She Cycles by the Seashore

Merry Christmas!

 
Our little tree and train set

 
Our bigger tree and bigger train set, and Tim, who is waiting for the Santa Kitty.

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas! Happiness, Health, and Peace to everyone in the New Year.

 
photos by Chris

Life Happens

About three weekends ago, Mr. Suitcase and I went for a beautiful autumn ride in Rhinebeck, NY, after visiting the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. It was the perfect combination of knitting and cycling for me. I had intended to come home and post the photos of our ride for you in the next day or two, but Life had Other Ideas.

If you read Mr. Suitcase's blog, you know by now that our kitty, Charlie, had become very ill that week, and we lost him to IBD/intestinal cancer on October 24. It was a heartbreaking time, seeing him become thinner and weaker and not being able to help. We miss him terribly, but at least he is no longer suffering.

Since that time, we've been visiting shelters, looking to give another kitty or two a good home. And we've been catching up on things we neglected in order to give Charlie the 24/7 care he needed. Consequently, there has been little or no cycling this fall, outdoors or in. My bike has been in the trainer, I received the Indoor Cycling Workouts book I ordered from Amazon, and yet, foot has still not been put to pedal.

A successful blog is one that keeps readers coming back, with regular posts full of interesting information, or a witty take on current events and experiences, with lots of eye-catching images. I'm afraid I've provided none of these in the last month, or even since our move this summer. For that reason, I decided that it is best to stop blogging, at least for the winter. I may reconsider when springtime comes and a new season is upon us. But for now, it is time for me to embrace the off-season. Thank you for your comments and your friendship, and I hope you have a safe winter full of good riding.

Rhode Island Rides -- Mystic CT to Westerly, RI

The weekend before Labor Day, Mr. Suitcase and I went on another 30 mile ride, this time starting at Mystic, CT (home of the infamous Seaport), and finishing at Westerly, RI, in the area of Watch Hill.

 
A view from the CT side of the inlet

Watch Hill, RI (photos by Chris)

Watch Hill is another of my favorite summer places to visit, and I was especially pleased to be able to ride up the steep hill out of town! It's a quaint spot, with little shops, a restaurant, and a historic carousel.

So are you watching the Vuelta a Espana on Cycling.TV? We signed up for the premium channel so we can see the live coverage of the race (you can get the highlights for free, but the bandwidth is really slow). I still have Tour withdrawl!

A big congratulations to David Zabriskie and Levi Leipheimer on their wins in South Carolina!! And also to Floyd Landis, for his third place at Stokesville. It is so good to see him on a bike again.

On the Saddle Again!

I'm sorry for the long absence. Moving & setting up house really eats into riding time!!

Here is a photo taken by Chris, on our first evening bike ride in our new town:

In true lazy summer spirit, I've been out an hour at a time here and there, but haven't kept track of any heart rates or miles or speeds...just looking at the pretty views and being thankful that almost all the boxes are gone now!!But I do need to find more discipline, as the Tri-State Seacoast Century is coming up soon. This article from Bicycling magazine should help.

Race season is beginning to wind down; the Tour de France is over and also some of the important pro races not covered in mainstream sports news. If you missed it like I did, here is re-cap of the Tour de 'Toona (PA) with congratulations due to Kristen Armstrong of TEAm Lipton! Tina Pic of Colavita-Sutter Home won the Presbyterian Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, North Carolina this past weekend (formerly known as the Bank of America Criterium). You can read the story at VeloNews.com.

There is one major road race left to look forward to, the Vuelta A Espana. Not as well known as the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, it starts on Sept. 1 this year and finishes on Sept. 23. The homepage has a tiny UK flag for English translation (I hope the link I attached is in English for you already!). I am not sure where the best race coverage can be found. Cycling TV offers a fee-based coverage of all the stages, but it looks like the Versus channel only has a summary on Sept. 30 from 6-7pm. If anyone has more information, please post it in the comments. Happy Riding!

To Clip, or not to Clip?

Some do. Others don't. Some would like to, but they haven't the nerve. Others have tried, fallen too many times, and gone back. What am I talking about? Clipless pedals.

It's been two weeks since the New York Five Boro, where I took my old hybrid bike with toe clips or cages to do a 40-mile tour. I took the old bike because I didn't want the new one to get  wrecked on the train traveling to the city. Since then, I've gone on two rides, one with the road bike and clipless pedals, and one on the hybrid bike, now with bare pedals. An interesting phenomenon occurred: I became worried I'd fall off of both bikes.

