Women Who Bike: Emily

BIKE NOPA & Bikes and The City have spun out a new collaborative bike series, Women Who Bike. Each Monday and Wednesday, we will feature San Francisco women and their bicycles. Check both our blogs for the experiences, stories, and ideas that women who bike the city want to share with you.
Let us know your thoughts and leave comments for the featured riders!

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Women Who Bike: Emily Goligoski

How would you characterize your bicycling style? assertive, carefree, cautious, competitive, law abiding, slow and steady
E. I'm a pretty happy cyclist, mostly because riding means I'm not on the bus. I had been faster when I was briefly racing with the Roaring Mouse road team, but I wasn't able to make the time commitment. Still, I find triathlons a fun way to combine the social and competitive parts of biking. In the city, I tend to be pretty carefree when I ride and could be better about stopping before crosswalks...

Hayes Valley girl

Something basic: how often do you bike and what for?
E. I bike about every other day--either to work, yoga or a friend's house--and get out my "nice bike" a bit less than that for longer rides to spend time with friends and get a workout.

What could be done in SF to encourage more women, including teens and younger, to bike?
E. There was a fun video created by teenagers in the UK that described how liberating they found riding after they hadn't done it in years, and I'd like to see more first-person multimedia accounts from cyclists talking about how great it is for exercise and transportation. I think the San Francisco Bike Coalition has done a great thing with Sunday streets in making neighborhood riding more approachable, and I like that Mission Bicycle Company has created a range of customizable bikes that are as enticing as they are colorful.

All smiles

How many of your best dates/friendships started with biking?
E. Great question! Some of my strongest relationships have absolutely grown because of cycling. I met my boyfriend when I didn't even own a bike and we'd ride around Chicago on his hybrids. Three years and about 10 bikes between us later, I think that some of our best memories together have been our first ride through Sausalito, his early AM cyclocross races and events and rides with the Mission Cycling club. We now have a group of friends who have gone from non-cyclists to centurians in under a year, and days together in the saddle are a blast (and affigato-filled).

I surprise people when I bike by (or with) -
E. - a bag with a laptop, books, change of clothes, and water around SF (attached to the back of course)

Other little things:
- My favorite meal after a long ride (or in between) is:
E. barbeque and pina coladas at my cousin's house in Kentfield (the most wonderful stopping point)

- The best way to hydrate in between rides is:

E. Sweet chai at La Boulange in Cole Valley after morning Twin Peaks repeats

- A personal item I must have or bring while riding my bike:
E. credit card--I'm hopeless for holding onto cash on the road

My message to women who want to try biking:

E. Find a friend or mechanic with a fair bit of knowledge about cycling and get them to browse/shop around with you for an afternoon. (A case of beer in exchange usually does the trick.) This should help you feel comfortable on what you end up riding and give you a better idea of how to change a flat and lock up your bike. And don't sweat the helmet hair.

I first met Emily when we both attended a local bicycle shop gathering small event. Since then we stayed in touch and we have yet to ride some mean hill together around the city or (and!) in Marin.
Emily is an excellent rider and exposes all sorts of neat events.
Make sure you check out her site, her blogs is: TheSanFranista

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♥ Gracias Emily!! ♥

Don't forget to check out BIKE NOPA for more Women Who Bike profiles.
Women who bike: Take the Writing Women Back into Bicycling survey online by May 15th. More than 7300 women already have. Survey conducted by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP). See survey here: link
If you or someone you know would like to participate email me at bikesandthecity +at+ gmail
For women in the NOPA area, contact Michael at BIKE NOPA

See previous Bikes & The City profiles here: Women Who Bike Series
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Like all photographs posted in this blog: ©Photos taken by meligrosa
unless otherwise stated and if so, always credited.