The Specialized FLUX Lights Go With the Flow

 

"She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life"

-Susan B. Anthony



Think like a car.  What do drivers see?  Where is their attention?  In this era of distracted driving, our bright kits and reflectors are no longer enough.  As road cyclists, it’s time to think like the drivers that we share our streets with.  They need to see us - and Specialized FLUX lights do just that.

I had an eye-opening experience last weekend during a long ride. While waiting on the shoulder for my friend, a car stopped alongside me to share a few words.  "Your taillight was bright even from the bottom of the hill.  With my sunglasses, I could not see the girl behind you at all in the broken shadows." 

 




FLUX Elite Headlight

FLUX Expert Taillight

I've put the FLUX Elite headlight and the FLUX Expert taillight to the test for the past few weeks.  The Specialized lights are visible from 1/3 of a mile away during day, night, dawn or dusk.  The FLUX’s smooth design looks great on your townie hybrid as well as your carbon road bike.  On the technical side, it's water-resistant with built-in USB charger, boasts great battery life (14 hours of strobing) and casts a wide beam of light.  Since riding with the FLUX, I've felt a difference in the flow of traffic around me as I’m being noticed in a safe and positive way. 

As road cyclists, what are we up against?  Attracting the attention of drivers from a greater distance.  Protecting our rear blindspot.  Complementing our bright reflective accessories with even brighter LED lighting such as FLUX.  And raising the bar on safety by thinking like a car.

 

Your Ride Your Rules

Riding With the HookUp Bib



“Look away!  It’s coming out of me like lava.”

- Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

 

I had to laugh.  When I received my new SL Pro Bib Shorts with its easy-release HookUp, I couldn’t help but think about the riotous food poison scene in Bridesmaids.  Dresses were destroyed.  There was no time to gracefully remove taffeta gowns.  What does bathroom humor have to do with cycling?  Plenty, as we’ve all experienced during our long distance adventures.



The Specialized Women’s SL Pro Bib Shorts with HookUp are here and I couldn’t be more excited.  If you ride with traditional bib shorts, you know the cycling bibs have shoulder straps that attach at the waist band.  This keeps the chamois (pad) in place.  No sliding, bunching or shifting.  Proven comfort.  Unfortunately, the traditional design does not have women in mind when we receive the call of nature.  There is nothing worse than disrupting a good ride to take off your gloves, jacket and jersey for a pit stop!  Specialized Women’s HookUp has solved our problem by adding a small magnetic clip just above the waist on the lower back.

 As a bib loving rider and Specialized Women’s Ambassador I wanted to be first in line to well, HookUp!  So, as soon as the HookUp bib came into stock I was definitely in and off on a long ride that would guarantee a pit stop or few.  Specialized shorts are my favorite anyway.  I love the fabric and how it breathes.  The chamois is specifically designed and tested for maximum comfort for a woman.  The leg cuff is a fold over design that doesn’t pinch or ride up.  No brainer, I knew I would love the short.  It was the magnetic HookUp bib connector that I really wanted to test out.  It did not disappoint.  It’s location on the lower back is easily reachable and with one quick slide you are un-hooked.  The magnetic design of the connector makes it even easier to reattach.  It almost re-attaches itself.  Not only is it easy to get out of I was unable to feel the connector when I rode.  There was no extra material causing added heat and the short and chamois stayed completely in place.  Thank you Specialized Women for caring about our comfort and designing such a smart bib short!

HookUp!

Winter in a Bike Shop: Strengthening Relationships With Our Women's Based Business

"Do one thing everyday that scares you"  Eleanor Roosevelt

Winter in a Mid-Atlantic bike shop, or any shop, is brutal.  Here at Twenty20 Cycling Co. in Baltimore, our sales season has been further slowed by the coldest winter in a generation.  As warm spring rides seem far away, we found ourselves with the common problem of overstock in women’s apparel – and no steady stream of female customers.  Our challenge was how to connect our customers with our inventory.

Kris Auer, owner of Twenty20 Cycling Co, presented an idea to host a private gathering for our loyal female customers.  By offering 30-40% discounts and hands-on service, Kris’ idea translated into an enormous turnout.  We cleared out most of our overstock on a bitterly cold Tuesday night.  When I shared our story with Marissa Herold, Women’s Business Manager at Specialized Bikes, she asked if I would write about what made it a success.

As Specialized Women’s Ambassador, I organized the sales event with a focus on how women buy cycling apparel.  Women want to feel comfortable and welcome in the shop.  We want to talk with other women who have cycling experience.  And we want our gear to reflect our personality and who we are.

