The female voice

I'm excited about a new opportunity that presented itself recently. John Marsh, editor and publisher of RoadBikeRider.com has asked me to be a contributing writer and also be part of their product review team. There's a need for a female voice in a male dominated industry. I hope to provide that voice in an educational, fun and informative manner.

My first article was recently published so take a look. I also encourage the women who read my blog to voice their ideas for product reviews and even article topics. What do you want to know?

If you don't already receive RBR newsletter on a weekly basis, I encourage you to subscribe. I've been reading it for several years. Knowledge is power.

I look forward to hearing from you with ideas.

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri

Extending the cycling season during the Midwest winter

Extending the cycling season in the Midwest has always been a challenge. The last thing I want to do is hop on a trainer for 90 minutes. I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a sharp stick. So I look for alternatives to get outside during the cold winter months. There's snowshoeing, xcountry skiing, and a plethora of gym workouts like functional training, yoga and group exercise classes.

But I've been enjoying getting out on my fat tire bike when the conditions allow. We've had a few good snowfalls to provide opportunities to trail ride. But lately we've been plagued with not enough snow and a lot of ice or mud. So what's a cyclist to do? Head to the beach of course!

To avoid damaging the area trails or risk going down on a patch of ice, we headed to the shores of Lake Michigan to ride on the beach. Fat tire bikes work on the sand just as they do on snow. And you don't have to worry about damaging the trails.

#EndureAndEnjoy

After a ride on the beach you'll want to be sure to clean the chain and gears as the sand can cause added wear. I discovered a great tip a few years ago. Buy a 5 gallon garden sprayer at your local hardware store. Fill it with water at home and pack it in your car to spray down your bike after a sandy or muddy ride. It works great. You won't track the mess into your car, the mud wont harden on the bike, plus it keeps your bike clean. But be sure to scrub your chain when you get home and lube it up for the next ride.

Garden pump sprayers are great for hosing down your bike. Anywhere. Anytime.

So set out on your own adventure this winter. According to the Groundhog, spring is just around the corner.

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri

It's nice to share the passion

Today is February 1st and that means Valentines Day is just around the corner. I'm a firm believer that your shouldn't wait until that one day of the year to tell your honey what they mean to you or do something special for them. It should be year round.

It is always nice when your partner shares your passion, especially when that passion is cycling. I meet too many people who's spouses are cycling widows or widowers. Cyclists spend so many hours out on the road or trail each week that it's a shame when you can't enjoy it together.

This Valentines Day we found a unique way to celebrate this Hallmark holiday. Last night we signed up for Fat Cupid Classic Fat Bike Race. They have the typical categories of any bike race event but added a couples division. Rules are you must both cross the finish line together.

It will be four laps on both single track and cross country ski trails. Mitch keeps teasing me that he's going to bring reading materials so he has something to do as he waits for me to navigate the course. But I'm counting on us to work as a team as we did last summer for our two person time trial. The test of a good relationship...communication, teamwork and encouraging each other.

But honestly, since this type of racing is all new to me, I'm hoping there's nothing too treacherous. Guess you can always get off and walk if required. The key is to have fun. Right?

I'm continuing to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. I'll certainly report back how it all went.

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri

Come on. Mama needs a new pair of shoes.

As many of my friends know, I love shoes. I have well over 100 pairs. I've slowed down buying shoes when I started working from home. Barefoot is more to my liking these days.

But I've been looking at buying a new pair of cycling shoes. I'm always amazed at how expensive they are. More than a good pair of Italian boots and definitely not as pretty. I still haven't made the switch to road shoes and opt for MTB with SPD. I find the MTB style easier to walk in with the recessed cleat. Also I would have to change the pedals of at least 2 road bikes. An added expense I have yet to justify.

Another issue with cycling shoes is they don't come in larger women's sizes. I'm 6' tall and wear a women's 12M shoe. As a result I'm stuck buying a men's shoe and wearing thicker socks because they are too wide. About 3 years ago I switched to SIDI brand with the ratchet closure at the top. But you could never tighten the Velcro bottom straps enough to avoid your foot from sliding around.

So I've been eyeing shoes with boa closures. They bring the price up on the shoe, but I figured it would allow me to tighten it easier across the whole length of the shoe. The online reviews I read helped me decide to look at shoes with at least 2 boa closures so you can tighten/loosen both the top and bottom differently.

I ended up with a pair of Lake shoes. I choked at the price ($300 MSRP) but justified spending it because they were on sale, I'll use them a lot AND I'm worth it!!! I tried them for the first time last week during a CompuTrainer session. Figured using them indoors would allow me to return them if needed to as well as having my SIDI shoes ready in case the Lake shoes weren't feeling too good.

The two boa closures is what sold me on these shoes

I'm happy to report that the 2 boa closures really helped to get the shoe snug and my foot wasn't sliding around. They have the right amount of stiffness and seem to be able to transfer power nicely.

They aren't the sexiest pair of shoes in my closet, but definitely one of the more expensive. Maybe next year I'll try a road shoe. We shall see.

What shoe do you like and why? Share your comments.

Enjoying the ride with some new shoes,
Sheri

Puttin' on my big girl shorts

Puttin' on your big girl shorts and stepping out of your comfort zone is good to do from time to time. It adds a bit of excitement to a sometimes routine lifestyle. It's especially true as you get older, set in your ways and find it easier to "play it safe."

As I wrote in an earlier blog post, I've been riding my fat bike on trail rides. I'm perfectly fine on the double track trails but start to panic a little as we go to single track. I lack the confidence in my bike handling skills to relax and just have fun.