Before the Five Boro, Judy Pacitti, the ride leader for Get Your Guts in Gear, suggested that I take the straps out of the toe cages. Since I had been learning to ride with the clipless pedals on my new road bike, she thought that it might be easier when riding the hybrid to be able to twist my feet out sideways from the toe cages, as I'd been learning with the road bike, rather than pulling them straight out as I do when the straps are on the cages. This worked -- to a point. What I hadn't planned on was that the treads of my touring shoes would get stuck between the grooves on the pedals and toe cages, making it even more scary to release my feet to stop. At the NY ride, there was a lot of starting and stopping. I was scared to death I was going to fall, and take other people down with me. My husband and a friend took the toe cages off completely at one of the stops, but by then the mental damage was done. I was now as afraid of riding my old bike as I have been with the new one.

The following Wed, I met up with a GYGIG rider after work to get in some miles on the road bike. At that time, I was feeling slightly safer riding it than the other bike. At least those shoes and pedals were meant to go together. I took a spin around the parking lot before we went out on to the road, to get my groove with the shoes and the stopping. While I didn't fall during the ride, I became more worried rather than less at intersections, that I would go down in front of a car (the drivers where I live are not usually tolerant of cyclists). I was beginning to worry how to get past this mental wall so I could just enjoy riding again.

Last Saturday, we were with my husband's parents. They wanted to ride their bikes, one of which is a cruiser. As in, heavy with no gears or hand brakes cruiser. After some discussion, we decided that we would take our hybrid/mountain bikes and wear regular clothes and sneakers instead of cycling gear. I did wear my helmet and gloves, just in case. And you know what? It was wonderful.

The ride was about 10 miles, some of it uphill. The scenery was beautiful, vistas of fields surrounded by the ocean. Without having to hold on to the handlebars for dear life, or worry about upcoming intersections, I could just enjoy the ride, with the sun on my back and the breeze on my face. Yes, the jeans were uncomfortable, and reminded me of the joys of padded shorts. While my Keds with the smooth, non-stiff sole were perfect for this ride -- as they had been in the past, because they didn't caught in the pedal treads -- I knew from semi-recent experience that on the longer rides, my feet would go numb. I know I can't go back to this type of riding if I want to do half-centuries and centuries, but it reminded me of the importance of enjoying riding for its own sake. I've felt so pressured to learn these clipless pedals to keep up with the cool kids that cycling wasn't fun anymore. Isn't that what it's supposed to be -- fun?

In a recent (May?) issue of Cycling Plus from Britain, there is a feature article on clipless pedals, different brands and prices. The author says that clipless pedals are actually safer than the toe clips/cages for beginners. I suspect that's because in theory you're supposed to clip or tighten the straps of the toe clips over your shoes (I just pull my feet in and out), while with clipless pedals your foot is actually "free" on top to move as needed. Fair enough. What I don't think he says, but I would like to, is that along with these clipless pedals or toeclips, everyone should have the freedom to learn and improve their cycling at their own pace. I have discovered that balance and quick reaction time are skills just like math and writing. Some of us master them faster than others. When we feel pressure to keep up with the group ride leaders or the club racers, they are not doing us any favors. As I know some of the readers here will agree, there is a very real possibility that you can fall and seriously hurt yourself. We need to be able to take our time, feel sure of ourselves on the bike, so we can have positive experiences that build upon themselves, rather than negative, defeating experiences that will turn us off riding. We need, no matter what pedals or shoes we're using at the time, and no matter who we're riding with, to have fun.

Are you new to cycling?

I have received a few comments and emails from friends and visitors to this blog, who tell me they want to ride but are afraid to get back on the bike, can't keep up with their friend or significant other who rides, or just don't know where to begin.

Believe me, I know how you feel. Though I've taken my old bike out for a few rides every summer for the last twelve years, I've never taken it seriously until this year. It's exciting, but at times completely overwhelming. Perhaps you take that old bike out of the garage and down to your local bike shop for a tune-up, and the shop mechanic unloads a whole lot of bike speak gibberish at you that doesn't make sense. Or you agree to ride with a friend or loved one for the first time, to get out and enjoy that spring air, and they've got the full kit and the computers and the shiny new million speed bike, and you feel as if they could blow you off the road. It is so discouraging. You want to put that old bike back in the garage and forget about it. But don't!! It is for those reasons that I started this blog, and I hope I can encourage you to get on the bike again and enjoy riding, no matter where you are experience-wise. I want to do for other women on this blog what I couldn't find for me, a place where being new and knowing nothing about cycling is perfectly OK. Where no question is too basic, no fear is too unreasonable, and no frustration goes unheard. Where we can solve some of the mysteries and remember why we wanted to ride in the first place.

