There are some new staff introductions where the word “new” doesn’t quite feel right.
For plenty of people in the Bike the UK for MS community, Charlotte Austin will already be a very familiar face. Over the last couple of years, she has worked behind the scenes with us, supported and led trips around the UK, crossed the Atlantic to route lead two Bike the US for MS cross-country adventures, and somehow gone from someone who didn’t really consider herself a cyclist to voluntarily taking on century rides and mountain passes.
So rather than introducing Charlotte, we’re very excited to be welcoming her back.
Having recently graduated from Loughborough University, Charlotte has now joined Bike the UK for MS full-time as our Programme Coordinator. She’ll be based here in the UK, but her role will stretch across both Bike the UK for MS and Bike the US for MS as we continue to share experience, ideas and the best bits of both organisations.
And for those of us who have worked alongside Charlotte over the last couple of years, we know exactly what she brings.
Riders may know the calm, unflappable Route Leader who always seems to have a plan. Behind the scenes, we know someone who is driven, detail-orientated, passionate about the work we do and genuinely invested in where these organisations are heading.
From Placement Student to the North Coast 500
Charlotte’s Bike the UK for MS story began in 2024 when she applied to join us as part of her university placement year.
At that point, she wasn’t exactly coming into the role as an experienced cyclist.
“I wasn’t a cyclist or multi-day event enthusiast, but I loved the idea of being able to experience these events and make life a little bit easier for those willing to challenge themselves for a good cause.”
She barely had time to settle into the office before we sent her north to help route lead the North Coast 500. It proved to be a fairly effective introduction to life at Bike the UK for MS.
Charlotte remembers one particular day approaching Bealach na Bà. After glorious weather earlier in the trip, the conditions turned just in time for one of the biggest climbs of the week.
Rather than the planned rest stop at the top, the team ended up parked further down the descent, using the van as shelter from the wind and rain while making hot chocolates, coffees and teas for soaked riders coming through.
What could have been one of the most miserable days of the trip became one of those memories everyone still laughs about afterwards. And, as anyone who has joined one of our trips will know, that is often how it works.
“That’s an experience you can’t have without the support vans and your fellow cycling teammates.”
But it was the people she met along the way that really began to connect Charlotte to the organisation.
“What separated Bike the UK for MS from other organisations was being able to meet the people you were helping during the cycling journey. Nothing could really prepare me for the impact that created, or the number of people you meet who have some connection to MS.”
From Support Van to Saddle
Charlotte finished her placement with us in June 2025. Technically, anyway.
In reality, being involved with Bike the UK for MS and Bike the US for MS never really stopped.
Almost immediately after finishing her placement, she headed to America to join the Northern Tier team for five weeks between Minneapolis and Seattle.
It was also the trip where, after spending a great deal of time encouraging other people to ride bikes, Charlotte was finally persuaded to get on one herself. The chosen day was a supposedly “short” 33-mile ride into Whitefish.
Charlotte may still dispute the definition of short.
“I had a great day, even when the rain started pouring. Having the company of the other riders and knowing there was a mechanic there if I needed help meant all I really had to do was pedal and enjoy the scenery. And that I did!”
By the time she returned to Loughborough for her final year, something had clearly gone ‘wrong’. She had already signed herself up to route lead the entire TransAmerica ride in 2026 and this time she planned to take a bike.
We’re fairly confident nobody who met Charlotte at the beginning of her placement would have predicted that one.
Her 2026 summer added century rides across Kansas, riding in the Colorado mountains and another full cross-country adventure to a route leading CV that had already grown considerably.
It also reinforced something she now wants future riders to understand.
“What helped me feel comfortable cycling as someone who didn’t even own a bike before all of this was realising that you don’t need the best gear and you don’t have to be an avid cyclist. Over all the trips I’ve been on, so many people have proved that to me.”
The People Keep Bringing You Back
Ask Charlotte what she likes most about Bike the UK for MS and Bike the US for MS, though, and she doesn’t start with the routes. It’s the people.
“My favourite aspect of being involved is the friends you make and stay in touch with. It’s amazing to see such a varied group of people come together with the same goal and then stay in touch for years afterwards.”
It’s something we see time and again across both organisations.
You can meet an alumnus from a completely different trip, sometimes years later, and immediately have something in common. There are familiar stories about long climbs, strange places to sleep, questionable weather, support vans, rest stops and the people who made the experience what it was.
For Charlotte, those years on the road have also created a very real connection to our mission.
She doesn’t have an immediate family connection to MS, but through meeting people living with MS, local MS groups, hosts, riders and members of the public along the way, she has developed both a much greater understanding of the disease and a genuine passion for the cause.
Her most recent adventure brought things full circle again in August, when she returned to Bike the UK for MS to help with the Royal Chilterns Way. Four days of off-road riding that looked rather different to a two-month journey across America, while somehow feeling very familiar at the same time.
Back Behind the Scenes
Now Charlotte is taking everything she has learnt on the road and bringing it back into the day-to-day running of our programmes.
As Programme Coordinator, she’ll be involved in trip planning and delivery, working with future riders as they prepare for their adventures, helping answer those inevitable pre-trip questions and using her very recent Route Leader experience to keep improving what we offer.
She also brings something that is becoming increasingly valuable to us: first-hand experience of both Bike the UK for MS and Bike the US for MS.
Although the two organisations operate on opposite sides of the Atlantic, we’re constantly looking for ways to learn from one another, share ideas and make both programmes better.
Charlotte is pretty excited about that too.
“I’m so excited to be returning in the Programme Coordinator role. I hope to share my recent experiences as a Route Leader and my knowledge of the trips, routes, accommodation and cyclist experience, while helping future cyclists with any questions before signing up and throughout their preparation.”
Some of you will know Charlotte from a rainy rest stop somewhere in Scotland. Others might remember her from the Northern Tier, a TransAmerica support van, the Colorado mountains or the Chilterns.
And plenty of future riders will probably first meet her through an email before they ever arrive at the start line.
Whichever version of Charlotte you know, we’re delighted to have her back. Welcome to the team, Charlotte.
