Ellie Cycles
I first heard about VeloSkin back in July of 2019. I had my first season of cyclocross races under my belt and was busy preparing for my second season.
I’m a relatively new cyclist, getting on my dad’s "hand-me-down" S-Works in April 2018, but I wanted to be as prepared as I could be for the upcoming ‘cross season.
From the first few rides I knew I wasn’t comfortable on the saddle, but I didn’t understand why.
I come from a cycling mad family; my dad and brother have been racing for over 15 years but I was never really interested in cycling when I was younger, other things occupied my attention, predominantly creating makeup tutorials on YouTube.
When I moved back home from living abroad and joined my brother’s company in 2017; a creative content agency, it became apparent I needed to understand bikes and cycling if I was going to talk to clients about their bike brands!
So, after spending a few months roaming the lanes of Derbyshire on this bike I’d been given, I realised this lack of comfort on the saddle wasn’t getting any better. Bruce (my brother) had bought me a pot of Assos ladies chamois cream, which I’d been using on every ride but it wasn’t making much difference.
Fast forward a couple of months to my first cyclocross race in September 2018 at my local league; Notts and Derby. This was the day I was officially bitten by the racing bug. I don’t think anyone who knew me expected it (as I’ve been reminded several times). I was 7th senior female in this race, at the time I thought this meant I was 7th overall in the Women’s, only to later realise what it actually meant... Still, I was proud of finishing!
After the season finished, with a whole host of race’s completed I knew I wanted to come back stronger next season. So I started ‘training’ earlier in the year to prepare. Throughout this time I was testing various different saddles to see if it would make a difference to my comfort, and guess what? No difference.
When I finished the pot of Assos chamois cream I went looking for other types, hoping there was something that could perform better. I realised there aren’t that many on the market and then I saw VeloSkin and that they have a chamois cream in their range, and they're also fully British with their supply chain. I didn’t know anything about it but thought I’d give it a go.
The first thing I noticed was how nice it smells, you wouldn’t think it’s important but I think it’s a nice added touch, and it matches their branding too! On the first ride I noticed how instantly I didn’t have any friction and from then on I’ve used it every single time I’ve been on the bike. I absolutely love the chamois cream and won't ride without it now, but I've also just got the Soothing Gel, which I'm really looking forward to using too!
A year on from that, my second cyclocross season was complete. I documented each race on my YouTube channel and I’m now preparing for my third ‘cross season. I’m more excited than ever to get back on the start line and VeloSkin will be in my KitBrix ready for the first race of the season.
To get 10% off your next VeloSkin order, use the code ELLIECYCLES10 which the team have very kindly created! See you on the vlog!
Ellie's latest vlog can be found here!
You can follow Ellie's training and cycling story as well as her preparations for the (hopefully) 2020 Cross season and see how she gets on with our Soothing Gel on her YouTube channel!
