52 Cycling Voices - 19: Helen Wyman

I have known Helen Wyman for a good few years and have seen her develop from being a good national level racer to be an international elite, mixing it with the best cyclocross racers in the world. She and husband Stefan have been well known personalities in the world of cycle racing, often seen at events around the UK, as well as across Europe. I managed to catch up with Helen while at The Wyman Review, an event hosted by one of her sponsors Look Mum No Hands.

That evening Helen talked about the importance of helping the future generation of women cyclocross riders, particularly the under-23s. With that in mind, she is spearheading a crowdfunding initiative, the Helen 100 to pay the entries for 100 under-23 women riders to enter the National Cyclocross Championships next year, and engage them in the sport through other activities.


Helen Wyman, aged 36

From: St Albans, Hertfordshire

Lives: Rennes-les-Bains, nr Carcassonne, France

Occupation: Cyclocross athlete and coach

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up, but then I didn’t get the grades, so then I thought, "oh I’ll become a physiotherapist", and I studied for a degree in physiotherapy from the University of Hertfordshire. I started bike racing from the age of 14 and continued while studying at university, and I was always good at it.

My brother used to race when I was a kid, and that’s why I started racing - because I wanted to beat him! He now runs a bike shop in Sheringham, Norfolk, called Black Bikes. My family have always been into cycling. My dad used to race when he was young, but only time trials. Then he started racing again on the grass track when I was 14. These days they still ride, but they don't race. My parents even cycled from Lands End to John ‘o Groats for their 50th birthdays. My mum still rides, though now she has an electric bike. Stef even wants to get one too so that he can ride with me!

It was when I won a National Trophy race in the UK in 2004 that Stef suggested that I become a full-time racer. At the same time British Cycling needed people for their Great Britain road team that summer. They needed six riders at every race so that the Olympic development riders could put in some good training. 

I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and so I rode with the team. I went from doing 60-mile road races to doing a 3-day stage race, a 10-day stage race, and some of the biggest women's cycle races in the world, racing distances I never even dreamed I could ride. So off the back of that I learned how much my body could take. 

When I came back to cyclocross after that summer I came 6th or 7th in every world cup race, and from that point I thought, "right well I know I can do this." It was that opportunity to ride with the GB road team that taught me what I could and couldn’t do. It was like a switch flicked and cycle racing was something that I knew I could achieve in.

I don't think I was more privileged than anyone else. I just think I had the opportunity. I had the talent, and I could do the training. Another rider could have done what I did and they may have died and cracked and not actually ridden anyway, so they wouldn’t have got the benefits. I don’t think there’s such a thing as talent alone or training alone that makes you a good bike rider, but a combination of many things. Even if you have just an inkling of talent you can take it an incredibly long way - it just takes opportunity, determination, dedication, desire, access, and time.

There have been points when I didn't know where money for my rent would come from, but I still carried on because I believed I would get there in the end. I had set off from the UK in a donated £100-Peugeot 205 to go and live in Belgium and start this biking adventure in cyclocross, and I was very determined! 

We’ve grown into a society that wants instant success. Instant appreciation like Instagram. You judge yourself on how many "likes" you get. But Stef’s always said that there are people in the world, that if you put £5 in front of them on a table and then £10 on the other side of the table, they will take the £5 because they can't be bothered to lean across and get the £10. And sometimes in cycling you have to leave the £5 and work out how to get the £10, and that’s what makes determined people.

Now I own my house in the South of France, I have a good income, a nice life, a good job, and I win bike races. These days there is more money in the sport than when I first started, so there is way more opportunity. 

This season I’ve probably doubled my prize money from any other year just because in C1 races the prize money for women is equal to the men's, and every race in Belgium is a C1. So I have made more money than ever before, because of the prize money. 

If the climate was the same in 2004 as it was in the 2017/18 season, then for the same level I was achieving in 2004 I would have reached a comfortable financial position sooner than it has taken me.  
So I think there is more monetary opportunity for good riders, but you have to get good enough to take that, and getting good enough is the hardest part!

I’m not actually money motivated. I know it drives life and you need money to exist, but for me it didn’t matter at the time that the money wasn’t what it is now. It was the fact that I could actually go out and achieve something for myself.

I am doing some crowdfunding, the Helen 100, in order to pay the entry fees for 100 under-23 women to take part in the National Cyclocross Championships in 2019. The plan is to pay their entry fee, but now that I have raised the £2,500 needed to do this the next phase is to actually engage with those riders. 

So the aim is actually to try and create a legacy by going out and doing cross clinics in England, or providing things like jet washes they can use during races - just for those under-23 women so that they might actually get inspired in some way to stay in the sport.

