The P.A.S.T adventure series is all about spotlighting the amateur - the person who already won by getting to the start line; the person who maxed out their annual leave and went on an adventure; the person who had 9 hours without the kids so went for a camp out before being back for the school run in the morning.

We're not doing anything the best, or for the first time. We're not the fastest and we're not being sponsored. There's no medal at the end. We're powered by blissful ignorance and naive optimism and we're just out here doing it.

This series is designed to encourage people to get out there, in whatever way they want to.

This blog post is part round up of our 2023 - 2024 P.A.S.T series and part ‘how to’ replicate should you want to.

Buckle up, it’s a heart warming read.

P.A.S.T host Grace Compton said this about the series:

“There are SO many different ways to define and undertake an adventure. It means different things to each person, local or far away, fast or slow. But the reasons why we each choose to undertake them, and the things we learn about ourselves and other people hold true whatever the adventure looks like. Our speakers undertook all types of ‘adventures’ but the lessons they learnt about how much we’re all capable of, the power of your support network to make things possible and the importance of making space to engage with the people in the places you’re travelling through were universal”.

We hosted four evening events, the first Friday of November, December, January and February.

Whilst in Year 1, we had to gently nudge, encourage and cheerlead for people to feel brave enough to take up space and share their stories. We’re thrilled to say that this year, people were more keen to participate having seen the warm reception our community gives each and every story teller.

In total 213 people came to hear our professional amateur stories. One of the aims of the P.A.S.T series is to demonstrate the power of our stories and we feel that the number of people who chose to part with their hard earned cash is a measure of that.

Thank you to every one who chose to come out and spend the evening with us, connecting with our amateur stories and sharing in the glory of the matriarchy.

Shout out to Dan who let us host the series at Velo, free of charge. Dan also paid to get our promotional posters printed and made sure we had everything we needed every night. Thanks again Dan and to your team for taking care of us all so well, we always feel so welcome.

Can I take this opportunity to say that if you do need a new bike, a service, or just some where to eat the most delicious shakshuka, please consider Velo. With rates and bills rising, independent businesses need all the support they can get. If you want to stay in touch with the Velo team, sign up to their newsletter via this link.

And huge thanks to all our 2023 - 2024 story tellers who gave up their free time to prepare and share their story with our community. We know for some, public speaking takes a huge amount of energy and emotional labour. You’re all heroes.

Ce Ce Balfour, Martine Warburton, Alice Baddeley, Eve and Alexis Tymon, Emily Chappell, Ali Wormell, Emma Plotnek, Katie Meehan, Teelay, Sue Barrett, Leah Meadon.

And finally a huge thanks to our hosts Sue, Nic and Grace who set the tone for the evenings and hosted everyone so beautifully.

NOW, A ROUND UP OF THE STORIES…

**Martine** set out in the May half term to ride the Devon coast to coast with a sprightly crew of 3 adults and 2 kids (aged 6 & 8). We heard all about the laughs, tears, scraped knees and memories made whilst out on the trail and how parents can set about tackling a bikepacking adventure with kids in tow.

**Cece Balfour told the story of her Norfolk adventure riding the** **Rebellion Way**, a Cycling UK route inspired by Boudicas' legacy, with a group of powerful women. The stats from Ce Ce's adventure include 3 bikes, 3 mums, 3 types of trailer, 1 baby, 1 toddler, 1 teenager. These are the kind of ride stats NFORC can get on board with. "Sharing skills, children, love and laughter. This is the matriarchy at it's finest". **Vicky Balfour.**

**Komoot Editor,** **Alice Baddeley** was our 3rd November story teller. In August, Alice set out to ride in a 340 degree northerly direction for 800 miles from Shoreham beach to Oldshoremore beach in the Highlands. Travelling solo, camping most nights and riding off road, we heard all about the route and what prompted her to set out on this straight line adventure!

“I loved the evening. It was even better than I’d imagined. I loved hearing honest stories about people’s adventures. No egos, no marketing, just sharing joy at their experiences. Places that I would never have imagined riding and I loved hearing about.”

— Vicky Balfour

**Siblings Eve and Alexis told us the story of their Pan Celtic adventure, how they set out on two completely different experiences and came together through stress, turmoil and sisterhood.**

We invited Emily Chappell to come and share a story with us! Our community were so excited to have her in the room and we were all moved by her reflections on what responsible travel looks like and how to be conscious of the privileges we are afforded as white women.

