Finding Freedom Through Cycling
In Vancouver, author Peggy Maass Labiuk meets with Shaima Nasiri, a young woman who found freedom through cycling.
Shaima is from from Bamyan, Afghanistan. She started cycling in 2018 and became one of 18 women cyclists on the Oquib cycling team. By participating in the sport, she hoped to show other Afghani women that they have liberty and agency.
"I dreamed of becoming an athlete and professional cyclist in the future. But when the Taliban took over my country on August 15, 2021, I worried about my safety. With the help of kind international supporters, I was able to escape."
Through cycling, Shaima was able to find her own freedom and now lives in Canada. In addition to riding, she is interested in building policy that can help protect her people and others, "so that no one has to suffer the way I did." (Full interview at Kabul Falling).
Shaima is featured in Peggy's book Cycle Psyched: Pro Wisdom and the Mental Training to Excel. Coauthored with Dr. Saul L. Miller, it is a complete mental training program for cyclists. The authors present clear techniques and exercises for managing challenges and improving the psychological aspect of performance. Personal anecdotes and insights from over 90 world-class cyclists—including 4x Tour de France winner Chris Froome, cycling legend Greg Lemond, 3x World Champion Peter Sagan, and Race Across America winner Leah Goldstein—reinforce and enhance the methods provided.
Afghan refugee and cyclist Shaima Nasiri, celebrating the joy of a sunset ride in liberty along the shores of Vancouver, B.C. In her escape from tyranny, Nasiri was aided by Sylvan Adams and others who love freedom and cycling. Photographer Unknown.
Peggy Maass Labiuk is a former US National Team Road and Track Racer, who excelled by being tough, smart, and psyched. She shares her cycling acumen as a World Championships medalist (Individual Pursuit), 2x National Champion (Criterium, Kilometer), and World Record Holder (24 Hour Endurance Record, 490.5 miles, human paced) in anecdotes and coaching notables. Her success in such a broad range of events (track, road, US Olympic and World Championships Teams) and having coached from club to elite levels (British National Women’s Endurance Squad) led to the practical execution of the sport psychology plan presented in Cycle Psyched. While Labiuk now rarely competes, she coaches, trains on the velodrome, and still scores some Strava segment QOMs.
