Girl On A Bike + 1
Vanessa Ruck is no stranger to extreme feats, from desert racing to adrenaline-fueled adventures. But her toughest test yet? The journey of pregnancy. We discover how this fearless rider is taking on her latest challenge—motherhood.
By Ellë Bolland
“Professional motorcycle riders are more likely to die than in bicycle accidents. Please stay off the road,” one user comments on a recent post from bionic woman and adrenaline junkie, Vanessa Ruck. Otherwise known as The Girl on a Bike, Vanessa shares her take on this with me: “Well, we can fall down the toilet, so we shouldn’t sit on the toilet, should we? We definitely shouldn’t sit under palm trees because those coconuts can kill you! Let’s not do anything fun because we might die. Jokes aside, I feel safer on a motorbike than I do on a bicycle on the road.” This quote alone embodies everything Vanessa is about—black and white, honest, and gutsy.
A lifelong adventurer, Vanessa grew up in the Kentish countryside, raised with the mantra, “Boredom is a lack of imagination.” It’s no surprise that she spent her childhood outdoors, getting muddy and keeping fit, whether it was on quad bikes, horses, skiing, or kitesurfing. However, one thing Vanessa hadn’t tried in her early years was motorbikes. In fact, it wasn’t until she had a tragic and life-changing accident that her love for motorbikes began to take shape.
Vanessa was struck by a car in a horrific bicycle accident on her commute home. Seven years of recovery, seven surgeries and two reconstructed body parts, she was determined to reclaim her life again. Unlike most of us, the thought of riding a motorbike induces fear, but for Vanessa, buying her first bike while still bedbound became a goal for her to work towards. “It sat in the garage for the first six months!”, she tells me. But from using the bike as a means to get to work, her sense of adventure deepend once again, where now, she participates in some of the toughest races in the world.
So why, after experiencing so much trauma, would someone throw themselves into races such as the 2024 Africa Eco Race, —a 13-day test of gruelling endurance through Morocco, Mauritania, and the sand dunes of Senegal, covering 635 km per day, with 90% of some stages spent navigating 400m-high dunes?! Vanessa explains the addictive sensation of these challenges: “When you’re in the desert, surrounded by sand dunes, hundreds of kilometres in every direction, with nothing but you and the navigation, you think, ‘How can I get out of this?’ The only way is to fight. By overcoming your fears and pushing your boundaries, you grow, and that growth fills me with so much energy.”
That growth has not only prepared her for the physical endurance of these races but also for something many women across the world can relate to—pregnancy. Pregnancy can be isolating, especially in the early months when societal norms fuel superstition and personal fears, making it difficult to share the news. The first trimester is a whirlwind of physical and emotional changes, often accompanied by a sense of solitude – something that no-one really speaks about. Vanessa shares how it felt to experience things first-hand, “The first three months are pretty bad: you can’t even tell anyone, and you have to pretend everything’s normal, when it’s really not!”. This challenge was compounded by her active lifestyle. With a race in the calendar for when she was 11 weeks pregnant (the baby was already the size of a fig by this point!), Vanessa tells me that not only was her self-preservation higher than normal, but she experienced a unique set of pressures just to keep the pregnancy a secret. “All I wanted to do was tell my navigator, but I couldn’t even tell my Mum at that point!” she explains. “I didn’t want him (my navigator) to treat me differently, like “Oh maybe we shouldn’t push her, you know, because she’s pregnant.”
Vanessa’s inner conflict between her trademark grit and the realisation that she was growing a human led to plenty of mixed emotions. “I’m only pregnant, just like so many other women are and have been before, but also, I’m friggin’ pregnant, and that’s huge!” she laughs. As a female rally driver in a male-dominated sport, she encountered an additional challenge: there are no guidelines or policies for racing while pregnant. After hours of self-led research, consulting doctors, and networking with other female drivers globally, she found just one mention of pregnancy in relation to racing. The guideline? “It’s down to the mother’s discretion.” Not exactly helpful!
