Welcome to CCC Introduces, our series spotlighting our amazing community of contributors.
Lives: London
Club: RCC
Tell us about yourself
I’m Jess, I’m the UK Marketing Manager at Rapha. I’m mixed heritage (half Welsh, half Asian) and bisexual. I used to race (track, fixed gear and road) but these days you’re more likely to find me at Regent’s Park doing chat laps or on a social ride, although I do still have a soft spot for the thrill of track cycling.
What do you love about cycling?
I love that it can be something that serves different purposes at different times. It can be a social activity, a tough training session, a meditative solo experience, or just a way of getting from A to B. It’s a sport, a community and a lifestyle in one. The richness of cycling culture is weird and wonderful, and I would love to see more people discovering it and making it their own.
What barriers have you faced in cycling?
My experience has been really positive, but I recognise that this is because I benefit from a lot of ‘passing privilege’. My never-absent eyeliner purposefully conceals the most obvious element of my Asian heritage, and I’ve mostly dated men since I’ve been into cycling, so I’ve not faced any discrimination or awkward questions about my race or sexuality. For a long time, I thought this was fine, because why would these parts of my identity need to overlap with my cycling identity? But over time, I realised that flying under the radar was actually reinforcing the perception of cycling as mostly white and straight and that others looking in or within cycling already might not realise that there are others like them, and that could be alienating. This thinking also implies that cycling culture ought to stay separate from other cultures or identities when I’ve seen first-hand that cycling can be enriched when you make the effort to celebrate and make space for a range of communities within the sport.
Why were you interested in contributing?
I was exceptionally mediocre at racing, but someone once told me that seeing me on the start line at a local crit, and me being the only woman of colour in the group, encouraged them to think that they could take up racing one day too (and they did). Before that, I’d never thought of myself as counting as a ‘woman of colour’ or that my mid-pack race results would ever inspire anyone to do something they would have otherwise felt excluded from. It helped me recognise that representation really does matter and the more of it there is out there, that can be easily found through collectives like this, the better.
Your fondest memory on the bike?
In 2019, I did the Rapha Manchester to London charity ride for Ambitious about Autism. It’s an intimidating 220 miles, ridden in one day. I was the only woman in my group and was nervous about holding people back. However, as we got about 190 miles in, everyone else was suffering, but I started feeling stronger. I ended up pulling big turns as we approached London, and reached the finish feeling a million dollars. I’ve never felt more invincible!
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