Where are you based?
Summer: I live in Ilkeston.
Evie: I am also in Ilkeston.
What do you do?
Summer: I’m seven years old and I’m in year two at school.
Evie: I’m eleven (nearly twelve) and I’m in year seven at school.
How long have you cycled for?
Summer: I have been cycling for three to four years.
Evie: I think I learnt to ride a bike when I was about six, but I started riding properly at the age of nine (almost ten).
Why do you cycle?
Summer: I cycle because …..because I just really like it! I like riding with my family as well. I like cyclocross; you get muddy and at times it’s so muddy that you have to carry your bike. It is so much fun (Summer has just finished her 3rd season of cyclocross).
Evie: I like the competitive side of cycling as I am a very competitive person. I also like riding with friends and riding with my Dad.
Where is your favourite place to cycle in Derby?
Summer: Here (Ilkeston Cycle club – Saturday afternoon cycling academy at Rutland sports centre) I also like cyclocross at Shipley park, but that has finished now until September.
Evie: I like riding in the Peak District with my family; I like the hills and it’s so pretty there. I also really enjoy riding at the velodrome in Derby. Summer is not quite tall enough to ride at the velodrome, but it won’t be long before she can have a go. I am already doing some training sessions with adults.
What is your best piece of kit?
Summer: My best bit of kit is my bike; I like the colour, it is yellow with pink handle tips.
Evie: I also think my bikes are my best pieces of kit: my bikes are really good. I like the Ilkeston cycle club kit, and I have recently got a skin suit: so I think that is my favourite new item.
What do you think could help more girls and women to cycle?
Summer: I think that if I keep practising I will get really good at cycling, then other girls will say ‘that looks easy and it looks good fun’ and then they will have a go.
Evie: I think some girls worry about how they look on a bike, I would say to them that it really doesn’t matter and the most important thing is to have fun. I also think that some girls don’t realise that there are lots of different types of cycling: mountain biking, cyclocross, velodrome, and road. We need to make sure that they know about the variety and then they might try something and that would open up different opportunities for them.
How do you feel when you cycle in three words?
Summer: ‘happy’, ‘tired sometimes’ !
Evie: ‘happy’ ‘quick’ ‘free’
