Breaking the mould: Cycling UK celebrates 100 Women in Cycling for 2018

Cycling UK’s 100 Women in Cycling highlights and celebrates women who love cycling and who encourage others too. Women from all walks of life and every corner of the cycling world are included, from mountain bikers and endurance cyclists to community group leaders, cycling school-run mums and industry entrepreneurs – and even a pair of cycling suffragettes.

In particular, the list this year focuses on women who are ‘breaking the mould’, achieving great things in typically male-dominated sectors of cycling, such as framebuilding and running mechanics classes, or simply challenging the idea that they should be held back by age, size, disability or motherhood.

Overall, cycling is still suffering from a vast gender gap; men are almost three times more likely to cycle than women, and on average cover four times as many miles.

To mark the 100 years since the Representation of the People Act of 1918, which first gave women in the UK the right to vote, the list also includes two cycling suffragettes: Rose Lamartine Yates and Millicent Fawcett. The bicycle played a remarkable and little-known role in the struggle for female suffrage, and became a symbol of women’s emancipation. Today, the connection between cycling and liberation still resonates; a recent survey by Cycling UK found that more than a fifth of female cyclists rate the ‘sense of freedom’ as their most important reason to ride.

By showcasing how any woman from any walk of life can cycle, the role models of the 100 Women in Cycling list are changing perceptions

Julie Rand, Women’s Festival of Cycling co-ordinator

The release of the 100 Women in Cycling list comes just ahead of Cycling UK’s Women’s Festival of Cycling, a whole month of rides and events throughout July 2018 around the UK held to encourage more women to get into cycling.

Julie Rand, Cycling UK’s co-ordinator for the Women’s Festival of Cycling, said: “By showcasing how any woman from any walk of life can cycle, the role models of the 100 Women in Cycling list are changing perceptions. There are teachers, campaigners and community leaders, and many have overcome illness or cultural barriers.

“This diverse group of women have all demonstrated in different ways how cycling benefits people’s lives, and they deserve to be recognised and celebrated.”

On Saturday 30 June, Cycling UK will celebrate this year’s 100 Women with a special free event: From Bloomers to Baggies and Beyond – celebrating the role of cycling in liberating women past, present and future, a day of talks, workshops and activities in Manchester.

The list in full:

Adele Mitchell – mountain biker and award-winning writer

Aggie Maxwell – cycling instructor for mums in Newcastle upon Tyne

Aileen Brown – membership secretary for Bath Cycling Club

Alaina Beacall – adventure cyclist and charity fundraiser

Alison Paterson – ride leader and driving force behind Cycle East Durham

Alison Salthouse – track racer and ‘track mum’ at Derby Velodrome

Alix Stredwick – runs CarryMe Bikes in east London

Amanda Tanfield – founder of mountain biking group Ladies Do Downhill

Amy Hickman – cycle commuting role model

Aneela McKenna - partner at Go Where, a Scottish mountain bike travel specialist

Anita Hartley – founder of women’s brand Flow MTB

Anna Glowinski – television presenter and clothing designer

Audrey Christie – adventure cyclist, Breeze leader and rights of way officer

Barbara Kerr – volunteer with Belles on Bikes Edinburgh and the Cycling UK Scotland Committee

Belinda Scott – founder of women’s cycling group BellaVelo

Beryl Burton – legendary racing cyclist

Brenda Mitchell – founder of Cycle Law Scotland and Belles on Bikes in the Borders

Caren Hartley – founder of bespoke bicycle company Hartley Cycles

Carolyn Axtell – cycling instructor with Hornbeam JoyRiders in Walthamstow

Charlotte Carter – cycling development officer in Preston, Lancashire

Clare Rankin – cycling and walking officer in Cambridgeshire

Danielle Welton – founder and editor of women’s cycling magazine Casquette

Deborah Willeman – project manager for Cycle Training UK

Dilys Gartside – cycling instructor and volunteer cycle campaigner in Dorset

Doreen Lindsey – volunteer with Chester and North Wales CTC

Eleanor Smith – founder of workshop and cycling training organisation the Broken Spoke Co-op

Eve Berry – club helper for the Wirral Wheelers

Fran Whyte – operations manager for women’s cycling brand VeloVixen

Hannah Myers – founder of women’s mountain biking clothing brand Flare

Helen Matravers – leader of women’s mountain biking group Dame Cycling

Hester Wells – cycle campaigner with CamCycle

Hilary Webber – triathlete and Ironman competitor

Indigo Kelly-Forest – founder of Women’s French Adventures

Jackie Moralee – Cycling UK volunteer and ride leader

Jane Chapman – media officer for Cycle Bristol CTC

Janet Fallon – founder member of the Walsall Arboretum Community Cycle Club

Jenny Graham – adventure cyclist and world-record chaser

Jenny Nuttall – mountain biking guide and owner of Ride Bikes in the Lake District