Our plan was to host a wine and cheese after-hours private sale.  I invited groups of women cyclists who ride together and encouraged them to bring a friend.  I crafted a fun and engaging invitation through Facebook and email.  Beyond the sale prices, Kris was on-hand to provide even deeper discounts for women who purchased more than one item.

As our guests arrived, they were warmly greeted and directed to socialize before shopping.  Everyone got caught up with each other’s winter woes and chatted about their cycling plans for the spring.  While checking out the displays, the light conversation continued as women helped each other with their selections and sizing.  We have a spaciously comfortable changing room that was occupied non-stop.  Kris and I stayed engaged with everyone to answer questions and to provide suggestions.

By the end of the evening, we had sold nearly half of our inventory as well as non-sale items like shoes, nutrition and accessories.  The event also created an opportunity to start conversations about the Specialized Women's specific bikes for anyone considering an upgrade this year.

What did we learn?  Women want to feel welcome in their bike shop and to feel special from the moment they enter.  We want to trust the expertise of the staff and to share their enthusiasm for cycling.  By fostering our local relationships, we improved our winter sales and have many female customers to carry into the busy season.

The Gloves are On!

I'm so excited to have the privilege to review the newly designed Grail Glove from Specialized Bicycles.  My short review.... I love them!

I always wear cycling gloves.  They enhance hand/bar connection, increasing control and providing comfort.  But even with gloves, I experience hand fatigue, numbness and sometimes pain.  The Grail Glove is designed to prevent these common problems. 

The technology is simple.  The new teardrop shaped Equalizer pad fills in the hollow area of your palm so all parts of your hand are in balance with the bar.  The purpose is to significantly reduce  discomfort in your hands.

 

Now the long review.......

 

Once my gloves arrived, I got right to it with a hot 50 mile ride.   I wasn't disappointed.  My hands stayed dry and I didn’t experience any of the usual irritation or numbness.  Connection to the bar and hoods was excellent.  I liked them so much that I plan on buying long finger Grails for this fall.

 

I also like that they replaced the usual Velcro strap with an elastic opening.  No more curling strap that ends up getting stuck to socks in the laundry.

Ever wonder what the finger cuffs are for? I didn't and now I do!







Robin Williams: Cycling's Greatest Ambassador

To me a cycling ambassador is someone who soaks in all that is bike - it's history, machinery and cycling's glorious athletes.  They appreciate how bikes can build a better world and bring joy to people.  An ambassador doesn't have to be a great athlete themselves.  They just have to have a passion for all that is cycling and a desire to share that with others.

By now, if you didn't  already know, Robin Williams was a cycling ambassador.  He boasted a collection of over 50 bikes and he rode them all. Frequenting bike shows and chatting with designers about their works of art.  The local bike shop was his favorite place to hang.  A Tour groupie and the funniest and most enthusiastic ambassador the sport has ever known.  He was a star, and his celebrity and how he enjoyed bikes were interconnected.  He was lucky that way.  If I were that rich and famous you bet I would be velofied like Robin!

Williams understood the power of bikes.  In 2002 following his last stint in drug rehab he replaced his previous addiction with cycling.  Where once drugs provided relief to his internal struggles, a good ride would bring him joy  He loved to shared that experience with everyone who would listen.

Stocky and short, Williams was not the perfect picture of the lean and light cyclist.  Robin looked like an average man, but he was no poseur.  Williams had a decent sprint and aspired to ride 100 miles every week even when on tour or set location. A bike or two were always with him and often he would give one away to a potential rider.  On a group ride the conversation would always center around bikes.

As a child of the 1980s, I grew up on Robin William's comedy and later his immense ability to create some of the most dramatic moments on film.  He will continue to inspire me with his talent and his deep love of cycling.

Nanu Nanu Robin.  I hope you have found peace.  You will always be cycling's greatest ambassador.

Roadie Girl Turned Mountain Girl?

I’m a road cyclist who would like to mountain bike, for me, mountain biking has been on the list for a long time .  So why is it so hard to venture outside my comfortable road cycling box and hit the trails?  I groan as my mountain bike calls to me every time I pass it on my way to the kitchen. .  I love the trails and spend many hours hiking and running in the woods.  Mountain biking would add yet another dimension to my love of exploring nature.  With more and more women interested in mountain biking, what better time to check out trail riding?

How do I go about learning to ride trails?  Where do I ride?  Can I trust my bike to go over roots and rocks?  Is descending possible without feeling like I'm going to crash?! All these questions and more would go through my head.



Super Fast...Not really

 

The plan was simple:

• Get out on the trails.

• Find other women to ride with. 

