Stacey Bulger

I’m 28 years old and I’m a physiotherapist and I have completed the 7 Peaks this year! I’m a competitive runner and I started cycling about 5 years ago now to give myself some recovery cross training. I cycle for internal challenges and achievements.

I found out about the 7 Peaks Ride and made it my goal this summer as I had a bad running injury.  The 7 Peaks Ride was my first and only experience riding mountains.  Prior, riding Mt Eliza was the most climbing I had done.  My first peak was Mt Baw Baw….holy cow what an introduction to riding mountains!! My least glamorous moment was falling off my bike riding up Mt Baw Baw!! My most memorable was emptying the tank on Mt Hotham and then hitting the last pinch and grinding to the top for one of the most spectacular views this country has to offer! My favourite was Mt Buller – a solo adventure starting at 4.45am with my car, my bike and myself. The feeling of turning a corner and seeing the sign of the mountain you just conquered is a feeling hard to describe… just pure joy from within!

It’s nice to stay in towns like Bright, Marysville and explore the area off the bike too – you can really make weekends of it when you plan a ride because they are a fair drive from Melbourne.   When I completed my final 2 climbs, I celebrated with a tasting plate of beers at the Bright Brewery then selected my favourite and brought some back to Melbourne with me…!

The best tip for new women cyclists is to find a cycling shop you trust.  I got involved with a local shop which provides no drop women’s rides and before I knew it road riding was all of a sudden not scary anymore and I was riding in bunch rides with mostly all males and holding my own.