Anonymous
By the edhat staff
Four local cyclists will bike 930 miles from California to Colorado to raise money and scholarships to encourage more young girls to cycle.
The team of four, named the “Four Feisty Femmes,” are part of the B4T9 women’s cycling team that was created in 2008. An acronym that means “Before Title IX,” they aim to represent a generation of women who had limited opportunities to participate in organized sports.
The femmes are comprised of Liz Inglese, Carol Pope, Avery Wilmanns, and Jill Gass, who have over 100 years of cycling experience combined.
L-R: Avery Wilmanns; Carol Pope; Liz Inglese; Jill Gass (courtesy)
They signed up for the “Race Across the West” event, an epic ultra cycling marathon that follows the first 930 miles of the “Race Across America” event. It starts in Oceanside, CA on June 13th and ends in Durango, CO.
The women are fundraising and riding in support of the Little Bellas, a nonprofit whose goal is to help young women reach their fullest potential while mountain biking.
“We haven’t forgotten our first bike ride and the feeling of accomplishment, power, and independence it provided,” said Gass. “We are committed to making sure that the newest generation has that experience and more through the Little Bellas’ programs. All donations go directly to Little Bellas.”
The Femmes will take aim at setting a new record for the 60+ women’s category. The current record is 57 hours and they are shooting for 48 hours. To get that done, the riders are training 13-16 hours per week in addition to holding down full-time jobs.
“I’m really happy to have Little Bellas as our fundraising beneficiary because – in my line of work – I know how important exercise is,” said Wilmanns, an internal medicine physician and a mountain bike coach in Santa Barbara. “Having been a coach, I’d really like to see more young women riding mountain bikes because we don’t have enough.”
You can watch the cyclists live progress through the event tracker here. Donations can be made to the Four Feisty Femme’s fundraising page for the Little Bellas here.
Oceanside to Durango in 48 hours? That does not sound fun. I would not even want to drive that.
Did you read the article?
The Femmes will take aim at setting a new record for the 60+ women’s category. The current record is 57 hours and they are shooting for 48 hours. To get that done, the riders are training 13-16 hours per week in addition to holding down full-time jobs.
TLDR, they have jobs. They have probably already self-donated and are busy getting additional donations…
Inspiring – working full-time and training for such a good cause. Hope they have a safe, fast ride.
They made it!!!
They are in Durango, CO @ 944pm, 06/15/23.
Congrats to the team.
AMAZING! Did they break their record?
They did break the record – but not in 48 hours.