One day one photo - 2: Park Run - Saturday morning motivation

Park Run in Crystal Palace Park, London

I have been into running ever since I can remember. As a child I took part in little running races at school and really looked forward to sports day. I regularly went to an athletics track in the local area, Dorothy Hyman's Track Club and my athletic prowess earned me a few medals and trophies. I was 13 then - very much a distant memory and practically another world. Over 40 years later, I am far from winning any medal now, but I am happy to say that I still run (when I am not dealing with one injury or other) and generally enjoy it. Hopefully, all being well, I will take part in the Paris - Versailles 10-mile running race later this month. 

Today I planned to run between seven and eight miles as part of my training. Sometimes I have to work to make my runs interesting and varied in order to stay motivated. On a Saturday morning it's the easiest thing in the world to do to roll over in bed and get an extra hour's lie-in. Very handily, as it's Saturday morning I could turn up at any one of the dozen or so Park Runs near my home and incorporate the 5km mass participation run into my longer outing. 

So that's what I did - a one-mile run to Crystal Palace Park, do the 3.1 miles of the Park Run, and then take a long route back home to make up the mileage. In the end I did 7.75 miles. I'll take that. It's a good job that I don't try to get a personal best when I do the Park Runs, as this run was well off my potential. I was quite happy to plod around at my long slow run pace, and not get involved in any sparring match with other runners. The beauty of the Park Run is that any level of runner/non-runner can take part. There are those who can rattle off the distance in a little over a quarter of an hour, while there are others who walk the entire course. Then some run with their children or their dogs. Mind you, don't underestimate their ability. Some of them are pretty swift. I crossed the finish line with a time just shy of 36 minutes, in 197th place out of 258. There was something quite liberating about running around slowly and seeing a newbie runner who is slightly overweight huffing and panting, straining every sinew to romp past you in the last 50 metres before the finish line and get a sense of satisfaction. I'm good with that. I hope they don't get too disappointed when they look at the results and see that my personal best on that course is more than 11 minutes quicker!

One day one photo - 1: Optimate trickle charger - my new best friend

Through September I usually like to post one photo from my day and giving a snapshot of the life of 2wheel chick at this time of year. Some of the things are fun, some are banal and irritating, and some moments are lovely and heartwarming.

Here goes with today's photo:

Trickle charger to the rescue of my motorbike battery

You may or may not know, dear reader, that I got into motorcycling last year. I now have an A1 motorbike licence, so ride a Honda Monkey 125cc - a minimoto, which is actually quite cute. When I bought the bike, just over a year ago it was fitted with a Datatool tracking device - a useful add-on in case the Honda Monkey is stolen.

However, I have been having quite a few problems since I changed the battery. I am not sure if it's the new battery, which may not be as good as the previous one, or if it's the tracking device. Three times I have had to call the breakdown service to start the bike as a result of the battery going flat. Initially, the battery was replaced as the mechanic thought it was a dud. But it seems that the Datatool may be the problem. Yesterday the battery went flat after five days of not riding the motorbike. After riding the Monkey around for two hours the voltage was back to 13.8. But then today the bike failed to start. The battery had gone flat after barely 24 hours! Annoyingly I only discovered this when I was starting the bike so that I could go to my fencing class. So that ended up being jettisoned. The tracking company helpline, Scorpion was closed for the day, so weren't able to do anything until they reopen on Monday. So in the meantime I am using the trickle charger while waiting for Scorpion to sort out the problem. I will have to use it regularly now. In fact the guy from the breakdown service says that he has the trickle charger permanently plugged into the bike whenever the bike isn't in use. Thank goodness for Optimate. While it's good to have this safety net of the trickle charger it seems strange that I should have to use it when the bike won't be left more than a couple of days unridden. I will still see what other solutions Scorpion can provide, as well as getting a better battery.

World Short-Track Mountain bike championships in Glasgow (well Glentress actually)

It had been part of David Lappartient's manifesto when he took over as president of the Union Cycliste Internationale, in 2018. He really relished the idea of holding a sort of "cycling Olympics" in which a major event would take place bringing together all the various cycling disciplines, including paracycling - road racing, time trial, velodrome cycling, mountain biking (downhill and cross-country), BMX (racing and trials), indoor cycling (artistic cycling and cycle ball) - in one location. 

