Joy and Lauren

Over the next few weeks we will introduce you to our Women Ambassadors. Located in different cities, states and regions around the world these wonderful ladies have been charged with investigating and reporting back on the different roles that women play within their cycling communities. This will also be an opportunity for us to help shine the spotlight on a few of the fantastic women that we have come to meet over the course of our history.

Joy and Lauren are two of these such women. Hailing from the Boston area of the United States they have been an integral part of the storied bike racing scene that exists there. Not only are both an inspiration in their race results but more importantly their enthusiasm for bicycle racing and riding. From road, track and cyclocross racing to even the filthy pursuit of MTB. These ladies have done it all. We chatted with them briefly this week to kick off the Ambassadors introduction, but it is safe to say that we can expect big things from these two bastions of the cycling community.

NOTE: Joy also offered her insights on Rapha products during the Festa della Donna in the feature Our Favorites.

Name:
Joy Stark

Age?
34

Residence?
Boston, MA USA

Occupation?
Marketing manager at Autodesk

What kind of bike do you ride?
Cannondale Super 6, Wilier Mortirolo, and Cannondale SuperX

Why do you ride?
I like sports that involve speed and suffering. 

Do you have a favourite cyclist?
Marianne Vos, the queen! If she were male, she would surely be the most celebrated cyclist of all time. 

Tell me one of your favourite riding locations.
The secret dirt roads of Vermont. 

Where would you most like to ride?
Last October, my boyfriend took me to Italy to watch the Tour of Lombardy. He ended up proposing the night before the race started, which made watching the race around Lake Como the next day a very special experience. I'd love to go back and ride the race route after we are married.

Knee warmers, full legs or embrocation?
Each serve a purpose…it's about choosing the right tool for the job. 

Tell me one thing that people may not know about women's cycling in the USA?
I've found it inspiring to learn how many women are employed at the independent bike builders in New England. If you're buying a Seven, you may be surprised to learn that a woman may have welded your bike. Women are not only working in the industry - they're starting and running businesses. The growth of women working and participating in cycling is really exciting. 

Who is going to win Paris-Roubaix next weekend?
I want Tom Boonen to win because he's dreamy, but my money's on Cancellara. 

photo by Eric Baumann

Name:
Lauren Kling

Age?
25

Residence?
Boston (Somerville, more accurately), MA USA

Occupation:
Currently a research technician at Boston University, working on becoming a physical therapist.

What kind of bike do you ride?
Lots! I love all disciplines of cycling and I have amassed a few bicycles to accommodate that.
Commuter - 2012 Specialized Daily 2
Road - 2007 Cannondale Synapse Fem Carbon
Mountain - 2008 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR
Cyclocross - 2011 Bianchi Cavaria
Track - custom Icarus Frames

Why do you ride?
I moved to Boston to go to college in 2004 from South Jersey, which is fairly open and mostly rural farmland with slightly more suburban areas. I liked the accessibility of this small city but found myself missing open spaces, forests, and seeing the stars at night. I had gotten a commuter bike and enjoyed being able to get around the city easily but it wasn't until my friends at a local shop took me on my first mountain bike ride that I really discovered the freedom cycling affords. I was elated to spend my day on the trails while being only a short distance from the city. Mountain biking and road riding takes me out of the hectic feel and heavy traffic of the city to open spaces, sunlight, and interesting new environments on a daily basis. Additionally, all of the racing and riding I have done has led me to meet new and wonderful people all over place. I can't really imagine where my life would be without it at this point.

Do you have a favourite cyclist?
Mo Bruno Roy (MMRacing/Bob's Red Mill p/b Seven Cycles) is an amazing professional cyclist who we are lucky enough to have living locally. She not only shreds cyclocross, mountain, and the occasional road race all over the US and Europe but she is a very inspiring person. You can tell that she always tries her best and remains positive even when things don't go her way. Beyond that, she does a lot of good for the sport and in encouraging women's cycling. Joy and I are lucky enough to have Mo as a mentor for our new women's developmental road team (the Ride.Studio.Cafe out of Lexington, MA) this season and I am very grateful for the opportunity to have her guiding us.

Tell me one of your favourite riding locations.
Last summer for my grandmother's 80th birthday she packed up the whole family and took us on a cruise from NYC to Bermuda. I was lucky enough to be able to bring my bike (& cycling boyfriend) along for the trip - turns out that if you call ahead and notify the cruise line that you will be bringing a bike, they will let you stash it in your cabin! We popped off the front wheels and kept them under our beds while at sea and the morning we landed on Bermuda we were kitted up and ready to go. The island itself is small, approximately 20 miles end to end. We rode around the whole island the first day, checking out lagoons, the crystal caves, climbing up to the lighthouse at the highest point on the island and admiring the beautiful pink beaches.

The roads there are very narrow with little or no shoulder, very rolling (there is no flat, only up or down) and, being a British territory, you ride on the left side of the road. Due to the small size of the island, however, personal car ownership is discouraged. What motorists we did see were very friendly to us and riding the rollercoaster-like hills was a blast. We rode over 50 miles the first day circumnavigating the island and on the remaining days that we were docked we took shorter trips to specific areas we wanted to sight-see at or beaches that we wanted to explore. It was truly the best way to get around the island.

Where would you most like to ride?
Just one? I would love to go mountain biking in Whistler, British Columbia. Both the terrain and the foliage there look amazing. I also would love to ride out in Colorado, I was briefly in Vail a few years ago for a wedding and managed to sneak in a road bike rental one day and ride up to the local mountain pass. I love the scenery and winding roads in Colorado, you can lose yourself in the fresh air, empty pavement, and the quiet hum of a bicycle. I would love to go back armed with my bicycle and have a proper visit.

Knee warmers, full legs or embrocation?
Knee warmers, but then again I have a bad habit of being chronically under-dressed.

Tell me one thing that people may not know about women's cycling in the USA?
Women's cycling in the USA is filled with a lot of bad-ass ladies. There is an amazing sense of community and camaraderie that exists in women's cycling that I think is fairly unique. The nature of cycling is that you are both in competition with yourself as an individual, striving to extract as much as you can out of your body, while also being in competition with your companions. Sometimes that competition is straight-forward, like in the midst of a race.

Other times it is more discreet and involves things like not getting dropped from a group ride or playfully going after a town line sprint. This breeds a high level of respect for your fellow cyclists because you want to "win", in some sense of the word, but you know that you are all trying your best and suffering similarly. I find that women tend to incorporate a more social aspect into their riding and between that and the bonds formed by mutual respect you end up with some amazing friendships.

I spend nearly every weekend, whether racing, training or casually riding, with a diverse, amazing group of women riding bikes. We are constantly pushing ourselves, trying new things and achieving our goals. I got the same joy from teaching my friend Starr to drop in off a boulder onto a crazy bridge for the first time during a fun mountain bike ride as I did from having my friend Liz decisively drop me during a UCI 'cross race and knowing how hard she works to be such a fast cyclist. I am just so unbelievably impressed on a regular basis by the women I know. I'll stop gushing now but I really do love being a part of this community and look forward to doing whatever I can to help promote, grow, and improve women's cycling!

Who is going to win Paris-Roubaix next weekend?
I think that Fabian Cancellara is always a contender and is looking strong as usual. Also, after dragging the break over the Poggio and then being out-sprinted at Milan-San Remo the other weekend, he will be looking for the top step of the podium at Paris-Roubaix.