Liv: How and when did you discover cycling?
Sarah: I learned how to ride a bike when I was 5 and spent a lot of time cycling when I was younger right through my teenage years. I always loved the feeling of freedom that riding a bike gave me. With post secondary school, working full time and then starting a family I became more of a casual rider.
As I was approaching my retirement, I decided to get what I thought would be my retirement bike; a step-through cruiser. I loved it and started spending more time riding. Once I retired, the time I could spend riding really increased. I realized I had outgrown my bike and purchased a fitness hybrid bike. From there I just kept going. My rides (all solitary) kept getting longer until I did my first metric century. I couldn’t believe I had done it and wanted to keep going so decided to get my Liv Devote - best decision I ever made.
The feeling of accomplishment is amazing. I realized I had subconsciously bought into the belief that as women get older, they can’t accomplish significant fitness or athletic goals. I was wrong; I had underestimated myself and of course other senior women.
Liv: Tell us a little bit about Cycling with Sarah and how it all came together.
Sarah: As my cycling distances were increasing, I reached out to cycling groups and found the process very frustrating. I wanted to find people to ride with and to have more experienced cyclists mentor me but the messages I received were that my bike didn’t fit the requirements of the group, I wasn’t fast enough for the group rides and could simply be just a bit too old to keep up. I didn’t fit the demographic.
When I had the opportunity to apply to be a Liv Ambassador, I mentioned to my friend Rose McDonald that I wanted to start a group for senior women and she jumped onboard right away. I wanted the cycling club to be welcoming without a lot of restrictions. A woman could ride any style of bike, the pace would be an easy social pace and only when the group got stronger would the pace increase.
Early on, I learned if I said the rides would be 15-20 km long many women doubted, they could do that but when I said the rides would be around 45 minutes to an hour everyone immediately said they could do it. It showed me that we, as senior women, can put up unnecessary barriers for ourselves.
When I spoke with women, I said the number one goal of Cycling with Sarah was to have fun; to rediscover that joy and happiness we all felt when riding a bike as a young girl. I also emphasized that this group would be about supporting and empowering each other and that we would grow together and that is indeed what has happened. We’ve increased the time and distance of our rides, and everyone has gotten stronger and more confident.
Holding a Know Your Bike workshop and a Bike Cleaning Clinic has also gone a long way to increasing women’s confidence. I have watched friendships develop and grow between the women in the various groups and the sense of community around our bikes is very apparent.