Dr. Carla Benton - Clinical Psychologist, queer vegan and a lover of all things outdoors. Awarded the Ultra Distance Scholarship in 2021 which is aimed at increasing representation of BAME cyclists in ultra distance cycling.
11/22/22 • 60 min
1 Listener
Carla is a Clinical Psychologist, queer vegan and a lover of all things outdoors; adventurer, runner, endurance cyclist and lapsed climber based near the Peak District in the UK. She is an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities taking up space in the outdoors and is a committee member with the awesome Peak Queer Adventures (PQA) based in Sheffield and member of the Women of Colour Cycling Collective (WCCC). Carla’s love of the outdoors started from an early age, however gender roles and expectations sadly stopped her from fully embracing that love as a teenager. She reconnected with the outdoors and solo adventures after moving to North Wales to undertake her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in her mid-twenties, and hasn’t looked back. She was awarded the Ultra Distance Scholarship in 2021, which is aimed at increasing representation of BAME cyclists in ultra distance cycling and getting them to the start line of an ultra distance race, a typically overwhelmingly white and male niche of cycling. This amazing opportunity has been life-changing and she’s gone from not being confident at all in her cycling abilities, to cycling 500km off road from Edinburgh to Manchester, her longest, hardest ride to date. She’s met the most amazing people, grown in confidence and felt like she’s found her people. She started an Instagram account after winning the Scholarship, to document her journey from (almost couch) to 2000km with the hope of inspiring queer people and people of colour, particularly black womxn, to get on their bikes and enjoy nature. You can find her at @acurlyoutdoors; check out Peak Queer Adventures at @peakqueeradventures and the Women of Colour Cycling Collective at @wccc_uk. New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media especially in relation to adventure and physical challenges. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and support. Thank you. Show notes
- Who is Carla
- What she loves
- Being based in the Peak District, UK
- Wanting to encourage others to take up space in the outdoors
- Her early years and growing up with a passion for the outdoors
- Getting to explore in the woods
- Her love of nature and wanting to protect the environment
- Not feeling comfortable in secondary school with her body and spending time in the outdoors
- Training to be a Clinical Psychologist in North Wales
- Going out early in the morning to avoid people
- Spending time in the mountains
- Feeling the fear and doing it anyway
- The Devils Kitchen - located behind Llyn Idwal nestled within Cwm Idwal in the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia National Park.
- Gaining new skills and knowledge
- Feeling brave
- Thinking about becoming a Mountain Leader (ML) but not seeing herself represented and not feeling comfortable
- Recording good quality mountain days and keeping a track of what she was doing
- Getting new gear
- Looking for opportunities in the mountains
- Getting into wild camping, trail running and climbing
- Finding community and connecting with other people who are interested in the outdoors
- Enjoying spending time on her own
- Meditation through movement
- Getting into cycling and connecting with the cycling community
- The Ultra Distance Scholarship An initiative increasing diversity and representation within ultra distance cycling and racing
- Being inspired by Vera Ngosi-Sambrook
- The power of taking action
- The reality of taking on an ultra cycling challenge
- Focused training from November 2021 - August 2022
- Dealing with injuries and saddle sores
- Wanting to do long rides with other people
- Using instagram to reach out and connect with people
- Learning how to cycle off road
- The Pennine Rally - 100 riders, 500 kilometres and five days of testing off-road riding from Edinburgh to Manchester down Britain’s backbone.
- Fuelling as a vegan
- Outdoor Provisions make Natural Energy Bars & Nut Butters - Use code TRYOP for 25% off Starter Packs
- Accidental vegan food
- Being on the start line and what the rally was like
- Cycling approx 100k per day
- The impact on her confidence after completing the rally ...
