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<\/h3>\nFemale cycling is growing in popularity and it might come down to a few things, it could be the endless possibilities to accessorise, the interesting and eye-catching rolling runway of\u00a0lycra fashion, the cafe dates or the opportunity to be faster than some of the guys out there! But for Yasmin Berry it is all of the above and so much more.<\/p>\n
Yasmin is the oOh! Media Data Insights Manager and if that sounds foreign to you, she explains her job very well a little later. She has fallen in love on the bike and with her bike and this affair has taken her to corners of the globe that she may have never had the chance to get to before she flirted with the gorgeous two-wheeled machine.<\/p>\n
Her two wheeled adventure to France last year exposed her to some people that have inspired her to make a difference to other peoples lives, as well as the exposure to great food and the prolific riding in the Alps!<\/p>\n
Here is her story…<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a country girl from Dubbo who has since adopted Sydney as my home and I love it \u2013 the chaos of Sydney life suits me much better.\u00a0 I work in Research for a media owner and I have really enjoyed the work and the journey so far.\u00a0 I’ve been with oOh! Media for the past 4 years, with a focus on consumer research.\u00a0 Basically, I\u2019m interested in understanding how data is opening the door to new levels of business insight, partnerships and accountability. I\u2019ve recently taken on a new role with oOh! based on this, and I can\u2019t wait to get stuck into it.<\/p>\n
Santa bought my first bike, and he knew the way to my heart getting his elves to work on a Barbie bike.\u00a0 It was pink and white with training wheels with a cute little basket on the front \u2013 100% style. Funnily enough it was also my youngest brothers first bike\u2026\u00a0 Mum and Dad managed to convince him to paint it red to garner some masculinity.\u00a0 Of the ‘first bike’ stories he definitely got the raw deal.<\/p>\n
An old boyfriend bought me a bike so we could ride together, and I’ve loved it ever since.\u00a0 On that note, I\u2019d argue\u00a0 there is no better couples activity. Fancy dinners and movie nights are great, but you can totally fall in love on a bike.\u00a0 Riding around in the sun, roaming the city with your buddy \u2013 there is nothing better.<\/p>\n
Its funny, I used to be a night owl come zombie in the morning.\u00a0 Somehow I have found myself loving a hobby, which requires me to be up at 5am on a weekday (suited up in lycra).\u00a0 I love watching the sunrise over the eastern suburbs on my bike with my buddies.\u00a0 There is also an enormous sense of satisfaction and healthy competition beating yours or someone else’s time. And then the lycra!<\/p>\n
Cycling could be the natural progression of dancers \u2013 my childhood involved outrageous patterned lycra leotards for dance eisteddfod. When that was no longer an option, I deviated to the sport that celebrates adults in visions of coloured lycra!<\/p>\n
Pretty damn exciting. It is the adult version of the white and pink barbie bike trophy I paraded in my early years.\u00a0 I bought my last bike off bike exchange 3 years ago, for about $500 and have barely spent a penny on it since.\u00a0 I upgraded to a beautiful Ritte Ace about 2 weeks ago.\u00a0 She is gorgeous and lovely to ride, light, fast and fun.\u00a0 No idea why I didn\u2019t take the plunge and upgrade years ago.<\/p>\n
Living in Surry Hills, I’m placed nicely between two spectacular hills loops.\u00a0 I’ll either ride the East Hills of Sydney or the Mosman Hills.\u00a0 My boyfriend lives in Manly, so we sometimes ride the scenic route to the city before work.<\/p>\n
<\/h3>\nIncredible. If you’re considering it, do it.\u00a0 Strava route planner meant we could plan all 10 days in a few effortless afternoons, which took away some big barriers for me.\u00a0 We rode some incredible scenery like the Gorges du Verdon, and I had my first real mountain foray with Mont Ventoux. There is an incredible sense of freedom and adventure traveling countryside with nothing but your bike, your friends, and a croissant tucked into your jersey.<\/p>\n
And as my spirit animal is a Labrador (haha), and every holiday for me centers around food, you cannot have imagined my joy when I realised I could eat 3 full French meals a day of cheese, pastries, wine, terrine and \u2013 between hours of climbing \u2013 still be starving for more.<\/p>\n
One of the guys I cycled around France with last year has been part of the Tour de Cure rides in the past, and he and another friend have been touched by cancer recently.\u00a0 Having people you care about having to deal with loss is terrible.\u00a0 I feel the TDC have got a bunch of strong, quirky and welcoming people, who make it an empowering movement with valuable outcomes.\u00a0 I have joined TDC though the oOh! team, and have been running fundraising personally as well as through the business \u2013 BBQ’s, pub crawls, cruises and trivia nights as a team.<\/p>\n
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<\/h3>\nI have.\u00a0 I’ve managed to get a few girlfriends to join our girl bike gang and a few even came to France as well – shout out to Alex, Sarah and Ness for their awesome effort on the relentless mountains the French call hills.<\/p>\n
Yep I cannot wait to get down there.\u00a0 Perfect mix of a beautiful location and a great riding, the course looks like a cracker.\u00a0 I\u2019ve managed to get a crew to commit already, which consist of about 70% riders and 30% wine drinkers, so I think it will make for an awesome and balanced weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Female cycling is growing in popularity and it might come down to a few things, it could be the endless possibilities to accessorise, the interesting and eye-catching rolling runway of\u00a0lycra fashion, the cafe dates or the opportunity to be faster than some of the guys out there! But for Yasmin Berry it is all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[38,39,17,40,41,42],"class_list":["post-2071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2016-news","tag-australian-cycling","tag-bicycling-australia","tag-bowral-classic","tag-france","tag-ooh-media","tag-yasmin-berry"],"yoast_head":"\n