Founder, MD and Head of Product
After a lifetime of riding bikes, and a couple of decades working through product management, marketing, testing, journalism, design and writing within the bike industry, I have found myself at the helm of a bike brand that sprung from nowhere but my imagination and experience.
From BMX racing in my youth, through my teen and twenties mountain biking in the UK and beyond, to road racing and adventures after moving south. My aim is for Bowman Cycles to encapsulate every moment I have ever spent on two wheels. To capture the smile and sense of fun that every good ride gives you.
Marketing and Story Telling
I fell in love with cycling in the last few years but it’s fair to say it’s now a deeply rooted obsession. Previously a runner, after borrowing a road bike to take part in a women’s only event, I started racing late 2014 , and can now normally be found training at Herne Hill Velodrome or climbing hills in the Surrey and Kent lanes.
Racing began with the odd crit and an occasional hill climb, and as the love and understanding became embedded, my aim now is to focus on track and road racing.
My background is in science but I more recently changed direction towards work that allows me to marry my passion with a salary. I’ve been working with customers in sports events for the past year or so but, here at Bowman, I’m looking forward to being able to help tell our story.
Non-Exec Director, Co. Alignment
I’ve always loved cycling and tinkering around with bikes, a background in engineering probably explains the latter.
I’ve done most forms of cycling with limited success but always with great enjoyment; I’ve cycled from Sydney to Darwin, taken part in the bike messenger world championships, raced around London for the past few years and mountain biked in the rockies, alps and all of the 7 stanes.
My career is in building businesses, from tech companies to a charity. Like a Rubiks cube, I love the complexity and focus required when growing a business and even more so when mixing this with my lifelong love of bikes at Bowman. It’s also given me the chance to help develop our 60cm frame. It’s now in the Palace range so keep an eye on the rest all you taller people!
I’m probably much like you, my thoughts are almost continually filled with thoughts of bikes, bike rides, cycling equipment and cycling kit. My social media feeds flow with news from the peloton, press releases from manufacturers and pretty pictures of bikes and kit.
I ride my bikes a lot and cover almost every discipline. In the winter I race CX in the local league, it’s good, hard and fair racing but really I do it for the craic. Throughout the rest of the year I ride on the road with a local club, do a bit of racing and try and do as many long distance adventures as possible. I love the freedom cycling offers and bike packing seems to epitomise that.
Favourite cycling discipline? Wow, straight in with the tough ones, it’s like trying to pick your favourite bike! I’m not fussy and regularly ride CX, road and MTB.
Where is your favourite place to ride? Northumberland is pretty hard to beat - empty countryside, rolling hills and most importantly some great cyclist cafes.
How long have you been riding? I’ve been riding for about 10 years.
Best ever day on the bike? I did the Liege-Bastogne-Liege sportive a couple of years ago and it was perfect. The sun shone all day, my legs didn’t seem to tire and the route was in the main very beautiful.
Day job? I’m an acoustic consultant which means I design the acoustic response of buildings like schools, theatres and hospitals.
What do you do when you’re not on your bike? I probably do too much thinking and talking about bikes when I’m not actually riding them but I can (just about) multi-task so I can combine that with walking my dog.
I started riding a bike for the purposes of cross training as a runner in 2012, got bitten by the racing bug in 2014 and have never looked back. I’m now just starting my second full racing season and first year on a supported team - Team 22 WRT.
Last year I finished studying my A Levels and am taking a break from education to relax a bit and enjoy riding and racing my bike. You’ll generally find me riding my road bike up in the Peak District or on the Cheshire plains or on my track bike at Manchester velodrome.
Favourite cycling discipline? Road
Where is your favourite place to ride? The Peak District
How long have you been riding? 4 years
Best ever day on the bike? A 6 hour day I did with some lovely guys I met en route while training out near Valencia, Spain earlier this year, including the Vall d’Ebo climb
Day job? I work at the Rapha Cycle Club in Manchester
What do you do when you’re not on your bike? I’m always trying to learn new things, and I really love languages; my latest project is learning to speak Dutch
I’m a slight cycling obsessive. I’m not a gearhead, I won’t bore you with my Strava results, I don’t really watch cycling on TV, I don’t care about your groupset… I do love seeing what route you did, which seaside town you rode to, how painful that hill was or discussing how much fun you had on a bike. I’m really interested in the experiences and escapism I, and others, find through cycling. I’m new to road cycling and still completely enthralled by all the experiences that are possible with it.
Favourite cycling discipline? I love all forms of cycling so quite hard to say. I came from many years of mountain biking but have got really into road cycling in the last few years. This opened up a whole new world for me and being able to have so much fun directly from the front door has been eye opening. Audax and long distance rides have been a particular favourite although cyclocross and longer adventures on a do-it-all type of bike are my latest interest. That said, you can’t beat flying down a twisty bit of singletrack on a mountain bike
Where is your favourite place to ride? The picturesque meandering lanes of Kent. The route to Whitstable along the Pilgrims Way is a personal favourite on a sunny day, especially with a tailwind - unfortunately the two are rarely combined
How long have you been riding? Since 1992. Road cycling for 3 years
Best ever day on the bike? Whilst not a ‘classic’ event or alpine climb, the Dunwich Dynamo in 2014 is still the highlight for me. Riding almost 200km with friends was great and a huge personal achievement at the time. Seeing flashes of lightning as dawn rose over the horizon as we approached the Suffolk coast also added to the incredible atmosphere of it all. There were so many people on all sorts of bikes, riding for the sheer joy of it and it was so good to be part of that
Day job? I’m an architect in a practice in central London and also spend time working as an architectural photographer outside of that. I like to keep busy
What do you do when you’re not on your bike? Think about cycling and my next adventure
We describe our customer base as a family for good reason; we feel there’s a connection we share based on what cycling contributes to our lives. So we’re ready to explain how our products differ according to specification and intended use. Listening is important; we know every customer is different and deserves real advice to work out which Bowman product fits their needs. Our 4 point customer charter
Every one of our initial bicycle frame concepts, and all of the refined details therein, were conceived astride the saddle of a bicycle. Every time we designed a new frame, the initial concept matured to a finished product we are very proud of. Our basic test is this: If you are smiling when you come out of the corner, the bike has hit the mark. From the smallest seed of a single person’s idea, we are as proud as any gardener would be; a flourishing range of bicycle frames designed to provide the ride and performance characteristics that a committed cyclist demands. Racers and discerning riders alike have one thing in common: the need for great handling. Get this right and the pleasure of the ride is guaranteed. We at Bowman love bike racing too. We experience the same visceral thrill pinning a race number onto our own jersey as we do when we witness a professional peloton pass by at full tilt. We’ve taken part in enough bike races of all types to know exactly what the serious racing cyclist requires from their bicycle. We’re of the opinion that if you haven’t served your time – practiced your holeshot, battled for your rightful position in an aggressive bunch, forced the pace to forge a winning move – you won’t be able to gain a true understanding of the perfect balance of requirements.
