It did not take long for the competitive animal inside Pip Ash to stir.
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And when it did, social cycling morphed into hardcore training and racing. Unsurprisingly, given her athletic pedigree, there has been a pronounced performance spike.
Last weekend at the NSW Masters Road Championships at Coff Harbour, the Tamworth Cycle Club member - a former Australian Country hockey representative on the cusp of her 31st birthday - won the road race in her age group, in what was her first state titles.
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It was the biggest win of her racing career, which was activated just over a year ago. The following day, she finished third in the criterium.
She described the 63-kilometre road race win as "very exciting".
"I really, really wanted that title," she said. "Being my first NSW state titles event, I was really, really hungry for that one."
A lethal striker for Waratahs, Ash retired early, at age 29, due to a back injury.
She had just been selected in the Australian Country side for the second time - a tour of Hong Kong and Vietnam looming. "And I just decided I couldn't keep up with the, I guess, the recovery.
"Every time I trained or played, I was just sore. But my back has never been better since I've been cycling."
Ash missed the "competitiveness" hockey provided. "So when I decided to give up hockey ... I think I just needed something to scratch that competitive itch, I guess.
"I started riding more socially, and then I had lots of supporters [backing me] to get into cycling a little bit more competitively."
She now has her sights on a national title.
