15
After my mountain bike experience in 2009, I decided to try my hand at club cycling. I turned up for my first ride on a hybrid bike in leggings, trainers and a hoody (probably even a backpack!). I was warmly welcomed, but I was the only female out that day. Had I caught the only Sunday morning when all other female cyclists had decided to take a rest day? As I got more and more hooked on cycling, I invested in a decent road bike and it gradually became clear that this lonely female existing on two wheels wasn’t a one off. It was the norm. And it made me sad.
Over the next few years, my confidence on a bike grew and I was fitter and healthier than ever. Riding 50 miles before midday on a Sunday was now my routine and I loved it. Why? I felt empowered for one thing. Never before had I been able to have the freedom that riding a bike gave you. And, more to the point, I wasn’t too bad at it. I could keep up with the blokes, sprint up the hills and I felt alive. It was addictive. It wasn’t long before I did meet some like-minded women to ride with and in 2013, a small group of us embarked upon a season of racing...
It was a huge learning curve. We needed a licence to race (how and where do I get that?), we needed to learn how to ride properly in a pack (what is ‘through and off’ exactly?), how to corner at speed (so I don’t use my brakes, are you kidding me?) and most of all, we needed to show other women that riding a bike was amazing! In this first year of racing, I have one stand out moment and it was racing at the London Prudential Grand Prix. It wasn’t until we arrived that it dawned on us how big this race was. We had a dedicated warm up area with media flashing long lenses in at all the pro teams, the barriers had people 5 deep ready to cheer us on and there was TV coverage, actual TV coverage! To be totally honest, the whole thing was a blur from start to finish. Lining up on The Mall next to Olympic champions like Laura Trott, as well as the Wiggle Honda and Matrix Vulpine teams amongst others, was rather surreal. Once the race was underway, the noise was epic and the experience was exhilarating. I urge you to find a sport where you can have this kind of competitive experience with such a mixture of elite athletes and first year racers other than cycling.
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It was an inspiration.