Nickname: Currently none…perhaps I’m too boring for one? Sigh.
Star sign/Blood type: Libra
Birthday: October 1
Current city: Boston, MA
What’s the bike scene like in Boston for females?
Awesome!! My primary focus is on mountain bikes, but I really think Boston has a lot of resources for women who are just generally into or want to get into bikes of any kind. We have great local education and workshops specifically for women, women’s only biking groups that offer group rides and clinics, as well as dozens of bike clubs that all have a decent showing of women in them. We can always use more ladies in the sport though! I find that primarily at mountain bike races we don’t have enough representation at times to have the appropriate divisions.
What’s your favourite ride right now?
For the East Coast it has to be Kingdom Trails in Vermont, but my favorite trails are out West in Colorado like Monarch Crest, Phil’s World, and Crested Butte.
Favourite riding outfit: Whatever is the most functional…rarely fashionable.
Favourite food: Really good dark chocolate, wine, and sushi…in that order. Oh, did I mention dark chocolate and wine?
Favourite movie: None in particular, but I LOVE big epics.
Favourite book: Many for different reasons, but Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey sticks out in my mind.
What makes you laugh? Pretty much everything in life…it’s the only way to get through it with my sanity in tact.
What makes you angry? People who don’t appreciate and respect what we’ve been given.
What are you listening to on your I-pod? HUGE Variety…whatever fits my mood.
Do you have any pets? Two awesome hounds that I affectionately nickname my “Furks” aka Fur Kids. Riley and Ruger.
Sponsors: Personally none, though I would love a big sponsor! Anyone, Anyone? Cue the crickets.
What’s the bike scene like in Zürich for females? The downhill / freeride scene is very relaxed here in Switzerland, everyone has fun and respects one another. Of course there are more guys than girls riding, but the scene has became very popular in the last few years and you’ll find a bunch of girls on the trails. Mostly you’ll see some guys and one or two girls in a group riding together.
What’s your favourite ride right now? All my rides are my favorite as I’ve got a bike for every occasion. Doing Downhill I ride my Intense Socom, for Single Trail riding I take my Intense 6.6 and for Street riding, I’ve got my Basso Race bike of course.
Where’s your favourite place to ride? For my afterwork ride: Uetliberg Trail, Zürich
Freeride / Downhill rides: Lac Blanc, France
What are you listening to on your I-pod? Shinedown at the moment.
What’s the bike scene like in Sydney for females? To be honest, I don’t really associate with any ’scene’ in particular. I have a few close riding mates, both male and female, who push and inspire me; other than that, I spend a lot of time riding solo. I make a point not to rely on a scene to keep me motivated to ride; as long as I have my bike(s) and some fun terrain to explore, I’m sorted. Having said that, I am inadvertently around a bunch of different bike scenes, and each of them have different gender dynamics going on. The fixie scene in Sydney can swing both ways; some times it can be a bit intimidating for girls, but other times it so incredibly welcoming. It really helps that there are a core group of awesome girls that ride fixed in Sydney. The XC and trial riding scene in Sydney is pretty male dominated, although there are a few girls I ride and race with who are really inspiring, and super friendly. But honestly, once I’m out in the bush I get so seduced by the trails that I forget about gender altogether. It’s only when you do the maths at the start of a race, and realise there are only five girls and about fifty guys that you realise there is a bit of a gender imbalance going on. The 4x and dual slalom scene is probably the most male dominated scene I’m connected to - there were only two of us who raced 4x in the women’s category at the state series this year - but the scene is so supportive it doesn’t really matter, everyone is just there for a good time. I think if it’s a girl-friendly bike scene you’re after, you can’t just sit around and wait for it to appear, you have to go out and create it. That’s why Candy Cranks is so incredible, because it creates a forum for girl bike riders to come together.
What’s your favourite ride right now?
‘Ride’ as in bike? It would have to be a close call between my recently modified giant anthem, which is currently doubling up as an XC and 4X bike, with sick new F110 fox forks and shiny pink brake cables, and my custom surly fixie, which is not only gorgeous to look at, but rides like a dream. ‘Ride’ as in route? That’s another close call - either the XC trail at Ourimbah (think beautiful flowing single track, littered with fun drop offs, and lined with gum trees) or the La Perouse run, late at night, with a bunch of mates (think straight, un-interrupted road riding through the city outskirts, where views of the bay and lights guide you along in a glorious loop).
Favourite riding outfit: Definitely my new royal mountain biking shorts and jersey combo - they speak to my inner tomboy.
Favourite food: Macadamia muesli with natural yoghurt and banana - perfect riding fuel.
Favourite movie: I haven’t seen a movie in ages, but I did become incredibly addicted to the TV series, ‘The Wire’. It’s straight up drama, just how I like it; no embellishments, no cliches.
Favourite book: I’m not so much a fan of books, as I am a fan of zines. My favourite zine of all time is ‘fucktooth’; an incredible honest and captivating account of punk rock life in San Fransisco, written by Jen Angel.
What makes you laugh? Everything, I’m always laughing.
What makes you angry? When $ governs the state of play, leaving no room for compassion; when the majority calls the shots, leaving no room for the marginalised; when cars swerve all over the road, leaving no room for bike riders.
