By Alix Everton, Club Captain.
On a crisp winter morning, 66 women from across Brisbane gathered together outside Crankstar, the home of Rapha in Brisbane, to take part in the Rapha Women’s 100 ride.
Pre dawn on a cool winters morning at Crankstar
Club Captain Alix Everton briefs the group on the route and race etiquette.
After a short briefing outlining the route and ride etiquette for the day, we set off in three groups to take on one of Brisbane’s best known rides, which took us out to and along the bayside of Brisbane’s south.
The first group heads towards the bay on Wynnum Road
Rolling through Wellington Point, it was a great sight for the many local cafe patrons to see so many women out riding together!
Each group stopped briefly at several points along the way, taking in the beautiful sunshine on the water at Wellington Point, Cleveland Point and Victoria Point, and there were lots of smiles and waves as groups passed each other coming in and out of these points.
A beautiful sunrise greeted the women at the Bay
Danny from ESI Sports Photography joined us for the morning capturing some great photos!
The journey home saw us tackle some more undulating roads that tested the legs of some of our ladies, but it wouldn’t be a Rapha ride without some elevation!
Upon our return back to Crankstar, the majority of women stayed for coffee and breakfast, and Crankstar was buzzing with energy and chatter from a seemingly satisfied group of women cyclists.
Claire and Jacinta; two of our ride leaders for the day.
Do you know the people who are last to leave the party because they don't want the fun to end? You're looking at them!
It was a fantastic morning out on the bike and especially for women in cycling. All three groups stayed together for the whole ride, leaving no one behind, and it was wonderful to see women who had never met before coming together to support one another.
Some photos from ESI Sports Photography of the women leaving Brisbane.
Out by the bay, a beautiful way to see in the morning.
The feedback after the ride was overwhelmingly positive, with many women saying that they felt very safe and well looked after by our ride leaders, enjoyed the route (which was new to many), and most importantly, that they had fun!