Jo Roach – founder of inclusive cycling club Pedal Power in north London

Joan Reynolds – inspirational member of the Walsall Arboretum Community Cycle Club

Joy Lummis – Breeze ride leader in Lancashire

Judith Worrall – co-founder of Yorkshire Lass Cycling Club

Juliana Buhring – legendary ultra-endurance cyclist and best-selling author

Karen Darke – paralympic gold medallist

Kat Jungnickel – cycling historian

Kate Horsfall – co-founder of Yorkshire Lass Cycling Club

Kathryn Bertine – pro-cyclist and CEO of the Homestretch Foundation

Kerena Fussell – joint co-ordinator of Newham LCC

Kheira Mohammad – club secretary and ride leader for Share CCC

Kishori Agrawal – inspirational member of Walsall Arboretum Community Cycle Club

Lisa Pugh – co-founder of Surrey Hills MTB Chix

Liz Brown – cycling fundraiser and instructor

Liz Colebrook – founder of bespoke bicycle company Beaumont Bicycle

Liz Hodges – owner of Route 2 bicycle shop in Topsham, Exeter

Louise Henderson – from inclusive cycling charity Cycling Projects

Lucy Husband – mountain bike guide and instructor running Swift Trails in the Tweed Valley

Lynne Armstrong – founder of women’s mountain biking coaching and event company Air Maiden

Marcia Ellis – co-founder of Surrey Hills MTB Chix

Margaret Jones – cycle campaigner in Cardiff

Maria Clayfield – cycling volunteer and Bikeability instructor in Hertfordshire

Maureen Wilkins – tutor at Seashell Trust’s specialist college Royal College Manchester

Melanie Evans – founder of Deeping Lady Riders

Michelle Brideau – adventure cyclist and influencer

Millicent Fawcett – founding president of the National Union of Suffrage Societies and cycling suffragette

Morag Prach – the Cycling Scientist: freelance cycle trainer, bike mechanic and science tutor

Nadjie Butler – cycling volunteer and fundraiser

Nancy Waine – cycling volunteer and ride leader

Natalie Wilson – recumbent trike rider raising awareness of Elhers Danlos Syndrome

Pamela White – lifelong family cyclist and club volunteer

Patti Zogolovitch – cargobike role model

Phoebe Sneddon – cyclocross racer and Specialized ambassador

Polly Clark – founder of Mountain Yoga Breaks

Rachael Walker – mountain biker and brand manager for Hope and Hopetech Women

Rachel Norman – founder of Café Adventure’s Women Riders in the Peak District

Ravinder Virdee – volunteer for Manchester community bike project the Bike Hive

Rhian Ravenscroft – co-founder of the women’s cycling and triathlon brand Threo

Rickie Cotter – inspirational endurance cyclist

Rose Lamartine Yates – first woman elected to CTC’s council and cycling suffragette

Ruth Williams – barrier-breaking time-trialler

Sandy Boyd – founder of mountain biking community GirlBikeVan.

Sarah Javaid – founder of Walthamstow cycle group Cycle Sisters

Sarah Wakefield – founder of MTB Divas in Bridgend

Sarah Wheeldon – Transport for Greater Manchester cycling representative and founder of Urmston Social Cycling

Selina Aktar – ride leader and Bikeability instructor with Ashiana CCC in Birmingham

Shaila Sharif – ride leader and Bikeability instructor with Saheli Cycling Club in Birmingham

Sharon Merredew – Breeze Champion and area co-ordinator in Hampshire

Shelley Lawson – co-founder of children’s bicycle company Frog Bikes

Sheila Hanlon – Cycling UK volunteer historian

Shona Black – visually impaired cyclist with Talking Tandems and Portovelo Cycling Club

Sue Burton – chair of the 1066 Cycle Club in Battle, East Sussex

Susanne Jennings – volunteer ride leader for Sustrans and Breeze

Sybil Williams MBE – founder of all-ability cycling charity Cardiff Pedal Power

Tamasine Corney – founder of women’s cycling club the Widger Spoke Easies in Cornwall

Tiffany Lam – researcher of the cycling gender gap

Tracey Collins – volunteer with B10 Community Cycle Club

Val French – Breeze Champion and area co-ordinator for East and North Yorkshire

Val Ravenhill – lifelong cyclist and champion for other female cyclists

Vanessa Kelly – senior project officer in the Cycling Projects team at Cambridgeshire County Council

Yazmin Saleh – ride leader and Bikeability instructor with Share CCC

Zoë Westerman – director and co-founder of track cycling team challenge event series Cyclone24