Why We Created a Team
I didn’t play team sports growing up. The closest we got to team competition was when we all lined up at a local swim meet in our green team suits (we were the Greene Gators - yes, spelled with an extra ‘e’ because we were from Greeneville, TN.)
I have bad hand-eye coordination - any sport involving a ball tends to go terribly wrong when the ball crosses my path. So even when others were joining the college rec leagues, I opted for something safer - like Student Government.
When I moved to Atlanta almost 12-years ago, I was looking for friends and I discovered a triathlon team with Team in Training. This was the first time I had ever joined a team and I quickly began to make new friends. I learned so much from experienced teammates in our group. I had never ridden a bike with curly handlebars before. I had never thought about a nutrition plan. I had never traveled with a bike. There was so much to learn. Every part of the training felt like an adventure.
The next year, I stayed with the team because they were training for Ironman, Arizona...a challenge that I never dreamed I would be able to complete. I signed up because I wanted to learn more about myself. It wasn’t about the race, but the adventure of discovering what I was made of.
A few years later, I joined another team. This time because I wanted to see how fast I could go. I wanted to see if I could stand on podiums. It was about the adventure of getting the best out of my body.
More recently, I joined an all-women’s cycling team. I had no desire to compete, I just wanted to go on rides with rad women and see beautiful places. It was all about the adventure of exploring.
When I think about all of these teams, my goals changed but the constant was that whatever I did was way more fulfilling in the context of a team. I had people to learn from. I had people to cheer for me. I had people challenge me to believe that I could accomplish more. I had people who sent me cards and meals when I crashed my bike. I a team who mourned with me when our teammate Bethany unexpectedly died.
The past few years have taught us that we need a community of people to be our very best. The right community can help us dream big. The right community can help us find the courage to get to whatever starting line we choose. The right community makes life way more fun.
That’s why we’re launching the Girls Gone Gravel Adventures Team. It’s a non-competitive team for any female-identifying cyclist. The goal is to create a supportive space where you can find the resources you need to chase whatever adventure you can dream of with zero mansplaining. Side note, no man haters here. Erin Ayala did a great podcast on what mansplaining is -- you can listen to it here.
Last night we officially launched the team during our Women, Whiskey, and Wheels live event (you can watch it here). Selene, Kaysee, Krist, and I were chatting backstage about women in the sport….that things are changing but we still face challenges. At one point Kristi said, ‘but we’re going to change this’... I believe this team will play a big part in changing the future for women in cycling. I hope you’ll join us.