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The women from New Directions Inc., who participate in Gearing Up’s bike rides on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, have unique backgrounds, stories and motivations, but they have all fallen in love with biking as a means of escape, both physical and emotional.
Although they all come from very different places, they all said that the reason they started riding with Gearing Up was to get out of the New Directions facility in Germantown, where they reside as an alternative to incarceration, for a few hours a week.
One of the regular riders, Patti, had her own reason that she admitted was a little weird. “I love to sweat!” she said.
A few of the other women expressed that they had been missing the active lifestyle they left behind when they were arrested. Traci Young said she used to ride her bike all the time. In fact, right before being arrested, she was hit by a car while riding her bike. The accident knocked her front teeth out and she is currently in the process of getting dental work done to repair the damage.
“My boyfriend said I was never allowed to ride again,” she said with a smile..
It didn’t take much coaxing for her to join the Gearing Up program when she heard about it at New Directions. Soon, she was back on a bike and going harder than ever. She’s ridden over 200 miles with Gearing Up.
Not only do the women build endurance and stamina during the twice-a-week rides, they’ve also formed strong bonds of friendship. They laughed as they recalled past rides, such as the recent ride during which they stopped to get water ice.
“It was Nicole’s first water ice,” Patti said, laughing.
Nicole Mattis moved to Philadelphia from California six years ago, and it somehow took her this long to try her first taste of the Philadelphia favorite.
The women talked about how moments like those were what made their rides so important. They love being there for one another.
Gearing Up has also brought the women of New Directions new friends in Kristin Gavin, the director and founder of the program, Lauren Salciunas and Kaelin Proud.
Most of them got involved with the program because a friend told them about it. The women who’d been there longer took it upon themselves to mentor the newcomers.
Marissa DeLuca has logged over 240 miles. She’s excited to be mentoring girls at the upcoming “bike build.” The women who have reached the 100-mile mark will be able to construct their own bicycle that is theirs to keep. They also learn about bike maintenance.
“I asked a lot of stupid questions when I was building my bike,” DeLuca said. “Now I’ll be able to help the other girls with theirs.”
Patti added, “We learn so much about safety and putting together bikes, it’s just different.”
The women also bonded over their hatred for hills.
Except for Mattis that is. “I dug the first hill,” she said. “I’ve got legs of steel and I love them ‘cause I never met one yet I haven’t conquered.”
Although they’re not always enthusiastic, they do all share the sense of achievement they have gotten from riding up a difficult climb or reaching that next mile mark. This sense of achievement goes hand in hand with the camaraderie.
Each ride begins with the women stating their name and something they want to leave behind them as they pedal into their hour of freedom. Most of them said they leave behind stress, worry, sadness, depression or pain. During the ride they are able to forget these things and absorb all of the benefits bike riding has to offer.
This feeling of release was what inspired Gavin to found Gearing Up. She said she knew that exercise and bike riding were coping mechanisms that were effective for her and wanted to share that with other women who may need to find an escape.
The women from New Directions were eager to share their experience and encourage others to participate. Like Gavin, they have found a key to freedom and hope and wanted to share it with others.
On their rides, they always pick something up. At the close of each of their meetings, the women state what they found on the ride. Sweaty and out of breath, they share the new feelings that have replaced the negativity they held an hour before: joy, happiness, freedom, health and relief.
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