So when it came to fruition, with events being held in Glasgow and other selected venues in Scotland, there must have been a real sense of accomplishment for the directors and the operational teams at the UCI, British Cycling, Cycling Scotland, and various officials who had worked to get the show on the road, literally.

With such a major event taking place, and with continuous media coverage on TV, and regular bulletins about who was winning what, at the different races, that it was hard to not feel the buzz of the event, and be part of it.

Normally, I would have gone to the event in my capacity as a journalist and covered one of the events. But I hadn't felt that I could commit to doing that as I was working on other projects related to my other pie in medical copywriting.

As it happened, I did have a bit of time, and so I was happy to go up as an ordinary punter and combine it with a trip to visit Scotland as well as to see a couple of races.

So I booked to see the World Short-Track Cross Country Mountain bike championships, and also the indoor cycling, as I was keen to check out this new sport.

These cycling championships were advertised as taking place in Glasgow, as it contained the finishing loops of the road races, the Chris Hoy velodrome, the Emirates arena for the indoor cycling, the BMX stadium, and Glasgow Green for trials and other BMX competitions. 

As well as Glasgow, events took place in other venues around Scotland. The men's road race started from Edinburgh, the women's road race started from Balloch at Loch Lomond, there were time trials in Stirling, and paracycling events at Dumfries. The cross-country mountain biking took place in the Borders area, at Glentress, near Peebles - some 60 miles away. So it wasn't entirely focused on Glasgow.

Cycling along the Tweed

So I drove across the mid-Scotland countryside to see the cycle racing at Glentress forest. Tom Pidcock and was on the start list, as well as one of my favourite riders, Evie Richards, who would be in a very hotly contested women's race. So I was quite excited about going to watch the event.

After leaving my car at the Park and Ride in a park at Peebles, I took out my cyclocross bike from the boot and cycled along the River Tweed to reach the venue. My route went along the river and through the pretty village of Peebles, with its stone-faced houses and quaint cafes, pubs and guesthouses, then into woodland. This is a pleasant area to be with or without an international cycle event taking place. There were lots of people out and about taking walks with their family, and seemed quite content at the sight of so many visitors to their town. Who wouldn't to visit here! 

I asked directions to a local on how to reach the forest (I had failed to see one of the UCI arrows indicating the way to the centre). The woman had her children with her, who were on balance bikes and she was coaxing them along. While giving directions she also said hello to another local person passing by. "Hi John, how are things....Yes, go diagonally across the park and then you will see the cycle path takes you into Glentress. You can't miss it. It's a nice ride." she said with a mild Scottish accent. This lady seemed very proud to be a Peebles resident.

Just outside the village of Peebles I caught sight of the mountain bike centre up above, with all the hoardings, billboards, advertisements and to make the ambiance, the pumping music, loud commentary and riders - the juniors - competing in the previous race. I felt rude not riding up to watch their race, but it would have felt even more rude if I hadn't ridden further along the scenic Tweed Valley cycle path towards Innerleithen, another mountain bike trail centre. 

Time wasn't really on my side, in terms of getting in a significant bike ride. That was always going to be the case when coming up to Scotland for the cycling. Earlier in the day I had been up to Loch Lomond for a swim and that combined with breakfast and the drive over had eaten into valuable riding time. So many activities so little time as they say. Riding along the Tweed Valley Path was very pleasant. Pan flat sections intersperse undulating trails through the woodland of these Borderland forests. I encountered numerous cyclists along the way as they were using path to reach Glentress, having parked their cars in Innerleithen. Most of them were in a rush. This was also the stretch for elite athletes to do any final warm-ups before the race. I bumped into the German Team, plus some riders from Israel and Spain. The route was largely flat, but there were a fair few undulations as the path went through a multi-terrain mixture of gravel, tarmac and wooded surfaces of different bridges.

Chase group in the men's short-course race 

I managed to get back to the Glentress mountain bike centre just as the start klaxon sounded for the start of the men's race. The only thing was I was still a 100m below them at the entrance to the site! After squeezing in my bike at the expansive but packed out bike park, and going through security I did a mini fell run past the various promotional trade stands to reach the lower section of the race course, just in time to see the lead hurtling round containing eventual winner Sam Gaze (New Zealand), and Tom Pidcock leading a second group. The crowd roared and cheered as any of the British riders, including Cameron Orr came past, regardless of whether they were in the lead group or among the stragglers. 

