Racing team’s popular Women’s Bike Racing 101 Clinic returns this Saturday

The Steel City Endurance women’s cycling team will be hosting a clinic at the Washington Blvd Cycling Oval on Saturday May 22. The clinic will teach the basics of riding in a group and will be a great way to meet other local women cyclists.  Strategy 101, riding in a slipstream and paceline, as well as lots of practice and discussion will be on hand.  All women at any experience level are welcome.   The cost will be $20 per person, and includes insurance and a 1-day USAC license.  You must provide your own bike and helmet…and there will be prizes!

Women’s Bike Racing Clinic

• Saturday, May 22 – 9am-12pm
• Washington Blvd Oval
• For more information, contact coach@steelcityendurance.com
• Click on the flyer on the right to enlarge

We had a couple questions for Patricia George, a team member of Steel City Endurance.

Who is Steel City Endurance, and why do you host this Women’s Racing Clinic?

Steel City Endurance Racing Team is a women’s and men’s racing team that was founded by Coach Suzanne Atkinson. Helping women ride and race bikes is entwined in the strands of this team’s DNA, as Coach Suzanne initially formed our team as a women’s introductory racing team 3 years ago. It is a really neat story, actually. Three years ago, Coach put out ads and notices through Pittsburgh Outdoors Club and word-of-mouth, and gathered together a group of women who had never raced bikes before (road racing, anyway).  Some of us had run, done tris, or raced/ridden mountain bikes, but nobody had raced.  (My story is that I had run 5Ks and such, and at that time I was looking to try something new to get myself into better shape. I was excited to meet new friends outside of work and just give bike racing a try.  I had never raced my bike, or even really thought about it, but I figured – heck, this might be fun.  And now I am hooked.)  Coach Suzanne’s goal (then and now) was to create a supportive and fun atmosphere for women to ride and race bikes, learn skills and learn to ride together, and basically support the spirit of racing and fun!  The team really took off, and although many of us didn’t know each other prior to that meeting, we are now close friends who love to ride and race bikes.  Women’s bike racing has really taken off in Pittsburgh, due in large part to Suzanne Atkinson for being the “tipping point” that started it all 3 years ago.

Coach Suzanne and our team continue to embrace our initial mission of spreading the love of bike racing to women in a supportive and fun environment.  To do this, we are holding our 3rd annual Women’s Cycling Clinic at the Washington Boulevard Oval on Saturday, May 22 from 9AM-noon.

Who should think about coming to the clinic?

Well any woman who has ever thought they’d want to ride a bike with a group, meet other women who enjoy riding bikes, or has even thought (even if for a fleeting second) about racing.  It really is a lot of fun, and this clinic will provide a safe way to begin to learn some of the nuances of bike racing.  Our goal is to provide an opportunity for women to meet, learn some basic bike skills (pacelining, bike control, basic strategy), and just have a lot of fun!

Not a member of BikePGH? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership