52 - Cycling Voices - 16: Annia Modlinsky

Annia Modlinsky is a fellow club cyclist I met about three years ago when I was based up in Macclesfield and joined Manchester Wheelers cycling club. It's a big club, with a lot of female members and they organise women's rides in different parts of Cheshire. I met Annia while we were on a ride in Tatton Park, a favourite hang-out for the local cyclists in the North West. (I call it a Northern version of London's Richmond Park!)

I was impressed by Annia's determination to get into cycling, as it was quite new to her at that time. She's made lots of progress and is doing some pretty decent times in her time trials.

Annia Modlinksky, aged 42

From: Matanzas, Cuba

Lives: Timperley, near Altrincham, Cheshire

Occupation: Self-employed manicurist (including nail extensions), and pedicurist

I started club cycling four years ago because I wanted to take my cycling to a more competitive level, meet other cyclists, including women and be more involved in the cycling community in the Manchester area.

I am originally from Cuba and was born in a town called Colon, Matanzas province. I have lived in Manchester since 1998 when I came from Cuba with my ex-husband, a Mancunian, whom I met over there.

My childhood was lovely, and my education in Cuba was great. It is not a developed country but I had the basics. Life in Cuba can be as tough or as easy as you make it, and as Cubans we are brought up to believe in ourselves, smile, and be friendly.

I didn’t do any competitive cycling at all when I lived in Cuba, just cycling to get from A to B. Cycling is not such a popular sport, as people are more interested in baseball or basketball. 

At the time when I lived in Cuba, there were no cycling clubs. Perhaps some have formed in the last 15 years, but I don’t know of any. In any case the number of professional cyclists in Cuba is pretty low. Some people are interested in cycling but it is difficult to pursue as an elite sport due to the lack of facilities needed to develop.

In the last couple of years when I have visited Cuba I have been cycling, and it is quite a contrast to cycling in Manchester, as you would expect! I have gotten used to cycling in the cold, rain, and wind in Manchester, whereas in Cuba I have to cope with 70–80% humidity and extreme heat, especially between May and July. For that reason my rides have to start at around 5:30/6:00 am and I get in a one-and-a-half hour bike ride, if staying in the town. Otherwise, I head towards the beach where I can ride for a little longer.

The other difference is that the roads in Cuba are less congested than in Manchester. Even in Havana it is reasonably easy to get around by bike. Car drivers are more cycle friendly than in Manchester, and there is plenty of space on the road for cyclists.

Nowadays I do time trialling. I started doing them last year and enjoyed it so much I decided to focus on that, training for them over the Winter to get me ready for the Spring and Summer events. What I really enjoy about time trialling is reaching a high speed on my bike on the aero bars. It’s a great feeling!  It’s hard, but very rewarding once you finish a race.

In Summer I usually try and do a training ride at least three times a week. My rides are generally short with interval efforts, either on my own or ride with friends.  In Winter I try to keep up with the rides, weather-permitting, but I prefer to use my turbo trainer. The sessions are tough, but all worthwhile to keep me fit for Summer rides and events.

I love the scenery that Cheshire possesses. There are many narrow lanes but they are generally pretty, quiet and full of friendly cyclists.  I can’t really say the same about cars, in terms of being cycling friendly but it is getting better. I have my favourite Cheshire routes and never get bored of riding them again and again. Artists Lane in Alderley Edge and The Brickworks, near Bollington have become addictive to ride! They are tough hills, but not impossible. You always get a good feeling when you reach the end of both.

As a woman riding on my own, I have to be prepared for the encounters that cycling can have. I never leave my saddle bag behind without my essentials: inner tubes, tyre levers, money (small change), mobile phone.  Also, a small air pump, bottles of water, and a few packets of cereal bars. 

Manchester Wheelers, where I am a member, is a great club to belong to and cycle with.  They have cycling events going on all year round to choose from. I have done a few events with them this year and last year, and they were all good fun.