Considering that I was one of the last spectators to arrive at the scene, I still managed to get a good view. There were crowds but it wasn't overcrowded. As the race was in progress it wasn't possible for me to go to "track centre" which would have allowed me to see other parts of the course, so I stayed put where I was. Seeing lots of press photographers also standing near me indicated that this must be a good place to be anyway. We were at the top of a mini uphill ramp around 100m from the start-finish line, so we could see the lead riders accelerating up this ramp to drop their rivals, as well as the back-markers who were straining and struggling as fatigue took it's toll on them. We were also near enough to see the finish line, which was a dead heat between Gaze and the Frenchman Victor Koretzky. Tom Pidcock took bronze in controversial circumstances in which he apparently barged Germany's Luca Schwarzbauer when trying to get in a gap on the last lap, causing the potential bronze-placed rider to crash.  

Tom Pidcock warming down at the finish line

We were also well-placed to see the riders keel over panting, trying to get their breath back after their efforts. The riders were in different states of exhaustion, and different sentiments ranging from elation, disappointment, despair or frustration. Some also needed medical attention as they'd raced around carrying a bleeding wound after crashing along a point in the course.

Tom Pidcock seemed to regain his recovery efficiently and was talking to some of his competitors. Speaking to one guy I heard him say something about "leaving the door open" when commenting on how the race went.

A few minutes later the marshals opened the barriers in order to let us move into track centre, and from there I was able to pick my spot for the women's race, which featured defending Short-Track Champion Evie Richards, multiple World Champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, and Dutch favourite Puck Pieterse.

After the build-up introducing the different racers, and the characteristic sound of the human heartbeat in the countdown, the klaxon rang out, and the women were off down the straight and up the hill. This time I stood on the opposite side from where I had been during the men's race. Although I got a good view, my photos weren't as clear because took more of a side-on view and the riders were so fast, the photos were blurred. I will rephrase that. Evie Richards was so fast, my photos of her were blurred! She really made a strong campaign by signalling her intentions from the get-go and riding off the front, much to the excitement of the home crowd. The best photos I got of her were racing were on the giant screen, on which the camera operators gave her a lot of time.

Women's lead group

Also the new position I was in was the shorter line of the hill, which curved to the right, meaning that spectators were very close to the riders, and a stray hand or even a small child could easily be hit if they were marginally over the barrier. I therefore did not want to take any risks even with my phone camera, so made sure to stand back.

Being in track centre meant that I could then move on to the twisty gravelly berms as the riders negotiated this downhill part of the ride. At this point the crowds were at their thickest and the loudest, with bell-ringing and whoop whooping going on too, for all riders, regardless of the nation they were representing. Combined with the dynamic commentary and ambient music, it was more like being at an outdoor music festival on this sunny early evening in August.

Sadly for Evie Richards, she didn't win, as the ever powerful Frenchwoman, Ferrand-Prevot opened the burners on the penultimate lap, and Evie was also dropped by Pieterse. Another Briton, Isla Short, finished in 13th place. At the finish line, the ever-popular Evie still looked joyful despite losing her crown, and gave lots of hugs to her fellow competitors, folks in the crowd that she knew, and took the time to sign her autograph for little girls who were clearly very inspired by her.

Tricky, downhill berms where a few riders crashed

It was a good afternoon out. I didn't stay for the presentation as I didn't want to be too late getting back to Glasgow. I must say I was glad to have done the park and ride and used my bicycle rather than a shuttlebus to get the venue. It's always a logistical headache ferrying thousands of people back to their cars, so it was a relief to not have to deal with that.   

The drive back to Glasgow was technical along all the winding roads through the rolling hills, but it was beautiful and the roads were practically empty. I can see why folks enjoy coming to Scotland.

Back in central Glasgow I got home in time to have a hearty dinner in preparation for the following day, which would involve another trip to Loch Lomond, and watching some indoor cycling.                                     

