Mount Eliza competitive cyclist, Bizzy Butterworth is at one with the world when she’s on two wheels. “I’m a very visual person. When I’m riding I love to see the changing light, the hues of green in the leaves. I love the smells. I love to breathe it all in”.
“The lovely thing about the bike is I feel the environment. The landscape talks to me. The descents out of the mountains are so exhilarating! Being that present makes me feel alive. I can be on a road I’ve ridden a million times, but some particular sight pops up and it’s like a reset for my brain,” she says.
There is an unspoken fearlessness in Bizzy which, from the very first time she rode a bike, was clear. At four, she followed her older brother down a steep hill without knowing how to brake. Though it resulted in a crash, it didn’t deter Bizzy.
Bizzy isn’t from a cycling family, but she fondly remembers summer holidays at Port Fairy when the whole family would ride their bikes around. Bizzy remained on a bicycle until she bought her first car at 23; she didn’t return to a bike for more than 20 years. She picked up cycling as a sport in her late 40s.
Her competitive spirit first kicked in with open-water swimming, not cycling. She joined the Peninsula Pirates, a group of competitive open water swimmers. She was hooked from the very first race. She spent the next 15 years competing (and was considered unbeatable by many).
Bizzy had also been in a running group. Most of her friends in the group were triathletes. She gave that a try for a couple of years, but running injuries held her back. It was suggested that she get a bicycle for rehab, so she did. Coincidentally, her son was doing the Great Victorian Bike Ride. That inspired Bizzy to give distance riding a go and she’s never looked back.
After this, she started going on social rides with a new group of peninsula road-cycling friends. “I was terrified at the beginning, wondering if I could get my feet in the clips, not fall over and stay in riding group formation, but it all worked out,” she says.
Bizzy has been riding competitively since 2018 on the Pana Organic/Pedla Team. She rides in the ‘gravel’ class. It’s similar to road riding, but on gravel roads. “Gravel riding is a bit more dangerous because you can slide out. You really have to concentrate on the descents. The conditions matter a lot. Dust can really impair vision,” she says.
You have to enjoy your own company because you’re out there on your own a lot,
Aside from an insane level of fitness, many factors create success in competitive riding as Bizzy sees it. “The right mindset is important. You have to enjoy your own company because you’re out there on your own a lot,” she says.
Fueling is critical. Bizzy spent a lot of time working out how to get enough food while on the bike. For adequate energy, 80 grams of carbohydrates an hour are needed (equivalent to three bananas per hour). To get around that, Bizzy puts a carbohydrate mix in her water bottle.
She trains about twelve hours a week to maintain fitness using a combination of stretching, mobility exercises, Pilates and strength training. “As I’ve become older, I’ve had to slow down a bit and listen to my body. I work on functional strength. I want to maintain muscle mass that can be lost with aging,” she says.
More than the technical aspects, for Bizzy the most important thing is the ability to be present while riding. “Loving it while I’m doing it is essential – being in the moment. I love coming around a turn and discovering a whole new landscape. Especially with gravel riding, I can go anywhere and see everything,” she says.
Some of her most memorable rides have taken place in the French Alps and the Italian Dolomites where every bend brings that breathtaking new perspective. Riding through the stunning scenery of Romania, Switzerland and Spain are also highlights of her cycling life.
“I think my most memorable ride was a recent trip in Vietnam. We rode 800 km in six days from Hanoi to Sapa, taking in the beautiful Ma Pi Leng Pass. We rode into a gorge and it was just breathtaking. It was getting dark so it was a bit scary, but at the same time, magical,” she says.
There are so many more places Bizzy would like to ride – across South America, down the Pacific Coast of North America or through Italy, France and Switzerland – but next up is the Gravel World Championships in Western Australia in October. Meanwhile, she’s enjoying some well-earned down time with family and friends.
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