Originally, I went to Uni with the idea of becoming a sports psychologist, but I got distracted and fascinated by anatomy. The body caught my imagination more than the mind. After finishing my degree (BSc (Human Movement)) and studying various other interesting things I caught a bit of the travel bug.
The necessity of paying off various travel related debts led me to a variety of jobs suitable for itinerants. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon one of the best jobs on the planet, bicycle messenger.
I spent 10 years riding a bike for a living, travelling all over the world and meeting some of the most amazing people. I was mostly responsible for setting up the Sydney Bicycle Messenger Association (sydbma), and organising the Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC 2006, Sydney). I was also a committee member of the International Federation of Bicycle Messenger Associations (IFBMA).
At some point, it was time to reskill. I returned to my fascination with the physical therapies and completed a Diploma of Remedial Massage. As well as running my own clinic predominantly treating cyclists and other active people, I started working on racing tours with various cycling teams.
So I found a role as a soigneur. Soigneur is derived from French terms to care, or to heal. The role of the soigneur is to take care of the riders needs. This involves everything from food preparation, to laundry, to driving between stages, to first aid, and of course the important massage after the day’s racing. It’s a busy job and I loved it. I worked with most of the top Australian cycling teams and had a 6 month stint with the AIS based in Italy working with the U23 and women’s national programmes. This also involved working at the World Championships in Copenhagen (2011).
Now I’m back happily living in Melbourne. I treat out of a great clinic in Fitzroy working mainly with athletes and active people. I’m doing a fair bit of riding, a few MTB endurance events, but mostly long distance dirt road adventures. In my spare time, I try to organise a few of these Gravel Grinds, not only to share some of the great places we get to ride through, but to encourage people to ride, explore, experience.