Racing Bike Chic
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Transcript of Racing Bike Chic
Racing Bike Chic
Q 2 . 2 0 1 1B r i e f i n g s o n T a l e n T & l e a d e r s h i p 71
Notsolongago,AmericanmenwhowantedtobecomebicycleframebuilderswouldserveapprenticeshipsinEnglandorItalytolearnfromtheacknowledgedmastersoftheart.Asthefirstbuilderofwomen’sframesintheUnitedStates,GeorgenaTerryhadnomodelstofollow,anditisunlikelyanyoftheOldWorldcraftsmenwouldhavewelcomedhertotheirateliers.Butshehasbecomeamodelherselftoanewgenerationofathleticandentrepreneurialwomen.
“IthinkIwouldnotbeabletospecializeinthewayIdoiftherehadnotbeenaGeorgenaTerrybeforeme,”saidNatalieRamsland,founderandframebuilderatSweatpeaBicyclesinPortland,Ore.“Shedefinitelypioneeredthewomen’sbikingniche,andmadeitvisibleandlegitimate.Thenitbecamesome-thingtheindustrycouldnotignore.”
Ramsland’smarketingreflectstheblendofathleticismandfemininitythatmarkswomen-specificcompanieslikeAthletaandTitleNine.Sheseparateshercustomandstandardframesundertheheadings“LOVE”and“LUST,”withoneproductionmodelcalled“TheLittleBlackDress.”Aformerbikemessengerandarchitecturestudent,shesprinklesherWebcopywithphraseslike“Lookin’Good.HaulingAss,”andrecentlybloggedaboutracingcross—acombinationofon-andoff-roadcoursescharacterizedbymudandbeerconsumption—whilepregnant.
“EachweekIpinmyracenumbertomyjerseyandIrace,”Ramslandwrote.“Imayfindmyheartratehigher,mypaceslower,andmyfinishplacementsliding,butthatisnolongerrelevantinmynewnumerology.Iwanttobecountedamongafieldofwomen.Notfirst,nottop-tenperhaps.Justoneamongmanywhoaredoingwiththeirbodiessomethingremarkableandcommon,hardandtemporary.”
MargoConover,ownerofLunaCyclesinSantaFe,N.M.,wasanelite-levelroadracerbeforetakinguptheweldingtorch,andpriorparticipationinsportsiscommonamongthenewgenerationofwomenentrepreneurs.Doesathleticcompetitionbuildleadershipskills?CertainlythewaysomeCEOsthrowaroundsportsmetaphorssuggestsitshouldbeaprerequisite.Sincethepassagein1971ofTitleIX,anextensionoftheCivilRightsActof1964,womenhavebeenguaranteedequalaccesstoelementaryandhighschoolsportsprograms.Thatmaytranslateintoadifferentkindofleader.
“Whenyouinterviewalotofyoungwomenathletes,theydefinitelyknowthatiftheycansucceed,itwillhelpthegreaterwhole,”saidMichaelJager,presidentandcreativedirectorofJagerDiPaolaKempDesign,abranddesignfirmbasedinBurl-ington,Vt.“That,tome,iskeytoleadership;mysuccessistheteam’ssuccess.We’vetalkedtowomenOlympians,profes-sionalandteenageathletes,andthatthemeiscommon.Wheneverybodyisfeedingoffthatidea,prettyamazingthingscan
happen.Thatwillemergeinwomencreatingbusinessplat-formsthatarenotjustmoneymachines,butapartofbuildingsomethinggreater,contributingtothewhole.”
ForTerryPrecisionBicycling,oneoftheunexpectedbene-fitsofitsmovetoBurlington,Vt.,in2010isthatthecityisamagnetforfityoungpeople:cross-countryskiers,hikersandbikerstoo,despitethesnowboundwinters.AndalthoughTer-ry’sfounderanditsnewchiefexecutivearebabyboomers,mostofits16employeesarequiteyoung,andallbuttwoofthemarewomen.
“Thereisdefinitelyagreatersenseofadventureandwill-ingnesstotakeonriskintheseyoungerwomenI’mworkingwith,”saidElisabethRobert,Terry’smajorityownerandchiefexecutive.“Thereisdefinitelyagreaterinclinationtodayamongyoungwomentobeentrepreneurs,whichsuggeststomethereisagreaterleadershipabilitybakedintotheirpsychethanmygenerationhad.Forbothmenandwomen,teamsportsareagreatearly-stagecurriculumforleadership.Thefactthatwom-en’sathletics,especiallyatthehighschoollevel,hasevolvedhasalottodowithwomenhavinggreaterleadershipability.”
MissyPark,founderandchiefexecutiveofTitleNine,awomen’sathleticapparelcompanyinEmeryville,Calif.,alsoemploysmanyathleticyoungwomen.But,despitehercompa-ny’sname,shedoesnotattributetheirleadershipstyleorabil-itytothelandmarklegislation.“Womenareinherentlymorecollaborative,andIdon’tthinkthathasanythingtodowithTitleIX,”Parksaid.“Ithinkithastodowithbeingtheoriginalteamcaptain,managingthehome.Idon’tseepeopleherecompetinghardforresources.It’s‘Let’scollaborateratherthanhavingawrestlingmatch.’Allofthosecharacteristicswerethere;TitleIXjustuncoveredthatskillset,alongwiththewom-en’smovement.” —Lawrence M. Fisher
TerryPrecisionCycling’sBrainTrust:PaulaDyba,GeorgenaTerryandLizRobert
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