Related posts

Women's Tour de France delivers drama and new stars     

52 Cycling Voices - 34: Evie Richards

Memorable rides in Scotland

Eton Dorney Sprint Triathlon - Quick summary

I recounted the Eton Dorney Sprint Triathlon in full in a previous post. If you want to just get the top line on how it went, here is my finish line summary of how it went for me.

Related posts

Another weekend, another triathlon - Eton Dorney

Wanna do the Paris triathlon? What you need to know

Back again to Paris by bike - Paris Triathlon

Another weekend another triathlon - Eton Dorney

I can't believe I signed myself up for another triathlon. It's like buses. I don't do one for 10 years and then I do two in 10 weeks. I seem to have gotten a bug.

It's not that I have become a triathlete again; it's just part of my overall plan to stay fit in my 6th decade of life.

I had a phase around 20 years ago when I raced triathlons and duathlons regularly and was even part of different clubs. That feels like a different life. I trained regularly and intensely, planning my daily schedule around it, and even planning life around "the season". Everyone I socialised with was a triathlete and conversations, whether it was during training sessions, racing, or at the pub were "what races are you doing? Are you doing the Nationals? How was your bike splt? How long were you in transition? Did you use a Polar heart rate monitor or another one?"

There was so much triathlon talk, and without realising it I began to lose interest in it as I wasn't enjoying that feeling of being trapped in a triathlon bubble. Sure, I was probably a lot fitter than I am now, but life felt one-dimensional, and even when racing I dreaded it so much because I began to worry about not performing to my potential, what others would think if I was slower than expected, or if so and so beat me! I had to make sure I wasn't the slowest in the club. Many times I was though, and then I would feel a little bit embarrassed because I took 35 minutes to swim 1500m, or because I did 30 minutes for my 5km run. 

Then I got into cycle racing, which seemed to have more "balanced" people who largely had a healthy relationship with their sport. It has to be said that back then triathlon was a bit of a niche sport, with only hardy obsessives doing it. 

I gradually phased myself out of triathlon and didn't actually miss doing it. I had done it and got lots of T-shirts, literally! So it was time to move on.

Finishing the swim at Eton 
Photo: Maggie Easton

In recent times I have started doing a multi-sport discipline called SwimRun. It involves, you've guessed it, swimming and running. Unlike say, an aquathlon, SwimRun, which originated in Sweden, is about repeatedly swimming, then running, then swimming, then running, usually across a large lake with islands or promontories, or even crossing different bodies of water, rather like an archipelago around Stockholm. You do the whole thing wearing the same gear, so you end up running in your wetsuit and swimming with your running shoes on. 

I have done a few of these events and enjoyed them, especially the laid back atmosphere. I think the fact that there's no proper federation or national championships etc may be a reason why a lot 9f competitors aren't hard core. 

When training for this in my local area I get funny looks from people as they see me running around Brockwell Park in South London, with my wetsuit, swimming hat and goggles on my head. London is generally an "anything goes" kind of place. But even here, there are limits between stylish and ridiculous! But I just smile and enjoy myself.

So nowadays a triathlon takes a very back seat, and on those occasional forays into swim/bike/run it is pretty much for fun, with only one objective, to get to the finish line still smiling.

It is with this frame of mind that I entered the Eton Dorney Sprint triathlon - less than a week before the event, and after I'd seen that the weather forecast that day would be fair. 

On my arrival at the venue the scene for the 2012 Olympics rowing competitions, 30 minutes beforey start time, lots of athletes were already in transition or doing warm-up strides ready for the 7.45am whistle. I calmly cycled across the field to the registration desk, already in my wetsuit and then roughly arranged my gear in transition. 

Eton Dorney bike leg
Photo: Mark Easton

Within minutes I had attended a lakeside race briefing and was swimming along with around 100 other athletes in my wave. The water was a pleasant temperature - around 19°C, and was very clear. Sighting was not an issue, as I could just follow people's legs in the water. For me, it was just about staying relaxed in the water and saving energy for the bike and the run.

It seems I was a bit too relaxed as my 750m swim took almost 25 minutes, and I was one of the last out of the water. I was then the last out of transition, as I took my time towelling myself down, putting on my shorts and cycling top, and making sure everything on the bike was wear I wanted it. I was in no rush!

