Hi! I’m Stacy.
Welcome to Sascy Cycling!
I am so happy you’re here.
If you have ever struggled with finding great information for casual female cyclists, you are absolutely IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
I started Sascy Cycling because when I was just starting out with women’s cycling I had a hard time finding the resources I needed.
Ever forget your water bottles or cycling shoes? I’ve got you. Here’s a handy, printable road cycling checklist.
Ever just not really feel motivated to ride? Same. Here are my 9 awesome tips to get you right off the couch.
What about goals? Need help setting your cycling goals for 2020 and beyond? Here are my 5 simple steps for setting meaningful goals you will WANT to crush.
I am here to help you learn about women’s cycling fitness, training, motivation, nutrition and most of all how to love your body and appreciate the awesome and incredible stuff it can DO.
If I can cycle? ANYBODY can.
And I mean any body.
I don’t care how old/young you are. I don’t care what kind of body you have. I don’t care what you look like, or how you look in bike shorts.
You look AWESOME, by the way. Own it!
I don’t care if you are short, tall, heavy, light. If I can do this? YOU can do this.
Whatever your body type may be, whatever your motivation may (or may not!) be, you can absolutely take up cycling.
Be careful though…I have to warn you…you might actually LOVE it.
You might just find yourself staring out a window, gazing at the beautiful weather, and wondering how fast you can ditch whoever you are with, or whatever you are doing, and get out there and just RIDE.
Here’s the thing. I am clumsy. I am heavy. I fall. A LOT.
This summer, after a group ride, it would not be unusual to hear either myself or someone else in the group say “Hey! Stacy stayed upright tonight!” It became a running joke of sorts because I would fall THAT often. I even got myself a fancy ambulance ride this summer…oops.
The more I fell, the more I realized I didn’t care about the falling. I cared about the getting up. I cared about the riding. I cared about how long it would be before I could ride again.
(Just one short week after the ambulance ride! I was lucky. Also my first words while I was lying on the ground bleeding were “is my bike ok?”)
So how on earth did I manage to get here? How did I become an actual cyclist?
My Cycling Journey…
I always thought my cycling career ended before it began at the age of 10. I somehow managed to get hit by a pickup truck while riding. My three speed, baby blue Columbia was toast. I loved that thing. It had foot brakes! It was bent in half.
I was a little banged up too…and was scared enough that I completely abandoned the idea of riding another bike again…you know…ever.
Fast forward a good 20 or so years, and my husband, Chris, told me he had a “surprise.” Can you tell I wasn’t sold on this surprise?
We ended up going on a very short ride on a short bike path. I was riding along and then suddenly my front wheel was off the path, I was saying “oh no!” and falling over to the side in slow motion. With my feet GLUED to the pedals.
I know what you’re thinking, but no. I wasn’t clipped in; I am just this awesome.
I was a little bloody, a lot embarrassed, and SO VERY DONE with anything having to do with bikes. Again. Besides, my bum HURT. And it had nothing to do with the fall.
I proclaimed, once again, loudly, that I was DONE. I recounted my battle story of the grill of a pickup truck coming towards my face, of my life flashing before my very eyes AT THE TENDER AGE OF 10 YEARS OLD! Darn it all I was TRAUMATIZED! How could you do this to me AGAIN?
Chris didn’t give up, however, and took me to a bike shop to get a mountain bike. It was my size. It was fitted to me. I was so excited!
I HATED IT.
It was slow, I was slow, I couldn’t figure out how to shift the darn thing. I kept hearing CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH as I mashed gears. I dropped the chain constantly and didn’t even know it was called dropping the chain.
For some reason I kept trying to ride it on the road, and I was terrified (ahem it’s called a mountain bike for a reason, Stacy!). I then rode it exactly once in the woods and it was HARD.
I was done. It sat in the basement where it remains to this day.
STILL, he didn’t give up.
