Miller was asked to race the hand-cycling leg for a team competing in the Australia and Oceania Para-triathlon at the Penrith Regatta Centre, staged on January 16.

In addition to 35 individuals racing all three legs, a number of teams were involved, and by the end of the race, Miller’s all-girl team had done enough to secure a bronze medal.

Miller’s contribution was to knock over the 20-kilometre cycle leg, and she did it comfortably in the end despite the fact that the distance was almost as far as she had ever cycled in her two years in the sport.

“I actually pulled up really well considering the furthest I had ever gone in one hit was 22km at the national titles last year,” she said.

“It was very hot very early in the day, so the conditions were quite tough, but I came through it okay and felt a lot better than I thought I would.

“When I was asked by Sebastian van Veenendaal [Wheelchair Sports NSW] to compete, I wasn’t sure what my goals would be for the race, but it was a great chance to gauge my fitness and see how I was going ahead of some big cycling events coming up fairly soon.”

Miller made a name for herself in the pool after being paralysed from the waist down in a swimming accident six years ago.

She made the move to hand-cycling in late 2011 and, with plenty of help from the Western Region Academy of Sport and the guidance of cycling star Toireasa Gallagher in a coaching capacity, she has already reached a relatively elite level.

Her next assignment will pit her against some of the best athletes in the nation, and in one instance she will have the honour of competing in her home town.

“The former National Hand-cycling Series has merged with Para-cycling, and there will be a competition coming up in Toowoomba in Queensland before we race here in Bathurst in March,” she said.

“Toireasa managed to secure that, which is huge. The Sydney athletes are very reluctant to travel, so to get that event staged here is a big effort.

“After that I’ll head down to Echuca in Victoria for the national titles on May 10. A win would obviously be nice, but having only done it once before I’ll be trying to improve my time more than anything.

“It was staged there last year as well, so to have some experience at the venue gives me a bit of knowledge and I can get a good idea of how much I’ve developed over the last 12 months.

“I managed a time just over two hours last year, so something around one hour, 50 minutes would be good. To make a national team you need to average a certain speed, so that’s something else for me to consider.”

For the time being, Miller has left swimming behind and ruled out the possibility of competing in a triathlon individually, saying her focus is fully on the bike.

“The only time I get in the pool is for a recovery. It’s never more than 10 minutes at a time and even then I wouldn’t really call it a swim,” she said.

“I’ve been told that paratriathlon is the fastest-growing Paralympic sport in Australia, but it would take me ages to get through the swim leg now. There was a brief discussion about it on the way home from Penrith, but I wouldn’t be able to swim that far anymore I don’t think.

“When you find another passion and get so into it, it is hard to go back.”