March 6: BRING-A-DUDE NIGHT!

What: We’re partnering with the MS Society for our first-ever co-ed happy hour. The topic? Our upcoming clinics (including our first CO-ED IMIC clinic March 17) and why instruction FOR women, BY women, is important. Guys will learn some tips for encouraging women to love cycling as much as they do (without traumatizing them), and women will learn why the Man Hammerfest should be as sacred as Ladies’ Night Out.

When: Wednesday, March 6, 6 p.m.

Where: MS Society, 813 Shades Creek Parkway, Suite 100B, Birmingham, Alabama

Why: We’ll have something for both roadies and mountain-bikers. Jenny Ely from the MS Society will talk about upcoming road riding events. Kim Cross of Magic City Cycle Chix will do a short presentation about mountain-bike clinics, and how they’re designed to build confidence in a non-intimidating environment. If you’re “on the fence” about attending a clinic, don’t miss this event. We won’t pressure you, but you’ll learn enough to make a decision about whether it’s for you.

Details: As usual, we’ll have libations and snacks, courtesy of the MS Society and MC3. If you’d like to bring a little something to share, that is appreciated (but not required) and part of how we roll! Swag Fairy might make an appearance, if she comes out of her burrow and doesn’t see her shadow.

RSVP: Please RSVP here so we can be fully prepared to welcome you!

MC3 In the News: Leading Trend Toward Women’s Bike-Shop Clinics

Check out this great Columbia News Service article about women’s mechanical clinics, a growing trend that Birmingham happens to be leading. Magic City Cycle Chix (MC3), our 600-member women’s cycling group in Birmingham, was featured for our Wine, Wenches and Wrenches clinics, which are part mechanical clinic and part happy hour.

We started the series last year, and hosted events with most of the bike shops in town. At each one, we demystified a simple task/skill/repair that intimidates a lot of women, from changing a flat tire to cleaning a drive train to fine-tuning the shocks on a full-suspension mountain bike. The understanding of what might break, the knowledge of how to fix it, and the experience of having done it are so empowering. This is the pivotal point at which women gain the confidence to ride without men. Or at least one less barrier.

It’s pretty neat that we were featured. Even neater that our Wine, Wenches, and Wrenches logo (above) made the cover of the League of American Bicyclists’s magazine, American Bicyclist (June 2011). But what I am most proud of is that our events inspired others. The newly formed Rocket City Cycle Belles in Huntsville, Ala. and the Velo Vixens in Gainesville, Fla., and the Trail Bike Girls of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. have adopted our model and made it their own.

My only regret is that I mentioned the three shops in Birmingham that have co-hosted Wine, Wenches, and Wrenches seminars socials, and they made it sound like one shop hosted all of them. Big thanks to Bob’s Bikes, Cahaba Cycles, and Bike Link for teaming up with Magic City Cycle Chix to teach women handy bike-fixin’ skills.

The moral of the story:

Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Teach a woman how to fish, and she’ll teach 10 other women, and the entire village will eat well forever.

MC3 In the News: Birmingham Magazine

February 2013 issue

MC3 got a great mention in Birmingham Magazine‘s 22 Reasons To Love The City story in the February 2013 issue. Photo from our June 2011 Women’s Mountain Bike Camp at Oak Mountain State Park. I’m really proud of our community in a city that usually ranks among the bike-unfriendliest cities in the country (usually because their rankings involve miles of bike lanes, and other infrastructure metrics). That we continue to grow despite the obstacles is proof that we are, indeed, on the move.

Beginner-Friendly Road Race

What: Birmingham-based cycling team GS Montagna Rossa (GSMR) is organizing a series of training races this winter to provide an opportunity to learn and practice road racing strategy and skills.

When: 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, Feb 17, Feb 24, and March 2

Where: Held at beautiful Camp Sumatunga near Gallant, AL, 50 miles northeast of Birmingham

Race Distance: The women-only race is 20 miles, 2 laps of a beautiful, rolling 10-mile loop. There are also Category A (50 miles), B (40 miles), and C (30 miles) races, and experienced women are of course welcome to race in these categories. The juniors’ race is 20 miles.

Why: The series has added a special women’s category that’s beginner-friendly and great for anyone wanting to give road racing a try.

Bonus: GSMR is generously donating a portion of the proceeds to MC3, to help fund our clinics and educational events for women.

Volunteers Needed! Please contact kimhcross (at) yahoo (dot) com if you can volunteer. Even if you race, we could still use your help afterwards. The Swag Fairy is always on the lookout for volunteers to thank…

Movie Screening: “If She Can Do It”

RESCHEDULED!

What: Let’s kick off the year with a Wine, Wenches & Wrenches social at Homewood Cycles. We’ll have a screening of If She Can Do It, a documentary about women’s mountain biking produced by Kat Sweet of Sweetlines and filmmaker Mark Brent of Awesomeland, Women of Dirt. The 38-minute film stars, among others, MC3 downhill clinic coach Tammy “Angel of Freeride” Donahugh and Gale Dahlager, a master coach who trained our IMIC team of coaches. (Gale is the one wearing the MC3 shirt in the movie teaser above and a former pro who learned a back flip on a bike at age 36.) It was filmed at the Sugar Showdown, a women’s freeride clinic held last July in Washington state.

When: 6 p.m. Thursday, January 24

Where: Homewood Cycles, 2834 South 18th St. in Homewood

Why: To celebrate women’s cycling events and get us psyched up for MC3 events in 2013!

What to Bring: We’ll supply the libations. Please bring a snack to share while we watch the movie!

MC3 Fundraiser

Wheelie cool wreaths made from recycled bicycle wheels. $25 with bow and greenery only; $45 with ornaments.

Buy our gear and spread some cheer! Hand-made ornaments from MC3 are on sale at Fagan Sports Medicine, Alabama Goods, Bob’s Bikes, Homewood Cycles, and Cahaba Cycles (Pelham). All proceeds benefit MC3 and fund our cycling clinics and “Wine, Wenches and Wrenches” mechanical seminars socials.

Hand-painted ornaments that pay homage to Birmingham’s cycling organizations. $5 each or 5 for $20.

Glittery gear-flakes bring bling to your tree (and also hang prettily in a window). $2 small; $4 medium; $6 large; $8 extra-large.

All made by Magic City Cycle Chix hands.

Merry CX-Mas Cowbells.

Aren’t they cute?

Oct 14: Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

What: Bike Link of Hoover, the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers and the Magic City Cycle Chix are teaming up to bring you “Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day” at Oak Mountain State Park! Bring your child and their friend(s) for an exciting day of kid-friendly mountain biking. We’ll start with a basic skills clinic taught by coaches trained in the International Mountainbike Instructor Certification (IMIC) program. It’s great for all levels! (MTB Moms: you can learn something, too!) Then we’ll break into small groups of like abilities and finish the day with group rides led by experienced riders.

When: Sunday, October 14, 2-5 PM

Where: Oak Mountain State Park, South trailhead

What to Bring: A helmet (mandatory), water, sunscreen, and a great attitude (see below). Also: your bike.