It is hard growing up nowadays with social media and all those things. You are getting judged all the time. So it is important for young women to be in an environment which gives them confidence, which teaches them how to appreciate what they have, how to set goals, how to achieve things independently, because ultimately it is only you that pedals that bike.

And if you gain confidence in that way you can take that into later life and you can use it in business, in work, in whatever you choose to do afterwards.


I am focusing on the under-23 women because I get the impression that there are huge differences between the riders racing in that category and there are high drop-out rates from the sport. The very best riders like World under-23 cyclocross champion Evie Richards are supported by British Cycling, and then there’s a massive gap to the next riders, and those ridees aren’t supported by anyone.

As part of the Helen 100 crowdfunding initiative, for every £10 you donate you get a free entry into a prize draw. There are various prizes on offer, like a weekend stay in a bed & breakfast in Wales, a signed jersey, hats, socks, T-shirts, squeezy bottles, and signed race numbers. 

One of my best memories in my career was the World Cup race that was held in Milton Keynes in 2014. That was amazing! As a British rider it was just ridiculous. Everyone who went there really enjoyed it. The Milton Keynes World Cup kind of became this urban legend, because they never did it again. And they had more people spectating that than they did at Koksijde [sand dune] World Cup that year!

Helen racing at Milton Keynes World Cup (photo: Paul Burgoine)

Milton Keynes was huge, the racing was fantastic, the course was fantastic, and the riders loved it. As a British rider it was epic! 

My ears were still ringing three days later, and that inspired me to write an open letter to future cyclocross racers. It was a letter to say other people could feel the same, and experience the same thing as me if they wanted to. 

It's up on my website, and every two or three months someone retweets it! And I’m like "wow this was four years ago!" But even though it was a few years ago when I wrote the letter I think what I wrote still holds true today. 

The 2017/18 season was really good, and I’m really happy with how it went. I won seven races, and the National Championships, that’s cool. I got a podium place in World Cups, that’s cool. So it's been good.

Now I am going on holiday to Mexico, I'll have a rest, and then restart my training. Everything I do is for 'cross. In the summer I do a bit of road racing, some mountain biking though not racing. Plus I do running and core training. I make sure I ride my 'cross bike once a week throughout the summer.

My permanent home now is in the South of France, below Carcassonne, near the Pyrenees. It’s amazing. The roads are stunning and the riding is deathly quiet. You can go out for four hours and not see a single car. And when you see a car, you think, "Whoa where did that come from? Oh, I’m on a road!" The weather’s great, it’s just perfect.

I spent 10 years living in Belgium, but now we just spend a few weeks at a time there over the winter, go back home for a while and then return to Belgium. I would need lots of Vitamin D tablets if I had to stay in Belgium for more than a month!

Things were quite difficult for me during the 2016/17 season. Because of the nasty crash I had during the European Championships in which I broke my collarbone, from 13th October 2016 to 16th January 2017 I didn't race. 

Coming back from injury was tough physically and emotionally. When I went to have the dressing on my shoulder removed I really fell apart, thinking my arm would drop off. At times I questioned myself. But Stef was there for me emotionally. I was 35 at the time – an age where a lot of people are retiring. But at no point did I think of stopping, and that was the driver that kept me going. I told myself there was no way I would want to end my career on a season like that. There’s no way I could do that so I had to come back. 

After two or three weeks back on the bike I did the Hoogstraten Superprestige race and came 2nd, and I raced in the World Championships. And I think that motivated me for the rest of this year. That showed that I am still there, that I am still capable and so I went out and put in a big summer’s training and came back stronger. I still think I can get stronger and better again. So that’s really exciting and I’m not looking at retiring at any point soon.

In 2014 I came 3rd in the World Championships. I thought that this year the course would go my way again, but I actually peaked at the Nationals, which meant I had peaked too soon. Because I didn’t even get to race the Nationals last year I had really really wanted to win it this year, and that was one of my biggest goals. So maybe that took the edge off my strength for the Worlds, and I didn’t have the same level that I could have had on the day. So the Worlds will be my target for next year. They will be in Bogense, Denmark. It was where a World Cup was held this year, and I placed 2nd. 

If I can be the fittest I can possibly be at the Worlds on that day and everything works out then there is no reason why I can’t get a really good result.

As well as placing 3rd at the World Cyclocross Championships in the 2013/14 season I also won the European Championships. It was the muddiest race I have ever done. It was held in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic. After the pre-ride I had to go back to the campervan and shower before the race, it was that muddy. I couldn’t just change my clothes, I had to shower right before the race! That was pretty funny. I had never had to do that before, and I have never done it since in any race. The race was epic, and I won it by a minute and a half. It was so muddy it was ridiculous. 

