Lora Fachie

Started: She took up cycling in 2009. (birmingham.ac.uk, 25 May 2012) Reason: "I'm from a sporty family and first entered sport when I was around eight or nine and found my mum's running spikes in her wardrobe. I competed in athletics through my teenage years and it took until [age] 21 before I really found cycling, when someone suggested I get on the back of a tandem." (cyclist.co.uk, 24 Aug 2023) Awards: She was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2017 New Year Honours list for services to cycling. (bbc.com, 31 Dec 2016) Additional Info: COOKING She has written a food blog called Blindingly Good Food. "Three years ago [speaking in 2021] I was going through a bit of a bad patch in cycling and was very seriously considering retiring. I was getting very little enjoyment from it and as a result, my mood was very low. I went to speak to our performance lifestyle advisor, Ben, to explore my options. Ben sat me down and got me to think about what it was that did make me happy. The two things I came up with were my dogs and food. One chat led to another and we decided to explore starting up a food blog. I never considered writing before. I mean, I hate writing, however when it involves food it just seems so much easier. Suddenly I had a purpose again, I had something to think about that wasn't cycling related, and something that made me smile. My aim is to showcase my love for food, what I eat as an elite athlete and how I adapt recipes and cooking techniques in order for me to be able to do them safely. Too many people with disabilities these days lack confidence in the kitchen, but I hope to demonstrate that it is not difficult to navigate yourself around a kitchen to prepare quick and simple, nutritious meals with very little skill involved." (britishathletes.org, 07 Apr 2021; fightforsight.org.uk, 16 Jul 2020)

Sporting Relatives: Her husband Neil Fachie won four Paralympic medals [two gold, two silver] in cycling from three appearances at the Games between 2012 and 2021. He also competed in athletics [T13 100m and T13 200m] at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Her older brother Roy played Para football 5-a-side for Great Britain at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, and Roy and another brother Mark have represented England in visually impaired cricket. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Feb 2024; uci.org, 11 Jun 2021; Twitter profile, 13 May 2020; so-altrincham.com, 12 Jan 2017)