La Velocita Weekly Rider – Kate Perry

Kate Perry is the La Velocita Weekly Rider. Kate has had some great recent success, taking out the Northern Suburbs Three Day Tour and other big events.

It's all down to hard work, goals and a passion for getting on the bike. We speak with Kate about why she loves to ride.

---

Name - Kate Perry

Lives - Melbourne’s West, Victoria

Dream bike - Pretty happy with both my machines at the moment, but an upgrade to a P5 would be ideal

Favourite local ride - A definite favorite loop of mine is the Diamond Creek, Kinglake – Humevale double. Always in search of up in my own backyard!

My current cycling goal is... I want to make the National team and head to Europe (doesn’t everyone?) Having a goal that is measureable is important to me. At the end of the day I want to give it a red hot crack, and know at the end of the day I laid it all on the line to be the best cyclist I could be.

When I am on the bike I... make every minute count. I am a big believer in productive k’s and having a sense of purpose. I use the time on the bike to zone out from day to day tasks and refocus.

How did your love for bikes come about? I have my father to thank for getting me involved in the sport. When I was 8 I ventured down to the Brunswick Cycling Clinic with Dad on a Sunday morning. At first I was so reluctant to go, and hated the idea of racing, but once I crossed that line first for the first time, I was hooked! After taking a few years off from the sport at the beginning of university, I have come back as hungry as ever.

Share a cycling memory - This is a hard one as I have so many! One of my first significant memories was when I was 15, getting ready for the State Championships in Wangaratta. At the time, I thought this was the biggest cycling event on the calendar, and my coach/mentor Alan Grindal had set me the task of conquering Gaffney St hill in Coburg.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Gaffney St climb, it is 300m at 7 percent. When you are 15 this is a very daunting concept. To make it worse it is the least steep of 4 hills all in succession. The very first time I attempted (the steepest of the 4) I fell off as I was going so slow I couldn’t get out of the saddle.  After that Alan drove behind me in the car. I was that scared I would fall off and he would run me over that I didn’t get out of my seat…  conquered all four climbs in the saddle much to everyone’s amazement, and to this day when it gets steep I am still hesitant to get out of my saddle!

I love to ride because... I love the feeling of elation when you push yourself to a level you never thought you could get to. I love the sense of accomplishment that comes from riding a bike. 

Sponsored