Rider Stories: Beth Perrou (she/her)
Beth joined us as a first time bikepacker on our East Devon Trail Rally over an sunny late summer weekend in 2022. Persuaded by a friend to join her and rocking all new and borrowed bags, Beth got hooked on bikepacking and a few months later was riding with the likes of Lael Wilcox on the Komoot Women’s Rally in the Canary Islands. Her experience also gave her the final nudge to realise a dream that had been brewing for while - the Ride Free Collective. Read more about RFC, it’s upcoming festival, and her rally experiences in our Q&A with Beth.
Quickfire bikepacking Q&A:
Fave bikepacking snack: Dried mango, roasted salted almonds, dark chocolate! All together.
Bucket list bikepacking trip: Way too many now.. But going home to do the Great Divide would be amazing.
Bivvy or tent? Currently bivvy because it is what I have!
Current bike: Stanton Switchpath with flat bars because I wanted it to look and act as close to an adventure MTB as I could.
What was your first SITW experience?
What event did you first join and what made you join?My first event was the East Devon Trail Rally. A friend mentioned she was going and wanted someone to go with.. I’d never bike packed before. The vibe seemed chilled, welcoming, laid back etc…and seemed great intro to backpacking. Also it was in a beautiful part of England and I was able to visit my niece at the same time who lived in Exeter.
How did you feel before the event?
I’m pretty much a jump and see kind of girl. My biggest fear is actually being put into a social situation where I have to talk to a lot of people I don’t know. Super introvert here. I was also a bit nervous because I hadn’t tested any of my bags before the weekend and I thought I might be stopping a hundred times to pick things up or adjust! To be fair, the event was perfect because the whole concept of a rally was to be in whatever group you wanted.
Any highlights or takeaways?
What are your memories or highlights from the experience? The ice cream stop was definitely up there. It was the first time I experienced the whole idea of a rally. You ride with a few people, lose a few, gain a few and gather at a meeting point to rehash what you’ve been doing. And of course the ice cream was fab.
The second was a huge learning point. There was a stop on day 2 for snacks at one of the organiser’s parents. We completely missed the turn off, spent 20 minutes looking at 3 different maps wondering where it was and released we had pedaled past it 2 hours before. We went from confused, to stressed, to laughing at ourselves. Then very FOMO that we missed out on the best toasties and welcome!
I’m now looking out for every new bike packing adventure. I’ve been a keen MTBer for 6 years and this has just opened up the world again to exploring. There are so many options to ride with a group, on your own, and so many routes that already exist taking in amazing parts of the world. The trouble now is choosing. I was also super lucky to win a place on the SITW Lakes weekend in their raffle. That has pretty much sealed my fate as a long term fan and bike packer!
Tell us what you’ve been up to since? We hear you’ve got your own festival in the making! And did we see you went for a ride with Lael Wilcox?!
So much that has happened since my first rally! An idea that I had brewing for a few years finally felt like it could be a reality. Experiencing the atmosphere and supportive group at SITW helped to clarify aspects about a festival I wanted to create close to home in the Wye Valley. Something inclusive, that encouraged those who have only dabbled in adventure biking to those who had been riding for years and wanted a place they could ride at their own pace. Whether that was chatting and chilled or searching out some gnar. The Ride Free Collective went from a dream to a reality when my good friend Karen (who introduced me to the rally) sat with me for a chat. Her positivity took my scattered thoughts and solidified a fantastic ride we have both been on since. Literally and figuratively.
The rally gave me permission to seek out more adventures too, knowing that you can create your own ride/pace regardless of what everyone else is doing. And then the Komoot rally adventures came onto my radar. Who knew that the next rally would fall on my 50th birthday. The GranGanunche sounded epicly huge, 6 islands in 7 days in the Canaries. The fact that it was a ballot draw and I wasn’t guaranteed a place seemed a good reason to leave the whole thing to fate. 6 weeks before the trip I was in…. There is so much to write about this week, but the main SITW connection was the idea that I could ride on my own (which I did almost the whole first day). Ride with a few people which I did off and on the next 3 days, and ride in a group (my first ever peloton on Tenerife) and love all of it. What an experience. I am definitely hooked to doing more of this type of riding.
It has also motivated me to expand my own MTB guiding business to include a couple of bike packing weekends. I live and ride in the Black Mountains and it is crying out for a couple of overnighters by bike. I’m hoping to have something out by the end of summer.
