Meet the Team

Paul Barker

Paul Barker is a recreational cyclist who loves every discipline road riding for fitness and mountain biking for fun as well as pushing the fear factor on big drops. After qualifying last year as a Level 1 coach he made group 1 riding lots of fun last year. This year he will be coaching the group 2 riders to develop their riding skills. 

Marianna Koperdanova

I live with my husband and 2 boys in the area. Both my boys have been through Go-Ride training and inspired me to enjoy cycling together as family. I have recently qualified as Level 1 coach and I am keen to help children get into cycling and teach them core cycling and bike handling skills. 

Richard Sambrook Smith Level 2 Coach; MTB Level 2 Coach. 

Reason why I enjoy cycling:  Fun! 

I have always enjoyed riding bikes, from racing my brothers around the garden on our first bikes, building bikes to race through the forest as a teenager, to being encouraged back onto the bike by my teenage daughter to ride the South Downs Way. The freedom and challenges of cycling, on and off-road, on club rides, in sportives and at competitions, are never ending, and I look forward to sharing that enjoyment through the VC Venta coaching programmes. 

Andy Watkins

I've always loved cycling. I remember throwing myself down steep local trails on my Raleigh Burner BMX when I was a kid - before MTBs were a thing! - and the seed was sown. Nowadays I mainly ride on the road, but I still love the thrill of the trails, mostly enjoyed with my eldest son, who has definitely been bitten by the cycling bug. I have two kids currently enjoying Go Ride and another who is already demanding a bike. She just needs to master walking first! I spent a season volunteering as a parent helper before qualifying as a coach in 2022. 

Steve Swift

Steve is a keen family cyclist.  Most of our cycling is in and around the New Forest, but we cycle everywhere we go, even if it is from cake stop to biscuit stop!!  A former PE teacher, Steve was the Dad on the side watching his children doing Go Ride who decided it would be more fun to be involved and qualified as L1 Coach a few years ago.  He loves coaching the early Groups (1-3) and aims to make his lessons a fun and exciting way to develop  cycling skills.  He is often assisted by his teenage son Tommy who hopes to qualify as a coach one day in the future.

Marium Zane

I joined Go Ride as an Admin Assistant 2 years ago when my son enrolled here to improve his bike abilities. Since I learnt to ride my bike as an adult, being involved in Go Ride, supporting the coaches, kids and parent makes me really happy not just as a mother but also as someone who loves cycling and the culture around it. Everyday I am surrounded by friends, colleagues and pro athletes from all formats of cycling. But I love seeing the kids join Go Ride learning to ride their bikes and develop into confident cyclists following their passion for the sport.  Just like my son & I have, and we now love riding around exploring the idyllic routes around New Forest. 

Leah Burton

My family love cycling! I enjoy cycling to work, my husband enjoys long distance road events and our children enjoy cycling when we take our dog on a walk.

I was inspired to get involved with Go Ride after seeing other parents who have a passion for cycling deliver fun and engaging coaching sessions. As a parent helper, I support the young riders in Group 1 as they get to grips with their core cycling skills. I have seen my own children benefit from Go Ride and I am excited to see riders join the next season to discover the joy of cycling.