The Future of Women's Cycling

As I sit in Yeti's Grind on my day off enjoying a delicious roast from City on a Hill Coffee and a huge bacon and egg burrito topped with salsa, I begin to think about a comment my little sister wrote on my Facebook page the other day. In her best effort to get me to come back home and express how much she misses Danielle and I, she mentioned that "Cierra Thinks you should come back home, have a baby, teach me how to ride on a bike on the mountains, you look better WITH glasses, come to Disney with us this April, and a lot more". While the first two "thinks" I bet will not happen anytime soon, the third stuck out in my mind and brought back some memories from my family's last visit to Eagle.


A few years ago, my family was out when we used to live in Vail and everyone rented bikes. At the time, I was not into racing yet and leisurely rides down the bike path were on tap for the afternoon. While my little brother about 13 at the time could ride any grade we took him on, I felt bad for my little sister who just wanted to ride with her big brother, but due to her lack of riding experience and steep hills could not follow us. Two years later they returned to Colorado and we rented bikes again. What a difference... my little sister was fearless when it came to any obstacles in her path. We went over to the bike "skills" park by the Eagle ice rink and she was so excited to ride over logs, rock gardens, and go over the jumps with way more speed than I am sure she was intending to give. My little brother on the other hand, now struggled with the technical riding skills attempting to "jump" with my sisters 20 inch mountain bike and nearly lost his 'boys' on a hard landing.


The thought of teaching my sister to ride and race a mountain bike made me think about girls and women in our sport of cycling and how strong of a field we have today. More importantly, I would like to commend some of these women for being outstanding role models for girls in an age where public controversy seems to be the norm among teenage celebrity figures. 


Three names come to mind: Emily Batty, Heather Irmiger, and Rebecca Rusch. Click on any of their names to check out their personal websites to learn more about them. While each of these athletes have very unique and different personalities, they all have a common goal. To become the BEST at what they do, to win races, have fun, live an active healthy lifestyle, and most of all promote and expand the influence of women's cycling.


A year or two ago I read a story in BIKE magazine, an issue that was dedicated to women in cycling. This is where I introduced to Emily Batty, a promising young rider from Ontario, Canada who despite the common notion that mountain biking is a dirty sport, she takes pride in still being "a girl" on the bike by wearing makeup and jewelry while racing. Now, her white necklace she wears to every race is somewhat iconic with her image (pictured right). To add to that appeal, she still maintains that hometown girl attitude and, along with hectic training and racing schedule she still manages to make time for her husband and pro racer, Adam Morka. Lesson #1 to live by: Do what you love and be yourself. 


With failures like Lindsay Lohan and others in the spotlight for my sister to look up to, I think about the positive influence girls like Emily Batty can have on our youth. So by all means Cierra, next time you stop out here in Colorado I will definitely teach you to ride on the mountains! Until then, look up to this girl ---->

To me, Heather Irmiger is a perfect example of a healthy lifestyle. If you follow her on Twitter @irmigrrr, you will regularly see her post some pictures of a new ultra-healthy dish she has prepared for herself and husband Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski. She believes in well-balanced, organic nutrition and it shows in her results. 2009 SingleSpeed World Champion and countless podium finishes in the UCI World Cup field, will make anyone shift to her diet. Still don't believe me?? Just check out her photoshoot for this years Cyclepassion calendar. Google it... Here is a good story about the couple that made it to USA Today in their bids to race for the Team USA at the Beijing Olympic Games: MTB Couple Lesson #2 to live by: Take care of your body, eat well, and stay active.

Last but not least, we come to the current 2 time Leadville Trail 100 winner and 2009 24 Solo World Champion, Rebecca Rusch. Commonly known as "The Queen of Pain", Rebecca rides at a whole new level when it comes to ultra-endurance races. At 42 years old this year, it is no easy feat to put your body into the pain that she can mentally get through. She is a role model for all women young and experienced, proving that no matter what age you can still be at the top. Racers like her, Dave Wiens, and Ned Overend continue to push the bar higher, showing everyone that experience outweighs age in the sport of cycling. Rebecca is pictured here below: (Congratulations to Rebecca on her latest win at the 24 Hours of Argentina this past weekend) Lesson #3 to live by: Aim high and set goals, only after this can you unlock your true potential.

All three of these women I find particularly important in my wife Danielle's aspirations to become a strong racer. Her struggles with Type 1 Diabetes help fuel a desire to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, as well as prove that even with a life long disease, you can still achieve your goals. I thank you Danielle; for your determination, dedication, and companionship in our common interest in the sport of cycling.

