ANEELA MCKENNA

We hit the trails with one of mountain biking’s most tireless campaigners for diversity and inclusion

- Julia Hobson

A Trailblazer is a pioneer, someone willing to take risks and be the first to go down a path that isn’t already there, forging a trail for others to follow and in doing so building a better world for all.

The Black Lives Matter demonstrations of the last year seem to have been a catalyst for a change in the way society, and sports, regard the importance of diversity and inclusion, and it’s on this subject that Aneela McKenna is trailblazing the world of mountain biking.

Aneela is a Scottish Asian rider with Pakistani heritage, based in the Scottish Borders, who for more than 20 years has worked in the Scottish Parliament as a Diversity, Wellbeing and Inclusion manager. She’s also a co-partner in cycle tour company Go-Where Scotland with her husband Andy, a coach, guide, mentor, advocate and cycling entrepreneur who has immersed herself in a long list of community projects aimed at increasing participation for the last decade. All in all, Aneela is an extraordinary woman on a mission to change things for the better and open up our sport so that people from every walk of life feel they are welcome.

ANEELA’S ON A A MISSION TO OPEN UP OUR SPORT SO ALL RIDERS FEEL THEY ARE WELCOME

TALK AIN’T ALWAYS EASY

We’re in the Tweed Valley, where a short ride from Aneela’s house takes us towards the Southern Upland Way. We leave quiet lanes to head up through the forest on a wide track, enjoying the spring sunlight on our faces filtering through the trees as we climb.