Our Story Our Voice

When I was very little, I had a bicycle with stabilisers on and a Doctor said that I would properly never be able to ride a bike properly.

I started to ride a bicycle without stabilisers when I was 10 years old at Littlehampton promenade with my Mum and Dad. They  would hold the back of my seat and slowly let go off the bike  and I eventually started to cycle on my own.

I started cycling with the YMCA in Redhill because of the Sport for England funding, which was a legacy from the 2012 Olympic games.

We were doing a lots of Mountain Bike riding with YMCA and I used to hire an MTB from the YMCA. In  September 2015,  I bought my own MTB and the colour I choose was Purple.

With the YMCA, I completed my Level One MTB certificate

In 2015 we completed the “up & down”  challenge, we started the fund rising trip from Brighton and finished at the Redhill  YMCA.  I got a Challenge Medal  to say that I completed the challenge.

The YMCA stopped the rides in 2016 as they run out of funding, so the group set up their own group and  we self-funded the coach and we would meet up at the Redhill Memorial Park for our Sunday Rides

As we all had learning difficulties, we joined the South East Special Olympic group

We were  doing a lot of mountain bike riding but when we become a part of the Special Olympics, we started doing road cycling. .I cycle for the South East Special Olympic team, I go cycling on Sundays with the South East group, the instructors help us with  the route and the different junctions, but we usually cycle about 30 to 35 miles each Sunday 

I use a cycling app called Strava and it tells me where I have cycled, how many miles and how much elevation I have completed to set it up on a Sunday morning before I set off cycling.

We sometimes cycle at Gravesend Cyclopark where we can complete time trials for the Special Olympic events 

For the Special Olympic National Games in Sheffield in 2017, we completed some fund-raising rides to help with the cost of transport and accommodation.

On the 2nd of September 2016, we completed a sponsored ride from The Gower Peninsular to the Breacon Beacons, it took all day as it was over 50 miles and very hilly. 

I went to the Special Olympic National Games in Manchester in 2016 and won a Bronze medal.

With the YMCA we were doing a lot of Mountain Bike riding but when we joined the Special Olympic Surrey Group, we started doing road cycling and needed road bikes.

I went on a cycling holiday to Paxos on Wednesday 5th April  to Wednesday 12th April 2017. I rented a bike and as a group, we went cycling in the morning and had the afternoon off by the pool.  

I bought my own road bike in June 2017 from C & N Cycles in Redhill.

In August 2017 I went to Sheffield to take part in the GB Special Olympics and for the South East, I entered in the 1K & 2K times trials races & the 3k road race. 

In Sheffield I won a Bronze medal in the 2k time trial & Silver medal in my 3k road race & came 4th in my 1K time trial race.

I went on a cycling training holiday in Majorca on Monday 2nd April 2018 to Monday 9th April 2018 with my SO group and this was with Stuart Hall Cycling who provided guides for the rides. I took my own road bike with me to Majorca but hired a bike bag for the flight.

We sometime cycle at Gravesend Cyclopark training for Special Olympics so we can know what time trial races or road races we will be getting put in to for are Special Olympics Cycling events. 

The 40th Special Olympic Anniversary Games were hosted by Special Olympics Scotland in Stirling, between 9-13th August 2018.

In 2018 I changed my pedals on my green road bike to clip in pedals, they are called cleats and I crashed a lot when I first used them.

I got a new purple carbon frame road bike with disc brakes in September 2019, this bike was custom made for me for my height and it had more gears. 

I still have my green bike which I use in the Winter as I don’t use my carbon bike outside in the Winter because of the salt that they use on the icy roads, as the salt destroys the carbon frame.

In the Winter I use my purple bike indoors attached to a bike trainer and use an app called Zwift and cycle virtually

I have names for my road bikes –  my green road bike is called Princess and my purple bike is called  Lady Penelope.

In August 2019, I went to the Special Olympics National Games in Manchester and I won a Bronze medal on my green road bike with my feet clipped in my cleats.

In March 2020 due to Covid -19 our Special Olympic Cycling group stopped the Sunday cycle rides 

I started to go cycle with my Mum and Dad,  but we could only cycle for one hour as that was the lockdown rules of exercising for one hour locally.

I started back with the Special Olympic group cycling on Sundays in June 2020

In the 1st lockdown, I ordered the Tacx indoor trainer, but it didn’t arrive until May

I have been using the indoor trainer during the lockdown in November and I am still using it now. 

I have been cycling with my Mum and brother on my indoor trainer.

I am returning to the Sunday cycle rides in May as I would have had both vaccines jabs.