Together We Ride

“On 1st June, 2001, I tried riding a bike for the first time. I was 12 years old, it was the first day of the school holidays and I went to a cycling club. I loved it immediately and I’ve never stopped since. What started out as fun soon became a hobby and then a lifestyle. Now it’s a career.”

“I grew up in a football family. One day my Dad took me to watch my brother play. There were lots of kids on the side of the pitch riding bikes. I was intrigued and said to my dad ‘instead of watching football I want to try that!’, that’s where it began.”

“I started cycling at school and bought my first bike in December 2008 for €120, with shoes included! The shoes were way too small, so I just wore them without the insoles. I never intended to start racing but someone just suggested I give it a try and I loved it. I had a lot to learn and I made mistakes. I remember going on a youth training camp where it was raining and super cold. I didn’t have gloves but I remember saying, ‘I don’t need gloves!’”

“I love the social aspect of cycling with a group, the banter, the coffee stops. Riding with others makes me push myself so much harder, particularly if I’m riding with boys – I’ll be chasing them and in my head I’m saying ‘I’m not getting dropped, I’m not getting dropped!’, I’m not going to let them have to wait for me.”

“In a group time goes by so much faster, whereas five or six hours alone can feel like forever! More than that though, riding together means you can talk, support and motivate each other. And, if somebody is a little better than you it makes you want to improve.”

“Being a team is having a connection between you and your teammates. You need to have complete faith in each other.”

“Sometimes being the best comes down to confidence. It’s telling yourself you can do it. It’s getting out of that negative hole and fighting to find positivity in the people around you.”

“I don’t see training as punishment. For me, it’s something to love. Every morning I wake up and want to ride because I know I’m going to do something that makes me incredibly happy.”

“It’s exhilarating to be at the front of a bike race but it’s so hard to get there, especially in the Belgian races. Once you're there the feeling you get is so powerful, and although I’m really hurting, I can overcome the pain. When you’re in that zone, you can be totally focused on your goal.”

“I love climbing because you suffer. Like everyone, I find it hard but the more you suffer the more you can be proud of yourself when you reach the top.”

“Women can be so doubtful of their ability and in my mind, it comes down to confidence – many riders think they’re not good enough to race but I say to them don’t be scared, it's just cycling.”

“Cycling is not a scary thing but many women perceive that it is, and if that’s the case you just need to find your moment. Ride when it’s quiet on the roads, ride when everyone else is doing something else, ride when you feel safest.”

“Cycling is such a liberating thing to do. You’re free when you’re on the bike. You’re not affected by the world around you. And when you do it with friends, you build bonds, you build camaraderie and you suffer together.”