Immy Sykes
@immycycles.bsky.social
Cyclist, runner, rock climber. Generally outdoorsy. Storyteller, part time.
Reposted by Immy Sykes
Velocio ONE jacket review: The jacket that wants to be your one and only https://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/velocio-one-jacket-review-the-jacket-that-wants-to-be-your-one-and-only/
Velocio ONE jacket review: The jacket that wants to be your one and only
Is this the one jacket to rule them all? We test Velocio's latest attempt at seasonal mastery
www.cyclingnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Velocio ONE jacket review: The jacket that wants to be your one and only https://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/velocio-one-jacket-review-the-jacket-that-wants-to-be-your-one-and-only/
In celebration of IWD 2025, I’ve written a little bit about why women’s movement matters. open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
Your body is the site of rebellion and resistance; your activism is your bike ride
An International Women's Day meditation on why your own body is the site of activism
open.substack.com
March 8, 2025 at 4:39 PM
In celebration of IWD 2025, I’ve written a little bit about why women’s movement matters. open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
Reposted by Immy Sykes
❝How can we possibly have this impossible body, that can move and reflect and conjure language and words and build connections and see a spectrum of colour and light and for that experience to not be art?
— @immycycles.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
#running
— @immycycles.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
#running
Word and movement: Running the red line in Dreamtime Fellrunner
How a one-woman performance on fell running has given me words I've been looking for.
open.substack.com
March 3, 2025 at 2:29 PM
❝How can we possibly have this impossible body, that can move and reflect and conjure language and words and build connections and see a spectrum of colour and light and for that experience to not be art?
— @immycycles.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
#running
— @immycycles.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
#running
Reposted by Immy Sykes
Today sees the release of the Children’s Walking and Cycling Index report - the first of it’s kind - sponsored by Halfords
Children are often overlooked by decision-makers and officers in transport, or if they are considered, it's on the school journey.
Children are often overlooked by decision-makers and officers in transport, or if they are considered, it's on the school journey.
February 26, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Today sees the release of the Children’s Walking and Cycling Index report - the first of it’s kind - sponsored by Halfords
Children are often overlooked by decision-makers and officers in transport, or if they are considered, it's on the school journey.
Children are often overlooked by decision-makers and officers in transport, or if they are considered, it's on the school journey.
I thought I’d spend some time digging into the women’s voices who contributed to my article on cycling news last week in my latest Substack, sharing more about the pain women experience when riding bikes. open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
The voices of women's cycling: hearing all about labial tears and vulval sores.
A long read sharing in-depth research on women's saddle pain and discomfort in cycling. Settle in, it's a deep dive.
open.substack.com
February 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
I thought I’d spend some time digging into the women’s voices who contributed to my article on cycling news last week in my latest Substack, sharing more about the pain women experience when riding bikes. open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
Reposted by Immy Sykes
🌄 Have you tackled Traws Eryri? Cycling UK member Karen & friends (combined age 240) took on the 200km off-road challenge through Snowdonia—their toughest adventure yet! Was it worth it? Absolutely. Could it be one of our best long-distance adventures? You decide: cyclinguk.org/traws-eryri-adventure
Travellers’ tales: a Traws Eryri cycling adventure
For 2024’s yearly off-road trip, Cycling UK member Karen Townsin and three friends took their bikes for a tour along Cycling UK’s long-distance route through Wales’s Snowdonia National Park
cyclinguk.org
February 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
🌄 Have you tackled Traws Eryri? Cycling UK member Karen & friends (combined age 240) took on the 200km off-road challenge through Snowdonia—their toughest adventure yet! Was it worth it? Absolutely. Could it be one of our best long-distance adventures? You decide: cyclinguk.org/traws-eryri-adventure
One of my proudest bits of writing to date. Women are suffering on bikes and often silently. This was a huge bit of research to pull together - there’s still so much more to say, so much more to look into, but I’m glad to be writing about it.
www.cyclingnews.com/features/cyc...
www.cyclingnews.com/features/cyc...
Cycling's most sensitive issue - Why saddle discomfort is one of the most pressing, and silent, barriers to entry for female cyclists
'Even amongst my fevered googlings late at night, I hadn’t come across anything that had explained the types of pain I might be facing'
www.cyclingnews.com
February 17, 2025 at 10:40 AM
One of my proudest bits of writing to date. Women are suffering on bikes and often silently. This was a huge bit of research to pull together - there’s still so much more to say, so much more to look into, but I’m glad to be writing about it.
www.cyclingnews.com/features/cyc...
www.cyclingnews.com/features/cyc...
Writing this time on following Joss Naylor’s advice of ‘the less said about it the better’ when talking about adventures and achievements. Little meandering thoughts on something we rarely discuss in the outdoors world.
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
‘…the less said about it the better’: the wisdom of shutting up about adventures and why I am still thinking about it.
