August 2024 - Saying goodbye to an old friend.

Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye to a treasured possession and sometimes it is more of a knowing that it’s time to let go. 

Today was one of those days. 

Today, my carbon road bike ‘Ava’ - A Liv Avail Advanced, went to a new home and I wasn’t at all sad. 

Ava arrived via the cycle to work scheme in 2016, she was ordered just after I won the opportunity to complete Ride London - the 100 mile, cyclists equivalent to the London marathon. 

I didn’t have the confidence to do 100 miles on my gravel bike (or cyclocross as it was known as then) so I convinced myself that the only way I could get around within the time limit, would be on a much lighter bike. So after much research and a little nudging from my Nan, the paperwork was completed and the bike ordered  

When she arrived, she was beautiful and so very light. An absolute dream to ride. 

In fact, we have gone a long way together (over 5000 miles according to Strava) - Initially they were short training rides, then Ride London, a number of laps of the Isle of Wight, raising money for Naomi house. There was London to Brighton with the humongous Beacon hill, the many big hills as we crossed the country completing the Sea to Sea, and finally my longest ride ever from Winchester to Brighton and most of the way back. 

It has been a blast! 

But apart from a short spell (2 sessions) on a turbo trainer during the 2020 lockdown, she has not been ridden at all, and that was just a real shame. 

She wasn’t ready to be an exhibit and I don’t have room to have a bike museum, so it was time to get her adopted. 

It took a long time to write and post the advert, but a very short time to receive a response (about 10 minutes I think) and within 24 hours Kirsty had been to see her, been on a quick test ride and decided that this was the bike for her. 

I really do hope Kirsty has as much fun riding this bike as I have and that she covers at least another trouble free (and hopefully pain free) 5000 miles   

Enjoy your new adventures Ava (and Kirsty) and thank you for all the fun times we have had together.

Goodbye 2022. It's been an interesting one.

Does the Christmas break encourage you to look over the previous year and motivate you to set challenges for the next one? I am not one for New Year's resolutions; instead, I plan to improve myself numerous times over the year, but I will spend time reviewing my achievements, counting blessings and thinking about all I have accomplished.

Rather than bore you with a long list of outings, I have put some photos into a video to show what I've been up to. 

Please forgive the dodgy editing; I am just learning how to use the software. 

Thank you to everyone who has joined me on my travels. I look forward to riding with you again this year. 

Happy New Year to you all. 

May the roads rise up to meet you and the wind be always at your back.  

October 2022 - End of an era or New beginnings?

So this week I led my 350th ride for Breeze, but instead of the celebration that it should have been, it was filled with sadness as it would be the last ride I would take for British Cycling. 

This week I have handed in my notice for all things British Cycling. I am no longer a Breeze Champion. No longer a BC coach. No longer a tutor of Level 1 ride leader training. 

Why? Well, it certainly wasn’t due to work pressures or losing interest. No this was sadly due to the current climate where BC needs sponsorship and sadly the only companies that offer such things these days are not the ones I wish to be associated with. 

I won’t go into detail here. Instead, I want to reflect on what an amazing journey I have had over the last 8.5 years with Breeze (who are sadly unlikely to see any of the money that they have bargained their membership for) 

Where do I begin? Firstly I want to remember the wonderful participants that have joined me on one of my 350 rides. Many I choose to call friends and many I hope I will ride with again. These ladies have so often made my day as we’ve chatted our way around whichever route we have taken to coffee. The number of times I’ve left home wishing I could have stayed in, but returned after my ride so glad that I have been. If you are one of those 1200, thank you for joining me, it’s been a blast and I’ve loved every second. 

Next, it's a nod to those amazing Champions I have had the privilege to work alongside,  previously coordinate and more recently train. Again, it's been brilliant working with you all, especially those in Southampton who have helped us build the number of women cycling around the city. Thank you. 

Then finally it is important for me to recognise and remember quite how far I have come - from thinking a ride to the common was a long training ride and a ride to town a step too far - to riding 100 miles around London (twice) and cycling from Windsor to Buck house and back overnight on numerous occasions - with lots of tube changing practice on the way. Without my Breeze training, I would never have even contemplated these rides let alone complete them. 

I've tried my hand at Moutain biking, BMX, cyclocross and track and learned that of all disciplines touring is my favourite. But I will always be grateful for the opportunities Breeze has given me to challenge my own limits. I've even got used to having my photo taken - something I would have shied away from 10 years ago.  

Though it is with huge sadness that I pass my jerseys onto others, I know this is the right decision for me at this moment. I am now looking forward to finding new areas to serve the cycling community and can't wait for new opportunities for me to grow my cycle experiences further.  

All that is left to say is Thank you all - it's been a Breeze!