My bike leg was a matter of pacing myself on the flat 4-lap course. The outward bike ride was straight into a headwind, while the return was a wind-assisted blast back towards the crowds. I past various riders at this point, including others on road bikes. Some of them were a lap ahead of me though, so unless they were weak runners they'd finish ahead of me.

So the 5km run leg, like that of the Paris triathlon, was an out and back along a dead straight, flat path beside a body of water. Where previously I was going along the Ourcq Canal, this time it was Dorney Lake. Similarly, it was all about focusing and not feeling demoralised or demotivated. One woman I passed had not been able to avoid those feelings. "Are you okay?" I asked, as I passed her. "I'm fine," she replied. "I'm just bored and don't want to run anymore!" Trying to motivate her, I said, "Keep it steady, you've nearly finished." I don't know if that was much help.

I overtook a few people along the way, which helped with my motivation. On the return, I picked up my pace a little, and managed to cross the line still smiling, even as a young girl shot past me in the last 50 metres. 

It had been a fun event in the early Sunday morning sunshine, and I savoured my medal. I must say, at my age you always celebrate finishing a race without feeling any pain or injury! So it was a bonus to see that I had done 27 minutes for my run - quicker than my Park Run times, which don't involve swimming and cycling beforehand.

I don't know when next I will do a triathlon, but if I don't do another one this year, I can say that I have had a good season.

Related posts

Wanna do the Paris Triathlon? What you need to know

How I got on in the Paris Triathlon 

Women's Tour de France delivers drama and new stars

Tour de France Femmes peloton on the stage to Albi (photo: Thomas Maheux)

Following the successful staging of the reborn Tour de France Femmes in 2022, this year's edition of the event, sponsored by Zwift didn't fail to disappoint.

Last year's women's Tour de France Femmes began to the fanfare of the women racing Stage 1 on the Champs Elysees a few hours before the men's concluding stage of their Tour de France. The women then contested their remaining stages of their Tour in the East of France, in the Alsace/Vosges area with an exciting finale on the Superplanche des Belles Filles.

I must admit that when I saw that this year's stage would be starting from Clermont Ferrand, it seemed a slight downer compared with the iconic landmarks of central Paris. Granted, the event was in the shadow of the Puy de Dome, but the famous road up the extinct volcano was not included in the women's race itinerary.

However, the race more than made up for it with the final stages snaking through the Pyrenees, over the col d'Aspin and the col du Tourmalet, culminating in a time trial on undulating roads around Pau. 

Lotte Kopecky (photo: Getty Sport)

What also makes the race are the riders. It was no surprise to see women from the mighty SD Worx team occupying the upper echelons of the General Classification rankings, but it wasn't totally one-way traffic for the Netherlands-registered team flush with National, European and former World Champions. This made the overall racing exciting and introduced an element of suspense - an important ingredient for an engaging sports competition.

Where the men's Tour de France solicited a guessing game about whether Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard would come out on top, the women's race led to debates around whether it would be Movistar's Annemiek Van Vleuten who would replicate her triple Grand Tour victories from last year (she had already won the women's Vuelta a Espana, and Giro Donne) or whether Demi Vollering would stop her compatriot in her ascendancy.  

After Vollering drew first blood by thanks to the stage one victory by Belgian National Champion Lotte Kopecky, allowing her SD Worx team to seize the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) and keep it thanks to further stage victories from Lorena Wiebes (stage 3) and Marlen Reusser (stage 8). However the team was punished with setbacks which could have toppled its aspirations. In reality, these problems were self-inflicted and would have been associated more with a small newbie team, than with a dominant World Tour Team led by some of the most experienced riders and sports directors in the women's peloton.

On Stage 4 from Cahors to Rodez, won by a breakaway rider Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Vollering crossed the finish line in a celebratory mood, in second place after bursting forward from her group. She had not realised there was another rider further up the road who had won the stage - despite her having radio communication with her team mates and sports director, and knowing that there had been a breakaway which had as much as 10 minutes time advantage over the GC chasing group at one point.  

The following day, during Stage 5, SD Worx effected a bike change for Vollering when she got a puncture. Looking at the TV pictures, the bike change must have been the slowest change in the history of bike racing! Unsurprisingly the rider lost a significant amount of time on the peloton including her GC contender rivals, so she slipstreamed off her team car in order to be paced back to the bunch. 