Inconclusive ramblings asking why we need to talk about our adventures.
open.substack.com
February 2, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Writing this time on following Joss Naylor’s advice of ‘the less said about it the better’ when talking about adventures and achievements. Little meandering thoughts on something we rarely discuss in the outdoors world.
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
Keep seeing adverts for companies saying they are trying to ‘empower women’ to take up sport, with the implication that if I buy that product, I’ll be empowered. Can I be empowered without the purchase of yet another item? Is that possible?
January 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Keep seeing adverts for companies saying they are trying to ‘empower women’ to take up sport, with the implication that if I buy that product, I’ll be empowered. Can I be empowered without the purchase of yet another item? Is that possible?
I wrote this Substack about my thoughts working on the Spine Race over the past couple of years. A joyful experience, but still with a number of questions I have to ask myself about the nature of ultra running.
❝Most of the runners don’t even come in with a brain cell, they’re starry-eyed and confused, so instructions must be issued multiple times before they’re fully understood.
— @immycycles.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
*adds “pack an extra brain cell” to pre-race checklist*
— @immycycles.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
*adds “pack an extra brain cell” to pre-race checklist*
The endurance of Montane's Spine Race
A meditation on what it's like to volunteer at a checkpoint on a 268 mile foot race
open.substack.com
January 23, 2025 at 10:16 AM
I wrote this Substack about my thoughts working on the Spine Race over the past couple of years. A joyful experience, but still with a number of questions I have to ask myself about the nature of ultra running.
More historical writing over on my Substack, which i am really enjoying at the moment. This time it’s on Celia Fiennes and her travels through 17th century Britain open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
17th century adventure with Celia Fiennes
Introducing you to the writings of a woman you might not have heard of
open.substack.com
January 15, 2025 at 9:08 AM
More historical writing over on my Substack, which i am really enjoying at the moment. This time it’s on Celia Fiennes and her travels through 17th century Britain open.substack.com/pub/immycycl...
‘Facts are becoming too politically biased’ - Mark Zuckerberg, 2025.
Jesus. Christ.
Jesus. Christ.
January 7, 2025 at 8:40 PM
‘Facts are becoming too politically biased’ - Mark Zuckerberg, 2025.
Jesus. Christ.
Jesus. Christ.
Reposted by Immy Sykes
Government drones above my barn:
How long will the radical left liberals cover this up? They keep calling it “the big dipper” but I know it’s just drones.
How long will the radical left liberals cover this up? They keep calling it “the big dipper” but I know it’s just drones.
December 17, 2024 at 10:46 PM
Government drones above my barn:
How long will the radical left liberals cover this up? They keep calling it “the big dipper” but I know it’s just drones.
How long will the radical left liberals cover this up? They keep calling it “the big dipper” but I know it’s just drones.
Back in 2020 I did some lovely deep diving of the archives to learn more about women & cycling in the 19th century. Part of this was to recreate a route I’d found in the Lady Cyclist published in 1896. I never quite finished that project but the research is on my free Substack 👇
tinyurl.com/3s2e6mc4
tinyurl.com/3s2e6mc4
Eva's Tour
A side quest into the British history of women's cycling - sort of.
open.substack.com
December 7, 2024 at 1:52 PM
Back in 2020 I did some lovely deep diving of the archives to learn more about women & cycling in the 19th century. Part of this was to recreate a route I’d found in the Lady Cyclist published in 1896. I never quite finished that project but the research is on my free Substack 👇
tinyurl.com/3s2e6mc4
tinyurl.com/3s2e6mc4
Reposted by Immy Sykes
Two stages of writing:
1) This shouldn't take too long
2) Oh no
1) This shouldn't take too long
2) Oh no
December 4, 2024 at 7:36 PM
Two stages of writing:
1) This shouldn't take too long
2) Oh no
1) This shouldn't take too long
2) Oh no
Today I learnt that the little green vegetable we eat in winter is called the ‘Brussels Sprout’ and not the ‘Brussel sprout’ and I feel like my whole life has been a lie.
November 28, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Today I learnt that the little green vegetable we eat in winter is called the ‘Brussels Sprout’ and not the ‘Brussel sprout’ and I feel like my whole life has been a lie.
Reposted by Immy Sykes
'“We would warn authors to think extremely carefully before committing to any author-contribute contract” involving a writer paying for their work to be published, said Anna Ganley, chief executive of the UK’s largest trade union for writers, illustrators and translators, the Society of Authors.'
Writers condemn startup’s plans to publish 8,000 books next year using AI
Publisher Spines will charge authors between $1,200 and $5,000 to have their books edited and distributed with the help of artificial intelligence
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2024 at 10:05 AM
'“We would warn authors to think extremely carefully before committing to any author-contribute contract” involving a writer paying for their work to be published, said Anna Ganley, chief executive of the UK’s largest trade union for writers, illustrators and translators, the Society of Authors.'