30th June 2018 - Cycling UK's '100 Women in Cycling 2018' - A proud day!

I don't know how often you check all your inboxes. I do check mine regularly - probably too regularly. But, it is often a cursory glance to check Ive not been asked to do something urgent for work. So though I would probably have seen this arrive, I did not take in its contacts till quite late in the evening.

Dear Sharon, 

We are delighted to tell you that you have been nominated for our 100 women in cycling list 2018!

I had to read it a couple of times to actually take in what it meant. I had been invited to an event up in Manchester to recognise the achievement of 100 women cyclists for their work in advancing womens cycling. 

It didn't tell me who had nominated me or why exactly I had been nominated. Instead they asked permission to use a photo of me and invited me to attend the event. 

So how do I get to Manchester early on a Saturday during term time? I needed to go chat to my boss. 

They were 100% happy for me to go, and allowed me to take time owing to travel on the Firday. I contacted Breeze HQ and was invited for a tour of the offices and the velodrome and hopefully to meet the other couple of Breeze Champs who had also been nominated.

We left home early Friday morning and made it to Manchester in really good time - so we grabbed a spot of lunch in the company of a couple of GB cycle coaches before heading round for the tour. 

The velodrome was stunning - the unique indoor pump track next door was mind blowing and the guys at Breeze HQ were amazing. 

We reached our room for the night, parked up and walked up the main road into Manchester centre. Not knowing the area, we hadn't realised that we had chosen the perfect location, right next door to the most amazing dedicated cycle lane in the city. 

We found food, checked out the location of the event the next day then walked the 15 min walk back to the hotel. 

Saturday arrived, and I still didn't quite know what to expect. I rode to the venue, took my bike inside and nervously looked out for anyone else in Breeze red. 

A group of us started chatting, sharing ideas and information - which I have to say continued for much of the day (between the timetabled events of course) We sat through some really interesting talks, then one by one were called up to receive a beautiful rosette. By this point I had been chatting to Joy and Aggie for much of the day - we couldn't resist a quick selfie on the podium. Both ladies had amazing stories to tell, I was completely in awe with imposter syndrome in full swing! 

 

Lunch was served, the final talk given and we were then taken off on a cycle tour of the city, showing us the best of its rich history of the suffragette movement. 

I learned so much that day and felt proud to represent Breeze and the efforts we have all gone to to make cycling more accessible to women. 

The weekend perfectly coincided with Manchesters Lets ride City event on the Sunday where I again was able to represent Breeze and British cycling as I cycled round its city route taking to everyone who would listen about Breeze. A perfect weekend. 

May 2015 - Thames Bridges Bike Ride

Another challenge. 

I saw this on the internet and fell in love with the idea of cycling over all the bridges over the Thames. And I knew just the person to join me. 

Su had been helping Teresa and myself to train for quite a while now. 

She didn't have to wait for me quite as often as she used to. She was also keen to ride the bridges. 

It was a great event, one that I have now taken part in a number of times. 

Highly recommended. 

May 2015 - Breeze at the weekend

I started to explore the local area. Trying to find new routes for the evening ride and bingo - a pretty ride, but longer than an evening would allow. 

I wonder if anyone would be interested in a weekend ride? 

Well I had more interest than I thought I would. And so became another regular cycling slot in my life. 

This was a ride to Totton, but it was soon replaced by 'The Beaulieu Bun run' introducing an easy way out to the New Forest. 

March 2015 - Breeze. A life changer

Sometimes it's the smallest decicions that make the biggest impact on your life. 

Having been introduced to the idea of Breeze - free guided bike rides for women, I kept checking their websites for any rides that I could join. But there was nothing, just nothing. 

I can't be the only person wanting rides in the evening or weekends can I? 

So having talked it over with Teresa, we sent in an 'Expression of interest form' to British Cycling.  

We were both given a place, but couldn't make the same course. 

So on a rather cold Saturday morning in March, I headed up to Baisingstoke for my Breeze Leader training. 

I started talking to Karen in the car park. She was from Chichester and had finally got on the course after a very long fight. And then later chatted to Chris who was from Baisingstoke. 

I left that day with a passion to engage other women in cycling and gained not only a qualification but also two new friends who have appeared many times in my cycling journey. 

November 2014 - The inevitable change of steed

I found it!

The perfect bike!

I'll never need to get another one! (Said no cyclist ever) 

It was build like a road bike but robust enough to put up with my clumsiness. 

Why did I need a new one? Well, I had gone to get some advice from a local bike shop - I was getting sore arms and pain in the wrists. I figured I needed a bike fit so went along to ask those so much wiser than me. 

'Well the thing is, you need a small women's bike' said the chap, 'Yes' said I. 

'Well, you have a large man's bike' said he. 

'Oh!' Said I. 

The quest for a new bike began. 

