From Dawn: Spinderella 2016

Sat. June 18, Kathy Holyoak and I rode the 70-mile option of Spinderella in Pocatello. The course is fairly scenic, winding through spruce-covered hills, sun-dappled meadows, and sleepy farmlands as it parallels the interstate heading south. 

At the Marsh Valley High School supported feed zone, we encountered the student council dressed in tutus and princess crowns. A large man wearing a pink tutu over long johns identified himself as a special ed teacher at the school and said to me, "This is a great idea. I think I'll put on one of these to raise money for my classroom supplies! How hard can it be?" 

Obviously a volunteer who'd just shown up that day. I wanted to tell him that an event like this took a lot more work than people realized, but instead I smiled and said, "Yep! It sure would be a great way to raise money!"

This women-only ride is fun and well-organized,so someone--presumably not the special ed teacher--had really gone to great effort to make it work smoothly. There was an army of volunteers and turns and traffic stops were marked and staffed. 

At last year's event, however, I blew out a sidewall and was aided by a rather inept group of men from a local bike shop. They were eager to help, but failed to bring along any wheels for a woman's specific bike. They had plenty of larger wheels. They did allow me to take a loaner they were carrying, but it was a giant Giant and I felt like I was riding one of those old-fashioned bikes with the cartoonishly-large front wheel you see in print ads (penny farthing-ed) . Then, 1.5 miles from the finish, I had to sit on my bike and wait 10 minutes for a slow train to roll by. Not the best first-time experience. 

This year went much smoother. The only hitch was a SE headwind on the way out which was channeled by the hills into a NW headwind on the way back. Awaiting us at the finish was a generous pork and chicken burrito lunch and some bored looking princesses there for the photo-op.

One of our male friends said, "What's this thing with women-only rides? If men tried to have a men-only ride, we'd never hear the end of it."

He has a point.

But if he could see the glitter tattoos, the helmet streamers, and the sweaty Disney Princess volunteers, face-down in the shade, he would realize that there is a kingdom's difference between a themed-ride like this and a more serious cycling event. 

But most of the women are there just to have a sunny, well-supported ride in the company of other women. No need to be jealous of the tutu, guys.