Today in 2015 you can be out and about in town or out in the country and find women of all ages out for a day on the bicycle. For those new to cycling this may not seem like such a big deal but for those like myself who started cycling in the early 80’s its a big, BIG deal for FresYes and our cycling community. Gone are the days of cycling being a male dominated recreation and in this writers opinion its so much for the better.
From the never ridden more than a mile crew up to those wanting to take up racing there are multiple options to be taken advantage of for the female cyclist unlike any time before.
Parkers Team, Team in Training, Women on Wheels are all great options for the new to intermediate cyclist but what about those who have been riding for a little while and have the inkling to check out bike racing?
FresYes has a fit for that crowd as well in the form of the Off the Front Women’s Development Team. Spearheaded by my lovely wife Dr. Ruste Sasser its a motley crew of women who are part of every part or FresYes. They are mothers, wives and daughters, An OBGYN, a chiropractor, massage therapist, students, pre school teacher….to name just a few of their community roles.
Ruste after having spent her younger days playing soccer for San Joaquin Memorial and Humboldt State took up cycling and quickly caught the racing bug in 2005 while training for a triathlon. Not loving the open water swims and having to battle panic attacks in the water it was an easy transition to her natural strength the bike.
Now with a home as a lead role model for Off the Front she has the opportunity and pleasure to take the lessons learned from her previous cycling adventures and team player mentality soccer taught her to help this new generation of bike racing women transition from peddlers to racers. The women on the team may not be hard core bike racers but they do want to have fun, get out of the mouse trap of the gym scene, enjoy the outdoors and have the camaraderie that only being part of something bigger than themselves brings.
If you ever wanted to try more than just a social bike ride and want to know what racing is like without having to deal with the ego’s and fear of racing the OTF women have an open invitation to all women who ride to come out and ride, have some fun, get in some miles and learn more about the world of bicycle racing in and around FresYes.
- Invitation to the Ball - November 6, 2015
- Sportsman’s Warehouse, the New Kid In Town - July 20, 2015
- The Freewheel Project - July 13, 2015
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