A Fife couple have been putting the wheels in motion to publish their first book

Lilith Cooper and Abigail Melton put pen to paper to write an account of their first cycle tour from Amsterdam to Montpellier on second hand bikes.

The couple completed the challenge in 2016 and it’s a story of the lessons they learned, as well as the fun they had, along the way.

Lilith explained how the idea for the book emerged from a series of vegan camp stove recipe pamphlets the couple made when they were living in Edinburgh.

She said these made their way into the hands of Kay, an assistant publisher at Sandstone Press, and she approached the two cycling enthusiasts about writing a book, and supported them through the process.

Lilith said: “When Kay approached us, we thought we’d just give it a go and see if it was something we enjoyed, or were any good at.

“Abi studied English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, so she’d thought about writing before, but neither of us had any real experience.

“We found writing it a really positive experience, and we also wanted to help challenge some of the preconceptions or ideas about what ‘proper cyclists’ looked like.

“We think queer representation is really important, so we also wanted to share our experiences. The idea for the name actually came from our Instagram handle.

“Abi came up with the handle Gears for Queers as a pun that reflected two things important to us: queer culture and cycling. We hadn’t planned to title the book that, but we were talking to Kay about titles and she suggested it, and it just seemed right!”

She continued: “The whole process took a little over two years - from our first meeting with Kay to a finished manuscript. In that time, we got married, moved to Kirkcaldy and went on another long cycle tour in 2019, when we cycled from Kirkcaldy to Budapest!

“We were juggling jobs and other work alongside it, but we tried to put aside blocks of time to really focus on it - we spent the whole of January 2019 sitting in Kangus Coffee House working solidly on finishing a first draft. We’ve worked on it all over - and parts of it have been written in Edinburgh, Kirkcaldy, Cambridge and Budapest.

Lilith said they were both really keen to make cycling feel achievable and to share the positive benefits it had had on their physical and mental health.

“I work at Fife College as a campus cycling officer, which is a Cycling UK funded placement with the aim of getting more students and staff cycling,” she said.

“So sharing some of the joys of cycling and encouraging people to get on their bikes was definitely part of the aim of the book.

“We really wanted to show with the book that you don't have to have all the kit, or be an amazing athlete, or be confident on your bike, to have adventures.

“We both write really openly about disability and mental health in the book too, and we wanted to challenge ideas about what travelling has to look like and try and make it more accessible. We think getting people cycling is important, but we also appreciate that there are lots of external barriers and we wanted to highlight these too - things like safe routes, and access to bikes.”

The book is being published this Thursday and Lilith and Abigail will be biking round Kirkcaldy on the day to deliver copies to friends and neighbours who have ordered them.

They will also be dropping off several copies that were ordered by Pink Saltire as part of their Covid Relief packs.

To order a copy of the book or find out more visit: www.gearsforqueers.co.uk

While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you - wherever possible and providing it is safe for you to do so - to also please purchase a copy of our newspapers; the Fife Free Press, Fife Herald, St Andrews Citizen, East Fife Mail and Glenrothes Gazette.

Inevitably falling advertising revenues will start to have an impact on local newspapers and the way we continue to work during this period of uncertainty.

The support of our readers has never been more important as we try to make sure that we keep you connected with your community during this time. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. We need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Our team of trusted reporters are working incredibly hard behind the scenes - from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms - to look at how we can do this, and your continued support of our newspapers across Fife will help to protect their viability in the days and weeks ahead.

For more details on our subscription offers please visit email [email protected] or call us on 0330 4033004

Thank you

Allan Crow, Editor, Fife Free Press