Everyone needs a Stef! If you go to the discount section of the DIY store, near the back, next to the power tools you’ll find a whole selection of Stefs, but I can't guarantee that they will still be there when you get there! 

Seriously, we met at a bike race, and he’s been an integral part of my life in many ways. He sometimes pushes me more than I push myself, and other times we work really well together. 

He is as invested in my career as I am and that is a really good thing to have because it means I can entirely trust everything he says. He wants the best for me because when I achieve he achieves, so it’s a very trusting, working relationship. 

Sometimes it's tough, like when I have a bad day at a race and he has to tell me what I did wrong and I’m not accepting of it, it gets rough. But at that point I have to say this is my coach talking and not my husband. We don’t always get it right, but I think we have found a pretty good balance as to how to make it work.

And everything outside of bike riding and racing is awesome!

I don’t know where I get my determination to race from. I just love riding a bike because it gives me freedom. Even if I didn’t race I would still ride a bike and I would love it.



Donations can be made to The Helen 100 crowdfunding page until 4th March 2018.

Website: www.helenwyman.com
Twitter: @CXHelen
Facebook:@HelenWymanCX
Instagram: @cxhelen
Vimeo: Helen Wyman


Other Cycling Voices
Rochelle Gilmore

Rebecca Charlton

Giorgia Bronzini

Tracy Moseley

Emily Chappell

Grace and Lucy Garner

Hannah Bussey

Maria David

Should cyclists really be banned from dual carriageways?

Recently there has been a furore over plans by Highways England to ban cyclists from using the main road that leads into the city of Hull, the A63. For those who don't know the area, it is the road that the M62 leads into when the motorway comes to an end. It is a dual carriageway with an initial speed limit the same as the motorway, 70 mph, and then later reduces to 50mph.

In the last five years there have been six collisions involving cyclists, including one fatality in 2013 along this road (compared with 297 collisions involving vehicles over the same period). On that basis Highways England has deemed the road to be dangerous for cyclists and has proposed a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) prohibiting them from using this stretch of road. This proposal has received the support of Humberside Police and Hull City Council.

A63 trunk road to Hull

The 15-mile stretch of the A63 within the proposed banning area at North Cave includes the whole of a 10-mile time trial course, known as V718. It is quite a popular race venue, particularly as club cyclists say it's the fastest time trial in the country, so lots of potential for personal bests. I guess riding in the slipstream of the various trucks as you go on a slightly downhill stretch will have that effect! The V718 course has welcomed Olympic champions such as Joanna Rowsell and Bradley Wiggins, as well as Commonwealth champion Alex Dowsett, who at one point held the national 10-mile record.

Naturally, cycling organisations and club cyclists are outraged at the prospect of losing the opportunity to ride on this road. Indeed Cycling Time Trials, the governing body for time trial races have put out a statement opposing the proposal. Opposition has been echoed by Cycling UK, as well as British Cycling who put out a statement jointly with Welcome to Yorkshire.

As well as protestations from other cycling groups including Hull Thursday  Road Club, Cycling Weekly magazine commented on how a decision to ban cyclists from this type of road would be a "terrible move". Furthermore, for local residents in the Welton, Melton and Brough area, including priest and blogger Graeme Holdsworth who cycle between these villages to get to work, a cycling ban would significantly affect their travel options for getting to work.

The TRO is currently in a consultation phase and objections to it must be received by 19th February.

While there have been various protestations on social media, this does seem to be a hot-potato subject as opinion isn't all one-way traffic.

A number of cyclists have expressed concern at the notion of cycling along a road that may as well be a motorway, given that it is merely the M62 in all but name. The road contains trucks making their way to the port in Hull, as well as folks travelling in the opposite direction, to Manchester and other parts of the country, all travelling at speeds in excess of 50 mph, and probably significantly higher.

I regularly drive on this road when I travel to Hull or East Yorkshire and I must say it really isn't a road I would want to be cycling along. When I see cyclists on the road I immediately think they are on some sort of a death-wish!

On a few occasions when cycling on local trails or country lanes I have had to either cross the A63 or ride along it. Thankfully there was a segregated cycle path on the part I was on.

On one Saturday afternoon I pootled along the cycle path parallel to the trunk road at the same time as local cycle racers with numbers pinned on their backs zoomed past me during a time trial. I did not envy them, particularly as it was a windy day and they wrestled their bike into a straight line while traffic rumbled by.

Now, that is my impression of the road. As keen a cyclist as I am I avoid the A63 as much as possible. Having said that, I think that cyclists should still be free to ride on that road if they wish, and I think that it would be a sad precedent if a popular event like the V718 time trial were lost because Highways England preferred to ban cyclists rather than put in place more safety measures for cyclists.

It is worth noting that a TRO was approved on an 8-mile section of the A19 dual carriageway near Teesside in 2015.

