I didn’t really enjoy cycling when I started, but my dad used to work so hard that we only spent time together on the weekends and he’d want us to go cycling as a family. So I think that’s why I grew to love it, because it meant spending a couple of hours with Dad.
When I was born I had a collapsed lung, which gave me asthma. It was pretty severe when I was a kid. When I was diagnosed I cried my eyes out. But I’ve pretty much grown out of it. Now I only get it on really dusty days. At the Rio Olympics we warmed up in the velodrome and I remember thinking: ‘I feel it coming back on.’
I thought I’d be prepared for pregnancy, but you never are. At first I was sleeping for 11 or 12 hours a night and then I couldn’t sleep for longer than two hours. I do get used to training on no sleep, but it’s really tough. Fortunately my husband, Jason [Kenny], and I work really well as a team, especially when it comes to our son, Albie.
I breastfed Albie for six months and there wasn’t much Jason could really help with in the night, but he would change the nappies. A passenger on a train recently rolled their eyes at me when I was breastfeeding, it’s hard enough breastfeeding without someone making you feel judged.
When Jason and I were writing our book, The Inside Track, I made a point of bringing up periods and being on the pill to control them because it’s so important to me. I want young girls to feel they can talk about these things if there’s an issue, especially as an athlete because it is hard to train when you’re on your period. I wish female issues weren’t taboo. There is nothing I won’t share with my coach because it’s important for me to get it off my chest.
As well as being back on the bike, I’ve also launched a project with Soreen to inspire other families to cycle together this summer. This initiative is very close to my heart, not just because I love cycling, but also because I’ve been brought up to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, thanks to my mum, who has always been my inspiration. She completely changed her lifestyle when I was younger and helped shape the way I thought about food and exercise. It goes to show that everyone can do it.
Soreen is giving away £250 of Halfords vouchers, to be spent on cycling equipment, every day over the summer. For more information, go to soreencycleproject.com
Part of the Soreen Cycle Project initiative is also to raise awareness of the more than 300 miles of Lost Cycleways, which are buried across the UK. They were built in the 1930s and have since fallen into disrepair, but through their revival could be made available again to cyclists, which will provide far greater accessibility. By raising awareness, Soreen hopes to encourage the general public to get involved and sign the petition for their rescue to be debated in parliament
