By Guest Author • 26th May 2011 • Posted in Women
WORDS: Collyn Ahart
In road racing, they say the finish line is everything. Every race is won or lost on the finish line, where a matter of inches throws a girl into the depths of depression, soul searching and swearing off every future agony. For most people, and at most races, the finish line is where a race is lost. In those last few hundred meters of excruciating pain, every pedal stroke is matched by the girl next to you, every inch and every heartbeat replicated a thousand times across the line. This is the best and worst place on earth to be, and it shreds your soul.
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By Heidi Swift • 20th May 2011 • Posted in Women
I met Cindy Lewellen in the summer of 2009 during the Cascade Classic Stage Race in Bend, Oregon. I liked her immediately, sensing that behind her quiet demeanor and good-natured attitude, there was an adventurous, athletic woman who lived life according to her own rules. It might have been the monstrous BMW R1200GS motorcycle that she drove away that tipped me off. Lewellen was driving photo-moto for the first time ever that year and as we chatted over dinner about the thrills and spills (literally) of life on a motorcycle moving through a peloton, I remember hoping that our paths would cross again. I got my wish more than a year later when we worked together at the Cascade Classic as the only female photo-moto duo.
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By Gem Atkinson • 20th April 2011 • Posted in Women
The climb of Sa Calobra in Mallorca promised to be a day to remember. During my first taste of riding outside of the British Isles, the magnificent 10km climb was to prove the highlight of my short stay on the Balearic island. Having never ridden a major climb before, my legs and heart were tingling.
Sa Calobra, ‘the serpent’, takes its name from the winding snake-like turns and hairpins mapping out the descent right down to the cove. Italian engineer Antonio Paretti made his masterpiece on the island by observing the cliffs and mountain range and crafting a beautiful winding pass, enabling both a safe and spectacular journey along the steep features. The road winds its way down the hills just like its namesake, delivering a truly fabulous descent worthy of any grand tour. Yet, unlike many of the famous cols of Europe which you ride to the base of and then begin the ascent, Sa Calobra demands a breathtaking descent, before a leg-busting climb back up (it’s the only way back, unless you plan to take to the sea).
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By Laura Etherington • 26th March 2010 • Posted in Women
At midday it still looked like the sun might poke through the clouds, but by early afternoon the BBC had a severe weather warning over London and the rain began to fall in biblical proportions. This wasn’t ideal for the early Spring spin around Regent’s park that was planned for the launch of the Women’s Range. But the new Rapha Condor women’s team braved the elements and made it around the park along with some customers, who used the weather as a great way to test the new Stowaway.
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By Jamie Freeman • 17th July 2009 • Posted in Women
The Library of Congress, an archive run by the United States' Federal library, has an amazing collection of historical photographs. This post is the first in a series from these archives, digging out some of the best images from the history of cycling. The first selection highlights women in cycling over the last century.
Photo selection: Laura Fletcher.
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