Mia
I received my first bike when I was 10. It was a hand me down and had no training wheels which I would have been too embarrassed to use anyway. Because I come from a huge litter of children, my parents weren’t available to teach me to ride. I figured the best way to learn was to just get on the bike and go. I went to the top of a hill by my house, stood there with one foot on the peddle looking at the pavement I was sure to land on, and thought “ I’m going to do this.”. I still have the scar to prove I did. The scar has faded and is barely in sight, but I know it is there, and I know what I had accomplished that day when I got up bloody and scraped up, and tried again.
22 years later I was standing on top of a steep hill in San Francisco. I just took off the brakes on my fixed gear and again found myself thinking, “ I can do this.”. When the light turned green I took off. Fast. Towards the middle of the hill there was a car running a stop sign. I skidded to a stop inches from the car, without panicking, because I knew that I could avoid a collision if I just stayed calm and dug my feet in a little harder.
I began racing in Denver alleycat races 2 years ago. The races are male dominated; however me and a group of my female friends love to race with the big boys and always finish on top in the women’s categories. I have personally placed 1st 2 times, 2nd 3 times, and 3rd once. One of those races was a team alleycat where I and my teammate were the only female only team, and we placed 6th overall, 2nd and 3rd for ladies. I am honored to race with these women, whom has grown to be part of my family.
Now at 35 I have found that my life has had many steep downward hills. I have learned that downhill slopes are scary, and I have felt at times hopeless to pull out of. But I have found that because of my bike, and my biking community which I treasure, I can achieve anything, and pull out of the scariest situations, with nothing but a scar that will fade in time.
Living life and conquering the downhill moments. That’s why I ride.
22 years later I was standing on top of a steep hill in San Francisco. I just took off the brakes on my fixed gear and again found myself thinking, “ I can do this.”. When the light turned green I took off. Fast. Towards the middle of the hill there was a car running a stop sign. I skidded to a stop inches from the car, without panicking, because I knew that I could avoid a collision if I just stayed calm and dug my feet in a little harder.
I began racing in Denver alleycat races 2 years ago. The races are male dominated; however me and a group of my female friends love to race with the big boys and always finish on top in the women’s categories. I have personally placed 1st 2 times, 2nd 3 times, and 3rd once. One of those races was a team alleycat where I and my teammate were the only female only team, and we placed 6th overall, 2nd and 3rd for ladies. I am honored to race with these women, whom has grown to be part of my family.
Now at 35 I have found that my life has had many steep downward hills. I have learned that downhill slopes are scary, and I have felt at times hopeless to pull out of. But I have found that because of my bike, and my biking community which I treasure, I can achieve anything, and pull out of the scariest situations, with nothing but a scar that will fade in time.
Living life and conquering the downhill moments. That’s why I ride.