BQ Member profile: Ellen Beaumont

For Ellen Beaumont, sport has never been something she dabbled in. It has shaped her identity, her routines, and the way she approaches life.

“Sport was a massive part of my life,” she says. “I started playing soccer when I was seven… soccer was my life essentially.”

Like many talented juniors, Ellen’s early years in the game were spent chasing opportunity wherever she could find it. “I used to play with the boys up until under 12 until I had to go across to the girls,” she says. She played representative teams throughout high school, then progressed into elite pathways as women’s football expanded in Australia.

“I did all the Rep teams throughout high school and then got into the Brisbane Women’s Roar when they first started,” Ellen says. “In year 12, I got to Queensland Academy of Sport… I was playing at Kelvin Grove.”

At the top end, football opened the world – including playing with the Matildas. “From high school, I knew that I wanted to play soccer,” she says. “It was amazing… going for the national team… being able to travel the world with the squad and go down to the AIS in Canberra.”

But elite sport has an intensity that can be hard to sustain forever. When Ellen stepped away, it wasn’t half-hearted. “I did need to step completely away from it,” she says. “As athletes, you’re either all or nothing because you’re in a bubble and that life consumes you.”

That shift coincided with another major focus: her career path. Ellen put her energy into her studies in social work, and began working in a field that reinforced her belief in health, wellbeing, and access for all.

Riding entered the picture as her next outlet. Not just as exercise, but as a way to keep moving through life. “I actually got into cycling after I stopped playing soccer because I needed a new hobby and something to stay fit and get all my energy out,” she says.

Now, riding isn’t just one part of Ellen’s week, it’s the thread that connects transport, fitness, fun and community. “I did become, you know, a true cyclist. And my new rule of thumb is n + 1!”

Her riding is practical and purposeful. “I commute by bike. I’ve got an e-bike that I ride to work and I’m all on bike paths, which is really safe. It feels safe to ride on bike paths and it feels reassuring,” Ellen says. “I can essentially get to my work about 18 kilometres away, almost all on a bike path, so that’s gold.”

But she also rides for fitness and connection. “I also ride my road bike for fitness, for fun to see friends to do the River Loop,” she says. And when she wants fresh air and space away from traffic, she heads off-road: “That’s when I hit up the trails… to get into nature and have some fresh air and avoid the cars.”

In Ellen’s view, riding and social work are closely linked. “It’s definitely connected. You want more people riding that can’t afford cars or the cost of running a car. So yeah, a bike is accessible for many people.”

It’s also about better health outcomes. “You feel better after riding a bike. You feel happier. It’s good stress relief in a busy job,” she says. “There’s so many people that have positive experiences when riding, and it’s a perfect chance to connect with people by having a coffee with friends.”

Ellen has been a Bicycle Queensland member for more than a decade, and claims that BQ’s advocacy is the reason she stays. “I can see the importance of having peak bodies talking to government… and evidence based like data to say this is the benefits of cycling and having better safe infrastructure.”

Insurance matters too. “I’ve had a friend had a pretty severe accident,” she says. “It can be scary riding on the roads at times for people… that definitely gives me peace of mind.”

Even when life gets busy, her support doesn’t waver. “There’s been times where I probably haven’t ridden my bike in a while, but I’m always a member,” Ellen says. “I think I’ve been a member for over 10 years at least.”

Because, as she puts it, “there’s a lot of work that the company does in the background.”

And when asked what she wants Bicycle Queensland to keep pushing for, Ellen doesn’t narrow it down to one thing. “Keep doing what they’re doing,” she says. “Better bike lanes and infrastructure… and encouraging more people to cycle as a hobby and a recreation.”

For Ellen, it all comes back to the same core idea — activity as a lifelong companion. “Obviously I’ve played sport for all my life and to me this is my new sport,” she says. “But it’s integrated in my life — like they can’t be separated.”