I somehow managed to convince Sue to join me for a trip to Shoreham to take a look at the Invite. I rode it round and round the shop. It fitted like a glove. It was ordered there and then. 

Teresa joined me when I went to pick it up and somehow, we ended up bringing two home with us. Both proud owners of new bikes. 

More training was in order. 

March 2015 - New friends.

One of my favourite things about cycling is just how social it is. Meet Michelle. 

We met in the middle of a rather hard (and only my second ever) Sportive in Salisbury. I had entered with Teresa, but she sadly couldn't make it on the day. 

I decided to give it a go anyway - how hard could it be? 

Well it was hard enough to make me want to turn back. I rode with an old chap for a while -he had cut back and only did 'these little ones these days' I let him go after a little while, I just couldn't keep up with his pace. I continued alone with nothing but the beep of my garmin to keep me company. I pulled over at one point with tears in my eyes - if I could have worked out how to get back to my car, I would have given up right there. But my only choice was to keep following the arrows and the bleeping device on my handlebars. 

About 5 mins later a couple caught up with me and we got chatting. Steve was the keen cyclist and Michelle had joined him to train for a London to Paris ride they were doing later in the year. 

The chat eased the miles and we soon rounded the corner for the big hill. 

I had no idea what was facing me, but this was their home ground,so they had joined their friends at the roadside taking in little silver packets of goo. If only I'd followed. 

The hill was big. The hill was steep. The hill carried on forever. I had to pull over as I just couldn't get my breath. I ate a chocolate bar (I've learned a lot since then) 

Michelle and Steve saw me as they rode past. They checked I was ok and rode on. I finished my bar, took a picture started out again and my chain came off. 

I rode on and it happened again. 

Eventually I got up the hill and got myself to the food station. As I rode in Steve came running towards me. Evidently they had been waiting for me to arrive, Steve was about to retrace his steps to find me and vowed that they wouldn't be leaving me for the rest of the ride. 

We did, in the end, convince Steve to go on ahead as he was so much faster than us. We rolled in and collected our medals at least half an hour after him. But during that time the friendship was forged. 

Michelle and I have riden numerous Sportive a together since then and still keep in contact to this day. 

Riding the longest distance I had ever riden was good, being awarded a medal was great, but the reward of a great friendship - priceless. 

Sept 2014 - My first cycle challenge

 'Anyone fancy joining me? I've just signed up for a 40km Cycletta - cycle ride in the New Forest.' was my Facebook post. 

'I will' came the response from Teresa. 

We started to draw up plans for training. 

'Well I guess I need to go buy a bike!' She said. 

A few months training and we were ready for our challenge. A new friend Su joined us (only briefly - she finished an hour before us too) 

But we did it. 

We got our first medal. 

We raised lots of money for Macmillan 

The bug was well and truely caught! 

We looked for our next challenge and carried on cycling. 

June 2014 - Sky ride

The new term followed by a harsh winter meant the bike didn't see the light of day for a number of months. 

I wanted to get peddling again but was struggling with motivation. 

Having spent many a fun evening at my local camera club, I wondered if I could locate a local cycle club that would encourage me to cycle more. 

I found one and was immediately put off with the 'if you can't sustain .... Miles at ...pace, this is not the club for you.' They were right. Even if I could match their criteria, I would never join a club like this. How rude!! 

I somehow stumbled across something called 'The Skyride' it was a free event starting and finishing at the guildhall with lots of exhibits and events happening all around the route. The best bit was there would be no cars. The route was on cycle paths or closed roads throughout. I signed up with British Cycling and booked my place. 

The day was amazing, cycle celebrities (who I didn't recognise in the slightest) were there telling their stories and giving advice. The ride itself took me to parts of Southampton that I had never visited before. As always when I ride, everything felt so much closer and more manageable than it ever does in a car. 

But the best part of the day was meeting a group of ladies all wearing red tops, smiling, waving and generally being the most upbeat people in the square. I stopped to speak to one of them who explained what Breeze was all about. An initiative by British Cycling to encourage more women out on their bikes. I didn't realise was in such a minority! 

April 2014 - Upgrade

It wasn't long before I realised that my passion for cycling had been rekindled. And it wasn't long before I needed to get a new bike - the 'retro' bike that I had been kindly given was rapidly showing its age. The final straw was when the chain broke mid cycle and I had to take the slow walk back to the car. I looked up second hand shops and took a friend down to Portsmouth to see if I could source a replacement. 

I returned with a Giant hybrid - lighter than a mountain bike, more robust than a racer. Just what I needed to ride the paths of the New Forest. 

As it was nearing the end of the summer holiday I was convinced to go on a ride round lymington. 17 miles later we returned to the cars. Some more muddy than others. 

The bug was well and truly caught.