I love to ride my bike, I love to race my bike, ride with friends, lead rides, go out alone and cruise around to clear my head; I love it all. I also enjoy sharing my passion for cycling with others and trying to encourage people to get out on bikes. Sometimes I can convert my indoor spinning students into outdoor cyclists, or even convince some of my friends and family to dust off their old bikes that are sitting in the back of the garage and get out there on the trails or open roads.
Leading the Rapha women’s 100K ride with a great group of women
I think this is a wonderful sport that promotes fitness and camaraderie and gives people goals to work toward. There can be a broad range of goals for different people like; weight loss, increasing their average speed, completing their first 20 mile ride or first century ride, conquering an intimidating climb, (whether that climb is Alpe D’Huez or the Alpe at the end of their block) or just riding more often and having fun. Cycling is a sport that seems to inspire people to push their boundaries.
I was never an athlete. I had no great interest in competition or training or suffering. However, at some point, shortly after college I decided I wanted to sweat out four years of cheap beer and poor food choices and gain some level of fitness. I never imagined where those first inklings of a desire for fitness would take me. I started with spinning and then casual riding and I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. I found cycling to be a fun and social sport and it was challenging to me in the best possible way. When I went on my first 20 mile ride, I had no plans to race or train in any legitimate way, or put myself through the challenge of something like a century ride. Nevertheless, eventually it seemed to take on a life of its own and I found myself wanting all of those things. I wanted to ride farther and faster and climb bigger hills than I had ever before.
USAT Olympic Distance National Championships 2014, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
I believe I am a decent amateur cyclist and triathlete, but am definitely not the fastest or most skilled rider out there, but I would really like to be. I want to learn more, become more skilled, grow stronger and be the best cyclist and athlete that I possibly can be. I also want to share my knowledge, thoughts and experiences with others, to teach a lesson, spark a discussion, tell a funny story or just give someone something to read that can kill ten minutes during a long boring work day. So that, in short, is why I have decided to start writing this, to share my thoughts and experiences regarding the sport that I am most passionate about.