Always pleased to see the work Cycling UK is doing to uphold cycling infrastructure and implementation. Wales has a good track record in cycling and deffo keen to see more work done there! Hopefully encourage border towns like mine to integrate better!
🧵 1/3. Active travel investment in Wales isn't just about getting from A to B – it's about building healthier, greener, and more prosperous communities.
nation.cymru/opinion/why-we-need-to-keep-the-wheels-moving-on-active-travel-investment-in-wales
nation.cymru/opinion/why-we-need-to-keep-the-wheels-moving-on-active-travel-investment-in-wales
Why we need to keep the wheels moving on active travel investment in Wales
Gwenda Owen With the Welsh budget coming up, and the UK Government’s recent modest funding boost, there’s a real opportunity for Wales to reinvest in walking, cycling and wheeling. This isn’t just abo...
nation.cymru
November 27, 2024 at 9:58 PM
Always pleased to see the work Cycling UK is doing to uphold cycling infrastructure and implementation. Wales has a good track record in cycling and deffo keen to see more work done there! Hopefully encourage border towns like mine to integrate better!
An evening in the gym, focussing on trying to build strength in the hope that this eventually sorts my 10 year battle with recurring running injuries. I’ve spent this year with a physio, and now it’s about trying to focus on all the changes we’ve made. Maybe by summer I’ll nab a cheeky race place?
November 27, 2024 at 8:12 PM
An evening in the gym, focussing on trying to build strength in the hope that this eventually sorts my 10 year battle with recurring running injuries. I’ve spent this year with a physio, and now it’s about trying to focus on all the changes we’ve made. Maybe by summer I’ll nab a cheeky race place?
Cool to try out a bit of astral photography this evening! Still a bit cloudy, but you can make out Pilades (bright cluster bottom left) and the Andromeda Galaxy (top right, bright fuzzy disc shape). Absolutely insane that it’s able to be captured on a phone!
November 26, 2024 at 10:06 PM
Cool to try out a bit of astral photography this evening! Still a bit cloudy, but you can make out Pilades (bright cluster bottom left) and the Andromeda Galaxy (top right, bright fuzzy disc shape). Absolutely insane that it’s able to be captured on a phone!
Reposted by Immy Sykes
Profoundly moving. Adele Roberts on her book Personal Best, brilliantly interviewed by @immycycles.bsky.social Pragmatic, funny, brave, raising awareness of bowel cancer, living with stoma Audrey, breaking records at London Marathon. Magic to hear audience members able to share their stoma journey.
November 26, 2024 at 9:54 AM
Profoundly moving. Adele Roberts on her book Personal Best, brilliantly interviewed by @immycycles.bsky.social Pragmatic, funny, brave, raising awareness of bowel cancer, living with stoma Audrey, breaking records at London Marathon. Magic to hear audience members able to share their stoma journey.
Reposted by Immy Sykes
Deeply moved by @martinhibbert.bsky.social's Top of the World. Having survived the Manchester Arena bombing, now in a wheelchair, he's become a powerful advocate for survivors & raised £1 million for spinal injury charities by summiting Kilimanjaro. Open, witty, generous. A brilliant tour de force
November 26, 2024 at 12:19 PM
Deeply moved by @martinhibbert.bsky.social's Top of the World. Having survived the Manchester Arena bombing, now in a wheelchair, he's become a powerful advocate for survivors & raised £1 million for spinal injury charities by summiting Kilimanjaro. Open, witty, generous. A brilliant tour de force
It’s been a fair few weeks since I’ve managed a pre work pootle on the bike, and I’m itching a bit for it now. Cold. Quiet roads. Soft pedalling.
November 26, 2024 at 7:55 AM
It’s been a fair few weeks since I’ve managed a pre work pootle on the bike, and I’m itching a bit for it now. Cold. Quiet roads. Soft pedalling.
Wrapping up Kendal Mountain Festival - this year has been my biggest yet with 4 presenting jobs. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know how I’d cope after a busy year, but it was incredible as always. I am so lucky to get to ask questions of incredible people and get paid to do it!
November 25, 2024 at 9:02 PM
Wrapping up Kendal Mountain Festival - this year has been my biggest yet with 4 presenting jobs. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know how I’d cope after a busy year, but it was incredible as always. I am so lucky to get to ask questions of incredible people and get paid to do it!
Day 2 of Kendal Mountain Festival was mostly spent catching up with pals, but did manage to cop a sneaky watch of the incredible Rachel Crewe Smith interviewing filmmaker Rox Barry on their film ‘Capsized’ all about Emily’s (on the right!) trip in a canoe, discussing bigger bodies in the outdoors
November 23, 2024 at 10:02 AM
Day 2 of Kendal Mountain Festival was mostly spent catching up with pals, but did manage to cop a sneaky watch of the incredible Rachel Crewe Smith interviewing filmmaker Rox Barry on their film ‘Capsized’ all about Emily’s (on the right!) trip in a canoe, discussing bigger bodies in the outdoors