Carla is a Clinical Psychologist, queer vegan and a lover of all things outdoors; adventurer, runner, endurance cyclist and lapsed climber based near the Peak District in the UK. She is an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities taking up space in the outdoors and is a committee member with the awesome Peak Queer Adventures (PQA) based in Sheffield and member of the Women of Colour Cycling Collective (WCCC). Carla’s love of the outdoors started from an early age, however gender roles and expectations sadly stopped her from fully embracing that love as a teenager. She reconnected with the outdoors and solo adventures after moving to North Wales to undertake her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in her mid-twenties, and hasn’t looked back. She was awarded the Ultra Distance Scholarship in 2021, which is aimed at increasing representation of BAME cyclists in ultra distance cycling and getting them to the start line of an ultra distance race, a typically overwhelmingly white and male niche of cycling. This amazing opportunity has been life-changing and she’s gone from not being confident at all in her cycling abilities, to cycling 500km off road from Edinburgh to Manchester, her longest, hardest ride to date. She’s met the most amazing people, grown in confidence and felt like she’s found her people. She started an Instagram account after winning the Scholarship, to document her journey from (almost couch) to 2000km with the hope of inspiring queer people and people of colour, particularly black womxn, to get on their bikes and enjoy nature. You can find her at @acurlyoutdoors; check out Peak Queer Adventures at @peakqueeradventures and the Women of Colour Cycling Collective at @wccc_uk. New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media especially in relation to adventure and physical challenges. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and support. Thank you. Show notes
- Who is Carla
- What she loves
- Being based in the Peak District, UK
- Wanting to encourage others to take up space in the outdoors
- Her early years and growing up with a passion for the outdoors
- Getting to explore in the woods
- Her love of nature and wanting to protect the environment
- Not feeling comfortable in secondary school with her body and spending time in the outdoors
- Training to be a Clinical Psychologist in North Wales
- Going out early in the morning to avoid people
- Spending time in the mountains
- Feeling the fear and doing it anyway
- The Devils Kitchen - located behind Llyn Idwal nestled within Cwm Idwal in the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia National Park.
- Gaining new skills and knowledge
- Feeling brave
- Thinking about becoming a Mountain Leader (ML) but not seeing herself represented and not feeling comfortable
- Recording good quality mountain days and keeping a track of what she was doing
- Getting new gear
- Looking for opportunities in the mountains
- Getting into wild camping, trail running and climbing
- Finding community and connecting with other people who are interested in the outdoors
- Enjoying spending time on her own
- Meditation through movement
- Getting into cycling and connecting with the cycling community
- The Ultra Distance Scholarship An initiative increasing diversity and representation within ultra distance cycling and racing
- Being inspired by Vera Ngosi-Sambrook
- The power of taking action
- The reality of taking on an ultra cycling challenge
- Focused training from November 2021 - August 2022
- Dealing with injuries and saddle sores
- Wanting to do long rides with other people
- Using instagram to reach out and connect with people
- Learning how to cycle off road
- The Pennine Rally - 100 riders, 500 kilometres and five days of testing off-road riding from Edinburgh to Manchester down Britain’s backbone.
- Fuelling as a vegan
- Outdoor Provisions make Natural Energy Bars & Nut Butters - Use code TRYOP for 25% off Starter Packs
- Accidental vegan food
- Being on the start line and what the rally was like
- Cycling approx 100k per day
- The impact on her confidence after completing the rally ...
Previous Episode
Shona Macpherson - Counsellor and Life Coach - climbing all 282 Munros in Scotland and taking on her next adventure - the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand.
Shona's most herself when she's moving outdoors - paying attention to and connecting with beauty. She works as a counsellor and a life coach. She lives a simple and contented life in the highlands of Scotland, sprinkled with adventures. Shona has shared her passion for the outdoors on previous episodes of the tough girl podcast. You can listen to those episodes here. Jul 9, 2019 - Taking on new challenges at 40 & her preparation for thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail Dec 26, 2019 - Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - 2,650 miles SOBO from Canada to Mexico! New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out. To support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Sign up as a Patron - www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you. Show Notes
- Who is Shona
- Living in Inverness
- Woking as a counsellor and a life coach
- Her passion for connecting with other people and the natural world
- First speaking with Shona on Jul 9, 2019 - Taking on new challenges at 40 & her preparation for thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
- Catching up with Shona after completing the PCT - Dec 26, 2019 - Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - 2,650 miles SOBO from Canada to Mexico!
