FEATURE
Workshops and get-togethers are just part of the Role Models experience.
idea of sharing knowledge and breaking down barriers to getting into bikepacking, and the format itself was borrowed from a model Cathcart was involved in whilst living in Canada – Mountain Mentors. “I started it because I’d always been the kind of go-to person in my friendship group or wider circles,” adds Cathcart. “People would say, ‘speak to Athlyn, she’ll tell you what kind of bike to get,’ etc. But I started thinking, if you don’t have someone like me to ask in your wider circle, then where do you go? “I know from when I’ve done other activities like skiing and climbing, online forums can often feel incredibly intimidating. And so, the idea of Roll Models was to create a space for this mentorship to happen with intention.” Given that the first round of the programme attracted 70 applications, it’s fair to say that there was, and still is, an appetite for this sort of mentorship. For the sake of manageability, however, Cathcart and her then co-partner whittled it down to 18 pairs. “The biggest barrier we saw people talking about in their application forms was mainly just that they had a lack of
22 | April 2026
people to ask and the lack of people to do stuff with. Bristol is amazing for cycling community, but even some of the groups are quite hard to step into if you don’t already know someone.” Beyond finding people to ride with and share their
knowledge, Roll Models also wants to get across the point that “there is no right way of going bikepacking.” And that comes from Cathcart’s own experience, starting with a single-speed bike with her sleeping bag strapped to the handlebars. “Roll Models is an invitation to come and explore what
bikepacking looks like for you in whatever way you’d like. The only thing we kind of ask people to start with is a bike - any bike.”
The group utilises something called a gear library, which is kindly supported by the likes of Tailfin and Restrap, who offer racks and bikepacking bags to the library. And from which members can borrow the equipment they don’t have. For 2026, however, Roll Models is looking to expand the library. “We’re all set on bike bags. But the thing for the library that
we’re looking for is camping equipment. Lightweight stuff. Our ethos is that we want people to borrow and reuse as much as possible, which is why the gear library is so important.”
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