The Weekly Rider - Tom McQuillan

Tom McQuillan is the La Velocita Weekly Rider! Tom is the latest addition to our team at La Velocita. Tom has a passion for the pro-racing cycling circuit and loves getting out on the road and trails.

Tom's also planning on an attempt on the legendary hour record in support of his younger brother James, who was seriously injured playing AFL last year.

We look forward to some exciting times with Tom joining the La Velocita team!

Name - Tom McQuillan 

Lives - Brunswick, Melbourne

Dream bike - Probably a Cannondale Supersix EVO at the minute, but nothing will ever match my desire for the first bike I idolised - an Orbea Orca Gold in the orange and black of Euskaltel Euskadi.

Favourite local ride - I love hitting up local bike paths for recovery rides whenever I just want to enjoy the scenery and don't want to push my mind or body too hard. The white gravel of the Main Yarra Trail is a current favourite.

My current cycling goal is - Last April my younger brother James suffered a severe spinal injury playing AFL football and was left a C5 quadriplegic. Ever since then I've been using my cycling as a way to fundraise for his future (which you can find out more about at www.jamesmcquillan.com.au).

A few weeks ago I completed the Peaks Challenge Falls Creek, and I'm currently building up to an attempt on the Hour Record, which you'll hopefully be able to read more about on La Velocita in a few weeks' time.

When I am on the bike I - Am never quite as relaxed as I'd like to be. I'm working on that.

How did your love for bikes come about - Studying for Year 12 exams on a family holiday in 2008, I stayed up a few nights in a row with the Tour on to help keep me awake. I became completely engrossed in the unfolding story of the race after about a week and by the end of July I wasn't doing any study at all!

I became an avid fan of pro-racing after that and got into riding after training for the Melbourne Marathon in 2011 and realising that I was enjoying my cross-training sessions on the bike far more than the training runs. When I returned from overseas having lived in Spain for the first six months of 2012 I was a complete cycling tragic!

Share a cycling memory - Having agonised and worried for months about my ability to finish this year's Peaks Challenge Falls Creek, rolling into the last rest stop at Trapyard Gap knowing I'd cross the line was pretty damn special.

I love to ride because - Whenever I come to the end of a ride and get off the bike, I always feel better about myself and the world around me than when I got on. Simple as that, really.