2013 MC3 Women’s Weekend

Hang on to your helmets! It’s the South’s biggest gathering of women on wheels, returning to the IMBA Epic trails of Alabama’s Oak Mountain State Park. In its first year, this party on wheels drew 60 women from 8 states, creating a hurricane of mojo that left a wake of empowered women all across the region. This year, fat tire femmes and skinny-tire chix will unite for an evening of food, libations, and festivities.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Space is limited and we expect to sell out, so don’t wait!

The weekend will kick off Friday with a wine and cheese party. Saturday brings a full-day mountain-bike clinic for beginner to intermediate riders. Saturday evening’s party will be the social highlight for riders of all stripes. Sunday morning will commence with group road and mountain rides. Look for great door prizes and a switch-n-b*tch gear swap. Most importantly, be part of one of the fastest-growing (and most welcoming) women’s cycling communities in the nation.

We recommend the “Whole Enchilada” category—wine & cheese, clinic, banquet, camping, Sunday group rides for the best value. In this category, meals are included: 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, a hot catered banquet and libations. But upon request, we created more a la carte options this year, because we know your life’s busy. Here’s the rundown:

Mountain-bike clinic (Saturday)
Whether you’re brand-new to mountain biking or a seasoned racer, this clinic is designed to improve your skills and make you a better, more confident rider. Our team of IMBA-certified instructors will guide you through a day of bike handling skills and riding techniques. Our curriculum is recognized world-wide and used at world-class resorts, such as Whistler and Snowshoe. We teach “the gentle way” in a controlled, non-intimidating environment (see: soft, grassy field).
For the price of a massage at a fancy spa, you can advance more in one day of trained coaching than you can in a season of figuring it out on your own. Plus, you’ll meet other women to ride with and enjoy the equivalent of a spa weekend for those of us who prefer pedals to pedicures (not that they’re mutually exclusive)!

Moonlight Banquet (Saturday Night)
Road riders and mountain bikers unite! Everyone with a set of XX chromosomes and a pair of wheels will be celebrated at this estrogen fest. Experience the empowering awesomeness that occurs when you get a bunch of like-minded, bike-minded women together. Enjoy a catered hot meal, libations, and reasons to let your hair down, from yoga-for-cyclists to lighted-hoop-dancing lessons. Free camping (optional) under the stars. Woot!

Social group rides (Sunday)
No chix left behind on our road and mountain social rides, organized in small groups of like ability and led by the encouraging members of Magic City Cycle Chix. We’ll roll out of the South Trailhead at 10 a.m. and tailor each ride to the needs and desires of the group. No matter your riding ability or fitness level, there’s a group where you’ll fit in just fine. You won’t get dropped—we promise!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Limited spots!

Kids’ Bike Clinic at TEMPO

When: April 13, 10-2 p.m.

What:

CycloFemme 2013

Mother’s Day marked the second-annual CycloFemme, a global women’s cycling day. Started by boulder, Colorado-based Sarai Snyder of Girl Bike Love, “to honor the past, celebrate the present, and empower the future of women’s cycling.”

Sarai’s idea is simple and elegant–get as many women riding together on bikes, in cities around the world, as possible. This year’s event saw 229 registered women’s rides in 31 countries. The Instagram photos told the story thought the day.

Sarai is a satellite member of MC3 and has collaborated with us on promoting our events through Girl Bike Love. #sherox. And she is another living-proof testament that if you teach a woman to fish ride, she’ll teach 10 more, and the whole village eats rides.

April 24: Meet Trips for Kids

For our next Wine, Wenches & Wrenches, MC3 is partnering with Trips for Kids, a non-profit that takes at-risk kids on bike rides as a reward for doing well in school. The brand-new Alabama chapter needs volunteers to ride with the kids on a Saturday morning. Doug Brown of Trips for Kids will give an informational talk about the organization and what is needed from volunteers. (In a nutshell: You just show up with your bike at Oak Mountain or Red Mountain Park, and ride with the kids, then have lunch: Trips for Kids does the rest. How fun is that?)

