Local clinics for new riders?

[CrystalClear]

I am originally from Montana and grew up on mountain bikes. I moved to Seattle for school and commuted on my mountain bike for the past 4 years. I recently purchased a road bike and am slowly gaining confidence, minus the new addition of clipless pedals and my first fall :p . I am a rather competitive person and would like to learn riding techniques and racing strategies.

Are there any local clinics for women cyclists in the Seattle area?

I checked out the Northwest Women's Cycling website but it appears to not have been updated since 2006. ???

[KnottedYet]

Cascade has some, Cycle University too. Ummm, someone was posting some links to a women's beginner's racing team that was open for new members. They were training and essentially doing clinics.

Eden is a Seattle area racer, she's sure to have lots of ideas.

(I don't think it was her team that was doing beginner's racing, but maybe it was.)

Our most well-known women's team: http://www.teamgrouphealth.com/

Bridget Dutra Herzog does women's coaching, she might know of other resources too. (I can't find her website, but she's very active.)

[salsabike]

Here's the thread Eden posted that Knot referred to, and it sounds like something you might be interested in:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=18820

[Eden]

Eden is a Seattle area racer, she's sure to have lots of ideas.

(I don't think it was her team that was doing beginner's racing, but maybe it was.)

You guys mostly beat me to it though!

Indeed we are pretty much a team for beginners. We consider ourselves a development team and we only rarely take on riders who are already racing at higher levels. We do ask for some commitment to racing even from our newest members, but we would never force someone to do something that they felt was over their heads. There are a lot of opportunities to meet the participation requirements that shouldn't take most people out of their comfort zones. On the other hand we also prepare people very well for racing through group rides, clinics and lectures.

I would highly recommend the Sunday women's rides. You can meet people from all of the teams and ask as many questions as you like - and learn some technique (we usually teach a bit of pacelining) while you are at it. I won't personally be at this Sunday's ride, but I'll be out to most of the rest. Teammates of mine will be at all of the rides.

You are right that the North West Women's web site is out of date. It still exists in a smaller form and the information is now located on the WSBA web site ( www.wsbaracing.com ) along with a lot of other good info and links.

Keep an eye on Cycle U too- they started doing a women's only Racing 101 class last year. It was very popular so I'm sure it will be back this year.

Feel free to ask me as many questions as you want also!

[CrystalClear]

Thanks for the information! I am definitely going to make one of the women's team rides either Sept. 30th or Oct. 7th.

I rode with a couple co-workers this weekend. They were all male and it was incredibly intimidating. They tried to teach me how to paceline, I did ok but almost had a bad wreak. I kept up fine, but felt like they were taking it easy because I was along. I would like to learn more and show them up next time!!!