Leanne Farmer is a Breeze Champion, a member of the Scottish Cycling Women’s Development Group and runs her own cycle tour company, A Wee Pedal, so she meets a lot of people who love cycling. To celebrate Women and Girls in Sport Week and shine a light on some of the women and girls involved in cycling, Leanne shares her experience of meeting three inspiring female cyclists.
I was contacted by Caroline’s auntie to teach her to ride a bike. They had not long arrived in Scotland from USA and found it hard to find a bike during lockdown. I serviced the second-hand bike they bought and went out to meet Caroline, aged 10, for our first lesson. She was bright eyed, fun and laughed a lot! However, she was frightened of falling over and found it hard trust the physics of making the bike move forwards.
On her first lesson, she wore a pretty handbag over her shoulder and didn’t like sitting on the seat. Pedals were something that just got in the way and any bumps on the ground seemed to be an enormous black hole. But what struck me was her mindset. Despite all these fears, she was able to digest all my instructions intensely and applied them quickly. Caroline has a unique trait that I see occasionally. She simply believes she can do it after being told she can. I knew that by our 3rd lesson we were going to be riding our bikes together.
Lesson three came and we walked our bikes to the cycle path and she was off! We rode all the way along the path, past her school and whooped and cheered all the way in the rain! She was even challenging me to a race! We were both covered in mud, soaking wet and grinning ear to ear with pure joy!
Interview with Caroline:
When did you start riding a bike?
I got my first bike when I was five. Just when I was ready to take off the training wheels, we moved. I didn't get another chance to ride until this summer, with Leanne from A wee pedal. I couldn’t ride at all, but I learnt pretty fast. I was excited but scared at first, but now it's so much fun!
How do you feel when you are out on your bike?
I love the feeling of the wind in my face - especially when I go really fast. It's so refreshing and I feel like I'm flying!
What are your ambitions for the future?
I want to be a teacher because I love little kids. I would love to be good enough at bike riding to teach it to others someday. Also, I want to be an entrepreneur, so maybe I could open my own bike shop.
Kirsty
16 year old Kirsty Johnson is a talented cyclist, who is determined, committed and focused. She member of the Junior Scottish Performance Development Squad, who has also spent the last year in the Youth GB Cycling Apprentice programme.
In 2018 and 2019 she broke two Scottish 500m standing TT records (Youth B and Youth A) as well as winning the 2019 Scottish Youth A road circuit Championships and series!
As an ERC member, Kirsty travels all over the UK, sometimes taking the train by herself with all her gear and of course, her bike(s)!
Leanne told us:
I first met Kirsty when she was loading up her family’s car with bikes, rollers and lots of cycling gear! The family were driving down to Leicester for a race and we were suitably impressed and curious! We had just moved in next door after six months travelling with our son Jack, then nine years old. After 12 years of living in Asia we wanted to discover the cycling scene in Edinburgh but didn’t know where to start. We couldn’t believe our luck when we met Sarah and Kirsty, who are members of Edinburgh Road Club (ERC)! We were looking forward to joining a cycling club and didn’t have to look any further.
Their helpful advice meant we joined ERC and were soon relishing Jack’s first training session in the park only a few minutes ride away. We got to know both sisters better during lockdown and were intrigued by Kirsty’s stories about keeping ’race fit’ without access to the velodrome during lockdown. She had invented many imaginative ways to entertain herself during the endless hours on the rollers at home.
We have borrowed each other’s bikes, rollers and swapped cycling stories. Kirsty took Jack, now aged 11, out on a socially distanced ride to Musselburgh as a birthday present. He beams with pride every time we mention it. Kirsty is very modest and both sisters casually ride their bikes to school every day, which I love to see! Cycling has brought our two families together and we are following Kirsty’s cycling career with great interest!
Kirsty had this to say:
I started riding a bike at a young age, 3 or 4, but didn't start competing until I was 8. I didn't start taking cycling seriously until I was 14.
Cycling makes me feel really happy and gives me a sense of freedom that I don't get doing anything else, particularly the ability to go as fast or slow as I want!
I want to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and inspire other young athletes in the sport.
Anne
I first met Anne (67) on a HSBC UK Breeze ride I led in September 2020. She was riding a converted E-bike and what struck me about Anne was her clear sense of adventure and the curiosity to learn new routes.
Anne then contacted me that evening to book a 1:1 bike maintenance session and she was just brilliant! I was inspired to write about her!
She only took up cycling last year, age 66! She is a true inspiration - it really is never too late for anything!
When did you start riding a bike?
I rode a bike as a child but only intermittently (one bike between five of us). I was lucky enough, along with my sister, to take part in a course run jointly by Edinburgh Council and the NHS from March-June 2019, encouraging older people to return to cycling in order to improve their health. I have cycled regularly ever since then (five of us from this training group still meet up to ride every now and again).
Who do you usually cycle with and where?
I cycle three times during the week with my sister (we cycle once a week to Roslin 8 miles in total - that’s our easy ride to have a coffee; the other two days are longer; we cycle on the Dalkeith-Pennicuik cycle path; Dalkeith Country Park; Ormiston; Tranent; Little France Park; Hermitage of the Braid; Portobello; Musselburgh; Leith; Granton) I also do any group ride I can get myself on (U3A, Belles on Bikes, Meetup 60+, Breeze).
If I don’t have a group ride I get out on the weekend to search for new routes, that’s how I ended up in Haddington, getting lost on the way back and doing 46 miles in total that day.
That journey kind of focused my mind on the fact that I needed training in repairing a puncture (you can’t phone a taxi large enough to also take a bike if you’re on a cycle path in the middle of the countryside and don’t know where you are). The idea wanting to be able to do simple maintenance is down to saving money - seniors like to keep costs down. I booked a private session with Leanne, from ‘A wee pedal’ and I now have the confidence to know I can fix a puncture and get home safely by myself.
How does cycling make you feel?
I’ve always loved walking and then I took up jogging at 59; this ruined my feet. Fortunately, while on my bike I don’t need to worry about my feet.
Cycling is mentally relaxing, it’s exciting. I could never have imagined that I would cycle over the Forth Road Bridge at the age of 66, particularly as it’s on the wrong side of town. It keeps me healthy, as an ‘older’ woman I can still appreciate the fact that it has also toned-up my body.
I enjoy being outdoors, meeting new people, going to new areas, being close to nature - on my way to Polton one day a deer jumped over a fence right beside me, I was so excited. More than anything else as an older person now living on my own, it has given me back a social life.
Thank you to Leanne for sharing these inspiring stories from three amazing females, all enjoying cycling in their own way. Thank you to Caroline, Kirsty and Ann for sharing your stories and for being brilliant female role models in cycling.
These interviews are also featured on Leanne’s own blog, A Wee Pedal.
As part of Women and Girls in Sport Week we have a range of activities and information to shine a spotlight on women and girls participation in cycling. #SheCanSheWill Find out more HERE.