In 2016 a local resident in Leatherhead submitted a petition to Surrey County Council proposing to ban cyclists from the A24 dual carriageway between Dorking and Leatherhead. The Council rejected the proposal on the grounds that a ban would not support their overall strategy of making cycling inclusive within the local authority. This road, which was part of the London 2012 Olympics route for the cycle race, and is part of the route of the Ride London cycling events has benefited the local economy by bringing a lot of cycle touring to the area.

On publication of the news of the proposed TRO in the Hull Daily Mail, its readers were polled, asking if they thought cyclists should be banned from the A63. One thousand people were surveyed, and 77% of respondents replied "yes" while only 23% were opposed to banning cyclists. 

Those wishing to send in their objections to the proposed Traffic Regulation Order have a wee bit of time.

Latest news: Deadline has now been extended to March 12th. Objections to the proposed ban should be made via hard copy. However, you can do this via Cycling UK and they will prepare the papers to send in your objection.

Deadline for submissions is February 19th 2018
Write to:
The Office of the Director
Operations Directorate (Yorkshire & North East)
Highways England
3rd Floor South, Lateral
8 City Walk
Leeds LS11 9AT.
Ref: The A63 Trunk Road (North Cave Interchange to Daltry Street Interchange - Prohibition of Cyclists Order)

52 Cycling Voices - 18: Sarah Strong

Our latest cycling voice comes from Sarah Strong, a stalwart of the London women's cycling scene. She's been there, done that, got the T-shirt plus a few scars. But she's strong by nature as well as by name. I've known Sarah since she got into cycling over 14 years ago and I commend her for all the work she's done in the sport. But Sarah has my utmost admiration for winning a Pointless trophy!

Sarah Strong

Age: 42

From: Bristol

Lives: London

Project Coordinator for a mental health charity/NHS

As a child our family were never into cycling, but I did do BMX biking in the mid-1980s between the ages of about 9-12 years when I got into it via a school mate. It felt kinda cool, and there were only three or four of us girls who raced regularly. One went to the same school as me and it was good to chat to her about races.

My mate Dave, and I used to go to get taken to the BMX track by his dad so we could practice with the local club, Burgess Hill Bombers. There was also a wooded patch near my house with a natural bombhole, and rooty jumps, that we used. You could get some decent air on some of them - well, it felt like that, but it was probably only a few centimetres! There were also the usual homemade ramps set up next to local rows of garages or quiet cul-de-sacs. I really enjoyed doing something a bit different. 

Then when I hit teenage years I stopped doing it, mainly as I wasn't that sporty so didn't enjoy it that much. My mate Dave got a mountain bike  (which at that time was becoming fashionable), and my interest fizzled out.

When my real passion for cycling kicked off later, as an adult, my parents were happy to hear that I'd found something that was clearly benefiting me a great deal. Nowadays I cycle more than my sister does and I suspect she thinks I'm a bit mad! When her partner and I talk bike stuff I can hear her eyes rolling!

I have been club cycling for about 14 years now. It all started at the Beastway Summer Mountainbike Series in 2003 when I was recovering from a bout of depression. A housemate asked me to help out her club one week when it was their turn to volunteer at one of the rounds.

Initially it was the social side of the race series I warmed to, and being out in the fresh air, doing something new. I became part of the organising committee of Beastway, (the Structureless Tyranny) working on it for the next nine summers, and was usually to be found doing sign-on and lap-scoring duties.

It led me to start using an old bike I had, to commute to work, and to have a go at racing myself. Six months later I bought myself a second-hand road bike and have never looked back.

My first cycling club was London Phoenix, where a few of the regular Beastway riders were members. But proper club cycling didn't happen for me until a year or two later when I moved to South London and joined Dulwich Paragon.

Riding my first club run with them was rewarding but exhausting. After thirty hilly miles from Crystal Palace to the edge of Kent and back on a Saturday morning I spent the rest of the day on the sofa! Gary MacGowan (a Dulwich Paragon stalwart) was the friendly and encouraging face that led me and my friend to return for more.

It was while at Dulwich Paragon that another Sarah (Atkinson) convinced me to try a women's beginner road race, organised by London Dynamo, at the Longcross Test Track (Chertsey) back in 2009. I raced two of those and would have actually gained three British Cycling racing points in the second race if I'd bothered to buy a full licence! I was so chuffed!

Then Maria David convinced me to do the first (of two!) cyclocross races around the same time. I wouldn't have tried it without her encouragement. Being near Herne Hill Velodrome was a great opportunity to try track cycling, and the Women's Training Sessions started by Anna Glowinski kicked off my track riding and racing. My friend and club-mate Lesley Pinder also persuaded me to join her down at HHV on regular occasions.

