I had been checking the weather forecast all week, although this isn’t so unusual to check conditions for a weekends cycling. However during the lead-up to this weekend I was hoping for a lovely winters day as the 12th December was the day planned for our Love Velo cc & Strongher cc women’s social ride. As the day drew nearer it became evident that we were going to have a typical British winters day of pouring rain, cold temperatures and strong winds. I had expected numbers to drop, which was fine my sister Katie and I would continue with the ride anyway.
It was a brilliant surprise when two other amazing ladies turned up to join us still despite the conditions. So there were only four of us, when we had previously had twelve confirmed but it didn’t matter, we had a good ride. Im always so inspired when I run rides like these with the people who turn up. You get a mix of ages and people from different backgrounds, but have the common ground of cycling meaning conversation comes so easily. Its a social atmosphere that offers such an encouraging environment.
12th December also marks the day for the Rapha ‘Braver than the Elements’ event. Across the world rides have been planned to encourage more women to cycle throughout the colder months. The idea being that whatever the weather conditions that you get out and ride and that today we certainly did! Rain, wind and cold; there was no stopping us.
30 miles of Leicestershire’s rolling countryside, a coffee stop at Cafe Ventoux with excellent company.
Success for our first ride!
By Lucy Sturgess