I was always interested in mechanics so first I worked on my own bike and then I had my own bike shop for nine years in Mount Tremblant, Que. It was getting so big that I was doing more administration and paper work than mechanics so I sold it and started working with cycling teams. Last year I joined the national team and I work with them from April to October, most of the time in Europe That's why I like the job - it helps me to work where cycling is as big as hockey is here.

You're not a team mechanic for the money so in the winter I teach bike mechanics. It's my own little school for bike shop technicians. I put together six different levels, hire someone, and we go to different areas in Quebec. Now we are starting to work with the Maritimes. And no, I've never seen any other women doing what I'm doing.

More women should be mechanics because it is a job where you cannot cut corners; you have to be very meticulous because of all the small detail on the bicycle. When I had my bike shop the best technicians were women. They'll work until the job is done without being asked.

To keep up to date, I go to the big bike shows. I've been doing that for 15 years so people know me and what I do. Being a female, it's not tough to be recognized. I get to know the products a year before they go on the market.

There's friendship and real camaraderie between mechanics - we call ourselves the 'wrenching gang'. Any mechanic will help another one.

Until last year I worked only with the men's team, both road and track. Last year was my first experience with women, at the Tour de France, and at the Commonwealth Games I worked with men and women, road and track. That's way too much but I guess it's a budget thing. Track is easy. The riders are quite self-sufficient because they never have a mechanic travelling with them. I do the little extras like changing bearings, greasing, and repairing wheels. Some like to do things for themselves - it's part of their mental preparation - others want someone else to do it all.

On the road you can have a cable breaking at the start, gears not working, bent wheels, wheel alignment. If it's a circuit race, then I'm at the pit waiting for them. When it's a road race, we have a caravan and usually I follow in a car.

I like the life because there's no routine. It's not always exciting and it's lots of work, sometimes 14-hour days. You never know what to expect. You could sleep through a whole race or be called upon every hour.