Say hello to Wendy

Say hello to Wendy! She’s conquered some of the toughest climbs in Rhodes recently – despite having a phobia of hills!! Not only that she achieved this in temperatures well over 30°C. She says “this holiday has been a steep learning curve – literally!!” No matter the challenge - she got the job done!

Wendy says:

“I moved from Leeds to York in January2016 and took up cycling in 2017 when I was given my first ever road bike as an early Christmas present. Up until then I’d been doing a lot of running but had to give up after a series of injuries, so I needed some cardio exercise that was low-impact.”

“Having never ridden a road bike before and not having much cycling experience, I made use of York City Council’s Urban Skills training sessions in 2018. I decided it was time to consider riding in a Group, that’s when I joined Rouleurs in November 2018 and I haven’t looked back since!

"I’d looked at other clubs in York but none of them provide the distance or speeds that I was capable of riding. Riding with the Rouleurs means I don’t have to ride with “SpeedDemons” but sometimes it’s great to go out with people are faster than me. It means I ride faster than on my own – but weirdly also easier because conversation makes miles pass faster and sometimes those “Speed Freaks” are useful for a tow when I need some speed practice 😊. Everyone is so welcoming and the best thing is when I’m dying at the back, I know “Rouleurs Ride Together” so I’ll never be dropped.”

“Joining Rouleurs led to me working with a Level 3 British Cycling coach who set up an online training programme for me. He set me various targets, including my first ever 100-mile ride. With some added inspiration from Rouleurs and Global Cycling Network (GCN to its fans), I set off to Hornsea overnight to see sunrise on the east coast.”

“My next long-distance challenge was to conquer 200km and as I’m not the best hillclimber ever -did I mention my phobia of hills??? – so I plotted a flat route and made it across the Humber Bridge for the first time in my life. I still can’t believe what I achieved!!”

“Rouleurs has introduced me to new places and great people. Although it’s not a racing Club, I’ve been so inspired by my experiences with the Rouleurs I discovered I enjoy the challenge of ‘competing’ in ten-mile Time Trials (aka ‘turning up’) and usually finish last! Sometimes I even finish second to last!”

“I don’t think that’s too shabby for someone finding joy just riding around the course on two wheels while most other competitors are riding dedicated time trial bikes and skinsuits!! Plus thanks to the Club, I’ve learned so many fun routes in and out of York – every Ride is a geography lesson…. eventually I’ll hopefully be able to link everything together so I don’t get lost when venturing off to Tadcaster!

The new Rouleurs skills training sessions have been amazing! I’ve been able to work on some basic – and some not-so-basic techniques. We’ve even covered going round corners which was a big bonus for me. I’ve been told there's even a Skills Sessions to cover climbing to help me conquer my fear of ramps.

One thing our trips to Greece have taught me is that I need more hill practice (or an eBike 😊 there’s no shame - anything that get’s you out on two wheels) that way I can enjoy the scenic ‘green’ Greek countryside 😊.

To anyone out there thinking of joining – just come along and give it a go. If I can do this, anyone can.