No Controversy: 1st Ladies Activities Day at Sea Otter Classic a Hit!

Although it initially weathered a storm of controversy, when April 17, 2011 arrived, there seemed to be only agreement about the Sea Otter Classic’s first Ladies Activities Day:  it was a welcome hit.

Many women and girls race at Sea Otter, and others participate in SOC’s non-race activities. Ladies Activities Day included a road ride, bike cleaning and maintenance seminar, mountain bike skills clinic, nutrition presentation, Women by Design panel discussion, wine and chocolate reception, and a raffle with lots of prizes. Below get a glimpse of what went on in the Ladies Activities tent.

Below – Women by Design Panel – (left to right):

• Catharine Pendrel, Luna Sports, current Mountain Bike World Cup leader
• Rachael Lambert, Women’s Product and Marketing Manager, Specialized Bicycles
• Heather Henderson, Women Specific Product Manager for Trek Bicycles
• Bina Bilenky, Bilenky Cycle Works
• Sheila Moon, women’s cycling clothing designer and cyclocross racer

(Foreground) Panel moderator Karen Kefauver, Spin City Cycling Columnist for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, multimedia freelance writer, social media consultant, mountain biker; and Ladies Activities coordinator Lorri Lee Lown of Velo Girls.

But first…

Whether they knew about the Ladies Activities or not, all over the grounds, a lot of women showed up at Sea Otter 2011!

For more, see “Mamas and Babies at Sea Otter”  and “Children Celebrate Cycling.”

Sunday, April 17, 2011

And over at the Ladies Activities tent….

A mom arrives with her daughter for the afternoon panel and reception.

A patient toddler nestles on her loving mother’s shoulder as Mom listens to the women’s panel.

Sheila Moon, women’s cycling clothing designer, shows there are more choices in cycling apparel than just spandex jerseys.

Bina Bilenky ponders before offering a reply…

The joy on faces in the audience reflected a shared love for biking!

The announced Wine and Chocolate Reception was a wider spread, with organically grown blueberries and raspberries donated by Driscoll Farms.

More first-of-the-season fruit was donated by Cal Giant.  Rounding out the goodies, besides wine and chocolate:  yogurt, nuts, cookies, and beer!

Ladies Activities closed with a raffle of many biking goodies, from a Burley trailer to cycling apparel, topped off with women-specific bicycles from Specialized and Trek.

Watch for the second Sea Otter Ladies Activities day in 2012!