Ali Jones
Around three years ago I ventured into the unknown and took on Tasmania solo with panniers full of borrowed gear and Curve's original Grovel V1. I'd been a bike commuter for years, and loved solo backpacking - it was both slightly terrifying and totally natural to marry the two.
Since then, I've fallen in love with adventures by bike, and progressively upped my enjoyment of steeper, rockier trails and remote places. I've also accumulated some lighter gear and knobblier tyres along the way.
My bike ninja skills include using Sydney's ferry and train network to engineer enjoyable weekend bikepacking trips at short notice. I've also managed to incorporate solo adventures into several work trips - including the lakes of northern Patagonia, a few nights in a very cold, spiky desert in Arizona, and a trip into Norwegian wilderness on a Brompton just for kicks.
I am currently using cycling as the ultimate form of procrastination from a PhD in food policy. Beyond being a proud (and resilient) Sydney commuter and cycling advocate, I'm passionate about getting more women on bikes in nature.
- Hometown
- Sydney, Australia
- Nickname
- Ali
- @alikjones
- Favourite Ride
-
The Newcastle Overnight - a semi-organised 180km ride through the night from Sydney to Newcastle, complete with 4am bacon and egg roll station. I've done it three times, recruiting a new friend or family member to our peloton each time
- Sponsors
- Nobody pays me for this! But I'd like to give a shout out to Omafiets bike shop, who let me lead women and gender variant rides from their awesome base in Sydney.
- Achievements
- 1995 - Under 13, Surrey Javelin Championship Finalist.
- Together with others at Omafiets I reckon we've led more than fifty women and gender variant folk on off-road adventures with camping gear for the first time in their lives in the past two years. The smiles (and muddy bruises) at the end of these rides are the best!
- Camaraderie Award, Newcastle Overnight (with my lady gang of Jacqui Fetchet and Rachel Hayden)
- Incorporating bikepacking into every work trip since 2016
- Learning to love camping solo in wild places - even sleeping all the way through the night (occasionally!)
