If you’ve ever wanted to live vicariously through an international cyclist, you’ll want to know Inge.
She was born in the relatively flat countryside of Holland, where learning to walk is soon followed by learning to ride. Kids bike to school; moms do their shopping with panniers; it’s just the way things are done.
When life took her beyond her Dutch borders, she got away from riding and pursued other interests. Then on a visit home in 2005 with South African friend Anthea, which included a barge bike tour of the waterways, towns and villages, Inge caught the pedaling bug again.
A year later in South Africa, while watching the Argus Tour (the largest timed cycling event in the world, hosting 35,000 riders), she told her friends “We can do those big hills. Let’s do this event next year.”
Back in Canada that summer, she started training and thought “Me and my big mouth – what have I done?” Through sheer will and determination though, she got serious, trained well, and with no fancy training plan other than varying her terrain, rode a minimum of 3 rides a week.
In March of 2007, on upright bicycles and at the ripe young age of 50, Inge and Anthea rode their first (68-mile) Argus Bike Tour. This Sunday they will ride their 10th.
In May she occasionally travels to Italy to ride the 127 mile Nove Colli with stunning views of the Adriatic Sea. She also enjoys her annual 5 day ride from Jeffrey’s Bay to Gordon’s Bay, which includes the famous Garden Route – another great Argus training trip.
I truly enjoy working with Inge, helping her pick out her next Terry jerseys (Actif, Touring and Sun Goddess are her favorites), but even more exciting is having the opportunity to hear of her adventures and add many of them to my bucket list!
-Lisa Wilkes
About the Terry Team: This is a monthly shout out to dedicated Terry fans who are part of our illustrious sisterhood of athletes and adventurers. We ride through wind and rain. We sweat. We dream. We discover. We push ourselves to and past our limits. We take each day and ride it to its fullest. Sound like you? Send your story to customerservice@terrybicycles.com.
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