For Honor Elliott, riding and racing bikes have had manifold importance over the years. To begin with, cycling was a means of transit and freedom, which then morphed into a competitive pastime, then career and lifestyle. Its value became greater still after Honor was diagnosed with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome) and she wondered whether she’d ever ride in the same way again; it became a lifeline.
It’s also a lifestyle she shares with her partner Theo Clarke, the Herne Hill community, and online – and with her dogs.
British readers may well have come across Honor before. A photographer and videographer, prolific amateur cyclist, former Deliveroo rider, dog owner, houseboat dweller … She’s not a stranger to the Escape Collective community either having been featured last autumn in Jonny Long’s Spin Cycle, posted a few days after the Rapha Muddy Hell cyclocross event at which Honor raced in a comically over-sized, not-very-aero-actually, homemade Giro TT helmet.
Her cycling-centric photos and videos have appealed to thousands of followers, brands and events, but a decent portion of Honor’s social media is devoted to tales of life with four-legged-friends Picasso and Kahlo, which often include two wheels anyhow. Rarely has this unique Venn diagram intersection been more perfectly represented than during Velocicross in mid March at South London's legendary Herne Hill Velodrome, where Honor raced with her sidekick Picasso – a 13-year-old half Japanese-German Spitz – strapped to her back.
If you frequent cycling’s niche corners of the internet, you may have seen videos or photos from the event already, conceived as a welcoming day of end-of-season racing, supported by LGBT+ racing initiative ‘All In Racing.' As Honor described it, Velocicross represents “a bit of a fringe discipline and good vibes kinda event over any serious competitiveness, and with inclusivity centre stage.”
Our curiosity was piqued, and Honor was happy to fill us in on the joyful adventure she shared with Picasso that day.
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