With road riding 5000+ miles a season, I'm perfectly comfortable sitting in a paceline, 6" off the wheel in front of me at 20 mph (as long as I know who's wheel), but am uneasy when it comes to flying down a hill on a narrow tree lined track. I do want to get better and more confident, but just going out there and riding single track only goes so far. This past summer I participated in an all women's Dirt Days. A group of women host a trail ride for any level female rider and coach them through different obstacles. I had a great time, learned a lot and was totally mentally and physically exhausted after the 2 hour ride.

I've been looking for another women's event and came across one at Ray's MTB park in Milwaukee. Each year they dedicate a weekend to a women's only clinic. I'm all registered and am looking forward to facing my fears and gaining new confidence. All while trying not to injure myself.

Ray's MTB Park is an indoor facility so I don't have to worry about snow and ice that weekend. Plus it is a more controlled environment. The clinic isn't until the first weekend in March so I'll blog about my experiences then.

Check out a recent article in SingleTracks.com on the 9 Great NA Indoor MTB Parks. Ray's is listed and there might be one in your neck of the woods.

I'm excited, yet nervous. But it's time to put on my big girl shorts and go shredding.  Well, I may need to bring an extra pair of short if it gets too insane.

Wish me luck and let me know how what you are doing to get out of your comfort zone.

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri

Endure and Enjoy

In Chicago it's hard to get outside for road rides in the winter. So I was excited to get a fat tire bike last year. My newest one is a Trek Farley and his name is Chris. He's large, slow and just lots of fun. Being a roadie for all these years, I had to get used to 9 mph being the new normal.

Conditions haven't been ideal with a bit of snow and then lots of ice. But I've gotten out to ride a number of times (100 miles so far). I'm slowly learning that the big fat tires grip pretty good and trying to let the fear of falling dissipate. Hard to do as you get older and bruise/break easier.

At the end of December, I participated in the Fatter by the Lake event hosted by Zion Cyclery. What a great sight to see, over 100 fat bikes riding along the Lake Michigan beach. It was my first time riding in sand. A blast!!!

I've been also learning to ride single track. It goes against everything you learned for road riding. You move side to side on your bike, lift out of the saddle a lot, and run over everything. I'm really trying to embrace this style of riding as it helps with bike handling skills that transfer over to road riding and extends my outdoor cycling season.

Rockin' Pearl Izumi winter jacket on my fat bike Chris

Cycling still seems to be a male dominated sport. For example, the last race I was at in Wisconsin had 9 women and over 80 guys. The low participation of women in cycling is why I applied to be part of Pearl Izumi's new Ride Champion Program designed to help promote women in cycling. As many of you know I was Strava's midwest cycling ambassador for 18 months. That gig is over and I'm excited to share with you I made the cut and am now a @PearlIzumi Ride Champion. They just launched a national cycling team for 2016 and I was one of 200 women chosen. Pearl Izumi is dedicated to celebrating women in the sport of cycling. As a PI Champion I will help spread that message. Super excited about what's to come.

Read more about PI Ride Champion program it here.

I look forward to encouraging other women to get out and ride and try new events. More to come.

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri

I'm Backkkkk.....

Well I took off 2015 from blogging and racing to relax and regroup. That doesn't mean I slacked off. Just means I wanted to remember what it was like to just have fun without a rigid training schedule. After training most of 2014 for the MI Titanium full aquabike race I was a bit burnt out and had some issues with rotator cuff tendinitis. So I gave myself permission to have a year of FUN.

I ended the year with over 5,700 miles on the bike, just a little bit of swimming and LOTS and lots of fun. Here's just some of the highlights for the year.

- March, Mitch and I took a trip out to California for nine days of riding with the Sacramento Wheelmen. This included Davis, Sacramento and Santa Cruz.
- May, our annual trip to Lexington, KY for the Horsey Hundred
- June - Headed to New Haven, MI for a century ride. We hooked up with a group early on in the ride and it turned out to be my fastest century yet!!
- July - Mitch and I competed in a two person time trial. This was Mitch's first TT and it was great that we could compete as a team. It required teamwork, encouraging one another and communications skills. I'm thrilled to say we took 3rd place, averaging 20 mph for the 50K and had a great time.
- August - Our annual Amishland ride in Indiana and Michigan. Weather was great, roads were okay. We did our typical century on Saturday. Always a good time.
- September - Off to South Dakota for a week of trail riding and hiking with my friend Ella. Her bucket list is to ride in every US state. SD was her 45th state. You can read about the trip, which was definitely one of the highlights of my year of fun.
- October - Competed in a fat tire cyclocross race. This was billed as a "fun race" and that it was. Pouring rain, 50 degrees and 4" of mud on the course. Add to that 13 guys and me for a wild good time. The event was Rhythm and Blues with a Blues Brothers theme. I dresses as "The Penguin" in a nun habit and robe. It was on Halloween so I fit right in.
- November/December - In Chicago the weather isn't always cooperating. So when not road riding, checking out new trails on the Cross or Fat Tire bikes There was an event on the Lake Michigan Beach in Zion. My first time fat biking on sand. Loads of fun and can highly recommend it.

Rhythm and Blues Halloween Fat Tire Race (Blues Brothers Theme)

I've decided that 2016 will be back to racing. I plan to go back to Grand Rapids, MI for the MI Titanium. This time a shorter aquabike course...1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike. I plan to do some other events and hope some traveling. Now just need to get through this crazy Chicago winter.

Still enjoying the ride,
Sheri