Welcome to CCC Introduces, our series spotlighting our amazing community of contributors.
From: London
Lives: Los Angeles
Instagram: @lucymannall
1. Tell us about yourself.
I'm Lucy, I love sunshine, carbs, and exploring new places.
I live in Los Angeles but I'm originally from the UK. I moved out here 2 and a half years ago and I LOVE it. The food is incredible, I love the mixture of city and nature. Of course, the weather is wonderful but probably most of all the riding is amazing.
2. What do you love about cycling
I love that cycling brings me to places that I would have never gone to and brought me to people that I would have never met otherwise.
I love that it taught me you can do so much when you set your mind to focus on something - I love that cycling taught me how to push my body beyond (my perceived) limits, and how strong I am, both physically and mentally and I'm grateful for that.
I sort of fell into cycling by accident but it really has changed the course of my life, from my career, friends, partner, and why I now live in LA. Honestly, I have a lot to thank cycling for.
3. What barriers have you faced in cycling
The main one is probably being a woman in a very male-dominated community. Yes, it's improved in the last few years and since I started 10 years ago but there's still so much room for improvement, from local group rides to marketing campaigns and also professional racing.
4. Why were you interested in contributing?
I was interested in sharing my story and my experiences of cycling and hopefully encourage others to feel welcomed, heard, and valued.
5. Your fondest memory on the bike
This is a tough one as there are so many! If I had to pick one right now, I think it would be riding back from Sea Otter in Monterey, Northern California back down to home in LA earlier this year with a good friend of mine, Francis. It was my first time 'bike-packing' and definitely won't be my last.
We stayed in hotels each night and carried everything we needed on the trip, clothes, cycling kit, spares for our bikes, phone chargers etc with us. Apart from stopping for lunches and gas station snacks, we were completely self-sufficient in getting from the start of the day to the finish location each night. This feeling was special and liberating.
There were some tough moments in the five days of riding. I was questioning my body and my mind was playing games although I did expect that going into the ride however, the feeling of making it back to LA completely self-supported was really special and ignited inspiration to do this again.
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