Courtesy Serena Thomas Name: Serena Thomas
Age: 42
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York City
Occupation: Therapist, Cultural Anthropologist
Time Cycling: 2.5 years
Reason for Cycling: To be a seeker of beauty, speed, the unknown, mountains, and endless sky.
I’ve always had this fiery, wild little girl hiding inside of me. The summer of 2020 was the height of the pandemic and the streets of New York City were empty. I was going crazy. I started riding solo, and then later with some crews on my cruiser bike. Very quickly, I craved more. Soon, I heard of this thing called a century . I liked the name, so I thought, “Let me try one.”
I remember the day of my first century so well. It was September 2020 and I was riding the Escape New York route. I woke up at 4 a.m. and was terrified. I was wearing sweatpants, sneakers, had a heavy metal water bottle , and a big black backpack, but I was ready. Video player poster image The ride started, and at mile 15, the group disappeared into the distance. I walked up all the hills alone, crying. I accidentally hit and killed a chipmunk. I also rode in only the big ring because I didn’t know how to shift into the small ring. This 10 mph, 100-mile ride took me 16 hours, but the fire was lit and the wild little girl had awoken.
I have since found several cycling crews of color in […]
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