Our August 2024 Belle
Early Days
I remember learning to ride in the playing fields behind my Gran’s house. I had a tiny white bike so I’m guessing I was 5 or 6 at the time. There was a slight slope and I remember my parents pushing me off at the top and then I would pedal until I fell off and then get up and do it over and over again.
Sibling Rivalry
I grew up with 2 older brothers so there was always a hand me down bike and the aspiration to keep up. I had a lot of freedom as a kid and I cycled a surprising amount on those heavy single gear bikes. I remember rides out (from Rawdon) to Harrogate and Bolton Abbey and Otley Chevin usually with my brother on some adventure of his making.
Pushing the boat out with the help of a paper round
I got my first ‘proper’ bike when I was about 16. It was multiple Birthday and Christmas presents rolled into one, but I wanted a super swanky one so I put all my paper round money into it too and even my brothers were jealous. For me a bike represented freedom in a way that a car never did, and I never did learn to drive. My new bike had 12 gears but I stuck with what I knew and cycled around in the same middling one for a year before finding the confidence to change gear. When I went to uni my bike became my main way of getting around and I continued to ride that bike most days for the next 25 years until it became a part of me. By the time I ‘upgraded’ to my current bike most of it had been replaced many times over.
More than just a means of transport
Being carless, my bike (and walking) has always been how I get around and how I spread my horizons. I cycle to get to places and to do things I couldn’t do otherwise; or to do them more easily or with more fun. Cycling has ebbed and flowed in my life, depending where I need / want to get to but it has always been a part of my life. For me bikes make the world a better place, and make MY world a better place.
I like Bingley Belles for helping more women to cycle more; for the easy going sociableness; for the skills training and bike kitchens; for Bar Belles and the weekends away – thanks everyone, and especially t’committee
Favourite Ride
Any with the ego boost of the wind behind me.
Hawes to Kettlewell (or Ilkley) – a steep pull up and over Fleet Moss (walking allowed) followed by a gentle meander down Wharfedale.