How ‘two-wheeled epiphany’ made mum a bike enthusiast

Alyth mum Jane Wilkinson spent most of her life believing cycling was not for her. Not fit enough, no time, intimidated by possible mechanical problems – the list of reasons not get involved went on and on.

Yet one day, aged 44, Jane took daughter Derryth mountain-biking and gave the sport a try.

“I was on a beat-up hybrid bike. I yelled all the way down. ‘This is insane’, I said. ‘Why would anyone do this?’”

But when Jane repeated the feat on a speciallydesigned mountain bike, a little bit of magic sparked on the trail.

“I had a two-wheeled epiphany. I went down the trail and I absolutely loved it.”

It was the start of a love affair that was to shape the next decade or so of Jane’s life.

She joined her daughter in club road rides as well as continuing to ride off-road. “We had a lot of fun and I gradually became more enthusiastic and interested in cycling,” she said.

“Especially when I got the kind of bike that allowed me to do the kind of cycling I wanted to do.”

I spoke to Jane for Bike Week, which runs until tomorrow.

Now 55, Jane cycles regularly to work – and for pleasure.

That includes a regular 18-mile commute between the Perthshire town and Dundee.

And while her friends at Alyth Cycles are busy building her an on-trend gravel bike, she spends most of her time riding the appropriately named steel tourer Phoenix II.

“I sent it (Phoenix I) off for spray painting, but while it was there the poor people at Kingsway

Coatings experienced a fire, which burnt down the whole of the industrial unit.”

Her friend Neil from the bike shop is also a firefighter. He pulled the nigh-on untouched frame out of the debris.

And while that first frame has now succumbed to rust, parts live on with Phoenix II.

“There were only two or three things left undamaged and my frame was one of them.”

Cycling has certainly changed Jane’s life for the better.

She thinks the same could be true for most people, irrespective of age or stage.

“If your kids are into it, be guided by your kids. But if your kids aren’t then you can encourage them and draw the whole family together.

“If you’re worried about getting out on the roads

then join a cycling group. “They’ll support you to learn the skills.”

Those first few commutes

between Alyth and Dundee “terrified” Jane but she stuck at it and built up road confidence.

She said: “You learn to claim your space on the road. You gain all those skills that you need.”

Jane Wilkinson now regularly commutes between Alyth and Dundee by bicycle.