NAME: Melanie
AGE: 52
LOCATION: Annecy, France
EXPERIENCE:
I first started riding regularly back in Edinburgh, about four years ago. It started with doing multi-day trips with panniers on the back, then I bought a cheap town bike and started using it to get around everywhere on a daily basis. I moved to France in 2020 and stumbled across a blog post titled “100 cycling climbs better than Alpe d’Huez”. I stared at photos of this cyclist gliding up impossible-looking cols around France, and I said to myself …. this could become my new obsession. So I bought my first road bike and have not looked back since.
Q. The last 2 years have been tough for everyone, and everyone has coped in different ways. In terms of your cycling, were you more ON the bike or OFF?
More ON than off!
Q. If ON, what was it that motivated you?
The lockdown in France was stifling. Each time I got my bike out, as soon as I pushed down on the right-hand pedal to get going I genuinely breathed a huge sigh of relief and felt better. My bike literally got me through the lockdown.
Q. How has cycling helped you over the past 2 years?
My bike has helped me discover scenery that has taken my breath away and I’ve cycled further and climbed higher on my bike than I genuinely ever thought I was capable of.
Q. Have your cycling goals changed over the last 2 years?
The pandemic has made me realise not to put things off and not to let time slip by, so my cycling goal is to make the most of summer when it gets here and tick off a long list of bike rides I’m dying to do.
Q. What are you most looking forward to/hoping to gain from riding Le Loop this summer?
I’m most looking forward to meeting the other riders and enjoying the cycling together. Um … I’m also looking forward to eating a lot of cake.