Track cycling has been fun. I raced at the National Track Masters in Newport about 18 months ago, though I didn't have any goals as such. It was more about taking part because my fitness level was not brilliant at the time, and I was just happy not to have been the slowest in my age group! Aside from the Masters and Herne Hill Velodrome track league I haven't raced much at all in the last two or three years. 

Criterium racing is what I have enjoyed the most. There, I felt the most comfortable about my ability and skills on several of the London circuits. When I was race fit I loved the feeling after a crit - at least once I’d got through the first fifteen minutes of thinking my lungs were going to explode! 

I eventually stopped racing around 2014/15 as I felt like I wasn't achieving much. In 2009 I was knocked off my bike by a car while commuting to work and needed surgery on my knee. Then in 2011 I shattered my collarbone in a crash when my front wheel hit a massive pothole at the Dunwich Dynamo. When I came back to racing in 2012 I found myself on the start line with women half my age who had coaches and a lot more time to train than me. From the gun I would be immediately spat out of the back. I just didn't have the mental fight.

Long-distance cycling is something else I do. I did my first sportive, the 110-km Ride of the Falling Leaves (by Dulwich Paragon) in 2006. It was the longest ride I’d done at that point, and it was such fun.

Since then I’ve done more rides particularly after I stopped racing. I did a couple of trips to the Pyrenees with clubmates, and Paris-Roubaix in 2008. The cobbles are a special kind of hurt but the sense of achievement at the end was immense. I felt the same after the Etape du Tour in 2013.

I do enjoy long rides, seeing the countryside and having a range of feelings, thoughts and sensations, compared with the eyeballs-out nature of racing.

On one long ride, though, I nearly got into a bit of trouble when I did some solo riding in mid-Wales. I ran out of water in the middle of the Cambrian Mountains with over twenty miles to go, all uphill and into a headwind, and no phone reception there either! It was a tough moment and I was quite worried about how I would get back to my lodgings. There were no shops, no one around and just one or two cars passed me. 

I really had to push myself mentally and battle through it. When things got tough I just had to risk it and take a bit of water from the River Ystwyth. When I got home the first thing I did was to devour a pack of Pringles! I did gain the confidence to know I can do it, if I end up in a similar situation. 

In 2017 I did my first ever cycle tour, with friend Kat who I originally met some years back through the London Fixed-Gear and Single-Speed group. I was rather anxious about it as I’d never ridden long distances with panniers and camping gear etc. before.

We did a horseshoe-shaped loop around half of Wales over one week. It was hard, but amazing. There were highs and lows, tiredness and hunger, wonderful sights, lots of laughs, and excellent company. I also realised I didn’t object to camping as much as I’d been telling myself for years! I’d like to do more touring.

Funnily enough I have recently taken up BMX biking again. It's just for fun and I do it in the summer. There are women's sessions on Tuesday nights at Burgess Park (near Peckham) that I go to. My skills came back quite quickly, but as I am now bigger, taller, and a lot older than when I last did it I don't tend to take risks! 

I do like shoes. I used to have a lot of cycling shoes, specifically Sidis! I tried various brands in my first couple of years of cycling and Sidis fitted me the best. As a teenager I had corrective surgery on both feet and have since had issues finding shoes that are comfortable for me. So when I found some that fitted so well I started finding reasons to buy more!

At one point I had eight pairs of Sidis - one for each of my bikes! These days I’m down to five pairs, and I haven’t bought any in a while. Maybe it's time to acquire some more!

A simple bike ride can do wonders for your mental health, but it’s way more complicated than just pedalling your depression away. There is no direct causal link between cycling and wellbeing – it’s a range of interacting factors. Cycling is not a cure-all, and it’s not going to magic away depression forever. It is something I use to improve my mood though, and I start getting a bit grumpy if I don’t do any cycling for a few days.

I find that my mental health benefits from the exercise, the independence, and the social circle cycling brings with it (most of my close friends are people I’ve got to know through riding). Riding helps to stop the rumination that comes with anxiety. Occasionally, I’ll return from a ride with a head as busy as it was when I set out – but this is quite unusual.

I was incredibly anxious about co-ordinating and presenting the evening we had on cycling and mental health at Look Mum No Hands last Autumn. I’d had a very difficult time the day before too. On the night of the event I didn’t say quite all that I wanted to, but it was more important to facilitate others. The fact that the members of the panel were so willing to contribute made organising the event very easy, and took the pressure off a bit! I as very grateful for their participation and honesty, and it was a valuable evening.

We received amazing feedback, and it underlined my feelings that many cyclists experience mental health challenges, and many who experience mental health challenges cycle. It was great to hear how the people who came along, or followed on Facebook live or on Twitter, found it beneficial.

