The "girls" ride is continuing to see great success! 13 women showed up for the 5:30 start this week! Welcome Gayle Stephens to the group! Great ride...and a great way to start your day. Join them next week at Lincoln/Belmont.
Two weeks ago, Spidermonkey Cycling arranged a "Lunch and Learn" with the National MS Society and another of our long time sponsors, Turner Acceptance Corp. This is an opportunity for Turner to learn about MS and the Bike MS ride. Over 30 employees came to the 2 half hour sessions and 22 people "Joined the movement". They formed a team, chose a team captain and began fundraising. As of today they have already raised over $4400.00!!!!! We are so excited to have them joining us on the Bike MS ride. Go Turner!!!!!
Spidermokey Cycling has raised over $7000.00 as of today!!!!! Please help us reach our goal of $10,000.00. You can make a donation here: Help us reach our goal!
Upcoming events:
Cubs game Friday 1:20...make a $25.00 donation to our team for the MS ride and receive 2 tickets to the game
Sunday: Bike the Drive. We will ride from Costco parking lot to the finish area and pass out Bike to Work t-shirts. Free to the first 100 people who mention they saw the spidermonkey blog.
Summer Kickoff BBQ: June 5th!!!!! Please RSVP to the Evite!!!!!!!
Spidermonkey of the Week: Kim Brokhof
“I don’t wanna ride my bike.” I uttered that phrase countless times growing up. While the cool
kid’s parents dropped them off at school, my parents made me ride my bike. Summer vacations? I was
dreaming about amusement parks and beaches during weekend “vacations” that consisted of riding
together as a family. I was active in every sport possible, but there was something about biking that I
could never get into. I often proclaimed that biking was stupid and when I grew up I would never ride
my bike.
My active engagement in sports led to soccer, basketball, and running injuries. After five knee surgeries
on my right knee and no remaining cartilage, the final verdict was no more running or high impact sports
or a knee replacement surgery would soon await me. After swearing that I would never bike again, I
found that those words tasted delicious. I was back on a bike in college, but this time because it was a
quick and efficient way to get around campus and one of the only forms of exercise that didn’t bother
my knee.
When I moved to the City I discovered the joy of commuting and the ability to get everywhere quicker
via bike. Two years ago my opinion of cycling took yet another unexpected turn. My friend and I went
to the Goose Island Summer Dock party to enjoy a few beverages. I saw a guy in a stylish jacket that said
Spidermonkey (turns out it was Dean). I drank some liquid courage and asked where I could get a jacket
like that. Dean informed me that Spidermonkey was the name of their cycling club. The girl next to him
in the huge floppy hat and sunglasses (Vanessa) asked if I had a road bike and invited me to join a ride. A
club based out of my neighborhood where people biked together and then drank together?! It sounded
too good to be true. Though I would soon find out that my ten speed Panasonic with flipped handle
bars wasn’t quite the road bike Vanessa was referring to, I eventually found a proper road bike and
discovered the joy of speed for the first time on a bike. I also found that riding with a group and being
part of a team/club filled a void I’d felt from leaving sports. I always enjoyed being on sports teams, and
the camaraderie and fun I experience during Spidermonkey rides (and drinking events) is something I’d
never thought I’d find again. “I don’t wanna ride my bike” has turned into “I want to ride my bike every
day and I wanna go fast!” Thank you for welcoming me to share in your fun, and shaping me into the
cyclist I am today-you all rock!
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