“Growing up, my brother had a stingray bicycle. I wanted one too. I got a lime green ‘girlie’ one, with the banana boat seat.
“Next, I got a bike my Dad had found, just a simple single- speed, which I spray-painted white. I rode that bike to middle school every day I could.
“I didn’t ride during high school. I got my first ‘real bike,’ a Trek hybrid, back in 1986. I got a group together and did the first AIDs Ride, from Boston to New York, in three days. I did some charity rides, always getting passed by people with those ‘real bikes.’
“I finally got my first 10-speed, an aluminum Airborne, which I hated and eventually traded in for a carbon Planet X frame. And so I started cycling, without knowing a thing about how, or what… Then one day, while walking my dog, I saw a guy in a cool bike kit. I asked him where he was going, and he said ‘Harriman,’ and he asked if I rode. I said ‘Yeah,’ but not like him. Harriman was at least 60-70 miles from my house in Rutherford. That guy would introduce me to cycling and triathlon. Every weekend, a group met at my house and I would try to keep up. I learned how to draft and ride properly. And that cool bike kit – I eventually wound up wearing one myself.
“I did triathlon for 5 years, but I was always longing just to race my bike. I got an opportunity with the Cosmic Wheel team, and my first road race was Battenkill. What an introduction! I currently race for Colavita, where I am a Cat-4. Last year was my first year racing cyclocross.”
Height: 5′ 6″
August Weight: 128- lbs.
Race Weight: 128 lbs. “Is this a trick question?”
Birthdate: September, 8, 1960
Childhood Heroes: “Bruce Lee, Billy Jack, Mickey Mantle.”
Hobbies and Interests: “Art, music, outdoors.”
Favorite Movies: “The Shawshank Redemption, The Sound of Music, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.”
Musical Tastes: “Anything from opera, NPR, Grateful Dead, Radiohead, old-school rap.”
Favorite TV Shows: “The Food Network, APL, Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy.”
Favorite Meal: “Any kind of fish, especially salmon.”
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Hemp granola.”
Favorite Pre-Race Meal: “Greek yogurt and banana.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Any kind of coffee flavor.”
Childhood Dream: “To become a female sportscaster… because there were none.”
First Car: “1970 Chevy Malibu SS, which I nearly killed myself and 3 friends with on homecoming weekend. All my friends that went away to school – I did not – came home that weekend and we had some beers and I drove it into a tree. If the car was smaller, we would have died.”
First Job: “I delivered newspapers when I was little but worked in a fast-food place in high school – Roy Rogers.”
Favorite Vacation Spot: “Vermont, but also Mallorca, Spain.”
Pre-Race Feeling: “What The F*ck. Do I really need to be doing this?”
Early Racing Memory: “Signing up for Battenkill. Then looking at the website and saying to myself, ‘This is going to be my first race? Am I nuts?’”
Greatest Racing Moment: “Almost winning the road race at the Giro in 2013. There was a small crash, some hesitation, and in the confusion I got in a break. I was cruising behind a girl, yelling for her to go faster! Then I got outsprinted. I wound up with 3rd. But really still waiting for that moment…”
Most Painful Moment In Life: “My mom passing away.”
Worst Injury from Racing: “I don’t have any – yet. But last year when I returned from Spain, I was all amped up. Took bike out on wet roads and hit a curve way too fast. Went down hard. Screwed up my shoulder and cracked a bone in my elbow.”
Closest Racing Friends: “Stacey Barbossa, my teammates on Colavita, Mike Zak, Tim Doherty.”
Funniest Racer: “Stacey is funny. So is Lauren Anne.”
Favorite Race: “Probably the first one I win… but BubbleCross in West Milford was a blast.” [which she won – KL]
Embarrassing Racing Memory: “Last year at the States I got in a break and followed a girl who took a wrong turn. I never got back in the race after that. But in my first triathlon, St Anthony’s, there were so many bikes on the bike rack, I wasted so much time trying to find my bike. Then when I went to mount the bike, one of my shoes had come off. I had to re-trace my steps to find my other shoe. Lost a ton of time.”
Toughest Competitors: “Ever watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs?”
Favorite Athletes to Watch: “Motocross, skateboarders, snowboarders.”
Qualities You Most Admire in People: “Humility.”
What You Love Most About Riding Your Bicycle: “The fact that I can ride. When I’m on my bike, the world is perfect, nothing matters.”
