Chelsea Thomas

I’m 32 years old and I teach English, History and Mathematics at a Secondary School in Victoria. I started riding as a part of Triathlon races at the age of 24. Prior to having my children, I would ride on the weekends and to and from school. However, my cycling came to a grinding halt during pregnancy and I never really got back on the bike.

My main reason for starting to cycle was being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I found that regular exercise helped to control my blood sugar levels and generally made managing the condition easier.

The first peak I climbed was Dinner Plain. My husband has ridden the 7 Peaks before and I planned to just tag along again with baby in tow. However, my sister had been asking me to ride them with her and my husband just racked my bike on the back of the car and said, “You’ve got to start riding again at some point”.

I had barely been on my bike for three years and my first real ride back was to Dinner Plain and I loved it! It was a beautiful day and although my climb was very slow, I really enjoyed sharing a milkshake with my sister at the top. I then went on to climb Mount Buffalo, Baw Baw and Lake Mountain.

I rode my first 3 peaks with my sister, and my fourth (and last) with my husband. My favourite was Lake Mountain, again it was a beautiful day and my husband and I completed this one together while my Dad took care of our baby. It was a nice day hanging out together on our bikes just like we used to. The most memorable and important thing that I took away from completing this challenge was that I needed not fear getting back on the bike. While I perhaps had no business attempting these climbs given my lack of preparation, it was nice to know that I could still preserver and meet goals even if it was a long and slow (but enjoyable) ascent.

The most enjoyable thing outside of climbing was simply hanging out with family. We chose to complete the peaks as a family holiday and it was lovely encouraging everyone with their climbs and sitting down to eat together and chat about the biggest challenge of the day or the most enjoyable view. We are already planning next years trip!