Free as the wind

Prologue

Cycling is my life.

Honestly it really is! My dad is a professional cyclist, who has won the all of the Grand Tours ('Tour de France' 'Tour d'Italia' and 'Vuelta a España') not all in the same year though. I mean he's good he got the Triple Crown* for goodness sake, but deserter struck in the year he was planning to do so. You see he had already won them all in three consecutive years previous but the year he was planning on winning all the year I was born.

He'd already won the 'Tour de France' when my mum gave birth and he was preparing to start the 'Tour d'Italia' when we were all in a crash. I wasn't harmed and my dad walked away with concussion and a broken arm. However my mum wasn't wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car, apparently dyeing the instant her head hit the concrete curve. Dad was left a widow, with a new born and a funeral to plan.

He took a couple years out of competitive cycling and focused on getting the Triple Crown, which he did when I was two. It was kind of an iconic moment when he won the 'Cycling Championship' because he was crying with both joy and sorrow, that he'd done it but that she wasn't there to see him, then I came toddling over to the bottom on the podium reaching for the toy he was given, so he gave it to me and held me close with one arm and lifted the trophy up with the other, whilst we were both sprayed with champagne. The Media went crazy!

Anyway that was the first podium I stepped foot on but it wasn't the last. With such a legend for a dad it's my life goal to become known worldwide for being the best woman cyclist of her age and not just 'daddy's little princess'. Have a of medals form all of the toughest completions that under 16's can compete in but I'm 16 in a couple of months making me the age my dad will let me start to try and get sponsors which is perfect because if I can he's going to let me compete in professional races - well he doesn't know he is but I know! Anyway this is not my Dads story it's mine hence the reason why I'm telling it.

So as I mentioned earlier I'm a cyclist and my dad's a cyclist which means that I have travelled the world in my younger years, however when I started secondary school, he stopped and became a manager of a professional team, 'The Rose's', its named after my mum you see. They're one of the best teams around, people in the UK only really used to know about 'Sky' but 'The Rose's' are up there with them now.

Dad isn't exactly the easiest manger, he knows the determination it takes to be the best so the majority of the cyclists and management team all live in our big house out in the country together. That's right me and about 40 men living in the house together! Some chose to live in a home with their families but only about 10 of them and they're generally the dr's or the less ambitious riders. 

So this is where our story starts, he found a cheap plot of land and the sponsors gave money so that a suitable, state of the art building could be put up, only problem is that it's in north west Cheshire, England in the middle of nowhere! I'm getting uprooted, in year 11, to go and live in a house surrounded by cows, the nearest shops are in Chester.

*winning the 'Tour de France', the 'Giro d'Italia' and the 'Road World Cyclying Championship' all in the same year, although no prize is given it is viewed by most in the community as the greatest cycling achievement possible.