 

So here is what I've been up to on the mountain bike......

Like most women getting into cycling I want to feel safe and comfortable.  Gratefully, I have a Specialized Fate, a mountain bike specifically designed for women. Along with the Body Geometry Fit from the pros at Specialized and Twenty20 Cycling, I feel completely comfortable on my bike. 

My beautiful Fate

 

Next step, to find other women to ride with and learn the skills I need to enjoy the trails. Social media is where I started.  After checking around I learned about several women's beginner clinics and group rides in my area.  Awesome!  That was easy.  It was also encouraging to hear that most of the clinics and even the women’s group ride would provide a bike if needed.  I invite a few road cycling friends to join me.

I participate in a clinic sponsored by an organization dedicated to getting more women on mountain bikes.  Perfect!  I arrange a meeting with one of the founders for a pre clinic ride.  Although I was nervous, I loved my ride!   We start out easy and then hit most of the basic skills needed to navigate the local trails.  There definitely was a bunch of things going on in my head while I rode. Rocks, roots, streams and clipping in and out without falling, to name a few.  The clinic the following weekend reinforced what I had learned and more such as trail etiquette and group riding.  It was great to ride with other women learning to mountain bike.

Now it's time for my extreme mountain biking video........



Ok, I'm not jumping a log an then landing on a Grizzly's back but I can see that in my future...minus the Grizzly part!  I'm on my 29er and I'm enjoying the trails and my beloved woods!

Time to break it down....

At one of the clinic leaders suggestions, I removed one of my fears about not being able to clip out by switching to flat pedals.  Just getting that out of my head helped.  On my own I work on the skills one by one.  I have several short trail loops that require skills that are hanging me up. The more I ride the more comfortable and enjoyable the experience has been.  Through all this I've connected to other women who want to learn to ride trails.  The experts at Twenty20 Cycling continue to provide support with advice about how to make my mountain bike journey the best.

I can't say I'm mountain biking with complete confidence, but I'm definitely on my way.  Whoo Hoo! Mountain biking!   It's fun and not as hard as I expected.



Definitely Roadie Girl Turned Mountain

 

Exciting News - I Am Specialized!

 

 

While in Southern California on spring break with my family, I was elated to receive a short note from Specialized Bikes:

 

"Dear Leslie, Congratulations!  You have been selected as a 2014 "I Am Specialized" Women's Ambassador.  I'm so excited to have you join the ambassador team and I am looking forward to working with you over the next year....  I hope you are as thrilled as I am."

 

Whoo Hoo!  Yes, I am completely thrilled to have this opportunity.  Specialized is a top-quality brand that I believe in deeply.  My first road bike was a 2008 Dolce Elite that I purchased for my first triathlon.  My Dolce and I shared many  memorable miles training and racing together.  I'm currently riding a 2014 Amira Pro and I hope for the same experience.  I feel so comfortable and at one on Specialized Women's bikes.

As Ambassador, I will continue to work closely with Twenty20 Cycling in Baltimore on the women's ride and other exciting events to introduce women to cycling.  Twenty20 Cycling's owners operate with a deep passion for customers to feel confident and happy.  They care about the Maryland/DC community and advocate for safe roads and expanded infrastructure for all disciplines of cycling.  Twenty20 Cycling has the best offering in the region.  And it's a pleasure to partner with co-owners Kris Auer, Norman Brach and Johnny May.

A year ago, Kris introduced me to the debut of Specialized Women’s Ambassador program.  With the exciting prospect to jointly represent Specialized Women through Twenty20, I applied.  But I faced two challenges.  I only had three days to respond and I had just completed treatment for breast cancer.  While it was disappointing not to be selected, I was relieved.  I wasn’t my usual energetic self.  I needed time to physically recover and to process everything I had been through. 

This year, Kris and I were on an early lookout for the announcement.  While he was on the west coast visiting Specialized, Kris contacted me immediately about the 2014 "I Am Specialized" Women's Ambassador program.  He also had an opportunity to share his support for me with his Specialized contacts, for which I am truly grateful.  As I was reflecting and writing about my passion for cycling, I felt proud to share my true voice and my dedication to women's riding.

What's next?  I've been invited to visit the home of Specialized Bikes and, in a few days, I head to Morgan Hill, CA.  I feel like a kid who's parent's just told them they are going to Disney World.  I'm excited to meet everyone at Specialized, connect with my fellow Ambassadors and begin our journey together.  We have two and a half days of riding, bike fits, promotion, product education and even a wind tunnel tour! 

I'm humbled by this opportunity and thank all of you who encouraged me in arriving at this moment.  Whoo Hoo!