Adelaide rides bikes. She rides bikes because she likes bikes, but she has gone one step further: she’s organizing a race in February in Boulder, Colorado that all you road-oriented racers should know about (and more importantly, sign up for immediately). It’s called the Gebhardt Automotive Cycling Classic, and I think you should go race it even though it’s a USAC event because, quite frankly, Adelaide’s one of a very small number of women doing race organization and promotion, so supporting more women in cycling is awesome.
I asked Adelaide a few questions that were mostly coherent. Here’s what she had to say:
First, the important questions: if you were a stripper, what would your stripper name be?
My stripper name is (I mean would be) Tricksy
Whiskey, beer, or Boone’s Farm?
Whiskey
On a scale of 1-10, how awesome is a mid-ride beer?
1. Mid race-planning is a different story though…
What’s your name, where are you from, and how’d you end up cycling in Colorado?
My name is Sara Perr, but I go by my middle name, Adelaide, because it’s more hip. I grew up in Pittsburgh, lived in South Carolina for a spell, and moved to Colorado after failing to make it here during my sister’s and my bike tour. Our goal was to make it from Charleston to Alaska. We got to Baton Rouge.
Why did you decide to put this race on?
As with every big decision I make, the idea of putting on a race has brewed in my head for a long time and the actual decision was an impulse. I feel alive and in my body when I put in a hard workout, hit a new goal, or compete. Who the hell doesn’t crave that feeling of momentarily being on top of the world? Directing this race is a chance for me to give that sensation to other people…and give them something to daydream about on Monday morning while they’re at work.
Why do you want people to be stoked about this race?
I am continuously told that people are talking about it; I assume this means they are already stoked! It’s the first race of the season, it’s a new race, the course is a popular local training route, and thanks to our sponsors it has great prizes.
How is this race better/different than any other races out there?
First of all, the course is fucking awesome. It’s brutal. The fields are going to be demolished immediately. Everyone wants better, harder road races so I’m giving it to them. It has had a lot of input from other cyclists, local officials, and other race directors, which has helped shape it into what the racers want. I also believe that races directed by athletes are more organized to support the participants.
As a female promoter, what challenges have you run into? Do you find it disconcerting that other women aren’t more involved in these types of ventures? What do you think needs to happen in the cycling world to encourage women to be more involved?
I think people are actually more interested in dealing with me because I am a female; it’s as if I’m doing something new and exciting just because I don’t have balls. But I’ve had trouble communicating with different parties about the traffic plan. That is the one area I may have been treated differently if I had been a guy. Hard to say. I’m still new to the world of cycling but it seems to me that if women want to have more teams, more say in the sport, more competition, we have to be the ones to create it.
What’s the course like? Who designed it?
The course was designed by those who train in the area all winter. It’s a standard loop for the locals. I know a very similar race occurred earlier in the 2000’s but I never actually compared courses. It’s scenic across the dam and then goes down a steep, fast descent. It curves through the countryside and turns back towards the lake where there is a longer switch-back climb that will leave legs burning in pain.
What else should people know about that makes your race awesome?
Come out on race day and see. There may even be free hot dogs. And I did mention we’re working on a beer sponsor, right?
About D2
I am a writer and a photographer. I never killed a man in Reno, but I once rode a bike through a casino in Vegas. Bikes are cool, huevos rancheros are for breakfast, whiskey is for dinner. Denver, Colorado, USA
8 Replies to “#realgirlsthatride and do other stuff good too”
You go girl!
Is she single?
you are such a badasss woMAN;)
Wrighteous, that’s a very good question. First commenter Kennett: is Adelaide single? I’d really like to get dinner with her and then play tonsil hockey. JUST KIDDING! I hate dinner.
Go Adelaide! Yay! Girl Power! Scary Spice!
Liam and Wrighteous, we gonna have beef???
For dinner I mean.
Okay, please tell Ms. Adelaide that she’s adorable, and… oh never mind, you know where I’m goin’ with this.
And if I lived in Boulder, I’d check it out. Bike races are cool. I hear they have beer in that town, and you know (nudge nudge) they stay safe too. Sweet.
You go girl!
Is she single?
you are such a badasss woMAN;)
Wrighteous, that’s a very good question. First commenter Kennett: is Adelaide single? I’d really like to get dinner with her and then play tonsil hockey. JUST KIDDING! I hate dinner.
Go Adelaide! Yay! Girl Power! Scary Spice!
Liam and Wrighteous, we gonna have beef???
For dinner I mean.
Okay, please tell Ms. Adelaide that she’s adorable, and… oh never mind, you know where I’m goin’ with this.
And if I lived in Boulder, I’d check it out. Bike races are cool. I hear they have beer in that town, and you know (nudge nudge) they stay safe too. Sweet.