It wasn't plain sailing for SD Worx (photo: Thomas Maheux)

The only problem was her sports director drove down the wrong side of the road, dangerously overtaking, and potentially putting other participants in danger. 

After an initial reprimand from the race commissaire during the race for excessive slipstreaming and dangerous overtaking, sports director Danny Stam received a 200CHF fine and Vollering received a 100CHF fine. Stam was later expelled from the race after dismissing the UCI commissaires' ruling as ridiculous. 

While SD Worx had the means to pay the fine and co-sports director Anna van der Breggen could still manage matters during the race, the real bite came when Vollering received a 20-second time penalty which relegated her from second to seventh place in the GC, and 12 seconds behind Van Vleuten. This was in addition to the double whammy of seeing Movistar's Emma Norsgaard (Jorgensen) sprint to win Stage 6 into Blagnac ahead of yellow jersey wearer, Kopecky on the eve of the decisive weekend for the race.

During the decisive penultimate stage from Lannemezan to Tourmalet, Van Vleuten and Vollering had a face-off on the lower slopes of the giant of the Pyrenees. There was no love lost between these two Dutch girls - even less so since last year's Tour de France Femmes, as well as this year's Vuelta a Espana when Vollering believed Van Vleuten had been unsporting en route to her historic win. [Van Vleuten allegedly attacked while Vollering, who was in the lead, took a loo break.]

Such stand-offs can actually be advantageous to others, as Canyon SRAM's Kasia Niewiadoma found when she launched her own attack off the front, staying away until shortly before the finish line when eventual winner Vollering caught her, though the Pole still stayed ahead of Van Vleuten by more than half-a-minute. Deservedly Niewiadoma was awarded the polka dot jersey for the Queen of the Mountains.

An emotional Demi Vollering on realising she's won the Tour de France Femmes (Thomas Maheux)

What we learned during this Tour de France Femmes was that contrary to fellow competitor Elisa Longo Borghini who once described Van Vleuten as an alien, the all-powerful Movistar rider is human. She began to show signs of weakness and fatigue as the route passed through the mountain villages of St Marie de Campan, and La Mongie, and the World Champion was unable to match Vollering's attack through the mist in the Hautes Pyrenees as she crossed the finish line over two and a half minutes ahead of Van Vleuten as the new wearer of the yellow jersey. 

Similarly, at the closing time trial, where Van Vleuten has traditionally prevailed, she was also caught wanting, when she finished in 14th place, over 1 minute 40 seconds behind Reusser.

So it wasn't to be for Vleuty, who finished in fourth place in the GC almost four minutes behind the victorious Vollering. Meanwhile the SD Worx camp enjoyed huge celebrations following Reusser's victory in the time trial, Lotte Kopecky's green jersey, and Vollering's maiden yellow jersey for her overall win at the Tour de France Femmes.

As well as the battle between these two arch-rivals, this Tour de France Femmes was also spiced up by young guns going for it - new riders, young riders, smaller teams, throwing themselves out there and trying their chances for a stage win.

A crash-filled Stage 2 saw Lianne Lippert take flight with a maiden victory. The young team-mate of Van Vleuten finished ahead of Kopecky who punctured before the finish line after being led out by Vollering. Stage 3 saw the dreams of Julie Van de Velde of the young team Fenix-Deceuninck crushed as she was caught agonisingly close to the finish line after launching a long breakaway. Her cyclocrosser team-mate Kastelijn (who eventually won the overall combativity prize) finished the business by winning Stage 4 into Rodez. 

Ricarda Bauernfeind, new kid on the block (Thomas Maheux)

In spectacular style Ricarda Bauernfeind, a recent arrival at Canyon-SRAM having been in the development structure Canyon-Generation took the biggest win of her short career in stage 5 (from Onet-le-Chateau to Albi) and at age 23 years and three months she became the youngest winner of a TDFF stage.

Additionally, the likes of Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, racing for the newly formed AG Insurance-Soudal-Quick-Step team, whose sport director is former racer Jolien d'Hoore, also put time into Van Vleuten on the slopes of the Tourmalet. Kopecky who is known as a sprinter and also a handy track cyclist emerged as the Wout Van Aert of women's racing as she also put in a sterling ride in the mountains.