Being a single mum is hard, but I try to be as well-organised as possible. Taking care of my daughter and providing for her is my top priority.

I have just started studying full-time, which makes it even busier for me to find the spare time to ride my bikes. On top of that I run a small part-time business from home, so every single day for me is a challenge. 

My eight-year-old daughter, Lara had learnt to ride a bike by the time she was four. I guess she didn’t have much of choice, having both parents completely devoted to cycling! However, she’s not really into cycling unfortunately.

She has travelled with myself and my ex-husband in the past to watch many cycling events and races, including The Tour of France.  She has been a spectator in many of the events I have taken part in, and even been with me when I was marshalling at the club events.

Being a single mum means that she sometimes has to sit beside my turbo trainer reading a book whilst I do a session, and she has even mentioned that she would like to try the turbo one day. But she has shown no interest in taking part in a race yet. Football seems to be her inclination at the moment.

Having said that, Lara cycles to school, and does off-road leisurely rides. She has even ridden some long distances with her dad. They did a two-day cycling trip to Southport last year, which involved doing about 30 miles a day. At that time she was seven years old, which is fantastic for her age. 

For me, the most important thing is that Lara enjoys practising a sport, no matter what. There are many ways to be competitive and I think she is too young to be pushed towards cycling. I think interest will drive competition and she will only work that out herself. She might one day realise that cycling is more fun than what she thought, and the ambition to practise it at a competitive level might start from there. 

Cycling is my passion. I have met some wonderful people on the way, and they have even taught me to dress up according to the weather, and how to keep fit and healthy! My bikes are always at the ready to sneak in a ride at any time of the day when I get a spare moment. I can’t believe my bikes have taken me to places I only previously dreamed of going to.

Instagram: @anniabichiehija

Strava: Annia Modlinksky

Other Cycling Voices

Rebecca Charlton

Ayesha McGowan

Peggy Crome

Gema Fernandez Hernando

Giorgia Bronzini

Tracy Moseley

Geraldine Glowinski

Emily Chappell

Michelle Webster

Grace and Lucy Garner

Hannah Bussey

Carolyn Hewett-Maessen

Caroline Martinez

Niusha Doyom

Maria David

One day one photo - 26

Sunday 5th October

Another weekend, another cyclo cross race. This time it was a bit more of an event for me because it was organised by my cycling club, Manchester Wheelers.

When I did this North west cyclo cross league event last year it was my first cyclo cross race since 2011, my first competitive event in the UK since returning from Milan, and my first race in the North-west.

As my cyclo cross bike was still in London I used the only bike available, my mountain bike. The race took place in Heaton Park, which was not difficult to get to on public transport. It was just a case of taking the train into Manchester Piccadilly and then cycling 5 miles across town to the north of the city. At the time I'd felt a little out of place being there - a woman rocking up for a 'cross race, seemingly the only person on a mountain bike, significantly lacking in fitness and out of practice riding on the rough stuff. "What the hell", I thought. Nobody knows me, so I don't mind if I make a tit of myself! It's just a bit of fun!

In the end, the race didn't go too badly. Since the course wasn't very technical I managed to get round ok. It was probably thanks to the series of hills, where I was able to use my acquired strength from climbing the Lombardy hills.

I say it didn't go too badly - but let's not get carried away. I didn't come last! I had to battled it out for 97th position out of a field of 110! Everything had been looking good for me getting 4th lady out of eight, but a mistake on an adverse camber meant I toppled myself over, wrapping the course tape around myself and the bike. The end result was that all the women overtook me as I slipped down to 7th place! Still, it gave a few people a bit of entertainment!

So this year, I turned up, wanting to close the circle. My faithful old mountain bike was replaced by my cross bike, I was a bit fitter than last year, especially as this was my fourth cyclo cross race of the season. Instead of racing in neutral kit, this time I raced in my newly purchased Manchester Wheelers jersey. Furthermore, I got involved in helping out at the race by being a runner for the judges (obviously not during my race!). All the cycling I did between the finish line and the event HQ doubled as a good warm-up for me.

