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We catch up with Northumberland-based cycling couple, Rachel and Marcus.

 

CTT: What part did cycling play in you two getting together?

RG: None whatsoever! We are actually a Tinder success story and have been together almost 10 years now. We were both ex-runners at the time so sport was definitely a factor. Luckily, we both saw the light and started to cycle pretty early on - it quickly became a cornerstone.

CTT: What part does cycling play in your relationship now?

MC: A huge part. Whether it’s supporting each other at races, watching Le Tour on an evening or geeking out over training data - a lot of our time revolves around cycling. With us both being hill climbers, this meant travelling to races and warming up together - but yet with very different pre-race routines (and music choices!). We’re lucky to have a sport that we share and that we're able to come home and talk over a result or a bad session with someone who can relate to the effort you’re putting in.

 

CTT: Do you train together much? How often?

RG: Very rarely! We both have different training plans and different time commitments. I think due to the nature of sessions and different goals we tend do our own thing. We sometimes do an easy ride together but our versions of "easy" differ!

 

CTT: Is there any rivalry between you two on the bike?

RG: Always. We're both very competitive people. There's often a light-hearted comment about who got the better result even though we were in two completely different races, we compare who has better bike parts, who's hill climb bike is lighter, etc... When we ride together there is an element of dropping one another with there being some form of satisfaction and also the loser cleans the bikes (take a guess…).

 

CTT: Do you take your bikes on holiday together?

MC: A lot of our "holidays" are warm weather training - we’ve ticked off Málaga, Mallorca, and the Canary Islands together. This year we bike-packed from home (Northumberland) to Luxembourg and back via Flanders and Roubaix which was incredible to witness. Riding seven hours a day across Europe in Classics season was a relationship builder for sure! We do also manage to factor in being tourists alongside training whilst we’re away too.

 

CTT: How much cycling stuff do you buy each other? Christmas/birthdays etc?

RG: Not much, quite possibly none - it's too expensive! We used to get each other the odd cool jersey, somehow there used to be power meters and wheelsets involved as presents in the early days. We know better now!

 

CTT: Anything else you want to tell us about being a cycling couple?

MC: We have a lot of memories we can thank cycling for over the years. Cycling is an individual sport for us both but we definitely feel like we approach it as a team too. We have a good balance which allows for individual personal growth whilst also helping us maintain a strong connection as a couple. We’ve both got big plans for 2025 and we can’t wait to tackle them together.

 

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