Dr. Carla Benton - Clinical Psychologist, queer vegan and a lover of all things outdoors. Awarded the Ultra Distance Scholarship in 2021 which is aimed at increasing representation of BAME cyclists in ultra distance cycling.

<div>Carla is a Clinical Psychologist, queer vegan and a lover of all things outdoors; adventurer, runner, endurance cyclist and lapsed climber based near the Peak District in the UK. She is an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities taking up space in the outdoors and is a committee member with the awesome Peak Queer Adventures (PQA) based in Sheffield and member of the Women of Colour Cycling Collective (WCCC). </div> <div> </div> <div>Carla’s love of the outdoors started from an early age, however gender roles and expectations sadly stopped her from fully embracing that love as a teenager. She reconnected with the outdoors and solo adventures after moving to North Wales to undertake her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology in her mid-twenties, and hasn’t looked back. </div> <div> </div> <div>She was awarded the Ultra Distance Scholarship in 2021, which is aimed at increasing representation of BAME cyclists in ultra distance cycling and getting them to the start line of an ultra distance race, a typically overwhelmingly white and male niche of cycling. </div> <div> </div> <div>This amazing opportunity has been life-changing and she’s gone from not being confident at all in her cycling abilities, to cycling 500km off road from Edinburgh to Manchester, her longest, hardest ride to date. She’s met the most amazing people, grown in confidence and felt like she’s found her people. </div> <div> </div> <div>She started an Instagram account after winning the Scholarship, to document her journey from (almost couch) to 2000km with the hope of inspiring queer people and people of colour, particularly black womxn, to get on their bikes and enjoy nature. </div> <div> </div> <div>You can find her at @acurlyoutdoors; check out Peak Queer Adventures at @peakqueeradventures and the Women of Colour Cycling Collective at @wccc_uk. </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. </div> <div> </div> <div>Support t