There was a time in my life that I was completely miserable. In 2005 I was lost. I was trying to fit in to societies and my own expectations of how a 32-year-old woman should behave. All around me my peers were having children while I was still dancing on the tables and necking bottles of Pinot Grigio! No matter how hard I tried to behave myself, I just couldn’t. My true colours always revealed themselves and showed me up. Eventually, after making myself miserable and mentally sick, I had to acknowledge that some people, myself included, just aren’t meant to settle down.
With that realisation I went on a mission to find my true passion and purpose in life. I didn’t need to change; I just had to be myself, the real one!
Without any hesitation, I left Ireland to work on a five-star luxury cruise ship. I let my hair down, showed my true self to the world and, most importantly, I was happy being myself. Even though I was very partial to partying I was in fact a fitness instructor! I loved exercise and sport in all shapes and forms. Most of all, I adored motivating others to move, have fun and be active. I was lucky enough to make lifelong friends and dock in over 40 countries in the space of a year.
Returning to Ireland, I was not going to work for anyone else and be told how many days off I could have! I set up my own wellness business. While I was definitely in no position to lecture anyone on “clean living”, as long as I got people moving and improving their quality of life that was good enough for me.
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For my own body, I revived my love of cycling and joined a cycling club, Orwell Wheelers. My weekend cycles soon became the highlight of week. It didn’t matter to me that I was not the fastest or where we went, it was just good to be out and about. Best of all, whenever we stopped for a break we ate delicious cake and talked rubbish! Nobody cared about anyone’s social standing. We were all equal in our love of bikes, fun and commitment to cycling longer and harder routes each week.
In time, cycling became more than just a weekend hobby. I began going on cycling trips in Europe. I even set up a cycling and yoga holiday in Spain because I couldn’t find one anywhere in the world! I help cyclists who need encouragement and time to reach the top of a mountain. My trips are noted for fun, cycling hard routes, stretching and eating amazing food! It’s a holiday, after all.
Travelling is a huge part of my life. Every December I take an annual trip of a lifetime and go somewhere fabulous. While I don’t have anyone to travel with it doesn’t stop me. Why would I sit around on my own at the darkest time of year when I can be exploring a new country in the sun? I have visited over 70 countries now and my bucket list keeps getting longer!
Whenever and wherever I travel I always ensure I hire a bike. It makes no odds to me if I am cycling a city bike with a basket or a top-of-the-range full carbon bike. One of my favourite bike rides was in Cuba. I cycled along the south coast, which was lined the whole way with beautiful palm trees. The Caribbean Sea was the most beautiful turquoise I had ever seen. Tootling along, I was playing ‘90s house music and singing loudly. It was just me, my bike and the open road for the day. It was blissful. The occasional time an old 1950s car passed me they gave me a friendly “beep”, which prompted us to wave enthusiastically at each other.
Another time I took on the mammoth task of cycling the longest climb in the world while in Colombia. It’s 80 kilometres long and, as the name implies, all uphill!
Thankfully I have never got into serious trouble while travelling alone. There have been missed flight connections, drunk guides and another guide who left me in the middle of nowhere! There has only been one big surprise. While in Cambodia I was mistaken for a sex tourist! My masseur wrongly assumed I wanted a “happy ending”! When I told him off, he offered me other “extras”. I politely declined his generous offer.
There were upsetting times on trips when I visited memorials, especially the Killing Fields in Cambodia. There have been highs: I trekked in the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp where I was dizzy with altitude sickness. Thankfully the only lows were when I was underwater while snorkelling.
The best part of travelling solo is that I was never lonely. I have made lifelong friends along the way. Thanks to modern technology we keep in touch regularly and have visited each other.
Solo life is good. I am just back from three weeks in Thailand and Laos. I had the pleasure of washing an elephant and visited a bear sanctuary that I had seen on RTE. I sailed down the Mekong River and witnessed stunning sunsets.
Where’s next? I’m going to cycle the Tourmalet and Hautacam in July with cycling friends. (They are Tour de France climbs in the Pyrenees.) I can’t wait.
Living life to the full is easy in comparison to trying to fit into the life I thought I should be living. There are no rules, only the ones we choose to live by and very often, those are the ones that are meant to be broken.
Life Is A Cycle – A true story of resilience, cycling adventures and solo travel by Sinéad Kennedy will be launched on International Women’s Day, Wednesday, March 8th at 6.30pm in the Cycle Superstore, Airton Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24, and can be pre-ordered here.
