As HSBC UK Breeze celebrates its tenth birthday, in Scotland it is seven years since the first Breeze Champion training course took place in Glasgow. Since then there have been a total of 29 courses in Scotland, training over 200 Breeze Champions from across the country.
The first ever Breeze ride took place in August 2014: a gentle six-mile route from Rutherglen on the outskirts of Glasgow to Glasgow Green, on the banks of the river Clyde at the edge of the city centre. But unfortunately, nobody turned up!
Not put off by this inauspicious start, the Breeze Champions organised a second ride starting at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and covering a more ambitious 16 miles. Maybe it was the magic of Sir Chris. Perhaps it was an especially sunny day. Whatever the reason, this ride attracted four participants and Breeze in Scotland had begun!
Sharon Allison was one of the participants on that first ride. Inspired by the 2014 Commonwealth Games and having a front row seat to watch the athletes riding through the city and surrounding countryside, Sharon dragged her bike from the back of her shed and while looking for opportunities to ride, found Breeze.
New friends, new routes, new café stops, new confidence and skills, new kit, a new bike, and further down the line, new volunteering opportunities and a new job: a new world awaited Sharon when she decided to take those first steps back into cycling.
Four years later she was ready to step up to the role of Breeze Champion and attended one of the nine courses held in Scotland in 2018. Her first ride saw five women signed up to cycle with her and fellow Champion Michelle, with a trip to Cathkin Braes to watch the 2018 European Mountain Bike Championships in Glasgow.
Since then, Sharon has led many rides: in North Lanarkshire, from the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, up the infamous Crow Road climb in the Campsies, to Balloch on the shores of Loch Lomond, around the beautiful island of Bute, to a balloon festival in Strathaven and to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March. As a Breeze Champion supporting women to ride their bikes, improve their health and fitness, meet new people and have fun, she is doing for other women what those first Breeze Champions in Scotland did for her.
In 2019 Sharon’s involvement with Breeze expanded further when she took on the role of Area Coordinator for the west of Scotland. In this role she provides support and encouragement to new and established Champions, supporting a network of volunteers in her region to organise and lead rides, to support more women to (re)discover the joys of cycling. Across Scotland there are four Breeze Area Coordinators supporting the volunteer Breeze Champions in their regions.
Sharon told us “I’m proud to be part of Breeze since 2014, narrowing the gender gap in Scottish cycling. I can still remember the support I was given on my first ride that kept me pedalling, even uphill!! Now as coordinator, I am privileged to be working with the amazing volunteers who continually inspire and encourage more women into cycling in the west of Scotland.”
