1) Tell us about yourself. What’s your background and how did you get into cycling?
In my youth (moons ago), I ran track. My events were the 100MH, 300MH, 400MH, and the 200M sprint (probably my best event later on). I was also swim instructor for 4 years! I had no intentions of ever getting into an endurance sport, but in my late 20s I tried triathlon and fell in love with just the cycling part because of the group I met, Serious Cycling. Met a lot of encouraging people who got me into crit racing after I recovered from a broken collarbone 😂.
2) What does “ENDURE” mean to you personally, and how does it reflect in your cycling journey?
In life there are many trials and tough times. Whether it’s grief, sadness, or pain, sometimes things we don’t expect, but I believe that there is a greater reward, even when we can’t see it in the moment.
With cycling specifically I will say, this is the first year that I feel comfortable enduring the discomfort; climbing and accepting that my growth in achieving a goal may not look the same as someone else’s. Have faith that it’s temporary and be grateful for the opportunity to move forward.
3) What challenges have you faced in your cycling career, and how have you overcome them?
For the first couple of years I definitely compared my progress to the progress of others, and it made cycling not fun for me for a moment. I was dreading every “long” ride, and up until recently anyone who knew me would tell you that I HATED climbing. I’ve had to learn to accept where I am and that I am actually a better cyclist today than I was when I started 3 years ago. I’ve learned to enjoy the climbs and take it in at my own pace and also to be clear about my ride intentions.
4) What role does community play in your cycling experience, and how has it influenced you?
Community is so important! When I started riding with Serious Cycling, the men in the group were supportive and encouraging, and many of them still are! The younger guys convinced me to race, but they said “Deb, the girls don’t want to be your friends, they are there to race.” I was intimidated because I was new to the sport and I was alone in the Cat 5 field for my team. That first year I got dropped every single race, but I made a friend and we worked together every single race, even when we got lapped. Later that year myself along with another friend decided that we wanted to add a weekday ride to our schedule, but make it just women who were beginners but wanted to challenge each other a little, so, the two of us 😂.
I wanted to see if more women would show up for a beginner ride (any bike, clipped in or sneakers, etc.) and they did! I realized, the women’s novice race field is so incredibly small and the pro women have significantly less numbers than the men; we don’t even get a race for each category, we get two races per day locally while the rest are men’s races. But there are many strong women who ride bikes at group rides throughout LA. Maybe they don’t want to race, are intimidated, or maybe don’t know where to start, so January 2023 I started the Lady Racer’s Ride! once a quarter; social pace, women across all race categories and women who don’t race.
It’s an opportunity to make new friends, share about different local group rides, and learn about cycling as a sport by building community so that we can show race/ cycling event organizers that the women’s race field is a growing field. It’s important to say that for LRR to be a success, people come together. Thankful to God for the opportunity and to the first few that believed in it and those who continue to support and show up.
5) How do you incorporate your personal style or fashion into your cycling gear?
This so funny because of course all of my first gear was from Amazon! (no disrespect). But cycling currently “look good feel good.”
I used to have a “sock check” going in our group rides, for fun, socks had to be clean, lined up, crisp. So I like a mean look, but not a boring one. My socks are 99.8% of the time white, unless it’s cold and I put fun wool socks on. My helmet has to match my shoes, 99.9% of the time white, except on race day. I like a clean aesthetic, but the KIT, the kit has got to be 🔥. It can be colorful, or have earthy tones; it can be abstract or it can be representative of something! Clean helmet, socks (don’t show up with chain grease on them or crumpled socks, or even worse, those no show socks 😂), shoes, and bike, with a 🔥 kit that pops! That’s my personal style. But I say, wear what makes YOU feel good and for safety, something visible!