What are you listening to on your I-pod? Terror, Madball and Operation Ivy; among other short, fast and incredibly loud tunes.
Do you have any pets? Yes, Grips. He is a 5 year old Staffy that my partner and I recently rescued from a dog rescue organisation. He looks tough as nails, but is such a sook. He makes me smile, makes me cry, and reminds me that us humans are but one species in the awesome ‘circle of life’.
Sponsors: Ha, sponsors! I wish… Meg hooked me up with a Candy Cranks T-Shirt in exchange for my dodgy attempt to model her clothes, does that count?
Catch Emily on: The streets or in the bush. I created a facebook page once, but I found myself so busy living life, that I forgot to post anything.
Well, the guys at DarkHorse Cycles really know how to put on a fun event at the Singlespeed-A-Palooza Race. We showed up the day before to give the course a test run and found it to be fast, fun, and swoopy. Too bad the rain came in over night and turned the surface to thick greasy mud! Here are some fun pics from the pre-ride through the end of the muddy event.
I’ve been lazy and just finished sorting out my great memories of bike trip to Australia. I miss the weather back thereee, it is snowing here in Nagoya today, awwwww! so I would like to share some pics of my holidays to keep warm here like the sumer time…
Riding in Melbourne is great. It’s really flat and everything is close together so it is easy to ride around.
I went to see my friends there. I met these lovely messengers at CMWC Tokyo.
The funniest guys in Melbourne! Gotta see Brian & Lane if you are ever around there. They know how to throw a party. It is really great to have cool friends all over the world.
Melbourne was over 37℃, I was just about sit down in the shade of a tree… then 2 guys on bikes came up and said “Are you Brian’s friend?” I was like “Yeees…” Mmmm, I recognized him by his dread locks hair from CMWC tokyo. We didn’t know each other, he is from Dublin and Im from Nagoya but we start getting some drinks and became friends. It was just an accident that we met in Melbourne but it happens when you ride a bicycle!
For New Years Party…
Swimming in the living room!?
OMG these guys were so hilarious! They have a swimming pool in the living room, RAD!!!
Ausie BBQ
Exploring the city...
Lots of good coffee shops in Fitzroy
NUTS! tee & Love Wheels Nagoya Calendar. *Thank you*
Thanks a lot to everyone who made my trip so much fun, to all the great people I met who helped me out, put me up and showed me an awesome time. All the things made me want to move into Australia more. Im definitely coming back soon. See ya!
Hello mate! I went to travel around Sydney & Melbourne with my best friend Nikon & NISHIKI for my holidays. It is summer time there, Gotta Go now!
My biggest reason to come out to Sydney was…
Meg and Tarn
“MEET THE MEG!”
Tarn, Rie and Meg
As you can expect through the Candy Cranks blog, Meg is one of the greatest and nicest people you ever meet! I met Meg at CMWC Tokyo and became great friends. I didn’t know anyone in Sydney but thanks Meg! Candy Cranks screwed up my courage to make a lot of new friends in Sydney and all over the globe!
Meg and her partner are so kind and took me a lot of cool places. They’ve got their own work space for bikes hidden the back stage of the Sydney Theater Company, looks soo sick! I was riding my bike on the stage as an actress in front of NO audience, hehe… (Rie in Sydney by Meg)
Cross Sydney Harbor Bridge by bike
on Sydney Harbor Bridge
Emily and Rie
★Emily's Candy Cranks★
Sydney Sunday Nite Crew
Group Riding
Emily & J just found this warehouse, so D O P E...
Sydney Sunday Nite Crew
Great to see messengers working in the city!
Ausie burger is HUGE!!
I like riding in the city to explore bikes and coffee. It is the best way to feel the local culture, I think★
Bicycle leads me to meet great people. I like Japanese proverb;
一期一会(Ichigo-Ichie)： Treasure every encounter, for it will never recur.
I was so impressed that people in Australia are so nice and friendly. Also Wine, Beer and Coffee are absolutely my type of taste. I will definitely move in this year!
Thanks to Meg, Tarn, Emily, J, Sydney Sunday Crew and messengers. It was great to meet u all! Awesome time. Cheers Sydney!
Aimed at capturing the lifestyle of female riders in the testosterone-ridden world of mountain biking, the makers of a new film, Awesome Land: Women of Dirt, hope to shed light on what drives these women athletes.
“The inspiration for Women Of Dirt starts first with the women who make up an important part of our sport and yet get overlooked,” said film producer Mark Brent. “We felt that our lifestyle gets overlooked, and that the women in our sport get overlooked. By focusing on two elements that we don’t see in DVDs, we are telling a story that hasn’t been told.”
Meet Karin, she’s a totally rad downhill / freeride biker from Switzerland. She’s also Candy Cranks newest author. You can check out her blog/bikes and her favourite trails here. Welcome Karin!
Sydney | London | New York | Tokyo | Berlin | Los Angeles | Milano | Boston | Dublin | Vancouver | Amsterdam | Paris | San Francisco | Zurich | Nagoya | Singapore | Nashville | Honolulu | Shanghai | Toronto | Salt Lake City | Houston | Portland | Glasgow | Kansas | Budapest | Atlanta | Jakarta | Chicago | Seattle | Memphis
