Beautifully-shot film details how a ride across the Hebrides helped the Scots-Asian rider fight back against discrimination <\/p>
We all know mountain biking can be good for your mental health, but for friend-of-the-mag Aneela McKenna (@mrsgowherescotland<\/a>)<\/span>, a bikepacking trip through the Outer Hebrides was life-changing. She tells her story in a new film, After The Storm<\/em>, released today, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination<\/a>. You can watch it below.<\/span><\/p>\n A few years back, Aneela was at breaking point, after years of discrimination at work. As a Scots Asian woman, bikes hadn\u2019t been part of her life growing up, but her husband Andy had introduced her to MTBing and the beautiful Scottish islands, so she decided to escape her worries and head out on a solo adventure. <\/span><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t easy going \u2013 \u201cIt was my first experience of having to sleep rough\u2026 eat off a stove\u2026 midges! I was a city girl\u201d \u2013 but Aneela returned from the Hebrides a different woman, with a refreshed outlook and newfound strength. As Andy says: \u201cThank God for bikes and places like this!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis place saved me,\u201d Aneela says. \u201cI came back feeling brilliant, and ready to do something about it, and I did.\u201d She filed a grievance against her boss, set-up the M\u00f2r Diversity<\/a> consultancy with Andy and began chairing British Cycling\u2019s D&I advisory group. \u201cMTB is what I love, and I just want to make it better for everyone,\u201d she explains.<\/span><\/p>\n Filmed by MBUK<\/em> snapper\/tester Andy McCandlish<\/a> and directed by him and Andy McKenna<\/a>, After The Storm <\/em><\/span>is a thought-provoking watch that\u2019ll challenge what you\u2019re doing to make the world a more inclusive place. #RIDEOVERRACISM<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n