On Friday, 11 October, around 75 females, comprising girls and women, including moms, spent the evening learning about the female experience through different life stages when it comes to cycling. Lynnwood Cycling Club member and medical doctor, Adrienne Moolman, presented the topic.
Late in 2020, while we were all at home and trying to keep motivated during the Covid-19 lockdown period, Jim Ramage (our Club Chairman) came across a scientific study which researched the effects of puberty and its impact on training and coaching of girl athletes.
A few weeks later he chatted about this with Adrienne Moolman who confirmed the issues raised in the article as one reason why girls give up on sport during this time. She also indicated that, obviously, this was not just particular to younger girls but women in general. She and Jim then started discussing the possibility of Adrienne doing a talk for girls (and moms) on this topic.
Months passed and as everyone got back to normal post Covid, she and Jim kept saying “we have to do this!” Then at the mini Club Weekend at Summerplace late in 2023 they again agreed that it was important. And so to 2024. Finally, in July Adrienne and Jim, knowing that the only way to make it happen was to set a date, booked the date and venue and the event was born.
On Friday 11th October around 75 girls and ladies gathered at Willows Methodist Church and Adrienne didn’t disappoint. Her experience as a Triathlete at national level, a mountain bike racer competing at the elite level and a medical doctor (with a masters in sports nutrition) made the talk informative and practical.
Adrienne confessed that she had to ‘up her game’ and needed to do a whole lot of research into the current science and also got valuable input from other doctors and nutritionists.
The girls and ladies asked some important questions and Adrienne was able to answer with great practical advice – and warnings about some unhelpful and unhealthy practises out there.
This event has also opened the door for more evenings like this with an even wider audience (these events are not just for LCC Members) and hopefully will encourage girls and ladies not to give up on their sport.
A very big THANK YOU to Adrienne for all the hard work in preparation and the great insights and tips.
PS – there is now talk about doing something similar for Boys and Men … less oestrogen and more testosterone (and meat platters). Watch this space!