- Catch up - what’s been going on
- Reflecting back on 2020
- Making a commitment to herself to work as a counsellor again
- Getting out of her own way
- 2020/2021 - deciding to take on a new challenge
- Deciding to climb all 282 munros across Scotland in 282 days
- Climbing Suilven with Shona - watch the vlog
- The challenges of mountaineering in the winter
- Not knowing if she could do it
- Starting to think what’s possible
- When things don’t work out how you planned
- Dealing with the difficult days
- Why it’s about the journey
- Planning the adventure
- Embracing flexibility
- Doing the Highland Wilderness Journeys - with Anna Danby
- Anna Danby Wild Roots Highland Guiding
- Walking the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand
- Winding down life in Scotland
- Renting out her house while she’s away
- Getting the right gear - new rucksack and sleeping bag
- RAB Mythic 400
- Road walking and hitchhiking
- Wanting to enjoy photography and wiring while in nature
- Giving herself permission
- Living a life of adventure and living a life of freedom
- Connecting to people through her work
- Saying no to things
- Documenting the journey while on the TA
- How to connect with Shona
- Inviting people to get curious - what do they want? How do they want to live?
- Being inspired by Mary Oliver - “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Next Episode
Adriana Brownlee - On a mission to summit all 14, 8000m peaks and become the youngest woman ever to do so.
Adriana in her own words: “My aim is to become the youngest person to complete all 14 8000m peaks. The current record is 30 years 166 days, held by Mingma "David" Gyabu Sherpa, an absolute legend with whom I got to climb on both K2 and Everest. My plan would be to summit all 14 in 3-4 years meaning I would be 23 years old when I complete my mission. In 2021 I summited three of them, Mt. Everest, Mt. Dhaulagiri and Mt. Manaslu all within 6 months. This is a challenge of both mental and physical resilience, power and grit. High altitude mountaineering is one of the deadliest sports in the world, this doesn't scare me. It ignites a fire of passion inside me.” “Be the trailblazer of your own life” New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out. Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media especially in relation to adventure and physical challenges. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Thank you. Show notes
- Who is Adrianna
- Being a full time mountaineer
- Living between London and Nepal
- Starting to climb at 9 years old
- Doing the 3 peaks challenge in 24hrs and becoming the youngest person to complete the challenge (this record has since been broken)
- Getting into endurance events with her dad
- Role models in the adventure/mountaineering world
- The why behind climbing Everest
- Wanting to be unique and different
- Feeling under pressure to go to University
- Why university wasn’t for her and quitting after 3 months
- Trying to make a living from mountaineering
- Having Nimsdai Purja as her guide
- Paying for expeditions
- Being supported by her parents
- Reaching out for sponsorship
- The work that goes on behind the scenes
- Connecting with the North Face
- Taking on the Welsh 3000ers in 24hrs at 16 years old
- Starting at 3am on Crib Goch a grade 1 scramble
- Climbing Aconcagua - her first taste of altitude and why it was a boring climb
- The hardest part of the climb
- Coping with the down time, dull days
- The mental side of mountaineering
- Learning the art of patience
- Facing and dealing with fear in the mountains
- Letting the negative thoughts in and not being able to think straight
- How things can change in minutes
- Trying to stay calm
- Magical moments in the the mountains
- Being inspired to take on the 14,000 project
- Training and fitness to take on the 8,000m peaks
- Plans for 2022 and the next few years
- March - May 2022 - Kangchenjunga (Summited May 17th 2022), Lhotse (Summited May 22nd 2022), Makalu, (Summited May 28th 2022)
- Flying to Pakistan for K2 and BroadPeak (Both Submitted July 2022)
- How climbing with her guide works - Gelje Sherpa IG @gelje_sherpa_
- The current record for climbing the 14, 8K peaks is 36 for a woman - Adrianna would be 23 (she has 4 more mountains to climb)
- Connect with Adrianna (see below)
- Final words of advice
If you like this episode you’ll love
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