I got into cycling through the 2012 Olympics when the road race and time trial came through Esher, where I live in Surrey. This sparked an interest in cycling and my dad brought me my first road bike. Before this point, at the age of 8, I did the usual ballet and swimming on a Saturday morning, but had never been a real sports diva. As soon as I got my first road bike, a Scott Contesa, I joined Hillingdon Slipstreamers where I learnt how to properly ride a bike, learning skills and gradually improving my fitness, by going every Saturday morning which meant my old Saturday routine was scrapped, but I have never had any talent for dance anyway! As weeks went on, I achieved my different skills awards, which enabled me to ride with the more experienced riders in the club. By the end of that year it was suggested by the coaches that I start racing.
I started racing nationally as a second year under10 and took cycling seriously nearly right from the gun. I did the whole national series travelling around the country from Isle of Man to Wales and was training lots of days during the week. Around this point, I changed club to VC Londres, as I also really enjoyed riding on the track. I trained quite a bit for my age, which eventually got me national closed circuit and series champion in under12s where I had a pretty good year. In hindsight, I regret not enjoying the sport as much as I could have, by not spending time outside of cycling with my school friends as I was still in year 6 when I started spending most my free time cycling or travelling to races. But had I done things differently then I might not be where I am today or have made the great friends I have across the country. I also wish I got more involved in trying to compete in all the different cycling disciplines as I seemed to focus more on track and road, and less on cyclo cross and mountain biking.
From there I have raced and trained ever since getting on RSRs (Regional School of Racing) as a second year under 14 getting tips and advice from the regional coaches and attending training days which prepared me for getting on ODA (Olympic Development Apprentice) for the next two years.
