The Pink Ladies: A Space for Female Bicyclists in Silicon Valley

Notes

Apr 26

Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition encourages bicycling for all purposes, for all people, and we're very happy that Silicon Valley is booming with cycling clubs throughout the region. The following is a guest blog post by Carole McEvoy, SVBC member and the founder of the Pink Ladies, a branch of the Sunnyvale Cupertino Cycling Club. Are you a member of a club and wish to showcase your group's stories, events, and concerns through a guest blog? Contact us! The Pink Ladies branch of Sunnyvale Cupertino Cycling Club is a fast-growing, exciting new group of fun-loving ladies who enjoy riding, chatting and supporting women in cycling adventures and fitness in the Bay Area. The idea for the Pink Ladies, who wear a pink version of SCCC's traditional yellow cycling kit, emerged years ago from SVBC member Carole Ann McEvoy (then Moore). She rode each week with the mostly male "Lemonheads," a name the SCCCers started calling themselves way back when a popular lemonade brand was the major sponsor of the club, with their logo featured prominently on the back of the jersey.The lower Peninsula is lacking in women-oriented cycling groups. Riding in a group was scary, but exhilarating, and the Lemonheads were a perfect fit in terms of meeting location, skills, pace and goals. She was hooked!Carole started riding with the SCCC Lemonheads in 2008, a week before completing her first Death Ride. Friends at the YMCA spin classes were part of the club and had encouraged her to join them over the last few years. She used to always ride alone, up Mt. Hamilton or out to the coast all by herself on a Tuesday afternoon, barely seeing another person in the vast emptiness of fields and forest."The club was all men, and each week I'd tell myself I wasn't going to do the club ride with them because it felt weird to be the only female riding on the club ride. The club was and felt safe, team members encouraged each other to go harder and it was such an exhilarating blast pace lining at 35 mph down the back side of 84 out to the coast, 12 inches away from the wheel in front. But, yet, again... it was always men,” said Carole. “A new woman would occasionally show up to try out the club ride and then never show up again. I think they were intimidated by the testosterone and the yellow racing style kit." Then, she had an idea. Why not a "pink lemonade" version of the kit? She just knew if there were the same SCCC jersey and shorts in pink, instead of yellow, the women would come!Carole was persistent in chatting to the other club members about the pink kit and "the fellahs" started to like the idea. Some of them even said they'd wear the pink kit! In 2012, Carole served as the club’s "Clothing Coordinator" as well as "Hospitality Queen" (in charge of parties) and had Voler add an option to buy the same SCCC jersey in a pink or yellow option. The Pink Ladies were born!Carole's friend Peggy Benenato, whom she met through one of the Lemonheads, Bob Ward, was a big supporter of the Pink Ladies. She brought in a few of her friends and encouraged them to wear the pink. Soon, there were five Pink Ladies riding the Tierra Bella, wearing the pink version of the SCCC kit and getting lots of attention from other women who wanted to join our club! At a rest stop, Carole was asked, "What does SCCC stand for?" She joked and said "Super Cute Cycling Chicks!" and a new nickname was coined! As the Pink Ladies rode the Tierra Bella, they were encouraged by other rides who shouted "Hey, Super Cutes - doing great!" It was catching on!During the 2015 Tour de Menlo, Carole was wearing her full pink SCCC cycling kit, along with a few yellow kit wearing Lemonheads. At a rest stop, a few women came up to her and said, "I love that jersey! Where can I get one?" One woman was Debbie Baldwin, who then joined the club and has been a great addition, supportive and now even serves as the official ride coordinator. The Pink Ladies just keeps growing and now has 22 official members. They are an official branch of the SCCC and there is crossover between the two groups. Sometimes the Pink Ladies ride with the Lemonheads and sometimes the Lemonheads ride with the Pink Ladies. There is even a "Guys Wear Pink" ride on occasion!Recently, Carole and her husband Patrick were climbing Kings Mountain Road. Another rider asked Patrick, "Are you with that NEW SCCC club?" Patrick replied yes, but SCCC has been around for quite awhile. Then the man said, "Yeah, but you've got that new Pink Ladies group - I'm gonna tell my wife to join now that I've seen you!" It was exciting to hear that our current club, which has been around for over 25 years, is now starting to be seen as "New!"The goal of the Pink Ladies is inclusivity for women (and that includes men!) riders who want to pace, not race. Sociability and good company is the foundation for the rides, with an emphasis on never leaving anyone behind. The Pink Lady women range in abilities and goals, with some wanting to work on fitness and strength, and others just wanting to ride and have a good laugh or cry. Last year, a number of the Pink Ladies completed the "Triple Crown" of the Bay Area - ascending Montebello Road, Pagemill Road and Mount Hamilton in one season. It was very exciting and we are looking forward to another great year of riding.SCCC as a club and team supports Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's (SVBC) goals, purposes and initiatives, and participates in many events for SVBC, including Bike to Work Day and the Annual Dinner. Every year the club makes a contribution to SVBC that provides an SVBC membership to all the club's members.Additionally, SCCC participates in the Tour de Menlo to raise funds for scholarships for children of the Bay Area, Waves to Wines and are supporters of Be the Match, for personal reasons. Jon Richards, past club president, has a son who suffers from MS. Neil Ross, well loved team member and Los Altos orthodontist, was diagnosed with life-altering lymphoma and received a bone marrow transplant thanks to Be the Match.Goals/Mantra of the Pink Ladies:

Mixing up rides with the Lemonheads.
Growing the club as a group for women to ride, train, socialize, support and gain skills.
Courtesy and safety on the road - membership includes a pledge to ride with proper etiquette to other riders, car drivers and pedestrians.
Partner with other Bay Area women's cycling clubs to provide more riding options for women of the Bay Area.
The Pink Ladies strive to create a social cycling group that provides opportunities for the best cycling adventures. We are not interested in competing against each other, but rather support each other. If on a climb, a Pink Lady is faster or slower than the others, that's ok! We always wait and don't complain. And... we don't mind stopping for coffee!
Grow enthusiasm for riding, share laughs and create and attain common goals.

The Pink Ladies ride every Saturday, leaving the Rancho Shopping Center Starbucks in Los Altos at 9:30 a.m. and roll by Gunn High School to pick up more riders. Rides vary in length and location but typically 20-40 miles and 2000-4000 feet of climbing. Some Pink Ladies ride with the Lemonheads, (SCCC) who start at 8:30 a.m. at Cupertino bike shop and roll into Rancho on Foothill in Los altos (at the 76 gas station) to pick up more riders. Rides vary in length but typically 30-65 miles with 3000-6000 feet of climbing at a faster pace. For more information about the Pink Ladies, please contact Peggy Benenato or SCCC President, Carole McEvoy.