What brought you to Greenville?
I will say I “grew up here” (my family moved to Greenville in 2008). I graduated high school here in 2010. After school in Columbia at USC and my graduate degree in Washington State I decided to move back to be around my family in 2020.
How long have you been cycling?
Funny story which many of you have heard me tell. I have been cycling since March 2023. My birthday is in March and last year my sister and her husband gave me a bike trainer- to which my response was “this is really nice and all but I don’t ride nor do I have a bike…”
She said I know that’s why you can ride mine and you need to train because we’re signing you up for a Century ride with her husband at the end of that year. she was pregnant and wouldn’t be able to ride with him in the Ride to Cure Diabetes for JDRF. So I started riding, connecting with the cycling community, and here we are a year later. Completely hooked on it, especially after I bought my own bike
To actually answer the question, about a year
How do you benefit from your Greenville Spinners membership?
FRIENDS! I love that my membership supports this group continuing to thrive. Having a dedicated group provides a centralized way to connect cyclists from Traveler’s rest to Simpsonville and many more. I pretty much ride groups 98% of time now because this community is awesome!
How would you describe the cycling community in Greenville?
The community in Greenville is diverse and inclusive. That’s what makes it so special. During the daylight season there’s pretty much a ride for every cyclist out there and plenty of veterans who are happy to show someone the ropes. At Sweet Sippin Sundays we ride with our friends and we stick around and have a cold beverage with them after. Trek Shop Saturdays are a great beginner group and has coffee too boot. Tuesday Donaldson/SCTAC has been a major part of up-ing my cycling game this year where I’ve gone from barely riding 16s to holding my own in the 18s. You just have to be willing to get out there and enjoy the ride. If you’re here in Greenville and you want to get on a bike, there’s no better place for it.
PS: I am still doing a century Ride to Cure Diabetes to raise money for Breakthrough T1D(formerly Junior Diabetes Research Foundation). This non profit raises funds to promote research and advocacy in the hopes of curing type 1 diabetes 1 day! If you’d like to support my ride see the details in my flyer!