Another five or so years later he brought me to yet another bike shop, this time to get a hybrid bike. He got one as well, and a trailer to pull our son (little Chris) with us so we could go on family rides.
Right around this time Chris also started cycling regularly. Then daily. He was obsessed, and I just didn’t get it. I bought the biggest, cushiest bike seat a lady could find (I hadn’t forgotten the pain!) and figured I would be good to go.
We went on a family ride, again, on a bike path, and MY BUM! Chris promised me the ride would be maybe 6 miles. We did TWELVE! I WAS DYING! I could barely walk! This cushy seat SUCKED!!! DARN IT ALL! Once again I swore that I would not ride again any time soon.
Shortly after this little adventure, in May of 2018, Chris proved that he absolutely, truly, POSITIVELY would not give up.
He bought me a road bike for our anniversary.
A really nice road bike.
A not-messing-around “entry level” road bike. That there is in quotes because as you may know these can run you a lot of dollars. This was not a cheap bike. And I already had not one, but two bikes that I just didn’t really use.
So given all of this, you may be wondering why Chris would just throw all of this money away on another bike. You see, he listened to a podcast about how people can make meaningful goals for one another.
It was supposed to be a bit of a reach…supposed to inspire real growth. His goal for me was to start cycling.
And so I did.
I am not going to lie, it wasn’t easy. There was a quite a learning curve, and that is the inspiration for sharing my journey with you. I don’t want it to be quite so hard for other women who are eager to break into road cycling.
Who want to cycle but don’t know where to begin. Women who are baffled by terms like cadence and FTP like I was. Women who have absolutely no clue how to shift a bike that doesn’t have any numbers that tell you what gear you are in. Women who want to ride with other women…but can’t seem to find them!
I am here to help you.
I was so desperate for one place to find all of the information I needed to get started and for it to actually make sense. I asked Chris a million or so questions, I talked to the folks at the bike shop, I sought advice from other lady riders in local group rides and online, and now I can do it.
I can ride a road bike.
I’m not the most graceful rider out there, or the most skilled, but I am a cyclist.
I am not perfect, I am never going to win races (or likely even compete in them), but I am a cyclist.
Sometimes I am serious about it, caring about all the numbers, analyzing STRAVA, but other times I just get out there, ignore all of that stuff, and RIDE. I can finally even keep up with my group-ride friends (sometimes!).
I cannot keep up with Chris. He’s nothing short of incredible on a bike. He amazes me every day. It’s only October and he has already spent over 370 hours on a bike this year! And he’s fast. I am so proud of him.
I think he’s a little proud of me too. You see, the money he spent on that road bike wasn’t a waste. I kept an open mind, and believed that even though I had never in my life maintained a consistent workout schedule, or stuck with anything related to fitness, that I could do this.
I joined group rides.
I learned how to shift.
My sore bum and lady parts survived.
I bought a trainer for the winter months.
I made it up a hill. And another, and another.
I researched gear and (thankfully) discovered padded bike shorts.
I figured out what cadence and FTP are and how they can enhance my training and make me a stronger rider.
I fell. I got back up and got back on the bike. Again, and again, and again.
Come and do this with me. I know you can do it. You’re strong. Your beautiful. You’re amazing.
You can spin your wheels and get somewhere wonderfully inspiring. Just today I rode through farms, fall foliage, saw adorable cows mooing and sleeping under trees. It was gorgeous. It was perfect. Join me.
I believe in you, and I am here to help in any way I can. Let’s stay in touch. Sign up for my super handy cycling checklist and email updates. Rather just email me directly? Go ahead and do that! I can be reached at [email protected]. I can’t wait to do this together!
xoxo
Stacy
Oh! If you’re wondering what my goal was for Chris, it was for him to take charge of putting away dishes. I would do them…each and every one. All he had to do was PUT THEM AWAY.
He has FAILED. Miserably. Perhaps I didn’t make his goal meaningful enough? Maybe he doesn’t feel inspired? Where did I go wrong?