Me & My Bike - Amy Sodha

How did you get to where you are on your cycling journey??

After cycling as a kid, I picked up cycling again at uni. First commuting and then combining it with my other two loves of swimming and running to get into triathlon. A few years into my career I moved to New York, cycling suddenly switched from being a performance focused sport for me to being an amazing way to meet people and explore a new place I was living in. In my last month in the US I decided to cycle 1800 miles down the US West Coast from Vancouver to San Diego. That cemented cycling for me as the best way to explore the world, I came back from that trip with a total love of the bike.

What do you get out of cycling / what has it brought to your life?

Too many things - I'll try and keep it brief! As I'm sure it is for many people, cycling has always been my way to get headspace, but also an incredible way to meet and spend time with people. When I started at Rapha 5 years ago, I finally found a community of amazing women to ride with, which I had really been missing. Not only have I made some amazing friends through cycling, my second date with my now husband was a 100km bike ride - we've been riding together ever since. Seeing new places has also got to be up there as my main reason to ride now - I'll cycle anywhere I can, but some highlights have been riding down the coast of Portugal, through Jordan, the USA and honestly much closer to home, Wales is one of my favourite places to ride. It also gives me such a good perspective on challenging myself.? I look back on some rides I've done in the past like Manchester to London and can't believe I did it. If I ever feel nervous about anything, I think to myself if I can ride 220 miles in one go from Manchester to London, I can probably handle whatever is worrying me!

What barriers to getting into the sport do women face?

As with any male-dominated sport, there's definitely a hurdle of feeling like there's less people who look like you to chat to and help get you into it. There's so much kit to contend with; bikes, shoes, pedals etc, it can be very overwhelming. I was riding in running leggings for ages before I invested in padded shorts - game-changer! I used to ride solo for most of the time when I was getting into road cycling. If it wasn't for a couple of friends at uni who were also into road cycling and who did my first couple of triathlons with me, I probably wouldn't have carried on.

How have you found incorporating cycling into your pregnancy journey? Have there been any barriers/ personal wins?

To be honest my attitude has been to just carry on cycling until I really feel like I can't and keep listening to my body. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by other parents and mothers who cycle at Rapha and have been through it all before. It's very encouraging seeing bikes lined up in the bike shed with baby seats attached to them.? My commute has always been my most consistent time on the bike. I commute from Birmingham into London so my Brompton is my go-to and I'd like to keep riding that for as long as possible. Hills are definitely getting harder, but I just take it easy and enjoy the ride!