When Glenda Trott found that she was getting out of breath just walking upstairs, and was resorting to using the car to take her daughters a mere  500 yards to school, she decided it was about time she did something to lose weight and slim down from her size 20.  Glenda had been overweight for over 20 years and had tried every diet on the market, but to no avail.  In desperation she went to her GP for help who referred her to the hospital but even under the dietician the weight loss was minimal.  She also joined  Slimming World to check on her weight weekly, and was disappointed to find progress was very slow.

Glenda had never really been very active, even when she was younger.  Husband Adrian and daughters Emma (15) and Laura (13) went for cycle rides every Sunday, but it had never really appealed to Glenda, so she stayed at home instead.

The dietician at the hospital said that exercise might help, so when her friend suggested they went for bike rides, Glenda thought ”Why not?”  It started with 45 minute rides down to the river a couple of times a week, and she also joined Adrian and the girls on their Sunday rides.  Glenda found she enjoyed the freedom and the family time the cycling gave them, but when she started shedding the pounds as well, it spurred her on even more.

When friends who also cycled suggested going to the cycle track at Welwyn Garden City they decided to join them, more out of curiosity than anything. Glenda and Adrian were given instruction on how to ride  track bikes, which have no gears or brakes, but when they went onto the track to try them, they were amazed to see Emma and Laura already ahead of them and having a whale of a time.  Emma and Laura were keen to try cycle racing, so the trips to the Welwyn Wheelers became a regular addition to their ‘social’ cycling.

The coaches at the club spotted their enthusiasm and encouraged the girls to train regularly.  It certainly paid off, and not only did they do well at local events, but they began to win regional and national races. As their experience grew, so did their successes, and both girls have become potential national cycling stars. Both Emma and Laura have won national age group competitions, but they also ride in open races and successfully compete against the UK’s leading senior women cyclists .  Emma has won the national junior 25 mile time trial in 2003 and last year became the under-16 national Omnium track league champion.  She has been selected as a member of the British Cycling Talent Team, one of only 50 chosen out of over 15,000 applicants from clubs and schools throughout the UK. Laura holds the under-12 national record for the 1500 metre pursuit and is the currently under-12 national track, circuit race, 10-mile time trial and Omnium track league champion.

But success did not stop with the girls.  Glenda’s wish to lose weight has been achieved, and she shed a total of 8 stone to become a well-toned size 10.   As a classroom assistant at a local school, where she specialises in children with special needs, Glenda is used to having to deal sensitively with children, so when the club approached her to train as a coach she accepted but on the understanding she would deal with the youth group. There were just two coaches at the club and the sport was becoming more and more popular.  Sport England funded the majority of the training fees for coaching and over the next two years, both Glenda and Adrian set themselves the gruelling and stringent challenge of becoming accredited coaches. Both are now British Cycling level 2 club coaches training other club riders to try to attain the high standards of competitive cycling that Emma and Laura have achieved.  

The whole family regularly travel to all corners of the UK for competitions, and use these opportunities to visit places they would never otherwise have the chance to visit.  Both Emma and Laura and adamant that their dedication to their sport has not meant they have missed out from having fun with their friends.  In fact with over 80% of cyclists being boys, Emma is quite certain that her social life will be more interesting than her friends!!

Glenda commented, “For anybody who is in the same position as me, whether wanting to lose weight or just never ‘having the time’ to take up an activity I would say, get out there, get motivated and you can achieve it.  I am living proof that you don’t have to be a size 20 if you really don’t want to.”

Adrian added “One of the most important benefits for us is that we pursue our sport together, as a family.  We all have different levels of ability, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get fit and stay fit and we still enjoy our cycling as a family down by the river. We have taken the competition route, but we have members at the club that ride for the health and social benefits that cycling brings”

So the need for Glenda to get fit, and a chance comment from a friend has changed the Trott’s lives far beyond their dreams.  The girls have attained national recognition and now have their sights set on becoming Olympic and World Champions.  Glenda and Adrian not only support their girls in their pursuit of success, but through their coaching are helping others to better themselves.

For media information contact Val Jefferys Tel: +44 (0)1767 601621 (ddl) email

or

Colin Caldicott, Tel: +44 (0)1767 601477 (ddl)  email

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