contributors
A dirtbaggin’ lady takes to the road
In my short (2+ year ) racing career, I’ve done primarily dirty and muddy races. I had been a little hesitant to take on a road race because, quite honestly, they didn’t sound all that fun to me. I come from the world of cyclocross and mountain bikes. In the past 2 years, I’ve identified [...]
Upcoming Women’s Racing Clinics
Two great opportunities to attend women-only clinics are coming up. HAC Road Clinic From Half Acre Cycling’s Vanessa Buccella: This Saturday Half Acre Cycling is hosting our annual Women/Trans Road Clinic. Registration can be found here. This year we have two new clinic leaders. We are FLYING in our Intermediate Clinic leader, Cycle-Smart coach, Shaun Adamson, [...]
Gapers Block Race Report
By Pretty Fast contributor Liz Markel “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Cyclocross racing has been my response to this adage for the last few years, but little did I know that I’d be taking on another scary thing this spring: criterium races. 2011 was the first year that I said [...]
Womens Racing Mechanics Workshop Pt. 1 – Wheels
By PF Contributor Kelly Clarke. Becky, Pretty Fast Organizer, and Joel, one of the knowledgeable staff members at Village Cycle Center (and also a frame builder) spoke to us at the Women’s Racing Mechanics Workshop about tires. Tire Tread Patterns For cyclocross there are three basic tread patterns to consider, and each have their advantages. [...]
Women’s Racing Mechanics Workshop Overview
By PF Contributor, Kelly Clarke I was really happy when I found out Pretty.Fast was hosting a racing specific mechanical workshop. Too often cycling workshops for women are really basic, like how to fix a flat. Ladies who ride regularly with teams and race already know how to do this. But after a full cyclocross [...]
Finding the perfect bike for a petite lady – Felt ZW4 review
Some women can fit on a “man-sized” bike. At 5 foot nothing, I am not one of those ladies. I always have to go with the “female proportioned” bikes. When I am in the market for a new bicycle it takes scads of researching before I can even find a bike to fit, much less [...]
Getting faster, getting stronger, one race at a time
(Photo by Andrew Gill) When I first expressed an interest in cycling–only about six weeks before Jackson Park–I was resolute: I am not a competitive person, I said. I’m not interested in racing. I’d just like to do something active that is a little more social.I’d been training for a half marathon over the summer, [...]
A long century — contest runner up
Pretty. Fast. had a little contest to get ladies to write about their race experiences. Well, we also got this story from Blair Dawson about her first century ride — 100 miles! Because she has such a good story, we decided to give her a runner up prize and share her story. Blair is taking [...]
From Commuter To Competitor – Contest Winner!
Pretty. Fast. had a little contest to have women write about their racing experiences to win a $90 tune up from Village Cycle Center. Kelly Clark from Spider Monkey Cycling is our winner, and here is her story: Last year, I was enjoying riding my fixed gear bike around the city and beyond, but [...]