So, exactly what is the travelgirl Women's Cycling team? Who are we, and what are we about?
First off, I'd say we are a group of tough girls! I say tough because, well, bike racing is a hard sport. It takes a lot of work even to be bad, and it takes even more work and lot of mental strength, personal resiliency, and support from friends, family, and teammates to even begin to be good. We generally race two to three races a weekend, every other weekend, from March until October. We race short, fast events called criteriums (or “crits” for short) with lots of cornering and a relatively high risk of crashing. We also perform individual efforts called time trials in which it’s just you against the clock, and the fastest time wins. We also compete in long distance road races, ranging from 45 to 70 miles over varied terrain including mind-numbing flat roads, beautiful rolling hills, and tortuous mountain climbs. We do all this in the freezing cold, pouring rain, blazing heat, viscous wind, and the occasional beautiful spring day with perfect temperatures and scenery so amazing it makes you aware of how lucky you are to be alive and doing what you love.
Aside from being tough, I'd say the travelgirl Women's Cycling team is well versed in the art of balancing life. While we race in professional women's events against women who are lucky enough to be able train, race, and travel without the interference of that pesky office-job thing; all of us also hold 40-hour-a-week jobs. This is not altogether uncommon in the women's professional fields. Usually, at a race, at least one-third to one-half of the peloton call bike racing their second occupation. While we bear no ill will to the lucky full-time cyclists, it is sometimes quite difficult to balance training, racing, traveling, work, family (one of us has a one-year-old!), and life in general. Amazingly, however, most of us have come to some kind of peace with this (or have at least cobbled together a manageable system) and just take each day as it comes, knowing that accomplishing your goals takes planning, persistence, and sacrifice.
Not everyone realizes it at first, but cycling is a team sport. Ideally, you want to have a team comprised of members with complementing strengths and weaknesses. Also, a team should have as little extraneous ego as possible. This can be difficult. After all, to succeed, you must believe in yourself, and, to believe in yourself, you must have confidence in you and your team’s abilities. I think finding that balance between confidence and cockiness is key. On our very best days (the days when we really click), our team has confidence, but not arrogance (dangerous things can happen when you underestimate your competition!), and all our moves are for the good of the team and not focused on individual gain. Don't get me wrong, our world is not always rosy, but I feel comfortable saying we at least all strive for this.
And . . . fun! I can’t leave out this aspect of our team. After all, as a wise woman once told me, we aren’t getting paid a salary for this, so why would we want to torture ourselves by taking ourselves too seriously or adding team members based on strength alone? It is all about having fun. Ultimately, I think that’s the attitude that brings the best results for us “pseudo” pros, and being able to laugh a lot gets us through the tough times. If you can’t laugh at yourself, I think you can be pretty sure someone else out there will gleefully seize the opportunity for you!
Finally, being on the travelgirl Women’s cycling team means one more thing: TRAVELING, of course, and all the adventures that come with it! From racing in venues as varied as exotic Bermuda to pedaling through teeny If-You-Blink-You'll-Miss-It, Tennessee, we've seen it all. We've eaten in the finest restaurants, pored over menus searching for something not involving chicken fried chicken and white gravy, filtered coffee with toilet paper, and, desperate for calories of any sort, eaten tuna straight from a can with our fingers. We've also pretty much stayed in every condition you can imagine. We've suffered through nights in hotels with furry red carpet, cinder block walls, and stains on the mattress, wishing desperately for a bio-hazard suit to sleep in. We've even stayed at a charming rental house in Bermuda complete with a pool and its own talking parakeet we dubbed “Rico.” Part of being a travelgirl means always having a partially packed bag lying around!
In the end, it is about taking advantage of every opportunity you’re given. It’s about trusting your teammates and respecting the hard work you and all your fellow women racers have put in to get there. It’s about taking advice from the seasoned racer and giving it to new ones without condescension. It’s about standing on a start line with screaming crowds (or, sometimes, just four lone spouses roped into coming) and striving to reach your own personal goals. It’s about understanding that you’re doing something you really want to be doing, something that certainly isn’t easy but brings immense satisfaction and greater understanding of just how strong we all can be. We should all be so lucky, you know?
We'd like to thank our title sponsor travelgirl Magazine, Michael Morris, Stephanie Oswald, and Renee Werbin for helping us find our adventures and live our dreams. We’re having a blast and know it will only get better. And, now, what about you out there? My advice: book a plane ticket, grab your loved ones (or enjoy some solitude!), pack your bags, and go have an adventure of your own. .
Check out our team website and blog at www.travlegirlcycling.com.