There will be an event in Rapha Manchester later this month, plans are afoot for another evening at Look Mum No Hands, and one at the Bristol Bike Project. As part of Sport Relief, which is focusing on mental health, I’ve done a piece to camera on the subject of anxiety for a documentary about a celebrity's experience of anxiety. The programme will air in March during Sport Relief week. Hopefully what I said during the interview made some sense!

On the back of that I set up a blog - bikesandbrains.com - and I’m hoping to encourage people to contact me with their contributions. There have been a few responses already, which is encouraging. It would be great to gather a range of voices and experiences so that people can know they aren’t the only ones going through tough times, and also folks might share their ideas of how to manage their wellbeing when getting on the bike isn’t necessarily possible.

Perhaps I was particularly fortunate to find my way into cycling through people near to me, and I didn’t find it at all difficult as a woman getting into cycling. The London cycling scene was somewhat smaller in my early days 14 years ago and, to me, it seemed like a supportive niche of a size I felt comfortable in. Being part of Beastway meant I got to know a lot of riders with experience and expertise, and I could learn from them.

I do remember, however, being nervous about turning up to my first Dulwich Paragon club run as newbie, and feeling a bit out of my depth amongst all the matching club kit. There was no need to have worried though, as I was welcomed in the club, and became a regular very quickly. In fact on the few Saturdays I didn’t go on the club ride it seemed a bit odd. At that time, to me there were enough women involved to form a core group of moral support if required.

To anyone wanting to get into club cycling I would say have a think about what type of cycling you want to do. Some clubs may be more focused towards racing, others are maybe more social. Larger clubs are more likely to have riders that cover the whole spectrum and there will be opportunities whether you are interested in track, or audax, or cross, or whatever. Look out for clubs that have social rides – many of which you can attend and try out before you join. Check any advice about expected fitness levels and/or ability.

When I’m not on a bike I do like attending art exhibitions, and living in London means a wealth of options on the doorstop. I have a soft spot for art, architecture, and design between about 1750-1950. The last exhibition I visited was Red Star Over Russia at Tate Modern. Museums are good too – I had a decent wander around Sir John Soane’s recently. It’s mad, overwhelming and brilliant!

Also, I occasionally do a bit of glass-engraving. They are usually one-offs as presents, but I have engraved trophies for the end of series prizes for Beastway a few times, and had other small commissions. It’s all freehand work with a rotary engraving tool, so too much in one go can be hard work on the fingers and wrists.

Hatha yoga is something I try and do regularly as I feel relaxed after the sessions, and I hope to take up Mindfulness again to compliment this.

One highpoint for me was being on the quiz show Pointless, with my friend Lesley. It was a surreal experience. We just applied to go on the show for a laugh. When we got the call I was on holiday, so had to take a day out to travel to the studios in Hertfordshire, be there for the day and return to my holidays .Filming was fun, and Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman came across just as warm and going off on their flights of fancy as they appear on the TV. Answering the questions in front of the camera was a lot trickier than shouting the answers at the TV at home!

In the cycling world I really admire Kathryn Bertine, who campaigned for a women's Tour de France concurrent with the men’s race. In the non-cycling world I get inspired by older women such as Mary Beard, who challenge the status quo, are passionate, sincere in what they do, and are willing to take risks to follow what they believe in. 

But most of my inspiration comes from my friends, and often I’ll do things with them that I never would have contemplated on my own. For me, the moral support from friends is invaluable.

My ideal day is about being on the bike, with a close friend, in the countryside somewhere on a sunny summer day, with a flexible route and in no hurry to get back home. Writing this in February is filling me with much longing! 

Cycling and mental health event at Rapha Manchester: 
22nd February 6pm - 8pm

Sarah will feature in an article by Emily Chappell in the Spring issue of Casquette magazine.


Twitter: @Opiumia
Instagram: @opiumia5
Blog: www.bikesandbrains.com

Other cycling voices

Annia Modlinsky

Rebecca Charlton

Emily Chappell

Geraldine Glowinski 

Hannah Bussey

Maria David 

2017: That´s a wrap!

Things that worked well in 2017

Cycle tour to Northern France
Cycle tour to the South of France
Skiing the Sella Ronda of the Dolomites
Ski trip to Chamonix and Courmayeur
Riding with Hull Thursday Club and Yorkshire Lass cycling club
Riding with the Wiggle High5 ladies
Crops from my allotment  - nasturtium, courgettes, corn, beans
Some interesting copywriting projects


Things that were a bit sketchy

Not managing to take an NCTJ module due to a last minute change
Having to divert my Cycle trip in the North of England due to high winds
Not completing any more crochet projects other than a couple of hats
A very convoluted copywriting projects
Losing my phone

Oh well, time's up, that's a wrap!

