Mindful Adventures
8th October 2025
Get Out Glasgow is a project that utilises physical activity to improve mental wellbeing for the LGBTIQ+ adults in Greater Glasgow. From April to September 2025 we ran an LGBTIQ+ women’s cycling programme funded by Wheels in Motion. The programme included a cycle confidence course, bike maintenance classes and a cycle touring course.
Kathleen had begun commuting along the canal path after borrowing a friend’s bike:
‘I borrowed someone’s bike last year or the year before, for 3 or 4 months, because they weren’t using it and then I got my own after that. Then I was using it cycling to and from work.’
She joined the cycle touring course to increase her confidence and socialise:
‘So I got my bike about a year ago and I’ve just been doing cycling on canal paths mainly and then commuting in and out of town for work and I really enjoyed it, but that’s where my confidence ended and I thought I’m not gaining any extra confidence by just cycling the same routes again. So, it was to go and do it with some support. Also I’m self employed, so I tend to work one to one with people so it was quite nice each week to just go and be around a group of people.’
She now feels more confident cycling on the roads:
‘I’m more confident cycling on roads now, which actually for commuting is really useful as well. I think prior to that I would have just tried to stay out of the road as much as possible, as opposed to just taking up a safe amount of space and making sure that people could get past.’
As a keen hillwalker she appreciates the mindfulness of a longer cycle:
‘There’s a mindfulness to it when you’re on a longer day, rather than just a half hour or one hour commute. I do a lot of hillwalking so I like 8 hours where you’re out doing something continuously. I really struggle with mindfulness where you just sit, but you’re doing something when you’re cycling. I find the movement really good for quietening my brain.’
She liked seeing the scenery change at a different pace to hillwalking:
‘It’s a different way of experiencing a place. I think when we went to Arran, being able to see the landscape change and compare the different bits of it. You go round a corner and it would go from shore to these massive cliffs, the scenery was amazingly different every time you turned a corner. Whereas if you go up a hill, you see one hill and the view from the top.’
She also enjoyed sharing the experience with a group:
‘I quite enjoyed the excitement on the ferry there. We had a bit of time to sit and chat and go: “We’re going to do it, we’re doing it today!” I was really glad we got the heavy bit done on the first day, and then the next day we could hold up in the coffee shop and go, “we’ve done it” and feel the achievement together.’
Even getting soaked was funny in a group:
‘It was absolutely pouring with rain but there was something quite funny about it. We knew that we were going to be on the boat soon and warm and it would all be grand. Then all hanging up our waterproofs and going “are you soaked, I’m soaked.” It was kind of funny.’
It was also a learning experience:
‘So actually it was quite good to know that I need completely dry clothes, you can’t dry things out, so it was a good experience. In terms of learning, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.’
She found cycling home from the course quite mindful. Since finishing the course she’s been cycling more for leisure and to wind down after work:
‘I had the additional cycle in and out, so I just covered more distance, and I think that’s really when I noticed that mindfulness aspect a little bit more, oh that’s a part of my week, I really like that, so I’ve tried to keep that going. So I am cycling more, rather than heading out to the gym, I’ll go out for a couple of hours on the bike instead.’
The course has given her the confidence to plan her own trips using multimodal transport:
‘That was the joy of it, like I said it was confidence building. It was silly things like getting on the train with a bike, I hadn’t really done that before, so now I’m able to go and do that. It’s not even that I didn’t think I could do it. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to find out what was involved, to work out whether it was possible or not. Whereas now I know it’s totally possible, so I’m going to go and do more of that.’
She’s gone from commuting along the canal to taking herself on a solo cycle around Bute:
‘Since the trip I’ve actually taken myself off to Bute. I went on a train, on the ferry with my bike, cycled round the Island, had a pint, came back. It was great, it was really, really good. It was an amazing day. I felt really really proud afterwards.’
Next month she plans to cycle to Paisley and then around Cumbrae.
‘I want to head out towards Paisley and South, if I can get past that bit there’ll be another route I can unlock that way, so that’s the plan for next month. Before the end of the year I’d like to head out to Largs and go across to Cumbrae and do the circuit round the Island.’
Next summer she plans to visit family on North Uist while cycling the Hebredian Way:
‘My family is from the Hebrides so next summer my plan is to do the Hebredian Way. My wife and I talked about doing that walking at some point because walking is the thing that we do together but I think it takes about 12 days to walk it, it would be a big investment in time, and also training up to that would be more complicated. Whereas I think you could do it in about 6 days comfortably on the bike, so that would be much more achievable. I think it will just be a really nice week. I used to go to Uist and the Islands every year when I was a kid. My family is from North Uist, I’ve now got family up in Stornoway, but I’ve just investigated that bit that we went to, so I’m really excited about seeing all the rest of it and seeing the Islands change as you go between them. So being able to go and explore at my own speed, by myself, that’s really cool.’
The course has motivated Kathleen to join other cycling and physical activity groups:
‘So I’ve found Glasgow Gals, Women on Wheels do led rides, Sunny Cycles who do a morning one, which would fit my schedule really well.’
She also plans to do some bike maintenance classes before next summer:
‘I’ve already looked at the Women on Wheels bike maintenance classes. I think before next summer I’ll definitely need to be a bit more confident with the chain and puncture fix. My plan is Easter time, in the prep for the Hebredian trip, to do a set of bike maintenance classes.’
Kathleen now uses her bike as her main mode of transport:
‘My default mode of transport now is my bike. If I search how to get somewhere on googlemaps now, the biking instructions come up first which is quite nice.’
She feels a sense of achievement by getting about under her own steam, enjoying being in a flow state and ultimately having fun:
‘I really like that you do it under your own steam, so wherever you go, you’ve powered yourself to be there. There’s a really nice sense of achievement, as well as that flow state.’
‘I think the older I get, the more I just want to be a toddler again, just being out on my bike is really really fun! I really enjoy the experience of it. It’s that moment when I’m peddling and it doesn’t feel like exercise. It is flow, getting into that space of it. It’s calming but it’s also quite exciting and fun at the same time. It’s a strange mix of the two. Yeah, I think that’s where the joy comes from.’
