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Athlyn

@athlynck

1.3K

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🚲 Founder, @__rollmodels
🔧 Currently paid to write + fix bikes

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“You’ve won a 100 Women in Cycling award!”

Thanks, but no thanks…

When I read that email line this morning (after missing the initial email), my heart jumped. This felt like a special moment of recognition, an honour to be nominated, and a celebration for what @__rollmodels has achieved these past 8 months.

But as I skimmed further, this excitement shifted to anger as I read that @wearecyclinguk, citing the recent Supreme Court ruling, will only feature biological women in this award.

Roll Models was set up to share the joy of adventuring by bike, and to acknowledge and break down the barriers that have so long excluded women and marginalised genders from that joy. The Roll Models community is open to all women, including trans women, non-binary and gender non-conforming folk. It’s an active invitation and an outstretched hand to say “you are welcome here”.

I am deeply saddened that the 100 Women in Cycling Award – a list which I never thought my name would appear on – has taken such a stance. Supreme Court ruling aside, it is Cycling UK’s choice to include or exclude. Bikes are machines for freedom, and no one should be shut out.

So that’s why my name will still not be on it this year. I cannot accept recognition from an organisation whose position excluded members of our community. Celebration means nothing if it comes at the expense of others’ belonging. I’m so glad to see others doing the same and speaking out, and I hope that Cycling UK consider the criteria for these awards in the future, so that ALL women are eligible next year.

📷 @catgiowild from our season camp out in Sept
🏳️‍⚧️
#transrightsarehumanrights #transwomenarewomen by @athlynck

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a year ago

The summer is drawing to a close, and we really packed it all in! What started as a small idea ~18 months ago had grown into an amazing community of women, trans and non-binary folk stoked on riding bikes, building skills, and coming together in the outdoors. And that all culminated in a magical weekend at our End of Season Camp Out, beautifully captured here by @roxannagbaz 🫶

A massive thanks to everyone who brought their energy, laughter and support to the Afan Forest last weekend 🌲 We rode, tie-dyed, saunaed, dipped, ate homecooked food and connected over campfires under starry skies ✨ Tell us your favourite memory from the trip!

Want to join the Roll Models cohort next year, or hear about future events? Sign up to our newsletter on our website. #wtfbikexplorers #inclusivecycling #cyclingcommunity #bristolcyclists #outsideisfree by @athlynck

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14 days ago

Roll Models is a community for women trans and non-binary folk, built around the belief that getting outside riding bikes and doing adventurous things together can change how we see ourselves and what we think we’re capable of.

We create welcoming pathways into cycling and outdoor adventure through mentorship, skills sharing and community events, and demand for our programming has grown massively since we launched in spring 2025. We are looking to convene a steering group to help shape our strategic direction!

You can find out more via our website. If you are passionate about this role and your experience doesn’t 100% match, we still want to hear from you. Please reach out if you have any questions or to let us know how we can make this process more accessible to you.

Thanks, Athlyn by @athlynck

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a month ago

Following Kalie’s steps, I found comfort and sure-footedness in the mountains. Her presence will stay with me whenever I venture up.

I am honoured we got to cross paths, and I will miss her dearly. by @athlynck

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a month ago

Waking up on Friday to the smell of smoke in the air, I found my neighbour running around the block checking for a house fire. “No, that’s just the world burning”, we agreed. Crossing the Severn Bridge on my way to recce routes for the @__rollmodels camp out, South Wales was shrouded in thick smoke - I couldn’t see the familiar rise of the Wye Valley and Black Mountains beyond.

Having lived in BC, where wildfires burn every summer, this familiar sight and smell felt disturbing. This isn’t supposed to happen here.

The next morning, the ranger I was due to meet in Afan Forest had to cancel - she’d been called away to attend a new fire.

This isn’t normal. And it isn’t inevitable. On Friday, Radio 4 reported on 19 homes destroyed by fires in the Midlands. There was no mention of the climate crisis. And yet we’re still discussing Rosebank and the extraction of more fossil fuels.

When I was living in Squamish, the entire lower mainland was cut off due to an ‘atmospheric river’, extreme flooding and landslides. No trucks or trains could get in to deliver food or supplies. I remember feeling like “oh, this is the pointy end of the climate crisis”. And that’s the same feeling I’m having now back in the UK.

How many homes have to burn? How many forests? How much more evidence do we need before we treat this as the emergency it is?

I don’t know what the point of this post is, other than to express despair, fear and frustration. This isn’t an abstract future threat. It’s here.

Allotment pollinator for attention 🌻 🐝 by @athlynck

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2 months ago

A desire to slow down led us to Les Ecrins and the GR54 last month. After a boozy long weekend in Marseille with pals, we were deposited by bus at the base of Alpes d’Huez on a Tuesday eve, still in the haze of the balmy Fete de la Musique celebrations the night prior, and set off uphill in search of our first camp spot.

