It was Rachel Atherton’s first year at the Malverns Classic, and like many festival-goers she was there with her family. While she wasn’t juggling child demands with racing, she was working on the Atherton Bikes stand, posing for selfies, signing helmets, and offering up advice to young racers wondering how to plot their route to success. I caught up with her briefly to see what how she was enjoying the festival, and how she’s adding ‘family cycling’ to her bike repertoire.
It’s your first year here, I understand?
Yeah, first time here because normally it clashes with the World Champs, so normally I’m racing that, but not anymore. Yeah, it’s really nice to come finally.
And so how is it coming to a festival with a child in tow?
I was pretty mind blown! We arrived late Friday night, so coming in in the morning… well first it was hammering down and we were looking out the caravan window, and there were just streams of people coming in in the rain! It was pouring rain, but there’s all these kids on balance bikes coming in. I was like ‘Wow that’s cool, like they’re still coming in the rain’. And then we were walking in all the way through the campsite I couldn’t believe how big it was. Hundreds and hundreds of people, tents, vans… and kids everywhere! Just riding little ramps. There’s little ramps everywhere in the campsite, and I was like ‘This is cool, this is really special’. Such a different scene to the bike park scene or a race scene – it’s so family orientated and all the young kids which you wouldn’t necessarily interact with a World Cup – you’re so focused on what you’re doing. So it’s really, really, special.
Have you been out and ridden any of those ramps in the camping field?
I spent about an hour just chilling out with them all last night. I walked back about nine last night and it was so cool, it was such a nice vibe, really warm in the sun. With the kids, we were moving the ramp to get a better angle, and it was just so nice just hanging out with all the kids. Seeing them doing it… they’re all so pleased to go off the bigger jumps. Yeah, it was really cool, it was it was amazing!
You have gone from being a pro rider being followed around by a team supporting your every need to still being a pro rider but also going out on your own family bike rides – which can certainly end in tears if they go wrong. Have you have you got any hot tips for people trying to keep bikes in their life as they grow their family?
We never pushed Arna [Rachel’s daughter] into riding. The bike was just always there for her to sort of discover. She’s only three but she loves it, she loves getting out. But here, for example, we didn’t enter in any races because she doesn’t know that toddler races exist. I just wanted to come with her and just let her sort of discover it herself if she wants to race. There’s so many little kids here racing, but I think just riding bikes is enough.
We do so many different variations already. Like, me and her just do a ride along the estuary, just in our normal clothes. Sometimes we get geared up and ride with the Shotgun seat, and I think, honestly, now there’s so many ‘accessories’ – I guess you’d call them – to make it easy. Those Shotgun seats on the front are unreal, they’re so good! A trailer for the back of the bike has been amazing for me to use with Anna growing up – you know having a nap in the trailer, and I can still do like a two-hour ride, I still feel like I’ve been out on the bike with her. So many accessories that make it super easy to like integrate everything. Sometimes I feel like a circus traveling along! I’ve got the trailer on the e-bike, the Shotgun seat, I’ve got her balance bike, and like all the tools in case I get to the bike park and someone’s there that can look after her for an hour. Then I’ll change my pedals, take the seat off, go for a proper ride – then put it all back on and ride to town. It’s amazing now, the things that [help], the ease of integrating kids into into your life.
It doesn’t sound that easy but I know what you mean!
When my mum had us it was literally just a seat on the back that was it. Now, it’s amazing, there’s so much stuff to help make it enjoyable for them. Like the trailers – we’ve got a Thule one and it’s unreal. I use it all winter, it can be hammering it down and she’s snug in there – like cozy warm and dry – it’s just amazing. Yes, it’s really good. I say to people that have little kids or are pregnant, the one thing I’d say get is a trailer for the back of the bike. It’s game-changing.
It totally grows with them because they can be in it when they’re tiny, and as they get bigger you can put the bike in there as well.
I didn’t use it when she was little because I was just so tired! I was like ‘When when she’s asleep I just want to be asleep, or at home’, but I wish I’d used it earlier because it’s so good for your mind like – mentally getting out and riding. And I really struggled that first year and a half two years, I wish I’d made more of an effort to use the trailer and actually ride, and I think it would have helped me mentally if I’d have used it earlier – keeping those regular rides in.