I know there are countless other women who have contributed to the rise of womens cycling and I thank you all. We continue to see more and more amazing events every year such as the Beti Bike Bash in Denver. The Beti Bike Bash, in its second year is a women's only race/festival. Another great thing to see is cash purses for pros that match the mens fields. The Whiskey Off-Road for example, a race that Danielle and I will be attending/racing in April is evenly splitting a $20,000 purse for the mens and womens pro field. Sadly, this was not a common thing in the past. The future of womens cycling is moving in the right direction for sure... are you going to be a part of it??

TMP

What is Bach Builders?

Now I cannot say that I know much about the construction business, but I do know a bit about customer service. And I do have quite an eye for finding great customer service. This was apparent when I was first introduced to Fran and Dave Bach. Fran and Dave are the proud owners of Bach Builders: General Contracting. They are also the foundation (or basement in building terms) of the Bach Builders MTB Race Team. I have only known Fran and Dave since October but instantly I could see the passion for their work and commitment to their business. As a local independent contractor, their work is not just another "job", rather it is a work of art. Their dedication to their business, family, friends and teammates is what sets them apart from the rest.

What I like most about Bach Builders is the fact that the business is based on a local, family oriented environment. Beginning the partnership in 1990, the two brothers have had success after success in all facets of the remodeling niche. Based out of Boulder, CO you can call or email them and generally Fran will pick up the phone or respond to your email quickly. This isn't your regional cookie cutter contracting company that will "get you in touch" with a local sub-contractor to start your next job. Fran and Dave are with you from start to finish, and will do everything in their power to make sure you have 100% satisfaction with your job. In a constantly changing industry were customer service seems to dwindle in an effort to pump out mass business, Bach Builders will offer you outstanding service at a price that works for you.

Here are just a few examples of their work:

So if you are in the market to remodel your current home whether it be a kitchen, bathroom, deck, or even an addition, feel free to contact Fran or Dave Bach at 303.442.0254 today! By supporting your local independent business, you are supporting your community and local athletes.

Winter riding in Fruita...

Well, I can say that despite getting some record snowfall in Vail and Beaver Creek, we have had some pretty awesome weather just west of the resorts. Mild temps have allowed me to get out and ride the road bike a bit. Went out one afternoon down to Dotsero until I got a flat on the way back. Just so happens at that time the sun decides to duck behind the clouds and the temp starts falling. Unfortunately I did not have a spare tube with me so I had to call someone to pick me up. Lesson learned - Don't ride off with a tire that already has a patch holding the sidewall together.

Sports Garage and Bach Builders hosted a movie night in Boulder last weekend. It was a great evening with a little food and drink before hand, then we got to watch the "Ride the Divide" film in the "garage" at the bike shop. One of our team sponsors Infinit Nutrition was in the house talking about race fuel and endurance riding. Thank you to them for supporting us and handing out some free samples as well. For those of you that don't know about Infinit, check them out. They are the official liquid supplier of the Boulder based Garmin-Cervelo pro road team as well as a direct sponsor of Bach Builders rider Josh Tostado - our current 24 Solo National Champion and 6 time Breckenridge 100 winner. Josh was also in the house meeting attendees and answering endurance racing questions. I got some good feedback and information from him for my upcoming season, and I am really looking forward to training and racing with him this year.

This past Tuesday I decided to take a day off of work and take advantage of some late winter sun in Fruita. Forecast was a high of 56 degrees, perfect for the Western Colorado desert as the sun gave me a 67 degree temp all day long. It was time to get me some good base miles started on the mountain bike so I was able to meet up with Karen Jarchow (who was just given her formal acceptance onto the Honey Stinger "Hive" grassroots team). We started off with a fast paced lap of Rustler's Loop, and after 5 minutes we were already grinning from ear to ear! Loma's fast and swooping singletrack never gets old and the trails were running dry to our surprise. After Rustler's we headed up Mary's to take a lap around Horse Thief loop. Other than the usual wet spots through the hike-a-bike section of HT, everything was running dry as well. By the time we climbed up and out of Horse Thief Bench I decided it was time to stop by the car and get some sunblock on, Yes, in March! Grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back out to run a Mary's Loop then we ducked down into Steve's loop for some scenic Colorado River Rim riding. By 4:30 we were pretty spent and decided to call it a day. 32 miles of riding on March 1st, less than 2 hours from home was more than I could ask for.

My Dogma membership finishes up this month so I will be taking full advantage of Curt Nash's circuit training classes and Jake Wells' interval sessions. I can feel the Spring air right around the corner so we will be riding in no time! Coming up will be my revised race schedule as several races have changed.

TMP