Ahead of the opening of cycling exhibition 'The Perfect Machine' at Summerlee Museum in July 2014 we are profiling cyclists from around Lanarkshire and Glasgow.
Gabrielle is the Volunteer Co-ordinator for the Glasgow Women's Library (http://womenslibrary.org.uk). This is a fantastic resource based in the east end of Glasgow and I strongly recommend you check out their website. Many thanks to Irene Laird of the Thursday night Photomedia Studio photography class at Summerlee for taking this photograph.
"I hadn’t cycled since I was a child really, I had given it a wee try briefly a few years ago and I had a scary moment so that had been it.
"But about a year ago my colleague suggested we started a project to get more women into cycling. I love being outdoors and I love being active so I was like ‘oh yeah that sounds good’ and the more I got involved in the more I felt that I ought to get my bike out which is how I started cycling on a regular basis.
"I’m not a manic cyclist but I cycle every day whatever the weather, it’s kind of all or nothing with me. I cycle to work along the Clyde from Partick to Glasgow Green so I can go all the way along the river which is nice, and there’s a cycle path the whole way.
"I hadn’t realised how many people are interested in cycling, it’s like a very special club but not an exclusive one at all because I really want more people to cycle but you certainly find that when you meet another cyclist you always have something in common to talk about. It’s a whole other world of bikes and cycling.
"Thanks to cycling, I feel much more connected to the weather, not always a good thing when the weather’s awful but if it’s a lovely day it just feels wonderful to be outside and I think it’s worth soldiering through the wind and the rain just to have those lovely evenings or mornings when you’re cycling and it’s cold and crisp and sunny. Cycling is at just the right pace for me: I love walking but I couldn’t walk to work as it would take me far too long, whereas cycling gets you somewhere quite fast but not so fast that you miss out on everything either; you do notice things and notice people and you notice the subtle changes in the river’s current, and whether the water’s still or a bitty choppy."
'The Perfect Machine', Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Coatbridge
5 July to 14 September 2014
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