With little more than the food and shelter we needed for a week in the mountains, we revelled in having nothing more to think about other than when to eat, when to stop, and where to sleep. This left plenty of time for spotting marmots peeping from among the wildflowers, cooling off in icy streams (it really isn’t ok for it to still be 27c at 2500m), reading aloud, and drinking many frosty bière blonde in refuges and any town we passed through (sadly not many!).

Opted for a lil analogue camera instead of a phone, and I had to stop Tim from burning the whole roll of film on photos of marmots… A much needed reset after honestly quite a shitty period of time, and I think I’d like to ride this wave of serenity just a lil longer please. taken in Les Ecrins by @athlynck

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3 months ago

Autumn, winter, spring* on film.

*In no particular order.. by @athlynck

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3 months ago

This is your sign to go adventuring by bike 🚲

There no ‘right’ way to do it, but having fun is a non-negotiable. We just spent a weekend riding, camping, eating and egg-n-spooning together - this is what it looks like when FLINTA riders get together to make space for each other in the outdoors.

Thanks to everyone who made this weekend so special 🙏 If this feels like your kinda thing, come join us next time. Follow for upcoming dates 👀

🚨 Want to support more FLINTA folk to access the outdoors by bike? Buy a Roll Models tee! All profits go towards supporting adventures like this. #rollmodels #bikepacking #womenwhoride #morewomenonbikes #outdoorwoman by @athlynck

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4 months ago

🎉 Roll Models Community Tees now on sale! 🎉

Designed by Bristol-based illustrator @ferns_and_pen with branding by @bebhinnej, this limited-edition tee is inspired by the people, places and experiences that make up the Roll Models community.

Every order helps support the future of Roll Models CIC to support more FLINTA riders to build confidence, community and a sense of belonging through adventure. Profits from this print run will be reinvested into future events, workshops, bikepacking weekends and opportunities to connect, learn and grow together 🌱

Made to order and screen printed in small batches by solar-power @carryonscreening.

🛍 Pre-orders run until 19 June
♻️ Printed to order = no waste
📦 Orders printed and sent once campaign ends

🔗 Pre-order here (link in bio!) https://rollmodels.bigcartel.com/

Please share and comment to help us spread the word 👇 by @athlynck

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4 months ago

Last week, I spent seven days crossing Spain and Portugal as Race Reporter for the inaugural @lostdot101 - the first ever FLINTA ultra-distance cycling race.

Over 1,300km, I followed riders through rainstorms, mountain passes, roadside mechanics, quiet breakthroughs, and emotional finishes into Córdoba.

By the end of the week, it felt like something genuinely meaningful had taken place. Not just a race across the Iberian Peninsula, but the building of a space where FLINTA riders could see one another fully, compete openly, and experience ultra-distance racing in an environment intentionally shaped with them in mind.

Spending the week trying to capture the emotion, humour, exhaustion, and meaning people attach to challenge and adventure restored a love for writing I’d felt drifting away over the past few years (and gave me a new-found love for podcast reporting too).

Very grateful to have been there to tell a small part of the story. Big up the media team @lizseabrook @roxannagbaz @potter.sophie @saskiadugon @n_i_kuu @tay.velo and Lost Dot crew @han_lar @thenight_train for pulling off such a slick operation 👌

📸 @lizseabrook (1,3,4 - ie the good shots) by @athlynck

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5 months ago

Race Reporter mode engaged 🫡

Currently en route to Santiago de Compostela, a city where countless pilgrims have ended their journeys, and where this weekend 150 FLINTA riders will begin a pilgrimage of their own on the Lost Dot 101: a 1,300km bike race across Spain and Portugal.

But I won’t be riding the route myself. Instead, I’ll be joining the media team as Race Reporter on the inaugural @lostdot101 – the first ever FLINTA ultra-distance cycling race. In a sport where we are so often an anomaly in the field, seeing a start line made up entirely of women, trans and non-binary riders feels quite powerful.

Thanks to @tay.velo for getting me involved. Over the next week, you can follow @lostdot101 as we (@potter.sophie @n_i_kuu and the rest of the amazing media team I’ve not yet met!) tell the stories behind the dots, as riders traverse the Iberian Peninsula, ending in Córdoba. First pod and blog out soon 👀 @lostdot.lowres by @athlynck

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5 months ago

How I’ve kept my hands busy these past 12 months…

* The ‘Frankie Sweater’ from @petiteknit. So happy with how this turned out. Someone asked me if it was @toast, so that makes the 100+ hours feel worth it 👌
* Under the expert tutelage of sis-in-law @anniebrooks.maker, we built the allotment shed of dreams. Also the dream WFH spot, it turns out..
* A wacky-waver ‘bouldering bucket’ for Tim
* … and a quick-dry chalk bag for some deep water soloing in Dorset (the route was called ‘Crab Party’)
* Panic-made a full frame bag for my @fairlightcycles Holt days before the Highland Trail 550
* Using straw bales to retrofit a masonry building with the Queen of Straw Barbara Jones, as part of a @wecanmakehomes x @material_cultures natural build project
* A Polartec fleece vest for lightweight layering

Think l try my hand at a bit more DIY/building this year when the self-employment begins 🔨 🪚 by @athlynck

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7 months ago