********************


Hello New Year!

Things that I hope will be better in 2018

All copywriting projects running smoothly
Staying injury free, including completing the Paris Marathon 
Completing the Etape du Tour and not being swept up by the broom wagon!
Staying on top of the housework - maybe getting a cleaner!
Getting more involved in London life
Going on trips with friends and family 
Learning to relax at home
Completing more NCTJ modules
Write more articles 
Finishing my 52 Cycling Voices series
Taking decent photos and maybe a video.
Keeping a good blood pressure and BMI
More grow your own, more yoga, and more bike rides, of course! 


Happy 2018!😊

Another year, another trip to Paris! - Part 3: Chantilly

After a well-earned sleep I was ready to do the final part of my Paris ride.

After a hearty breakfast I started my ride from Beauvais. Firstly, I did a mini circuit of the town. It wasn´t anything to write home about as I had seen the best parts the previous day. What I saw today was the part that I had seen on the last time I was in Beauvais, just over a year ago. I had been on a mad dash to get a train to Paris on a Saturday evening after a tedious day on the road. I recognised the road around the train station and the industrial area that I had taken, though at the time I was so focused on trying to catch the train that I didn´t notice the delights of the various factories and DIY stores. Today I had the chance to appreciate the water treatment works, the Nestlé factory, and even Carrefour in their full splendour!

After a tour of the grey side of Beavais I was into the green and pleasant roads that would take me to the Pays de L`Oise, and Chantilly. Rather than ride along the main road with traffic I was able to ride along a traffic-free cycle path that started from Therdonne, just outside Beauvais, and went parallel to the D12, going to Hermes, and towards Bury. I kept thinking that these towns might be in the first instance quite chic, like an expensive handbag or perfume, and then in the second instance, a bit industrial like an industrial city. But no, they were neither - just quaint non-descript villages in Normandy.

Quiet lanes through the woods in Normandy

The nicest town in the area though, was Saint-Leu-Esserent, which was quite old, with a gothic church and a bridge. Soon I was into practically deserted roads that just had woodland to guide me along the way. It was all very nice, though I was looking foward to getting to Chantilly.

And once I got there it didn´t fail to disappoint. I have always known Chantilly was famous for its race course, having seen the Prix de L´Arc de Triomphe on Channel 4 racing a few times. I didn´t know just quite how chic it was. Chantilly being twinned with Epsom, home of the Derby should have given me a clue. On entering the town, a signboard describes it as the "capital of the horse". It made me wonder if that also meant you could get decent horsemeat from their local butchers!

Though I think really, Chantilly is still more upmarket than the London suburb in Surrey - not that I want to cause offence to the people of Epsom!

Chantilly - the horse capital

The high street definitely reeks of wealth, with it´s designer shops, and expensive cafes. It is also heaving with pollution, as the roads were just choc-a-block with audis, mercedes, BMWs and the odd Bentley. On this day there were loads of cyclists too, as a triathlon was taking place at the Château and many athletes cycled back from the castle to their lodgings. If only I had known this was on, I would definitely have entered.

It was an extremely hot day, and the open water swim in the lake around the Château would have been lovely - maybe not the run though! In any case this race, part of the Castle Series is definitely one to note for next year.

Nice setting for a triathlon

Talking to the security guard in the grounds of Chantilly castle he talked about all the events that people could look forward to, including the Prix de L´Elégance, which was due to take place in a couple of weeks time. That sounded about right for this place, which is the epitome of style. It made me laugh that he was telling me about an event all about style, as I stood there all bedraggled and sweaty in the 30+degrees heat!

I then sat in the park and ate my packed lunch before pushing on - a lot later than planned. By this time it was going to 4pm, and as I breezed past the lovely gated mansions along the tree-lined avenues I comforted myself with the fact that I was in the department of Ile de France, which for me, means the Parisian region.

Chantilly wins the prix de l'élégance!

So I would be at my lodgings in the 11th arrondissement within an hour or two. Er, not so! I was 30 miles away, so yes getting there in aound 2 hours was about right. However, I had not factored in stopping to go shopping, taking photos or even getting lost in the suburbs - which was bound to happen as I was no longer following the Avenue Verte route.

The other important point for me, was that I was not taking the direct route. I had wanted to take in a little bit more forest, so ended up on a convoluted route that took me through Gouvieux, Royaumont Abbey, Forests at Carnelle, L´Isle Adam, and Montmorency, before entering Paris via Argenteuil, and Asnières sur Seine, and then onto Arc de Triomphe via Boulevard Malsherbes and Avenue Wagram.

