Those who have raced understand that while you may not have to worry about your own bike handling skills, it’s everyone else’s you have to watch out for. But I am kind of bull headed and if someone tells me I shouldn’t do something, I will probably do it anyway.

I had only been riding a track geometry fixed gear bike for about a month leading up to the race. Needless to say, I was scared shitless. I understood that I most likely was not going to get first place (or place at all), and I was probably going to get lapped out.

But I never thought I would feel such an overwhelming sense of community surrounded by all these badass women who rode badass bikes in badass races. This year’s edition of Mission Crit was the first time they made the women’s finals THE MAIN EVENT! Cycling is so heavily populated by men in all aspects; whether it’s racing, race organizers, manufacturing, bicycle shops, or even commuting to and from work. The race starting list had 70 WTF names! Ginger Boyd, from Machines For Freedom, wrote an article called “Racing For All Women” where she explains how race organizers often threaten to dismantle WTF races just because not enough WTF people sign up. Mission Crit has never, and will never do something like that.