In some previous posts, I talked about heart rate monitors and cycling computers, and am planning a post on my personal nemesis, clipless pedal systems. But let's get even more basic than that. What do you really need to get on that bike and stay safe? I'm going to make two simple lists for you.

The Must-Haves

1. A bike in good repair. I don't care if it's a cruiser, a mountain bike, a road bike, hybrid, whatever. If it's got two wheels on it, and you want to ride it, let's work with that. It makes no sense to go out and buy a brand new bike if you're not even sure you want to commit to this yet, or not sure what your goals are. The only absolute about your bike is that it must be in good shape. That means no rusty or squeaky parts, no loose cables, no iffy brakes, or squishy tires. If you haven't been on the bike in a while, you really should take it to a local shop and have them give it a once-over. If the mechanic isn't respectful and helpful, then go somewhere else. You are a customer that deserves to be treated with respect, especially if they want you to come back!

2. A bicycle pump and tire repair kit. You need to make sure there is the proper amount of air in the tires, and there are no leaks. If you don't have a friend or significant other who can show you how to put air in your tires, or how to patch a hole, bike shops usually have a one-night class you can take. Think of this as empowerment. You don't want to be stranded on the road with a flat. I just learned a few months ago how to put air in my tires. I'm still working on how to patch a hole. :)

3. A bike helmet. It does not have to be expensive or of flashy design. It does have to fit snugly and protect your head. Please do not get on your bike without it.

4. A pair of riding gloves. When I started to ride, I wondered why everyone had these, even on the hottest of days. First, there is padding to protect your palms as you hold the handlebars, so your hands don't go numb on longer rides. Second, if you fall, the gloves will protect your hands from getting cut up.

5. Padded shorts or tights. While not a "must" per se, they're going to make riding more comfortable. If lycra spandex isn't your thing, get some mountain bike shorts. I think they're called baggies, and look like regular khaki shorts, except they have a chamois pad in the bottom to make that saddle feel a lot better. Another option for those who don't like shorts: skorts.

Nice-to-haves

1. Glasses with interchangeable lenses. For the most part, I rode with my sunglasses last year. But if you ride at dusk, and your glasses are too dark, it's hard to see. Going bare-eyed has its own issues: twice in a month last fall, I had gnats fly at me and get stuck on my contact lenses. Ick. Now I have glasses that have dark lenses for daytime, and clear lenses for those dusk rides. There are amber and yellow lenses too for other types of light.

2. Jerseys (long or short sleeved). I'm just getting around to these. I didn't appreciate their value until I rode last fall in cooler temperatures, and found that I was sweating on the uphills and then freezing on the downhills, because I didn't have a top with the wicking fabric. Yes, some of them are very expensive, and no, you don't need to buy those. The Performance and Bike Nashbar catalogs have store brand clothing that is reasonably priced for beginners. This also applies to socks --  you want to keep your feet dry. You also want a jersey or windbreaker in a bright or flourescent color if you ride early morning or at sunset.

3. Good stiff riding shoes. At first, your sneakers will probably be OK, if the soles are stiff. But if you like riding and start to increase your mileage, you'll want to make sure that your feet don't go numb.

4. A bike rack that you can use. As a new rider, you might want to stick to rail trails, or country roads where the risk of getting hit by a car is minimal. A good bike rack comes in handy for transporting the bike to a safe place, or meeting up to ride with friends.

Now that you know you don't need an expensive bike or lots of fancy equipment, I really hope you'll want to try cycling again. Take your time and go at your own pace. Find others to ride with you who are at a similar level, or at least those you can feel relaxed with, perhaps through your local bike shop or a cycling club. Some communities even have women-only rides, and that can take off a lot of pressure if your well-meaning male loved one is a little too enthusiastic! :) If you rode as a kid, you probably remember the joy of getting out of school, rushing home, and jumping on your bike to get to a friend's house. Or riding fast on a long flat street, just for the thrill of it -- the sunshine, freedom, and fun! And really, isn't that what cycling is all about?