So all in all, the Tour de France Femmes this year turned out to be an engaging race, with interesting stories and talking points, excitement, intrigue, and new stars. 

As much as I like Van Vleuten and it would have been a good note on which the 40-year old could close out career, doing the triple, I must say that I am happy that there were a few twists and turns in the competition. Although SD Worx dominated in the rankings, we certainly saw fearless challenges from riders across the spectrum of age, experience, and team strength.

                              Jersey winners: L-R: Cedrine Kerbaol, Kasia Niewiadoma, Demi Vollering,
Lotte Kopecky (photo: Thomas Maheux) 

Next year's Tour de France Femmes with Zwift will start in the Netherlands, and we will find out the full itinerary in October. I look forward to seeing what 2024 will bring.

Related posts

Freewheeling: Is women's professional cycling in a good place?

52 Cycling Voices - Kimberley Coates

The Tour de France Femmes est arrivée

52 Cycling Voices - Pauline Ballet

52 Cycling Voices - Rochelle Gilmore

Freewheeling - Identity politics and cycling

In this day and age there seems to be significant importance placed on an individual's race, gender, sexual orientation etc. No more is this more so than in the world of sport.

When someone wins a race the headlines scream the first woman/person of colour/gay person/disabled person etc. Then it is immediately followed by "they are inspiring others to do the same", "they carry the hopes of this group of people", "they are using their platform to encourage others" etc etc.

2022 Black Unity Bike Ride (photo: BUBR by RaphaWEB) 

It's something I have never really understood. Firstly, when I take part in an event I have never thought of checking out who else is doing that activity or what they looked like. If I see a black woman doing an activity I am no more likely to be inspired by her than if I see a white man doing that activity. I can't get inspired by someone purely based on their appearance. Why on earth would I identify with someone whose life I know nothing about? To say that they "look like me" because they are a black female seems totally crass, in the same way as when sports commentators in the 1980s would say they couldn't tell one competitor from another "because they all look the same".

So to say that folks are more likely to do an event if they see people who "look like them", or saying that people of the same race, gender or sexual orientation have the same issues, is like saying all black people are the same, all women are the same etc. Now that would be considered as a racist or sexist remark, and the person saying this would be sacked from their job.

Yet, we have groups, even events cropping up based on people's specific characteristics. I previously wrote about what is now known as the Women of Colour Cycling Collective. There is also a Black Cyclist's Network, Brothers on Bikes (for Muslims), plus similar groups for other sporting activities. My thoughts on those groups are the same - if you want to take part in those sporting activities, why not go to existing groups - even encourage your black friends to come with you, and be part of a multi-racial group just like our society is. I don't understand why sporting activities should become a racial matter and why people want to revert to segregation that folks campaigned against for decades. I have done various sporting activities for decades, including cycling, swimming, running, trail running, skiing, hiking. I have never felt a need to join a specific group of black people to do those activities with.

Black Unity Bike Ride

So, as it happens an event known as the Black Unity Bike Ride is taking place in early August. According to the organisers the ride was created in the aftermath of the George Floyd incident and "calls for the black community to unite against social injustice and inspire more active well being. The ride creates support for the capital'ss underrepresented demographics to take the city's streets and increase the diversity of the current cycling population in the captial.  I must say I have difficulties understanding this thinking. I don't see the link between the killing of George Floyd and riding a bicycle, or how riding a bicycle has a link to social injustice.  

It is true that fewer black people ride a bicycle than white people. Statistics from Sport England show that 75% of people from an ethnically diverse background don't ride a bicycle. O black people are the least represented ethnic group in cycling, with only 57% of black people actively cycle, and only 22% consider themselves to be experienced cyclists. There are various reasons to explain that. 

Fewer black people than other ethnicities cycle regularly; this could be down to various reasons (photo: BUBR by RaphaWEB)

In my immediate family there were seven people. I was the only person who rode a bicycle consistently as a sport as well as to commute. My relatives just weren't that interested in cycling, even though a couple of my siblings watched me in cycle races. 

