Alan LeMay
The My Cycology Podcast is a conversation with ordinary people doing extraordinary things on bikes. Dr Sasaka “Sass” Bandaranayake’s story is adapted by My Cycology’s host Alan LeMay.
Some people discover cycling early. Others arrive exactly when they need it. For Dr Sasaka “Sass” Bandaranayake, a rehabilitation paediatrician working with children recovering from catastrophic neurological injuries, the bike didn’t just offer fitness, it offered a time and space to reflect, imagine, and breathe.
Her work is heavy. The emotional load is real. She meets families on the worst days of their lives, guiding them through the long, uncertain process of rebuilding after brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, tumours or strokes.
“It’s a really deep, dark place when I first meet them,” she says. “The child the families take home is often very different from the child they brought in.”
For years, Sass carried that weight quietly. She studied, worked, raised three boys, and rarely made space for herself. Cycling wasn’t on her radar. In fact, she used to look at lycra clad riders on Brisbane roads and think, that looks fun… but where would I even begin?
A Nervous Beginning
Eighteen months ago, a simple Christmas gift changed everything. Her husband, Paul, offered to upgrade her old hybrid bike. Sass walked into the bike shop in February 2025.
She was nervous, even intimidated, by the carbon frame, electronic shifting and disc brakes of her first proper road bike. “I looked terrified,” she laughs.
“Like when I bought my first car and had to drive it home.”
But she also felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time: possibility. A friend encouraged her to join the Sisters of the Saddle (SOTS) “Ready to Ride” program, a six‑week introduction to bunch riding, skills and confidence.
Sass turned up on day one and, even though she had cycling shoes in the car, she joined the group in her sandshoes. Everyone else was clipped in.
Her friend looked at her and said the sentence that changed everything:
“If you don’t put those cleats on now, you’re never going to put them on.” So she did. She fell over. Twice. But she kept going.
Finding Her People
Sisters of the Saddle became more than a cycling group. It became a community of women who understood the invisible load, the juggling of work, family, ageing parents, guilt, expectations, and the constant pressure to be everything to everyone.
“When you’re in a group of women like that, you instantly feel understood,” Sass says. “You can be vulnerable and still feel safe.” On the bike, she wasn’t Dr Bandaranayake, the specialist carrying the emotional weight of other people’s trauma. She was simply Sass.
“When I’m riding, I’m present,” she says. “It’s meditative. I’m not thinking about work or life demands. I’m just there.”
The more she rode, the more she realised how much she needed this space, not as an escape, but as a way to return to her life more grounded, more balanced, more herself.
The Leap to 360 Kilometres
A few months into her road cycling journey, Sass heard about the SOTS 360‑kilometre challenge, a multi‑day ride that even seasoned cyclists hesitate to attempt.
She had been riding a road bike for only a handful of months.
“It wasn’t normal,” she laughs. “But they believed in me, and I had to learn to believe in myself.”
Supported by her husband and surrounded by women who had walked similar paths, she trained, learned, and grew into the rider she didn’t know she could be.
And she finished it. All 360 kilometres.
A woman who once thought cycling was “beyond her” had done something many lifelong cyclists will never attempt.
It’s Never Too Late
Sass hears the same excuses many of us hear: I’m too busy. I’m not sporty. I won’t look good in lycra. I’ve missed my chance.
Her answer is simple, and powerful: “You just make space for the things you love.”
And she’s right. The train hasn’t left the station. You can start now at 40, 50, 60 or beyond.
Cycling didn’t just make Sass fitter. It made her more present at work, more grounded at home, and more connected to a community she didn’t know she needed. It gave her a version of herself she might never have met.
A Story for Anyone Standing on the Edge of Something New
Sass’ journey is not about watts, gear or speed. It’s about rediscovering yourself in the middle of a busy, demanding life. It’s about courage, community, and the quiet determination to try something that once felt impossible.
If you’ve ever watched cyclists roll past and thought, That looks wonderful, but it’s not for me, her story offers a gentle challenge:
Have a go. Start where you are. The rewards are worth it.