****The Redlands Bicycle Classic starts tomorrow, March 22! I am not sure where you can get updated race results, but this site looks to be the best.**** 

Where is Spring?

I had hoped to share photos of my first ride of the season with Grace in this post, but the promised 50 degree weather did not arrive this past weekend. With the temperatures only in the mid-30s and windy, and the rail trail iced over in spots, I could not bring myself to get on the bike outdoors. Perhaps that makes me a wimp, but Pearl Izumi does not yet make a heated hat/jacket/tights/boots/body covering combo that could keep me warm enough to make riding outside pleasurable, or even tolerable, this time of year.

Some riders hate their trainer so much that they'll ride in the freezing weather just to avoid it. I'm the opposite -- I really don't mind riding in the basement with some good music on the iPod, as long as I can stay warm. I'm following the 7-week Cycling for Fitness book by Chris Sidwells. It has instructions for beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders, and a good number of the training sessions have a little box labeled "Indoor Adaptations." At the end of the book are a few pages with training plans for centuries and touring vacations -- I'll use them to prepare for the NYC five boro ride and the Collinsville half century in May. Spring should be here by then!

Do you prefer indoor or outdoor training when it's cold? What is your tolerance level for outdoor riding in winter? Or do you not ride at all until spring? What training plan do you follow, something basic like Sidwells, or something tough like Carmichael? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I'll try not cry if you live in California or Florida, and tell me you can ride outside all year long. :)

Support Your Sisters

"Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels." -Faith Whittlesey

Last July, I began to catch cycling fever. My husband started racing as a Cat 5, the Tour de France was on OLN (now Versus), it was high summer (my favorite season), and the world was a wonderful place. One of my particular symptoms of this fever was discovering the amazing world of women's racing.

The local women's races took place either just before or just after my husband's races, so while he was warming up or cooling down, I watched as the riders took their places on the starting line. What struck me was that they were "regular" women just like me: many were in their 30s and 40s, and of average height and build. They weren't the under 5' tall, 80 lb. teenage gymnasts, or the over 6' tall, 150 lb.-ish college age basketball players. They were strong yet graceful, and I was positively inspired watching them.

Then I discovered TEAm Lipton, a women's pro racing team.  They were coming to a stage race in a nearby state, and I *had* to go see them. What I did not know at the time is that an Olympic gold medalist, Sarah Ulmer, would also compete in this race.  I had never heard of her until the race announcer introduced her at the start line. She outraced everyone that day, nearly lapping the field. (To this day, I believe she chose not to lap them on purpose). Her strength and power as an athlete, and as a female athlete, is hard to describe -- you had to be there.

During one of the laps, a prime was announced. First cyclist in the field to complete the lap would earn a prize of, let's say, $50. I had seen prime laps before and knew it was a fun incentive for the riders. What shocked me was that during the very next pro men's race, a prime lap was also announced, this time with a prize of, let's say $200. Why were the prizes, both for pro racers, not the same?!

I'm sure the race sponsors didn't mean to be insulting, but if I were Sarah Ulmer, I would have been very frustrated to be competing at the same level as the men, as an Olympic champion no less, and have fellow riders be offered what amounts to a gift certificate for a pedicure. Unfortunately, this practice isn't unusual.  These riders train just as hard as their male counterparts do, travel just as much, and have the same expenses. Why isn't there an outcry for equal salaries and prize money?

Please understand that I'm not a militant feminist, just a girl who loves watching a good bike race. I want those women who compete on a pro level to be able to do so, without having to hold down another job to put food on the table. Would you be shocked to know that Kristin Armstrong, U.S. Time Trial World Champion (who also holds a bachelor's degree in sports physiology), works at Home Depot, mixing paint in the off-season, as part of their work program to support athletes?! (Road magazine, Jan-Feb, 2007, pp. 78-84).

In the Sept 11, 2006 issue of Velo News, is an article called "Street Smarts." The author, Kathie Reid, explains that many of the pro women racers are highly educated, knowing they will need to go on to another career when their racing days have ended:

"The eight-woman roster of Webcor-Platinum, home to 2004 Olympian Christine Thorburn (an M.D.), includes seven women who have completed a bachelor's degree; four hold graduate degrees. Canadian Betina Hold, who has a master's in electrical engineering, designs computer chips and recently acquired her first patent. Amber Rais, who went from a Cat IV to a Cat I in her first season of racing, is working on her master's in oceanography at Stanford."

