Sweet Sorento with Hannah Geelan!
Ridley Australasia Ambassador and CycleHosts guide extraordinaire Hannah Geelan is back with a new guest blog and in true Hannah G style she has been busy inspiring everyone in her path despite some less than ideal Victorian Winter conditions on board her Ridley Jane SL!
The inspiration to hold a cycling retreat in the middle of Winter came from the many posts I had seen on Instagram of cyclists seemingly having a difficult time adapting to the change of temperatures at this time of year. I realised for some that it was seen as a barrier or quickly becoming one.
Having grown up in Tasmania with many negative degree mornings, I've never considered Winter to be a problem or thought to ride any less as a result of the change in season. If anything, as a junior triathlete winter used to mean it was time for base kilometres resulting in even longer rides! I also had nowhere near the amount of quality winter cycling kit that I do today.
That isn't to say that I don't find winter to be challenging at times too. Dark, fresh and damp mornings make it that little bit more difficult to find the motivation to get up early and punch out a ride. I just have to think of what motivates me personally and that helps me to get up and about. So how do you break through this barrier and encourage people to continue to move and to explore, regardless of the season? The idea finally came to me in the form of wanting to put on a weekend retreat that would excite people enough to sign-up and train for it with the ultimate aim of motivating them to continue through winter post event.
I'm very grateful to Ben and Diane who are the rad owners of CycleHosts for enabling me to organise events like these with so much support. In the past, all the events I've held have been off my own back and 100% organised by myself. Now I have these two in my corner and I feel empowered like never before.
I thought a sea escape would be rather welcoming so chose Sorrento on the gorgeous Mornington Peninsula as our destination. We ended up having nine riders on the road and conquered 210km over the two days including the infamous Arthur's Seat climb! The group was very diverse, with riders of different abilities and experiences. This is what makes CycleHosts so special. Everyone comes with a different story and reason for being there.
There were four riders that I hadn't met before but by Saturday night, having sat around on couches by the fireplace with rugs and lit up by candles sharing stories and laughs, I felt like I'd known everyone for a long time. I went to bed a very happy woman, feeling content with my stomach full of delicious wood-fired pizzas and abs sore from laughing!
The experience was highlighted by the beautiful, fully stocked Airbnb house that we stayed in, banana cake in the support vehicle, catered lunch by Social Blairgowrie, evening pilates to unwind, conquering Arthur's Seat together, the spontaneous changing flats tutorials and of course the evening story telling.
Our next event will be a day ride in Korumburra in the South Gippsland area. This will be held August 5 and tickets will be available to purchase soon. Keep your eye on cyclehosts.com.au
My key message today is to not be afraid of a season or time of year because we all know it will eventually arrive at some point every single year! Never let it be a reason to stop moving because as I tell my clients, your body does not care that it's cold, raining or even snowing outside, it still needs movement and nourishment all year round. Go find your motivation whether that be a goal to race, an event, to see the sunrise, to catch up with friends, to drink coffee, to put on good kit, or all of the above! Just get out there, have fun and Get It Done!
Hannah.
