Bike riding is my life, I can barely remember a time I haven’t ridden, bar the few years I took a detour via the marathon route, but in the background the bike remained. I rode sportives in the 80′s when they were called cycle tours. I’ve raced London to Paris in Group 1 a few times coming 2nd / 3rd most years and placed top ten in the Etape a number of times. I’ve lived to tell the tale after commuting in London for 15 years: rain, shine, sleet and snow, every day is a bike day in my world. I even do my grocery shopping by bike.
I did my little bit to convert colleagues to commuting, not through any pressure on my part, but more through passion and incessant tales about cycling. The more I got into cycling the more I wanted to ride and the dream of riding a Grand Tour was sewn at an early age and I was lucky to harvest it in 2011 on one of the toughest Giro D’Italia’s in modern history. Paris-Roubaix holds a special place for me, as a small rider cobbles are not meant to be for me, so standing on the second step of the podium brought a joy to my heart but it is also a ride I fell in love with. I’ve tried all types of cycling, some I’m hopeless at, others I excel. But any day on a bike is a good day and I am happiest when I am riding, whether it’s a short ride or a long, hard day in the saddle.
Bikepacking (minimalist touring) is where I am at currently. The joy of planning everything yourself, only yourself held to account when it goes pairshaped, the freedom to clock up the distance your legs can do that day, the back-to-survival mode of finding your own shelter and food on-route, self-reliant in every way. Leaving behind a modern world of comforts for the open, often unknown road.
Happiness is a choice. I say: #ChooseHappiness
Peta McSharry 