It's Thursday night at
UCI Worlds in Richmond and although it was a rest day, we didn't rest. The plan is to blog every evening about our adventures. I'm also tweeting, so follow me
@GiroJenny for real-time updates.
If you don't have time to read, here's a quick recap of Day 6.
Food: Pizza leftovers,
Lucy's,
The Urban Farmhouse,
La Grotta
Bike: One of the highlights of the day! 3hr ride with USA Cycling and Pepper Palace Pro Cycling on Riverside Drive, RR Course, and TTT Course.
Races: Rest Day - Road Race Practice
Picks for Tomorrow: I'm pulling for Skylar Schneider (USA) and any of the USA U23 men. Let's get USA back on the podium!
Best Moment: I'm going to pick two because they were both off the charts! The 1st is our morning bike ride and 2nd is the Worlds Social event & Kathryn Bertine's book signing this evening.
Not the Best Moment: Being so tired at lunch that I forget to order my sandwich without cheese, so had to wait even longer to eat while they graciously made me a new one.
Strangest Moment: Strange in a good way, I met many friends in person today from twitter. Lots of "You're GiroJenny, I follow you on twitter". That's what Worlds Social was about, connecting with social media friends in person at Worlds.
Best Cycling Encounter: So many today, it's hard to pick. From interactions with pro cyclists in the hotel, to riding with Tina Pic and Julie Kuliecza all morning, to spending the evening with Kathryn Bertine and cycling staff, media, and fans. If I had to pick, riding and laughing with Tina would be it.
We woke up to an alarm, ate leftovers, and met for a group ride with our Utah
DNA Cycling friends. Turns out we were joining USA Cycling and Pepper Palace racers Tina Pic and Julie Kuliecza. Julie lives in Richmond and took us on the perfect 3hr ride. We rode Riverside Drive the opposite direction than with Dan, pre-rode the Road Race course, and then finished out the morning with the Team Time Trial course. I didn't take many pictures since the pace was high and we were in a large group. Believe when I tell you, it was magical. I've talked about this vacation being adult summer camp. This morning was like the camp leader putting you on a bus and taking you on a surprise visit to Disneyland and once you got there, you were the only ones at the park and rode the rides all day long. Actually, it was so much better than that, but you get the picture. Riding and talking with the entire group was fascinating, but hanging out with pro women Tina, Julie, and Jennifer Sharp was so much fun.
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| Selfie with Tina Pic |
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| USA Cycling and Pepper Palace Group Ride |
We were wiped out after the ride and needed food, so showered then went to our favorite Lucy's for sandwiches. We did a quick walk-thru of the Fan Fest at the convention center and were pleased to see a few more vendors had set up. Many had to transition across the country from Interbike. We had about an hour before the Worlds Social event that Chris Rivera and I had been planning for the last week, so Terry took a quick nap and I caught up on emails and social media.
Feeling slightly refreshed, we packed up and walked to Urban Farmhouse to set up. We had a great turnout and the discussions were exactly what we hoped for. We had a diverse gathering with one thing in common, which was passion for women's cycling. Just a few of the attendees are listed below. Follow them on twitter, they do great things for women's cycling.
Media:
Felix Mattis,
Anne-Marije Rook (
Ella Cycling Tips), and
Mary Topping (
Pro Velo Passion)
Race Organizers:
Tour of America (Kevin, Marie, Megin) and
Tour of Utah (Alex)
Local Teams:
Carytown Bicycle Co,
River City Women's Racing
Pro Cyclists:
Kathryn Bertine,
Tina Pic,
Julie Kuliecza
Hosts:
Chris Rivera came up with the idea and I gladly jumped in to help.
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| Felix and Anne-Marije |
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| Kathryn's Posse |
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| Kathryn and Carytown Bicycle Team |
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| My Utah Posse - Terry, Corey, Alex |
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| Kathryn, Julie, and Tina |
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| Chris, Kathryn, and Me - our 1st Worlds Social - hopefully more to come! |
After the Worlds Social, we walked down the street to
Fountain Bookstore for Kathryn's book signing. She also spoke to the audience and answered questions. If you haven't read her book or watched her film and seen her race, please do it. She puts a lot into the sport and deserves the attention.
Her website has info on all her activities.
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| Kathryn captivating the crowd with stories |
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| Book Signing with the Equality Pen |
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