Megan's submission to Trek's "Women That Ride"

I thought that this was a great little essay that Megan wrote.

Hi Trek,

My name is Megan and I am a registered dietitian, freelance writer, mother of two children--3yo boy and 5yo girl, cheerleader to my husband’s amateur bike racing career--as well as a former top 5 placing Sport class mountain bike racer and general bike lover. I live in Portland, OR that is known for being “Bike city USA”. A very bike friendly town with some great road rides and trails to ride within the city limits.

I would love this opportunity, because while my husband is off having his daily affair with one of his many bikes, I would love to have the excuse; 'Sorry dear, I need to take all day Saturday to go for a test ride!' Just the thought brings a wonderful sense of payback that has been long overdue. But that’s not entirely true. I also would love to share some of my wisdom, and try out new products. But, mostly have a voice in making bikes more approachable and less intimidating for women. I’ve owned and or ridden a variety of bikes over the years – Hand me downs from my husband, as well as my own collection of Mtn, road, hybrid, cruiser, clunker, etc, so I have a unique perspective on different riding styles and the appropriateness of different bikes for different terrain.

I believe this has been a topic of discussion when riding trails with other women I have met. A place where real women can learn from every ones experiences, and a place to know you’re being understood from a gals point of view. Whether I’m chosen or not, it will make our sport more welcoming.

Riding most of the time with ‘the guys’; I quickly learned all of the bike terminology, and how to correctly dissect one. This is really handy when guys overlook me when talking about a new component they’d recently bought, and I always love how I amaze them when I can add to the conversation.

My background started in mt. biking. My husband bought me my first bike as an undergrad graduation present so that I could ride with him. That led me to a love of cycling and now I’m pulling kids in tow either in bike seats, the Burley, or the Trail-A-Bike. Though, I do get out to ride without the kids. By the way, I rode through both pregnancies, w/o the blessings of my OBGYN. And I believe I lost all of my pregnancy weight [30, 32lbs] w/in 2 months because cycling prior to pregnancy had increased my fitness level.

Since children, I have to admit, I am not loading up the truck with bikes and gear to hit Moab as I had in the pre-kids era of my life. And I'm up for a ride on my favorite Rim trail if filming just happens to be in the Moab area. Looking back, my first trip to Moab was done on my Bridgestone MB4 with a brand new second generation Rock Shox. I remember the exhilaration I felt trying out the first trail and my first experience with using a front shock. And in hindsight, I could have saved myself a lot of grief if I only had realized what a difference it makes to your bike handling skills when you actually have a bike that fits your body. [Although afterwards, I had to search high and low to find a bike w/o a top tube that had me spread out like I was rowing a kayak].

Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of this exciting forum!

Healthy Regards,

Megan XXXXX, RD, LD