The article explains that there are benefits to dual careers: they often provide credibility to the athletes in both professions. Those who are doctors or exercise physiologists or engineers have both practical as well as book knowledge, and are highly regarded by their peers. But it is a sad fact that when it comes to racing, they really don't have the choice of one career over the other:

"Men's racing pays better, and therefore men are more likely to be able to support themselves racing bikes. Only a select few women can make a full-time go of racing. 'I could not support myself and pay back my medical school loans (on racing alone),' said Thorburn...'I do know a handful of women who can, but most women have spouses and/or parents who help them out, at least for housing and often for other expenses...The few women at the top level in each country can make enough to live year-by-year on, but with an injury or a bad year, funding goes away pretty quickly.' "

Pro women athletes should be able to focus solely on their training and racing just as the men do, delaying college until later if they so choose. In order to do that, they need to be sponsored as adequately as male riders are. Sponsors won't give equal financial support unless there is equal fan support (and therefore, an equally large audience for advertisements). This is where we come in.

Ladies, let's get out there and support our fellow women riders. Let's learn their names, their teams, and their important races. Let's support cycling media like Velo News and Road magazine, which publish interviews with and race results for female riders, and tell them we want more of the same. I'm committing to doing some blog biographies of some of these riders, and notifying you of the national and international races as I hear of them. Please let me know what you're hearing too.  The more we can encourage our female riders and their sponsors, the better the opportunities there will be in the world of cycling for all of us. Let's ring those bells loudly and proudly for our sisters in 2007!

Sites to get us started:

www.womencyclists.com

www.ladiescycling.net

www.procyclingwomen.com

ETA: Just found this excellent article on women wanting to race in the Tour of California: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_5208410. Thanks to Theresa for inspiring me to go look for information on this!

Fun with Sponsors

First, some eye candy for Valentine's Day, an issue of Bicycling Australia:

Floyd fans will be glad to know there's a 4-page article in this issue explaining his case, from a scientific point of view. It explains why or why not testosterone could benefit an athlete, how the IRMS test works, etc. It's one of the only articles I've seen that attempts the technical aspects of his case. The author (a doctor), seems fair, not convinced that Floyd is innocent, but willing to change his mind if science can prove it. Three articles on other doping cases will follow in future issues, including one on Lance Armstrong.

Other articles of interest include mental strategies while cycling, and bike handling skills. Does anyone know if/where issues can be purchased in the U.S.? This was a gift from a friend.

Fun with Sponsors

When Suitcase of Courage and I attended the Cyclocross nationals in December, the sponsor, a California grower's association, reminded us at the end of a race to support California strawberries. Feeling the cycling loyalty down to my core, I now pass by the Florida strawberries in my local grocery store on principle. I've been debating a bottle of Gerolsteiner water, but am less motivated now that Levi has left the team. It is too easy for me to support my favorite pro women's team, TEAm Lipton. [Note to Lipton: pull sponsorship of the team, and I'll go to Salada in a heartbeat].

This week, there has been a lot of discussion here, here, and here about team sponsorship. Unlike American sports with their geographic team names (e.g. New York Yankees, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Rams, et al), pro cycling teams take their names from their corporate sponsors, usually in Europe. Discovery [channel], formerly U.S. Postal, is the only team sponsored by an American company, that trains in Texas. They are now losing their sponsorship, apparently due to a change in corporate politics. (feel free to correct me in the comments if I've got this wrong).

All this debate on sponsorship has got me thinking. We have some huge companies here in the U.S. that would make terrific cycling sponsors. It's not as if we're asking them to sponsor a football team. Cycling is at the sweet spot where the numbers of its fans and riders are growing exponentially, yet it is not so big that commercials during the Tour of California (which isn't even broadcast here!) cost millions of dollars for a nanosecond. Cycling enthusiasts are generally well-educated and have higher average incomes, than say, fans of the WWF. To translate in Sponsorese: we have money to spend on your products if you want to advertise to us. We would be more than happy to purchase your products if you support our sport.

Here, then, are my suggestions for American corporate sponsors of cycling:

For the women's teams:

Avon: ride hard, and look good

Cosmair: L'Oreal, etc

Dannon: women eat a ton of yogurt, and Dannon promotes healthy living

L'eggs: who wouldn't want to be a pro rider in Team L'Eggs?

