Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride.
Eddie Merckx
I am proud to be an advocate for cycling in all forms! For me, cycling represents fun, health, community and freedom.
My Cycling Story
Growing up in a single car household, we cycled as a primary source of transportation. My father used the car for a long commute so if you wanted to go anywhere, you had to bike or take public transit. Cycling meant the freedom to go whereever you wanted, without relying on buses that came only once every half hour. And because of that, my mom would pack us up, with snacks in the milk crate on her bike carrier, and we would venture off on two wheels!
I recall cycling to the zoo from a very young age: a 16 km round trip plus walking around the zoo once we got there! We lived near a wonderful park system, and another favourite route would take us down into a nearby ravine where a multi-use path would take you through the forest and to the beach. These rides invariably meant pushing my heavy steel bike back up a climb that I now know averages 18% over 150 m to get back home. If that is not a lesson in perseverance, I don’t know what is!
My parents had vintage Raleigh road bikes, and I remember trying to keep up with my mom as she coasted next to us, thinking that I was definitely going to get a road bike some day. I made that dream a reality during my undergrad, and from there I branched out to gravel, cyclocross, fatbiking, and a little bit of mountain biking here and there. I love touring, dabbling in racing, and of course I continue to use a commuter bike as my primary mode of transportation.
In 2021 I became pregnant with my daughter, and my goals on the bike changed to fit my body. I took a step back from racing and long rides to increase my role as a leader in the community. I led more novice-focussed rides (a better pace for my changing body) and swapped saturdays in the saddle for saturdays helping new riders find their dream bikes at our local shop. My last ride was at 36 weeks pregnant, after which I opted for hiking rather than modifying my bike fit further to accommodate my belly.
My post-pregnancy cycling story is just beginning and I look forward to sharing my love of bikes with my daughter as she grows up.
Advocacy & Community Service
I am deeply involved in the cycling community in Regina: serving on the executive of the Regina Cycle Club, as a ride leader, and an advocate for safe and effective cycling infrastructure. My particular focus is building the community and the sport through programming for novice and intermediate riders, both in mixed-gender and women specific settings.
Cycling blog post archive: