Candy Cranks

Name: Julie Hunter

Nickname: Jules or PBJ

Star sign: Libra

Birthday: September 27

Current city: Richmond, VA

What’s the bike scene like in Richmond, VA for females?
It’s growing! There are a ton of ladies in the city that ride bikes for fun and as a mode of transportation. I feel that more females are getting involved in the riding and racing community than ever before. Cycling can often be intimidating for women because it is male-dominated sport, but the ladies are sticking together and carving their own place in the RVA bike scene.

What’s your favourite ride right now?
That’s a tough question to answer, but I have to say that my favourite bike will always be my track bike, a pink EAI Bareknuckle. It was my daily (and only) ride for over 3 years and although I have several other bikes, I always have so much fun speeding through the city with no brakes!

Where’s your favourite place to ride?
I really enjoy riding off-road whether it’s on a mountain bike or a cyclocross bike. It’s a great escape from city riding and you don’t have to worry about car traffic… just rocks and trees.

Favourite riding outfit: As much as I enjoy wearing spandex, jean shorts and a tank or hoodie work just as well for me.

Favourite food: Almond milk ice cream

Favourite movie: I usually can’t sit still to watch an entire movie, but Breaking Away is a good one.

Favourite books: Crime and Punishment and The Little Prince

What makes you laugh? I usually make myself laugh, although I tend to smile/giggle at just about everything

What makes you angry? It is very hard to make me angry, but I can get irritated when I see people riding bikes with the saddle way too low (or occasionally too high).

What are you listening to on your I-pod? I have an I-pod somewhere… I think?

Do you have any pets? Does a sock monkey count? He’s pink and his name is George

Blog: www.riderichmond.wordpress.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/riderichmond

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kawweedo

Name: Namrita O’Dea
City: Atlanta, GA

What I love about riding: Being able to see 100 miles of scenic roads, trails and waterfalls in a day; the sunrise from a bike after having ridden all night, and meeting people I would have never met otherwise (like my husband)!

I’m fresh on the heels of my first cyclocross race and it was tons of fun!  http://x-blog-x-team-x.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-interrupt-this-lazy-off-season-to.html
One of my teammates dug up this footage from an old 1950′s cyclocross race.  AWESOME.

Australian Mountain Unicycling Weekend 2010 from Kevin Wharton on Vimeo.

These guys are nuts!

Name: Karin Christen

Nickname: kAIRin

Birthday: September 9.

Current city: Zürich

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.

Catch Karin on:
Candy Cranks posts
kAIRin.ch
flickr
twitter
facebook

Name: Emily May

Nickname: Em

Star sign/Blood type: Cancer/No Idea

Birthday: July 4

Current city:  Sydney

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!

Don't stop! GO TRAVEL THE WORLD!

My Bike Journey to Sydney → HERE!

More pics of Melburn → HERE!