Now a professional mountain bike guide, coach, and tutor at Comrie Croft, she’s also at the forefront of Trail Therapy, using bikes to support mental well-being. In this BlogHer article, Emily shares her inspiring story—how she fell in love with mountain biking, built a community around cycling, and found her true calling in helping others experience the joy and freedom of life on a bike. Read on to discover her journey!
Hi, I’m Emily, and I work at Comrie Croft as a mountain bike guide, coach, and tutor – amongst other things.
I must have been about eight when I first learned to ride a bike. One Christmas, my sister and I were given bikes, and according to my mum, I spent the entire day riding up and down the road until I’d mastered it. Since then, I’ve always had a bike.
At college, I had a red Giant that followed me to university. That bike took me everywhere, and although I can’t actually remember where it ended up, it served me well. But it wasn’t until I met Andy (my husband) in 2002 that I discovered mountain biking. We met in Northern Ireland and would head to the Mourne Mountains to ride. Soon after, I bought my first proper mountain bike from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op. It was the first bike I’d ever bought for myself, and, looking back, it was probably the true start of my love affair with mountain biking. I spent most weekends riding at Glentress when The Hub was still there. I was hooked. I loved the effort of riding to the top of a hill, knowing the exhilaration of the descent was my reward.
In 2007, I lived and worked in Nepal for a year. Every morning before work, I would ride out towards the Kathmandu Valley rim and back, and on weekends, I explored even further. There’s something special about experiencing a place by bike, moving through landscapes at just the right pace, seeing things you’d miss in a car, feeling connected to the world around you. Nepal only deepened my love for cycling.
Since moving to Comrie in 2004, my passion for bikes has only grown. Our local area is incredible for cycling of any kind, whether it’s road, gravel, or mountain biking. When I had kids, I kept riding. I cycled through both pregnancies, and once my children were born, they were on bikes before they could even sit up properly. First in bike seats, then a double trailer, then towing balance bikes with bungees – no such thing as tow ropes back then!
Bikes became a central part of our family life and holidays. Some of our best adventures have been by bike, and I love that my children are growing up with that same love for riding.
When my kids were at primary school, I started an after-school bike club with four friends. We rode year-round, in all weather, and at its peak, we had 10 adult volunteers and 30 kids. It was the highlight of everyone’s week, kids and adults alike, just riding for the sheer joy of it.
I thrive on sharing my love of cycling, especially teaching people how to mountain bike. There’s nothing better than watching someone tackle a tricky obstacle for the first time or hearing that whoop of excitement on a descent. Their joy is my joy. Someone once told me that my superpower is getting people on bikes – maybe that’s true. In 2023, I qualified as an MTB Trail Therapy Practitioner, and since then, I’ve been delivering the Trail Therapy programme at Comrie Croft. Without a doubt, it’s the most rewarding and important work I do.
Trail Therapy helps people use a bike as a tool to support their mental health. Time and again, I’ve seen how this simple machine can transform lives. Every course blows me away, the impact it has on people is incredible. I truly believe that modern life isn’t built for good mental health. We spend too much time indoors, rushing from one thing to the next, always connected, always busy. But we are designed to move, to be in nature, to slow down.
Trail Therapy works for so many reasons, but at its core, it gives people four simple things:
● The ability to be in the moment
● Movement
● Time outside, surrounded by nature
● And, arguably most important of all—fun
And fun is something we all need more of. After gaining my Level 3 Mountain Bike Leader award, I started working towards becoming a British Cycling MTB Leadership Tutor. I’ve been lucky to be mentored through this process by the brilliant team at Cycle Wild Scotland, along with many other excellent tutors.
Last month, I achieved my Level 2 Tutor status, something I’m incredibly proud of. Now, I get to be part of someone else’s journey to becoming a mountain bike leader, helping them develop the skills and confidence to guide others. It feels like things have come full circle.
When I was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 2000 at age 23, I never imagined that 25 years later, I’d be a professional mountain bike guide, coach, and tutor. But here I am, living in one of the most beautiful parts of rural Scotland, doing what I love every single day.
I take none of it for granted.
Bikes are my life. And I wouldn’t have it any other way
Thank you, Emily, for sharing your experiences in cycling with us. If you would like to tell your cycling story for our monthly Scottish Cycling BlogHer article, please email Melanie, our Women and Girls Development Manager, on: [email protected]