Responsible for making the magic happen
Wayne discovered his love for cycling in May 2020 when he was looking for a way to add more physical activity to his life. As he explored new places and went on longer rides, he found that he loved the sense of freedom and adventure that cycling offered.
Naomi's journey with cycling started in 2019 doing the British Heart Foundation London to Brigton (L2B) ride with her dad, having bought a hybrid bike 3 months before and not really having cycled for over 10 years.
Born in the cyclepath heaven of Copenhagen cycling has always been a form of transportation for Mona until she arrived as a teenager in London
I have been cycling since childhood and returned to it in my adult life about eight years ago. Riding around town and exploring the countryside, meeting new people, and discovering new places are some of my favorite pastimes.
May 2021, Kerine began cycling after deciding to take part in the London to Brighton bike ride. Two weeks after purchasing her bike, she completed her first charity bike ride to Southend.
Fitzroy started cycling in 2015 as part of his recovery from a heart attack. Within three years he completed the 100-mile RideLondon route; thus the cycling bug took up permanent residence in his soul.
Joanna had a successful 13-year career as a long jumper for Great Britain and decided to challenge herself by exploring new fitness activities after retiring from athletics.
During the lockdown, I could not attend my regular fitness classes due to gym closures and restrictions. Fortunately, my husband introduced me to TWR, a cycling group specifically designed for people of colour.
Tuesday sessions are fun, focused, inclusive, supportive, and geared towards the time crunched cyclist. Our evenings are generally packed with banter, music and a feelgood vibe. Sessions are planned and supported by qualified (British Cycling) coaches and ride leaders, with training plans linked to preparing for our group rides. These include rides such as Ride London, London to Brighton/Southend and endurance rides such as Dunwich Dynamo. It should be noted that there is a framework for the development sessions, however this is flexible depending on who turns up to train. Where necessary smaller sub-groups are formed on the day which helps support both faster, and slower less experienced riders. This ensures that no rider misses out on the learning.
On Thursdays we explore the beautiful city of London with a social, light-hearted ride where you get to meet other members of TWR. We ride to and around different parts of London, taking in all the sites…and a bit of cake too! These rides are usually a round trip distance between 15-25 miles (dependent upon the destination). Being a social ride, means we ride together as a group and have a no drop policy so don’t worry if you’re not sure you will be able to keep up because we will slow down. We also, always have ride leaders and other experienced riders that look after the group. Once or twice a month on a Thursday we incorporate a hill training session in place of a city ride which is good for learning how to tackle hill climbs, building strength, both physical and mental. Our city ride also gives us the opportunity to put into practise some of the road safety skills learnt during our Tuesday training sessions and new or less experienced riders often find our city rides are ideal for building confidence in tackling some of the challenges in riding on London’s busy streets (all under the supervision of ride leaders).
On Saturdays or Sundays (alternate) we venture out further afield to other regions & counties and take in some of the most stunning views England has to offer. These rides are usually a round trip distance between 40-80 miles (dependent upon the destination) where we stop for lunch at the half-way point before heading back home. TWR’s motto is to ‘get a bike, meet new people, go to places and do cool stuff’ which means occasionally a ride will require us to take the train to the start point of a looped ride. Our weekend ride gives us the opportunity to put into practise some of the road safety skills learnt during our Tuesday training sessions such as paceline riding. Again, being a social ride, means we ride together as a group but where necessary we ride in multiple groups according to your pace & ability. As always have ride leaders and other experienced riders that look after each group.
Get a bike, meet new people, go to places and do cool stuff
Together We Ride, Together We Rise.