It was a good day. I met more of my Wheelers club mates, the sun shone, and my race didn't go badly at all. I still didn't win, but I finished 8th woman out of eighteen and I even got some prize money in the vet women's category. It's nice when things come together.

Photo credit: http://www.whiteflyerphotography.com/

One day one photo - 2

Thursday 11th September

Some of you may recognise this as the Wattbike zone at the Manchester Velodrome. You are absolutely right! This is one of my regular hangouts when it comes to cycle training. Funnily enough I have yet to actually ride on the hallowed boards below - that should happen in the not distant future though. But for now this is where I will go weekly as it becomes a bit cold and dark to ride on the roads, and it's a little bit boring to do turbo training on your own at home. I was at the session on Tuesday with my club, Manchester Wheelers. It was quite fun, having a coach doling out the intervals we had to do, all to the sound of kitsch 80s music. Unfortunately, I didn't get the full benefit of the experience as I had caught a later train from Macclesfield, so got there a bit late. I then had to leave early to get back to Manchester Piccadilly to get my train home again. Still, 40 minutes was as much as I could cope with for my first outing since March. Hopefully these sessions will improve my fitness, especially for the new cyclocross season - and the music will be a bit more trendy!

 

 


 





 
 
 

The Richmond Park of the North-West!

For keen cyclists based in London one of the key focal areas to ride a bicycle is Richmond Park. Go there on any Saturday or Sunday and you will be struck by how many people are riding around. 

The perimeter road of the Park is approximately 7.5 mile in circumference, so it is a convenient distance for any cyclist.
For the novice 7.5 miles could be a challenge, especially when going anti-clockwise and tackling the climbs up to Richmond Gate and from Kingston Gate. Racing cyclists enjoy practicing chain gang training rides over multiple laps of the park and challenge themselves to complete a lap in under 20 minutes (without being caught for breaking the 20mph speeding)!

I used to really enjoy going to Richmond Park, both for cycling and for running (the park is popular with hundreds of runners too!). Being there is like being in the countryside despite being less than 5 miles from Chelsea. It is peaceful, lush and there is even a bit of wildlife in the form of deer which have been there since the time of Henry VIII.

I miss Richmond Park, with its lovely trees, nature reserves and beautiful views over the suburbs of London. But the great news is I have now found the answer to that here in the Northwest - Tatton Park!

Just after the pretty, upmarket town of Knutsford is Knutsford Gate, which leads into a vast area of parkland, that gave me the same feeling of openness and freedom as Richmond Park. There are quite a few similarities between these two Parks. Both parks have listed buildings and stately homes with bijou tearooms. Both have nature reserves and green spaces where you can lose yourself away from the madding crowd. Both of them seem to be under flight paths to major airports!

There a couple of small differences. Richmond Park has a few hills, and Tatton Parks has a couple of long lakes (or meres). However, there is no doubt that on any Saturday or Sunday both parks become awash with walkers, runners, horseriders, people fishing and cyclists doing laps.

So that's where I was last Sunday with a group of cyclists from Manchester Wheelers. This club, which is quite active in the North-West had organised a women's training ride in the park. Although it was the first time I was meeting the other riders everyone was very welcoming and I felt quite at home with them within a short time of starting the ride. One lap of the park measured five miles and was largely flat, with a section of the lap going outside of the park boundary.

Around 15 of us turned out for the ride and we split into ability groups. Acouple of guys were there to give tips and advice on "through and off" and "holding the wheel". It was all useful stuff, especially as I was a little rusty on all of this given my lack of road racing activity last year.

Riding around felt like the good old days - enjoying a training ride, seeing other local cyclists and saying hello and returning home feeling motivated and invigorated to do more.

So, I think I will be back in Tatton Park before long. I get the feeling that this could become one of my local hangouts over the coming months.