My dad bought himself a road bike in the 80s (a Peugeot) but he hardly ever rode it, preferring to do other activities. As a child, one of my sisters was invited on a bike ride and went, but came back from it non-plussed about her experience and wasn't minded to do it anymore. My parents and other black people I have met considered cycling something you did because you couldn't afford a car or hadn't yet learned how to drive. Once you had a car, a bicycle was surplus to requirement! This might sound old fashioned but there are many people who still have those opinions. 

But instead, many folks have been quick to play the race card, claiming that some sort of social exclusion or even structural racism is the reason for the lower level of participation. I would be interested to see the evidence to support that.

Sure, there are plenty of black adults who have never learned to ride a bicycle due to fear of the machine - just like there are white people in the same situation. There are various Bikeability schemes where folks can learn. They are not race specific. Fear of bike riding doesn't have a colour.

This event bringing together black cyclists consists of a 17-mile bike ride through London (from Leyton to Dulwich), with a mini festival taking place in a park at the end of the ride. Sounds a great set-up for an event. A few years ago I did a similar ride, the Tweed Run, which also concluded with a party in a park. That event was for folks to celebrate their shared love for Tweed fashion and retro bikes - something of interest to any type of person. Indeed the event had men, women, folks of various ethnicities and nationalities turning out in their twill breaches and brogues of various hues, on penny farthings and other vintage steeds from different decades. 

However, this upcoming  event is aimed at black people and the party in the park will have refreshments provided care of companies run by black people, selling foods that celebrate black culture - so-called Black Eats London. 

I certainly like the idea of what they call a "carnival on wheels" - maybe a cycling version of the Notting Hill Carnival, which has a diverse population taking part. I also think that it's good to celebrate a culture. Though I must say "black culture" seems like a clumsy phrase considering that black people aren't just one monolith. We inhabit as many parts of the world as white people, and we come from a multitude of cultures.

BUBR 2022 (photo: BUBR)

The idea that this ride would be motivated by social injustice is the aspect that I don't like, considering  that cycling is not a matter of social justice or injustice. It's just about getting on a bike if you want, or not doing the activity if it's not your bag. There are so many pastimes to choose from nowadays - people are free to shun cycling in favour of other sports. I don't see a problem with that. 

According to Ajasa-Oluwa, the ride was created "with the aim of inspiring more unity and a sense of empowerment." It targets the "black community" and is keen to diversify cycling. 

I must say I don't think I could describe a ride with just black people as a way of diversifying the sport, so much as driving it back towards segregation. 

Pride Rides

Pride ride (photo: Pride Ride)

Another set of events that took place were the Pride Rides - bike rides for LGBTQ+ individuals which raised money for a cycling programme for the transgender charity, Not A Phase. On the back of that is a film about the rides called Shifting Gears. My first impression is that I am not sure what the need is for this. We've gotten used to Gay Pride marches that take place in cities around the world, and sure some of these events are a hugely flamboyant spectacle to the observer. But is a specific bike ride really needed?

To an extent, I buy into this more than the rides based on race, because there is a very specific debate and public consciousness around transgender athletes taking part in sport. Regardless of one's views on the matter, there is a case for raising awareness of these emerging issues experienced by transgender athletes competing in elite sports and what category they would be in. There have also been issues around male footballers or rugby players coming out of the closet about their sexuality.

So I guess these initiatives are ways of highlighting challenges that some LGBTQ+ and particularly transgender athletes are experiencing when competing at a high level in sports, including cycling. 

Pride Ride 2023 (photo: Pride ride)

Conclusions

Having said all of the above, I still wonder about the need, in both cases to organise rides that specifically group together people based on a physical characteristic. It would be more acceptable if white people were to attend the Black Unity Bike Ride - even give it another name that welcomes all races. Have different types of food from various countries as refreshments. Ditto for the Pride Rides - why not have heterosexuals there too?

We hear of certain groups of people in society talk about feeling excluded. Surely, if the goal is to feel included, it seems counteractive, even divisive to organise events with just their own people involved. So in effect, those who complain about feeling excluded end up becoming the ones excluding others. 

That's not something that I could ever subscribe to, and I look forward to the day when folks understand how unhelpful these sorts of groups can be if the aim is for a more unified population in cycling, and in the wider society. 

Related posts

Freewheeling - Keeping away from cycling activists

Women of colour cycling group - is it necessary?

As featured in Rouleur magazine