It’s easier in hindsight though to think you might have had the energy!
Yeah, exactly yeah!
So how do you motivate Arna to keep going, when there’s like one more hill to home or you know another mile to get back to the car?
I only go on flat rides, that’s the first tip! Sometimes it’s a bit daunting if you’re going a bit far. But I try and take the Shotgun seat if I know we’re going far, and then if she gets tired I put her on that. We just started using the tow rope and she’s just started getting used to that, so I can tow her now up the hills. But yeah snacks and accessories so there’s always somewhere to sit or something to tow with!
I think a destination is good as well – miles don’t make sense to kids! Like, we’re going to the park, we’re going to that stone or something.
Yeah! And like, a change of scenery, because we can be in the house – and I’ve said it before on Instagram – like the mood changes. As soon as you get out and you start doing something, that mood changes for them and that’s really really helpful with the bikes. So many parents I know that home that are like ‘God the tantrums! God just I can’t spend one more second in the house with the toddlers’, and I’m like ‘Just get out on the bikes’. You know, just go for a roll around. People that don’t ride are getting into it from seeing kids on balance bikes. They’ve got a certain amount of freedom on a balance bike, they’re sort of in charge of their own destination, they feel in control. That gives them a lot of confidence, feeling like they’re in charge of where they’re going and they’re steering this bike. That is really good for their mood and sort of disperses those tantrums immediately. Yeah, it’s really good.
Arna went on to a pedal bike and, you know, she’s riding around town through people and her sort balance and skill at low speed is really good, using the brakes and everything.
I mean I just let her do what she wants really. I don’t push it at all, like it’s up to her if she wants to go to the pump track we go, if she doesn’t we won’t. I don’t want to be a parent that’s pushing her into racing, or making her do stuff that I want her to do, so I just really go with what she wants. I think that’s super important.
Yeah, I think it’s just nice to have bikes as a mode of freedom and transport.
It’s such a different pace, it’s so different for me. It took me a while to sort of get into it and slow down, but now I really enjoy it. Riding along just at a pace where you’re not you’re not training, you’re not trying to achieve anything really, you’re just riding for the sake of it and it’s really special. If you go far or if you go back immediately, it doesn’t matter It’s just about being out there. It’s so special sharing those rides with her and people can see it. We see walkers on the same path or something, and we can see the joy in their faces seeing Arna enjoying herself on her little bike. It’s really amazing.
Does she do the thing of the constant chat about what you can see or making up songs along the way?
Yes! And sort of looking over the edge and I’m like ‘Look where you’re going! You’ll crash off the edge of the path and fall in the sea!’ It’s amazing for kids, all these bikes that they’ve got access to. The bikes are amazing now and what an amazing kind of industry for kids to grow up,
You’re not clamouring for a child sized Atherton bike then?
Yes, I am yeah! [Arna] started riding on a Commencal balance bike and that was pretty special because when you win the World Cup in Andorra you always win a balance bike – and I got like four of them! At World Champs I won, I think it 2015, I won the balance bike and it’s got the stripes and ‘World Champ Andorra 2015’ and that’s what she’s grown up riding. It was really special for her to be riding a bike that I won at World Champs, that meant a lot to me. And then we bought her a Specialized from the local bike shop. It’s been nice here meeting so many kids and families that would love an Atherton kid’s bike. So I feel like that’s my destiny for the next couple of years, trying to get that that off the ground. That would be super cool.
I said to Brownie [Dan Brown, Atherton Bikes CEO] I said we’ve got free marketing here! Like we don’t have to pay Arna! And his kids – like Dan Brown who’s our CEO – he’s grow up racing with us, his oldest kid, he won his races on our S-series bike this weekend, so that was pretty cool to see. So it’s started the next generation already!
Talking to Rachel and then listening back to the chat as I’ve written it up, I’m really struck by what a great advocate for family cycling Rachel has become. Her relaxed approach is one which is accessible to everyone – not just the established cyclist. I really appreciate her observation of how getting outside on a bike can empower a toddler and change up the mood – and I think it can continue to apply even as your babies grow into teens. She’s lucky that there’s the infrastructure where she lives to be able to make those choices to just nip out on a bike on a safe route – hopefully we’re going to see more of that sort of thing across the country so everyone can discover the joy that Rachel is clearly finding.