Competing as a female rally driver already has its challenges, but competing while pregnant adds another layer of complexity. It’s both unsurprising and absurd that in a sport like rally driving, no official guidance exists on pregnancy. With limited support, Vanessa’s decision on whether to continue racing was fraught with uncertainty. When Vanessa finally announced her pregnancy before competing in the Three Hills at Goodwood, the race officials informed her that she couldn’t race because it breached their insurance policy.
Now almost at the beginning of her third trimester, and racing off the cards until the baby is born, Vanessa tells me she’s still very much taking on gnarly trails on her mountain bike and getting the miles through her legs with regular runs. Not only that, but her quest for personal growth continues, having completed her chainsaw licence, HGV and truck licence in just the last year – not to mention she also climbed into the seat of an industrial digger to move 100 tonnes of mud in her back garden! “Every day is a school day if you’re willing to try and learn!”, she shares, exemplifying her belief that personal development doesn’t stop when you become a mother.
“Will you be bringing him or her up to be as active as you?” I ask. Looking ahead, Vanessa’s vision for motherhood is steeped in adventure. “All I can say is that I want to give the baby the opportunity to do everything and anything.” She dreams of sharing experiences like boogie boarding, rock climbing, and surfing with her child, allowing them to discover their own passions without pressure. “I just want them to get a taste of all kinds of things so they can choose for themselves. I won’t be forcing them to get into the same sports as I have, but it would be really bloody cute to have a little baby on a bike…” she jokes.
DEDICATION
Managing her career, which depends heavily on a social media presence across seven platforms (yes, seven!) requires constant creativity, organisation, and motivation as much as anything. How does Vanessa show up day in and day out, even if she’s feeling flat? “Every part of the business is on you, you’re brainstorming, you’re the content creation, the KPI tracking, you are the brand as much as anything, so I can’t really take a day off from it”, she shares with candour. Social media, she adds, is often deceptive. When it comes to pregnancy, many women go quiet after their initial announcement until the third trimester, when pictures of renovated nurseries and baby showers begin to surface. But Vanessa has been consistent in keeping things real with her followers. “At the end of the day, I’m expressing my thoughts and feelings in ways that other women have experienced or can relate to. Motherhood and parenthood is probably the most relatable story in the world, because 80% of women have kids!”
Vanessa’s openness about the realities of pregnancy is refreshing. In a world where few are talking about the hormonal outbursts, her candidness about the struggles of pregnancy resonates with many. “Society makes us so underprepared for pregnancy, because no-one is really honest and open about it. Two days ago, I had a complete breakdown because my husband opened a packet of wraps wrong! It was just complete fatigue, and I shared that so I could be real with my audience with what it’s really like to be pregnant. It’s a rollercoaster. I’m embracing the irrationality of it,” she laughs.
ADRENALINE
Despite anticipating a slight drop in followers after giving birth, Vanessa remains optimistic about reaching new audiences. “The amount of people that (motherhood) touches is huge, and I didn’t see it like that at first. It’s a catch-all category in itself.” She’s committed to keeping up with her socials post-birth, saying, “This is the next chapter of my life, and I’m not going to stop being an adventure junkie after having a baby. I can still have a family and do the things I love!”
As Vanessa reflects on her journey, she shares her optimism for other women and their journey back to fitness postpartum. “There’s so much research now to show how women perform even better after having children. I think it’s because you learn so much during those nine months of discomfort and struggle.” Her belief that life doesn’t end after having children drives her determination to inspire others. “Society needs to keep talking about it and share that your life isn’t over after having kids!”
Vanessa is embarking on a new adventure, but her core goal remains the same: to empower and inspire others to chase their dreams. “You can still go and chase your dreams after becoming a mum,” she asserts. “I just want people to believe they can make the most of their day, whatever their ‘thing’ is!”
With her courageous spirit and commitment to living life on her own terms, Vanessa Ruck is poised to redefine what it means to be a mother and an adventurer. Vanessa, we’re rooting for you!
Follow Vanessa’s journey as she navigates motherhood and her career as Girl on a Bike, here.
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