I have been riding bikes for many years, but never entertained more serious riding like races until my adult years. I certainly hadn’t latched onto road biking, this was still new. For one, cycling on highways and roads is not my favorite with the chaotic traffic we have in Colorado. That said I was incorporating more cross sport training into my routine and pushing myself out of my comfort zone and the event that year seemed like a great opportunity to do so for a meaningful cause.

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The event is purposely not advertised as a race to welcome and empower participants. I signed up as a solo rider and decided to do the 30 mile instead of the 60. I hadn’t trained at all and 30 miles sounded reasonable for this reason. When I say I wasn’t training, I mean I didn’t even have a road bike frame until the night before the event. So yeah, I literally hadn’t ridden in a while, especially not on a road bike. 

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My partner literally scraped together a refurbished old Trek frame from one of the family members. He graciously rebuilt it to my specs and narrowly finished the night before the event! The only caveat being that the handlebar ended up slipping and moving down the entire race, but otherwise the bike did great! 

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I had a blast pushing past my comfort zone and completed all 30 miles! I even linked up with another solo rider to finish the last leg. It was a lovely day meeting other lovely ladies and riding for a great cause benefitting some local organizations and communities doing good work.

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Tour de Ladies is a fully supported, non-competitive, women-only cycling event through the rolling hills of Douglas County, south of Denver, starting in Parker.  With two route options, there is a ride for all cycling abilities.

Whether you are a novice or experienced cyclist, Tour de Ladies is a fabulous opportunity to spend the day with your girlfriends while enjoying a beautiful ride.

Best of all, it’s a celebration of sisterhood as we support the Crisis Center, which helps victims of domestic abuse.  In 2015, we raised more than $13,500 for the Crisis Center, in 2016 we increased our donation more than $17,400!!  Please help us reach our goal of over $20,000 for 2017!!