**Ali shared the story of using cycling and wild camping to regulate themselves amidst unemployment and making a creative career in 2023.**

**If youd've said to** **Leah** 5 years ago that she'd be competing in the BMX National Championships, she wouldn't have believed you. But at 33, Leah raced the British Nationals for the 3rd time in a row. Leah shared the story all about how important it is to try new things and why you should too!

**Sue’s story was an emotional roller coaster. In 2018, Sue won the very first** **‘Adventure Queen’ Grant** - which involved money, outdoor gear and mentoring to go off on a life changing adventure. Her winning proposal was to cycle and hike 1500 miles along the ‘Via Alpina’ through 8 countries for several months. It was going to be part of her ‘gap year’, aged 55. She was going to go solo. But then her daughter, Katy, joined her. Sue gave a glimpse of what it’s like to bike-pack through Slovenia and Italy. However, beneath that story were stories of being a care-giver for her parents, of the changing dynamics in mother-daughter relationships, and the beauty of spending quality time together outside being active with people you love.

Katie shared her reasoning as to why she thinks ‘Italians Do It Better’ drawn from five different cycling adventures - Oregon, the Arizonian - Mexican border, the Outer Hebrides, the Italian Alps, and the Hastings Hospital A&E.
**Katie made a compelling case for the slow roll, the art of noticing, the anti-bucket list, and finding your people.**

Teelay rode the Rapha Pennine Rally in 2023. A 500km off road route from Edinburgh to Manchester. Saying yes to the opportunity last minute, Teelay rode his first multi day bike packing trip entirely his way. With the kit he already had, borrowed bits from his friends, at his own pace and wearing the same Star Trek t - shirt every day. It was the perfect lesson in why you should always say yes to giving it a go.

**The story teller who closed the series was Emma Plotnek. Early in 2023 we had a last minute opportunity to send 2 people on an** **MTB FUNdamentals course**. Nic messaged Emma, a woman in our community who was building her confidence in riding off road. Emma solo parents her son Marlon so knew finding child care last minute would be a stretch, but we’re pleased to say that through the power of community, she made it work. Emma told us the story of how 1) it takes a village and 2) how she became a qualified MTB guide last year.

WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF IT!

“I'd say it's like sitting in the corner of a pub with your favourite adventurers, listening to them tell their stories, and thinking - you know, maybe one day I could do something like that.." Emily Chappell

“I loved it, best night out in Bournemouth. More more more.” Karmel Edmonds (A huge compliment or a reflection on Bournemouth’s night life 🙈)

“Absolutely loved it! Felt like I found my people, so many like minded others!” Cathryn Ramsden

“A reason to look forward to winter!” Emma Plotnek

“Felt like a warm hug as you walked in and left with a warm glow. 10 out of 10” Robyn Osbourne

OVER TO YOU 👀

We would love to see a P.A.S.T in every city around the country. Like the sound of that? Read on;

Why you should hold a story telling adventure night for your community.

Give the women in your community a platform to tell their story, uninterrupted.
Raise funds to reinvest in your community. Maybe you want to get outdoor first aid qualifications for your ride leaders. Maybe someone has a natural flair for mechanics and they want to do a course. This year, we raised £2,155 in ticket sales. After we paid our speakers, a total £1445 is left to reinvest in our ride leaders.
Dismantle the patriarchy, one professional amateur storytelling night at a time.
Demonstrate the power of our stories.

How you can hold a storytelling adventure night for your community.

Find a venue.
Try and partner with a space that get what you’re tryna do. The average spend of someone who comes to one of our P.A.S.T events is £13. (£8 for a bowl of food and £5 for a beer. If you sell 40 tickets, that works out at £520 for the venue.
Establish the women and non binary people in your community who want to share their story.
We’ve found that often, the people with the best stories need a little nudge. This is part of the power of a P.A.S.T event, getting people to see the value in their stories. We increased the minimum ticket prices this year from £5 to £10. This enabled us to pay the speakers (a very modest £30) and make more money to reinvest in our ride leaders. Some people pay more than £10 for a ticket and our tiered pricing allows them to do that.
Share with them a slide template so they can add photos.
We also include links to some resources that will help people share their story. We highly recommend this book by Bobette Buster (great name right!)
Make an event on eventbrite and promote it.
Sit back and bask in the glory of the matriarchy.

We can’t wait for our 3rd P.A.S.T series which will start again in November. If you or someone you know prides themselves on being a professional amateur, we would love to hear from them! You can email us at newforestoffroadclub@gmail.com.