Pedal Queens Invite Women to Join Them for Bike Rides

By EMILY VAN CLEVE For the Journal

Attention all mountain and road biking guys: You can enjoy riding with the Pedal Queens, a women’s cycling club in Santa Fe, if you show up at a ride wearing a wig and a skirt.

No kidding.

To date, no male has taken up the offer, but the club is only a couple of months old. Despite its age, there are 44 members, which is pretty good for a group whose primary form of advertisement has been word of mouth.

Four local women — president Monica Niess, ride coordinator Rachel Friedman, treasurer Jennifer Steketee and Webmaster Dominique Revelle — are the founders who own pink Styrofoam crowns as a testament to their exalted royal positions. All of them except for Friedman got into cycling as adults and have boyfriends or husbands who are avid cyclers.

But riding with the men wasn’t really working out well.

"I attempted to ride with my boyfriend in the beginning, but he wasn’t a good teacher," explained Revelle. "He’s an experienced mountain biker who didn’t understand how to teach me how to ride."

Steketee shared a similar experience years ago. "My husband used to race," she said. "I was just learning how to ride, but he’d take us out to a pretty difficult trail. It was frustrating. He couldn’t comprehend that someone who hadn’t ridden before needed to start slow on an easy trail."

In the summer of 1993, Steketee and Revelle met and started riding together. They met Friedman, who has been a racer, at a trailhead and invited her to ride with them. Other women heard about the trio and asked to be included. Before long, Friedman was e- mailing 37 women about upcoming rides. It was time to form a group.

"We met at Jennifer’s house and ended our meeting at the Cowgirl over a few beers," explained Niess, who moved to Santa Fe in April and became an active part of the group. "We decided we wanted to be queens. I mean, why not?"

An invitational meeting set for November was posted on fliers around town. Fifty women showed up, and more than 20 joined on the spot, happily forking out $20 for the annual membership.

Membership benefits include discounts at businesses, such as local bike stores, that are partnering with the group. So far, women ranging in age from 22 to 64 years old have joined.

The Pedal Queens are working toward 501(c)3 nonprofit status so they can apply for grants to develop community service projects that encourage women to find confidence and independence through cycling.

In the meantime, there are regularly scheduled monthly rides that will increase to weekly rides once the weather gets warmer. The group has at least 20 destinations in its repertoire, with the most advanced rides taking place at various locations off Hyde Park Road. Mountain and road rides vary from beginning to intermediate in difficulty, although advanced rides will be scheduled as the group matures.

Pedal Queens also sponsor bike clinics, where members learn how to service their equipment. Member and road rider Pamela Gregg Flax plans to offer a foursession road bike clinic in the late spring. A former semi-professional rider from Southern California, Gregg Flax moved to town a year ago and looks forward to sharing her skills with other women.

"Being a member of the Pedal Queens is a great way for me to see the landscape and meet new people," she said. "I also want to help women learn how to ride a bike better."

Gregg Flax’s clinic includes information about basic biking skills such as the important parts of the bike to protect when riding, where to find your center of gravity and how to corner, ride with a group, climbing and sprinting. The clinic date isn’t set yet, but information will be posted on the club’s Web site.

Pedal Queens isn’t just for experienced riders. Women at all riding levels, and even complete novices, are welcome to join.

"We want to encourage women of all ages to live a more active, healthier lifestyle by facilitating a network where women can become comfortable in the cycling arena," said Niess. "Our aim is to help women gain self-confidence and independence by providing a nonthreatening environment where they can improve their bike handling and maintenance skills, achieve greater cycling success with the support of other women and utilize cycling as a mode of transportation."

Pedal Queens

wwwFor more information about Pedal Queens, contact Monica Niess at 474-0769 or Jennifer Steketee at 424-0073 or visit the Web site .pedalqueens.com.