maria even managed to ride the "Iron Beast" all the way home, through Porchfield and some good hill climbs.
We found ourselves enjoying the riding experience more and more, if you exclude the cars that almost knock you off, and the cars that trail you and won't pass until there is a clear straight mile (not many places on the Isle). Despite this we enjoyed being back on our bikes. So much so that we took a summer holiday in Austria and cycled around the area on some rentals, which were better and lighter than our bikes back home.
This then prompted the need for a new bike and Maria used the cycle scheme at her company to get a top of the range road bike, extremely light and so much easier to ride than the now retired "Iron Beast". Then it was a case of her disappearing into the distance whilst I tried to keep up, which almost killed me. So the only answer was a lighter road bike for me, I bought one locally and soon we were clocking the miles off on a regular basis, the challenge by now was long over, but we were hooked and still are.
We will register again this year and I am sure we will surpass last year’s mileage, and then some, but the log is a great motivator, and the challenge got us both back on our bikes. It has made us healthier, and extended our holiday options, and generally changed and improved our lives.
My advice is "get on your bike",(Do I have to credit Mr Tebbit), it's a great way to spend some time and see the Island, and the bonus is that you save some cash too. Enjoy

Kev