I didn’t grow up watching sports as a kid, so I didn’t idolize the competitors in the Tour de France. I cruised around on bikes with my brother and friends to some extent. In 2019, I bought an inexpensive road bike off pinkbikes.com and then in 2020, my father-in-law taught me the basics of riding on the road. Drafting was scary but he is a great teacher and an insanely steady rider. In 2021, he also convinced me to start riding mountain bikes to get outside and have fun. I wouldn’t say I’m new to biking, but racing is a different animal.
In the summer of 2025 I wasn’t able to run, so I spent a lot of time on my bike with friends. I am lucky enough to have recently made friends with a group of strong female bicyclists in the Montpelier, VT area. They’re inspiring, warm people and I am so grateful for their friendship. I got to join some road bicycle rides with them early in the summer of 2025 and I got my ass handed to me. I bonked so hard on our first ~30ish mile ride, but they kept encouraging and teaching me.
There’s a local bike club here in central Vermont called the Stowe Bike Club that does a series of self-timed practice time trials throughout the summer. I started trying them out because my friends were certain it would help me improve, and my Masters swim coach from Green Mountain Community Fitness in Berlin, VT is also a member of the club. She gave me some quick, direct feedback about my form on the bike during the first time trial I joined.
“Your cadence is way too high, I can’t believe how fast you were pedaling!”
“Your power comes from your thighs, not your calves; your thighs are like pistons in an engine.”
“Your seat is too low.”
With that advice in mind, I made some adjustments and kept hitting the roads, both by myself and with my friends. Whenever it felt like I was spinning at what I’ve come to know as “runner’s” cadence (i.e., high!), I bumped up one gear. I actively thought about engagement through my quads all the time, and yes, I adjusted my seat immediately.
I started seeing results. When I raced the first Lake Elmore Triathlon (swimming and biking only) in June 2025, my bike time was 35:41 or 16.5 mph over 9.8 miles. Six weeks later, at the last event in the Lake Elmore Triathlon series, I’d knocked my time to 30:40 or 19.2 mph over 9.8 miles. It felt incredible! I started getting QOM (“Queen of the Mountain”) spots on Strava when I went out for rides. I worked up the courage to join the Women’s Drop Ride in Waterbury, VT and had a positive, perspective-changing experience.
Over Labor Day weekend 2025, I raced my first road bicycle race ever. It was the Mad River Road Race, where they people can sign up for only Stage 3 of the Green Mountain Stage Race (“GMSR”). I was nervous as it was my longest effort with the most elevation gain I’d ever attempted on a bicycle. So… I didn’t train for it per se, but my summer of cycling lessons added up to give it a go. I met a wonderful new friend in one of the only four women who signed up for the race, and we kicked ass together until I bonked pretty hard around mile 40. She put up a fantastic time, and I’m really proud of my result, too. I covered 64.1 miles and 5,361′ of elevation in 3:58:26, with an average pace 16.1 mph. I also broke into the top 1% of female climbers in Strava segments over the Middlebury Gap.
Above: a naive, hopeful me nervously prepares for the Mad River Road Race and asks a helpful stranger to capture the moment.
With that taste for racing and a mind to get revenge on my bonking experience in the last 24 miles of the race, I am going to actively train throughout the winter of 2025-26 with the goal of being in peak condition to participate in the GMSR in 2026. LFG, friends.