Sue Barrett was born in 1962 and grew up in the New Forest with a childhood spent playing in the woods and by the sea. She started cycling in 1966 and still has bikes that could tell stories of early adventures including cycle touring around Iceland.
Aged 55, Sue won the very first ‘Adventure Queen’ Grant. She left her 30+ year career in education to bike and hike across the Alps. The outward journey consisted of about 1300 human powered miles through 8 countries. The inner journey was one of dealing with the ‘loss’ of her mother who had dementia, and Sue’s desire to pivot into something new that involved being outdoors.
Aged 60, Sue qualified as a British Cycling MTB Level 2 Guide.
Sue is currently a Director and Ride Leader at New Forest Off Road Club, an Ordnance Survey Champion, and Co-Lead for the Hampshire Adventure Queen community. She was part of the steering group for the FIAS research project addressing gender inequality in mountain biking.
Sue is keen to inspire and support others to keep active outdoors and is keeping herself active by continuing to ‘play’ in the Forest on her bike and adventure further afield on two wheels.