Born and raised a proud Yorkshireman, Gareth Downey followed his passion for rugby in his teenage years but had an undying love for the sport of cycling. Since moving to Australia in 2001 Gareth has stoked the fire that shone so bright all those years ago and has immersed himself in the culture of cycling once again. Now residing in our nation’s capital city we spoke to him ahead of the Bowral Classic to find out a little about him and how he is going to prepare for the event…
Tell our readers a little bit about Gareth Downey!
I grew up in North Yorkshire and I found bikes early; bmx and mountain bikes mainly but I slowly gravitated towards road cycling through watching Big Mig (Miguel Indurain) dominate the Tour.
As I hit my late teens I began to take Rugby more seriously and my size (I’m 6’5″ and 115kg) meant my cycling ‘career’ was going backwards. I continued to ride mountain bikes but rugby, study and later my career and family absorbed so much time it became an occasional hobby.
I moved to Australia for work in 2001 and met my wife soon after. We have two girls and a garage full of bikes (8 and growing!) as I am trying to get my family to share my interest. I began to ride more often when I retired from Rugby but it was when I switched careers to teaching that I really re-kindled my passion for the road. I met a number of colleagues who dragged me up the climbs around Sydney and sucked my wheel on the descents. I commuted every day in Sydney for around 7 years before I moved to Canberra. I ride here with a few different bunches and intend to tackle a few events next year but running the boarding house makes training hard!
You mentioned you were from Yorkshire, what is the culture of cycling like there?
I was part of the local cycling club but road racing was not on the radar for my mates. They simply could not understand why I’d rush home to watch the highlights on channel 4. I’d talk endlessly about the Tashkent Terror (Djamolidine Abdoujaparov) and Super Mario (Mario Cipollini) whilst they stared blankly back at me. I was a proud Yorkshireman when the WorldTour passed through and enjoyed seeing the pros destroy climbs that gave me nightmares!
What is your first recollection of the humble bicycle and how long have you been riding?
My eldest brother had a sky blue BSA which I coveted jealously! It never came into my hands but I did inherent a Raleigh Grifter. This thing weighed more than my current quiver of three road and one mountain bike combined.
I have been riding as long as I can remember and have enjoyed/destroyed many, many bikes.
As a member of staff at Canberra Grammar School, have you ever slid any cycling examples into your teachings?
I run the boarding house and have around 90 boys to look after and guide through their time at CGS. As a chemistry teacher I love to talk about the materials involved in bike building. I use cycling analogies a lot as a Housemaster. I talk about goal setting, effort and reward, challenging myself. The boys are usually most interested in what time I get out of bed as most of them do everything they can to avoid being up with the sparrows.
Who do you normally ride with and what kind of Strava segments do you chase?
I like to think of my self as a sprinter but the legs move more slower than they used to and the young punks leave me for dead. I am the king of descending though – it’s probably the only time my years of gym work and overeating as a rugby player give me an advantage. I hate climbing but still do it. On bunch rides I count the number of lighter riders (yet to find a heavier rider!) I pass to keep me going when it gets tough.
Do you encourage your family to ride too?
My youngest loves it. She is keen to go on long rides and tries to ‘catch the wind’ which is her expression for standing up on the pedals! The rest of them like a Sunday cruise but take a fair bit of negotiation and the promise of ice cream at the end.
What is your favorite piece of cycling gear and why?
I love my bikes, particularly my Cervelo R5 Team Garmin. I also have a pair of 15 year old Assos socks that I refuse to retire! One of the things that I like about cycling is the gear. I love the technology and innovation, I only wish I had the budget to sample it all.
Will we see you at the Bowral Classic in October? We know you want to give the 160km a crack! How would you prepare yourself for that kind of distance?
I’ll be at the Bowral Classic with bells on. I haven’t ridden that far in a day for 20 years but I’m confident my normal training plus a few solo Gran Fondos and a healthy serving of Yorkshire grit will see me through it!
