At Scottish Cycling we love cycling and we want more women and girls to have an opportunity to discover a love for cycling too.
This International Women's Day we are highlighting the life-changing benefits cycling can bring by sharing some personal experiences from some of the women involved in different initiatives at Scottish Cycling, highlighting not just the mental and physical benefits that riding a bike can bring, to demonstrate the positive the impact on friendships, careers, adventures, and personal satisfaction.
Kris Kumari, Member of Scottish Cycling Women’s Development Group since 2019.
October 2018 standing (just about) with my companion - my bike. I felt an overwhelming sense of personal achievement, with the Eiffel Tower standing majestically behind me and my medal hanging around my neck, a proud moment. No, not the tour de France, but a three day bike ride challenge from London to Paris for a women’s cancer charity. This may be an ordinary challenge for some very experienced cyclists, and not so ordinary for others. For me, it was a significant personal challenge, considering cycling until recently had not even part of my vocabulary. I had never contemplated riding such a distance or even cycling to the shops. I had never embraced cycling, until now.
In January 2018, a leaflet was handed to me by a friend of a three day cycle challenge, London to Paris; oh, how I laughed! The first few thoughts that whirled around was “I am (then) 51 years old…cycle for three days…how many miles??…I can’t even ride a bike with confidence…I’m not a regular cyclist… oh wait…I don’t even have a bike! The stream of barriers went up, preventing me from even entertaining the idea.
I parked the leaflet on my desk. Days went by, my inner voice kept repeating “if I don’t try, if I don’t have a go, then it is something I will not experience”. I began to start with very small steps in immersing myself in the world of cycling to gain a better understanding. The wonders of Google and YouTube was my starting point investigating all things cycling, which soon developed into more specific websites, reading articles and window shopping. I did not know about the different types of cycle shoes, I knew nothing about the different components of a bike, what components you could change on the bike to make the bike ‘fit’, the appropriate use of the gears, the clothing, and cycling in different environmental conditions …
The second step was for me to purchase a bike, helmet, appropriate clothing and then get on my bike and start cycling and building up my miles gradually. Training consisted of developing my confidence on the bike, then getting confident with ‘clipping in’, to working the gears effectively and understanding my body position on the bike. I worked on these different aspects on my short and long rides.
By taking small practical steps and gaining knowledge, my confidence and passion grew. The journey from not cycling to attempting a cycle challenge really developed me; it taught me resilience, a growth mindset, preparation and adaptability. It gave me courage to then volunteer to be a ‘Ride Angel’ on the night ride Edinburgh challenge to support other women participating in a challenge ride. My once-upon-a-time barriers began to subside to the point that cycling became part of my life; whereby the opportunity to be part of the Women's Development Group at Scottish Cycling came at the right time for me.
Fast forward to March 2022 and I use cycling to support young people disengaged with education to gain knowledge, practical and theory, and personal development. I started cycling as a novice at the age of 51 and I did not stop. It has also given me fun and unique friendships along the way. I continue to cycle and aim to challenge myself yet again.
All Images supplied by Kris Kumari
