I’ve always loved riding bikes.
For years I had a great scar from when I took my red apple bike – complete with basket – onto the BMX track. It came crashing down on me on a high corner with the pedal making a rather large gash on my thigh. I wasn’t deterred though.
![Girl on bike in field.](https://i0.wp.com/bingleybelles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/katie_s-first-non-stablised-ride.jpg?fit=800%2C545&ssl=1)
I was lucky enough to grow up a short ride away from Richmond Park, in London.
We’d cycle there as a family, cycle ’round it, through it, to the various cafes scattered around the place. It was brilliant.
![Family on bikes in front of lake.](https://i0.wp.com/bingleybelles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/cycling-at-versailles.jpg?fit=800%2C546&ssl=1)
My secondary school and friends were on the other side of the park from me. A perfect commute, bombing over tree roots in the mud on my mountain bike. My bike gave me freedom.
Then I forgot about cycling for a while – during college, working, university… A combination of moving around a lot, small car, and I think it just didn’t occur to me.
When I moved to Leeds in 2007 I bought a cheap hybrid from Halfords, which was crucial when I ended up without a car for a while. I largely used it for commuting up a dual carriageway, so it wasn’t a fun bike.
We moved to a different dual carriageway on the other side of Leeds and the bike stayed untouched for years. There was nowhere safe to ride it – sod’s law that they’d build the cycle superhighway at the end of our road just as we moved to Bradford. Even then, we were now near the towpath and I always had a niggling feeling that I wanted to have a cycle, but my bike wasn’t inspiring me.
Then, in 2017, our garage got broken into. The untouched unfun bike – along with a lot of other stuff – got nicked.
I used the Cycle to Work scheme to buy a really fun Bobbin bike, and then somehow came across the Let’s Ride website. Turns out, women put on social group rides for other women, who knew?!
I was immediately hooked.
![Teal bike with basket on a towpath.](https://i0.wp.com/bingleybelles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG_20170729_131632648_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1)
It wasn’t long before I went on one of Judy‘s Breeze rides from Saltaire, and I quickly tried to arrange my shifts so I’d be able to join her Monday and Wednesday rides.
Judy also made me realise what a good idea an electric bike is when you live in West Yorkshire. The steep hill heading up from the towpath to my house is a killer and was putting me off getting behind the handlebars. The final straw was cycling back from a hard day working in Leeds into a headwind, in the pouring rain. I got as far as Bramley and burst into tears.
So, I got myself a beautiful folding e-bike from Volt, with a max range of 40 miles – surely I’d never need more than that?!
It served me well and I discovered the joys of speeding up hills across Yorkshire. The e-bike got me off the towpath and onto beautiful roads where it’s a surprise to see a car – don’t they know it’s a cyclist’s playground?
After a couple of years, the 40-mile range (which is more like 20 with these hills) had become a hindrance, and thanks again to Cyclescheme, I’ve now upgraded to a Liv e-bike that can do more than 100, and my parents have inherited the Volt. I use it to get to work, go shopping, visit friends, and of course, go out with the Bingley Belles.
I discovered the Belles during the pandemic, as Breeze rides stopped but I could see Judy getting out and about on rides with a knitted cake for some strange reason. Turns out the Belles are all about the cake!
After joining in April 2021, the meet and greet ride – in pouring rain – was great fun and I instantly felt the warmth of an amazing community. One that also puts on training, picnics and trips to Majorca!
I became a co-ride leader and trained as a British Cycling Breeze Champion and ride leader in September 2021.
![Group of colourful cyclists.](https://i0.wp.com/bingleybelles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG-20220130-WA0004.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1)
Katie Hall's favourite ride
![](https://i0.wp.com/bingleybelles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/PXL_20220130_111537865-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1)
- Around Shipley Glen
- Distance: 8km (more like 30km for me including getting to the start point and back!)
- Terrain: Bit of road, bit of woodland, bit of rocky (mini) mountain
- Type of ride: Two cake (because of the rocks)
- Download GPX file of route