By this time it was around 8pm! Whoops! But hey, I had seen a real specturm of places en route - industrial parts of Normandy, historic bits, the upmarket suburbs of Paris, as well as some dodgy looking areas of the northern "banlieues" of Paris.

Pont d'Iéna - tense, terse, tourists

In another variation, my ride through Paris did not involve Champs Elysées, for once! This time I opted for leaving the Arc de Triomphe roundabout via Avenue Iéna, which took me straight to the bottom of Trocadero and right into Champ de Mars, where the Eiffel Tower is. It was also more difficult to get a stranger to take a photo of me down here than when I was at the Arc de Triomphe. It was like they had become mistrusting of everyone - which I guess is not surprising, given recent events. Having said that, it didn't stop people from photobombing my pics with silly faces and waves. The tourists at the Eiffel Tower definitely seemed a different breed from the polite folks up at Charles de Gaulle Etoile!

After a spin through the streets of the Left Bank, and down Boulevard St Germain, I crossed Henri IV Bridge to reach Bastille, my favourite area.
Finally, I arrived at my lodgings, another Ibis Hotel off rue de la Roquette, near Père Lachaise, and was ready to celebrate my arrival with a moules frites and a good wine at the nearby Cafe L´Artiste.




My route into Paris on Strava


Related posts
Another year, another trip to Paris! Part 1 - Avenue Verte

Another year, another trip to Paris! Part 2 - Beauvais

Paris en velo! Arrivee fictive

Another year, another trip to Paris! Part 2: Beauvais

Arriving into Beauvais at lunchtime knowing that I had finished my cycling for the day was quite a nice feeling.

Hell, I had started my bike ride at roughly 5 am so I deserved to finish at 1pm! It was a warm, sunny day, lots of people were out, the shops were open, which is not always the case in small French towns at this time of year, and I felt quite fresh.
As the day was still young I knew I could take my time with things. So I spent  a bit of time admiring and photographing the very imposing cathedral.

The mighty Beauvais cathedral

I had never really considered Beauvais to be a touristic town, but then again Ryanair do fly there – they even call it their Paris destination! So I imagine a fair few people will stop by and admire this “lovely surburb of Paris” before heading properly into the city of light.

And there were many people in Beauvais, looking at the St Pierre cathedral and the nearby Musée de l'Oise. Some folks were British. Where else could they have been from – this couple that spoke to each other in thick Liverpudlian accents?!
I then moved on to reach my hotel. I hadn’t quite expected it to be so far out of town, or that it would be up a hill. Gee, I had just come down a big hill to get into the town, and here I was already climbing again just to reach my rest and recuperation spot!

I guess nothing good comes to you without putting in a bit of effort first! And that good thing came in the shape of the Ibis Hotel, Beauvais. Yes, a big-chain hotel that may have been lacking in style. But it had everything I needed - friendly receptionists, a decent sized bedroom and bathroom, strong Wifi connection, a bar, and even a room for my bike - a room, not an alleyway outdoors at the back of the building or a leaky shed. An actual room that was on par with my bedroom minus a telly, a bed and a bathroom!

And it didn't stop there - they were serving meals, but there were a number of restaurants nearby also doing the same. There was a hypermarket about a mile away selling everything, including bike bits, and, hold onto your hats - they had Decathlon and Intersport right opposite. Who says you can't have a good time in Beauvais!

After an afternoon nap I went out for a walk in the local area. It was nothing to write home about. Just your typical neighbourhood on the outskirts of a town near an airport, with yoofs in a skateboard park and ladies of various ethnicities in housecoats gossiping over the garden fence. Think more Hounslow than Richmond!

There were a number of other cyclists staying in the hotel too, and I saw them sitting out on the terrace discussing their ride. I said hello to them and exchanged a few words as cyclists do. They were also riding to Paris, though at a more leisurely than me, by stretching their trip over 4 days.

The London-Paris cycle ride is a well-beaten route for many cyclists, including organised touring groups and charity bike riders, of which this group were a part. This is probably the fifth time I am riding to Paris, and I have yet to do the ride as part of an organised group. In a way I must admit I feel quite relieved to not be part of such a group because the people I meet who go on these rides can only say "I went from London to Paris by bike. Get that!" That's all very well and good, but then all they know about is London, and about Paris. They don't know the names of the places in between, including places they stopped at. All they know is the fact that they followed a ride leader through some rather nice countryside, ate some good food and ended up at the Eiffel Tower. And they probably didn't interact with a single French person along the way!

That's rather a shame, but then again maybe that's how it should be. But hey, when did I ever travel in the way it should be done!

And with that thought I went to bed feeling satisfied, after a hearty meal at La Boucherie.


Related posts
Another year, another trip to Paris! Part 1: Avenue Verte

Paris en velo! C'est parti!