In my previous blog post I talked about how I needed to scale back my responsibilities in order to stay sane. Everything I said was true. The only thing I downplayed was the reason I walked away from my role as a Trek Women’s Cycling Advocate for Bristol. I want to address that here.
There’s a lot to be said for following your instinct. I’m a painfully indecisive person who seems to always have decisions to make. In some ways it’s a nice problem to have. But lately I've been working towards streamlining my responsibilities in the name of self-preservation.
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The thing is, when I look back at my old posts on this blog, I realise that while I'm a much more confident cyclist than I ever was back then, I've lost a lot of the fitness and strength that I'd been building. I've been riding so much less than I was before, thanks to this attitude I'd adopted of being a writer who sometimes cycles, rather than a cyclist who writes about her experience.
That's been the biggest hurdle for me, and I'm really feeling like a shell of the person I used to be on a bike. But it's given me the incentive I needed! I'm now considering an Elite Turbo Muin II trainer, and a subscription to Sufferfest.
Trek has officially come to Bristol (replacing what used to be Bike UK just off the Clifton Triangle), and with it comes an exciting enthusiasm to promote women’s cycling in the local area. The global bike retailer has its own Women’s Cycling Advocacy programme, where each of its directly-owned stores nominates a brand ambassador to … Continue reading Bristol now has a Trek Women’s Cycling Advocate
I've been keeping this quiet for a little while now but I can finally share my incredible new bike. I've got my grubby mitts on the 2021 model of the Trek Checkpoint SL 6, and hot damn, it is GORGEOUS. The Checkpoint is Trek's answer to the 'one bike to rule them all' scenario. It's … Continue reading Trek Checkpoint SL 6 2021 review | first impressions
Is it really necessary to have a gravel bike when you could seemingly cover most terrains on a road bike with 28mm tyres, or on a hardtail?
Well, I now have my hands on one, and decided it was time for a (small and local) adventure to break up the monotony of my Covid lockdown.
In my absence from here I’ve been on quite a journey, and now it’s come full-circle once again with me attempting to revive my once beloved blog. Last night I came to a long-overdue realisation. Let me start at the beginning. I stopped writing this blog mainly when I started my job at BikeRadar. This … Continue reading A much-needed revival
Despite the negative connotations of this title, I'm trying to see the positives. I decided this year to dive head first into the weird and wonderful world of audaxes. An audax is a non-competitive, but timed, long-distance bike ride. It features several control points which are only open for limited time windows throughout the day, … Continue reading Reflections on failure
I'm sorry it's taken me so long. I'll give you all my excuses another time. In the meantime if you've not yet read about the first two days of our Trans-Cambrian adventure, you should do so first.Day 3: Claerddu bothy - Cwmystwyth valley (30 miles)I left you a long time ago in a bothy in … Continue reading Trans-Cambrian, days 3-5, or, “it’s all downhill to Machynlleth”
At the beginning of this year I set myself a few intentions, one of which included doing a long, multi-day off-road ride. I ticked this off my list in July, when we rode the Trans-Cambrian Way. The Route In case you've not heard of the TCW, it's just over 100 miles, with 3,248 metres of … Continue reading Trans-Cambrian, days 1 & 2, or, “what kind of sick f**k brings a horse up here?”
Mildred Locke 