Neutrogena: all that sun, wind, etc. while riding wrecks havoc on our skin

Vaseline, after a crash: "Let the healing begin"

For the men's teams:

Bic & Gillette: almost too obvious

For everyone:

Campbell's Soup: great red & white kit possibilities

Century 21: for the recreational teams

Coke/Diet Coke: put Santa and the polar bear on bikes

Hallmark: "we care enough to send the very best. To the tours."

Johnson & Johnson: "bandaging up the Pro Tour." I'll stop there.

Maxwell House: caffeinating the peloton. Riders get TUEs for having to ingest the corporate product during races in front of fans.

Pepsi: Floyd, Ivan, Jan, and Lance do a race called, you guessed it, The Pepsi Challenge

Pfizer: a replacement for Phonak? Sorry.

Poland Spring: "water bottles supplied by Poland Spring." The U.S. answer to Gerolsteiner.

Proctor & Gamble: I'll put aside my issues re: their animal testing if they sponsor a team. They make Tide. A commercial could have the team loading a washing machine with sweaty team jerseys. Wash Cycle. Spin Cycle. "If tide can clean up this road grime, it can clean your laundry."

Timex: the team that takes a licking but keeps on ticking. A natural for time trials.

Tropicana: owned by Pepsi. Who knew? Therefore, based in Chicago,IL, not CA or FL as I thought. Sounds like a great sponsor for Downer's Grove, instead of T of C. Oh -- get it -- Downer's Grove -- Oranges -- it all comes together.

Companies Needing to Boost Their Image by Promoting Healthy Lifestyles:

McDonald's: Grimace needs to shed a few pounds. Get him and the kids on bikes.

M&M-Mars: Green kit for this team. Good time-trial helmet possibilities.

The Biggies:

Apple & Microsoft: Apple is in CA, and Microsoft is based in Washington. A lot of the good cycling is on the west coast.

AT&T: telecom company, like the Euro sponsors

CNN: Breaking [away] News

Conde Nast, Reader's Digest, Rupert Murdoch, et al: more media giants. Cycling fans are readers.

Disney: black helmets with mouse ears. Too bad they're not aerodynamic.

The Gap: "Riders' off-the-bike clothing supplied by The Gap."

GE: utility company, like the Euro sponsors

Sony: why are there few Asian cyclists in pro-tour teams, that I have noticed?

Staples: a lot of cycling fans have desk jobs

Starbucks: cycling fans will spend $4 on a coffee while watching cyclocross in December. In New England.

Target: bulls-eye logo on team kit, to mesmerize other riders in the peloton

Wal-Mart: appealing to a new audience of fans

BUT, my all-time favorite, most perfect sponsor for a U.S. team has got to be:

SPRINT.

Maybe Discovery Channel should give them a call?!

Welcome to She Cycles by the Seashore!

After 12 years of leisurely rides on a hybrid bike, I want to make a bigger commitment to cycling. I want to ride faster, farther, and stronger. My goal for 2007: to ride a century, 100 miles, by the end of summer.

When I began this journey last fall, there was little information available that I could find for women cyclists.  There are many great cycling books, magazines, and websites out there, but the answers to some of my uniquely female questions remained elusive, such as:

• What manufacturers make women's-specific-design (WSD) bikes, and is there one that is right for me? What should I look for when choosing a WSD bike?
• What types of clothing and shoes are available for female riders, and how do I know what size to get? What are essentials and what can be purchased later?
• When following a training program, are there adjustments that should be made for female cyclists, such as speed, mileage, or heartrate?

My husband is an experienced rider and Cat 4 racer, but even he was not able to answer these questions. After doing some research, and some trial and error, I want to share what I'm learning with you. I hope you will share what you've learned with me.

Here are my goals for She Cycles by the Seashore:

• to document my training progress as I prepare to ride a century
• to encourage other women like me who are not particularly athletic, or are otherwise intimidated, to get on their bikes and enjoy riding
• to provide resources for new female cyclists
• to share cycling news and pro race coverage

I hope you will check back often, and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. Women are the fastest-growing segment of the bike industry. We're discovering that riding a bike promotes fitness, relieves stress, is easy on your body and a perfect way to spend time with family and friends. Whether you want to race, or just enjoy the ride, please join me here at She Cycles by the Seashore.