When: Wednesday, April 24, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Eddie Freyer’s (bike-themed) State Farm Agency, 2921 Cahaba Road (in Mountain Brook, between Davenport’s Pizza and the soccer fields)

Details: We’ll have wine, beer, and light hors d’oeuvres. Feel free to bring something tasty to share, but don’t feel pressured to if you don’t have time!

RSVP: Please let us know on this Facebook event page if you can make it so we can have enough food and libations. Or, if you’re not on Facebook, just comment below. Hope to see you there!

April 13: Free Kids’ Bike Clinic at TEMPO Festival

What: TEMPO, a new family-friendly bike-themed festival

Where: Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham, Alabama

When: Saturday, April 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Highlights:

• Free bike helmets to the first 500 kids
• Win a free bike
• Get a free bike repair or tune-up
• 10 a.m. Mock criterium race
• 10:30 a.m. Family ride
• 12 noon Free kids skills and safety clinic (taught by IMBA-certified instructors Kim Cross and Eddie Freyer) for children 12 and under.
• Bike decorating station
• Parent/child trike races
• Jump rope, hopscotch, sack races, musical hoops, tug of war and other classic outdoor games
• Entertainment from the Checkerboard Guy, an international street performer and comic daredevil

More info: Visit the TEMPO event site.

Alabama Spring Mountain Bike Clinic: Class of 2013

The 2013 Alabama Spring Mountain Bike Clinic drew a small but enthusiastic group of students from Alabama, Georgia, and Florida on a cool spring day in Oak Mountain State Park. The Southeast’s first team of IMBA-certified instructors worked closely with students for 7.5 hours, breaking down the elements of fundamental skills from cornering to drops.

Congratulations to the 2013 instructor team and their individual sponsors, who funded their 3-day, $800 certification through the IMBA Instructor Certification Program.

Eddie Freyer (front, far right), sponsored by Eskridge & White
Joe Vacca (middle row, far right), sponsored by Bob’s Bikes
Chuck Lewis (back row, far right), sponsored by Bike Link
Maaike Everts (back row, fourth from right), sponsored by Birmingham Bicycle Co.
Kim Cross (not pictured), sponsored by Fagan Sports Medicine
Jennifer Humber (not pictured), sponsored by Magic City Cycle Chix
Monty Morris (not pictured), sponsored by Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers

Meagan Daniels (above) of Birmingham learned good bike-body separation in cornering. Here she shows great form: “cowgirl” knees, a strong counter-lean, neutral pedal position, one finger on the brake, and eyes looking forward. She said the drill, “was one of the best things I learned! I am horrible at turns…finally clicked after that!”

Gina Hamel practices “being two with your bike” in the limbo contest. She had strong form, but it wasn’t enough to top her sister, Anna “Limbo Queen” Hamel. Instructors Jen Humber and Joe Vacca demonstrate optimal pole-holding technique.

Instructor Chuck Lewis shows how far off the back of the saddle your center of gravity needs to be to execute a proper manual wheelie. Notice his straight arms and the placement of his hips. That’s exactly what he looks like wheelie-ing around the parking lot, making the rest of us look bad.

The next MTB clinic is our MC3 Women’s Weekend June 29-30. There will be events for both mountain bikers and roadies, so save the date. We have women coming from 8 states, so you don’t want to miss the fun!

GSMR Pratice Road Race

Great turnout this past Sunday at the GSMR practice road race. There were 9 women, including some triathletes and mountain bikers trying their first road race. Maaike Everts did a great job explaining the etiquette and strategy of road racing, and we all stayed together on the first lap, practicing chase drills and taking turns doing some “work” in the pace line. We learned about why road racing is like a chess game, and really enjoyed the ride, the sunshine, and the friendly field.

GSMR (a local team) was kind enough to create a special women’s field so those of us who did not choose to race with the men would have an option. I have long been intimidated by road racing, and this experience got me past that. The women worked together, but were not afraid to go for a breakaway or employ some real competitive tactics, too. It was a fine balance, sans the “agro” nature of some men’s races.