In her own words, life in retirement has been a "bit of a roller coaster" for Amy Cure.
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That's not to say she has any regrets about her decision in June to end a career in cycling that saw her become the only track rider ever to medal in every world championship endurance event, but the transition away from elite sport has had its challenges.
That, however, is not something that is surprising considering the "normal" life she was entering was one so impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, creating a major hurdle for the South Australia-based Cure's desire to spend more time with family in Tasmania.
"I have really, really loved it, but I have had my moments where I have been a bit sad and even depressed, but there are other days when I have been doing fine,'' West Pine's multiple world and Commonwealth Games champion said.
"Generally I have been doing really fine, but there are those long days where you are really tired from work and you do miss your family and it has been hard as I have really wanted to celebrate my retirement with my family and haven't been able to due to restrictions.
"That was the reason at the end of the day why I retired, because I didn't want to make all those sacrifices and miss out on things that mean so much to me.
"I have an amazing support network around me in Adelaide [including Olympian Jess Stenson and family] which have really got me through the tough days and things like that, but the transition has been difficult at times."
Rather than taking a year off like she had initially planned after spending much her life under the cycling spotlight, the 27-year-old found herself enrolling in university [studying business online at Torrens University] to keep her occupied and now works at a cafe in Adelaide.
"As soon as restrictions eased I walked into a couple of cafes and I was lucky enough to get a job,'' she said.
Deferring some of her study to learn how to juggle her new found responsibilities [which also includes looking after her six month old cavoodle puppy Archie] was "the best thing I did".
Retirement, not surprisingly, has seen her spend very little time on a bike.
There was a little bit of mountain biking, having bought one when she was considering retirement in the hope it might "give her a spark".
She only recently got back on it for some extra exercise ahead of her appearance at the weekend's Launceston Running Festival's 10km race.
That will be part of her long awaited trip back home [with Archie] to see family, including parents Graeme and Delwyn, and will coincide with the Christmas Carnivals, which will include the Burnie New Year's Eve Carnival.
The three-time Burnie Wheel winner said she was looking forward to embracing the series as a fan rather than as a competitor.
"I've had my years of not competing before, as the Christmas Carnivals have always been so difficult to combine with my only two or three weeks at home in the whole year to spend with my family,'' she said.
"It is almost bittersweet as I love racing them and I love my family time as well, but I do love them [the carnivals] and it is sad to think I'm not going to be racing them anymore, but there is a reason why I have retired.
That was the reason at the end of the day why I retired....
- Amy Cure
"I will enjoy going there and I will enjoy watching some races and things like that, but now I do think I can really enjoy them from the sidelines."
And when it comes to the Tokyo Olympics, a track cycling team Cure was part of for the third time, she said "I don't know how I will feel" in July.
"But I am really excited for the Olympics to come around and I really hope that everything goes well for the girls as I have seen the hard work that they put in every day,'' Cure said.
"That is one of the reasons that I retired as I wanted the best for those girls and I know the best of those girls is not having me there when I have a negative head space and I don't want to be there."