Need a little inspiration to kick start the new year (or just fancy a good read with a cup of tea, what with it being cold and dark outside)? Meet Ness Knight, Jill Kintner and Lora Turnham.

A while ago I posted about the Remarkable Women Who Ride interviews that I had been working on for Evans Cycles: the series had featured some truly amazing women riders, including paralympian Lora Turnham. Six months on and there are some wonderful new women riders to catch up on in the series including adventurer Ness Knight and gravity rider Jill Kintner, both of whom have really inspired me both to build my riding skills and to broaden the horizons of my ambition.

If I were to write anything as grandiose as a ‘review of the year ‘ featuring my own work*, then these three women would be the top of the ‘highlights’ list. Each was a privilege to interview – for different reasons – and I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

(*dont worry, I’m not going to!)

Links are here, so put the kettle on and prepare to be inspired!

Adventurer Ness Knight just blew my mind – I could have written about ten posts about her travels, not just one. I hung on her every word from start to finish (the bit about the lions! Oh my!!).  Read Ness’ story here.

As a mountain biker, it was fascinating to interview one of the world’s most talented and versatile gravity riders, Jill Kintner. I have carried this piece of advice with me on every ride:

“Learn to read the terrain as you would fall lines with skiing (high to low, low to high, looking ahead to go straight, linking things together), open up corners to carry more speed, and work on braking and cornering drills for timing (like grass slalom with cones). Also learn to pump and jump over stuff (timing).” Read Jill’s interview here .

Finally, I interviewed Lora Turnham ahead of the Para-lympics and she gave me a fascinating insight into her life. Read my interview with Lora here:

Footnote to the above: In Rio, Lora went on to win a gold medal in the Pursuit with partner Corrine Hall, and a bronze medal in the time trial. On returning home, she married her partner Neil Fachie…and was awarded an MBE in the New Year honour list.

Oh, I do like a happy ending.