Women On Christ a Wheels
Trek Bicycle women advocates organize female-friendly rides, support groups
Brooke Martin Trek Bicycle Pottstown
Trek Bicycle is encouraging women to get on wheels and provide feedback to the store through its Women’s Advocate program.
Trek has a women’s advocate in each of their shops across the U.S. and in Canada. There are Trek shops throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region and each with their own ambassador to represent the ladies.
Brooke Martin is the women’s advocate for Trek Bicycle Pottstown. The ambassadors make sure the female voice is heard and provides opportunities for women to support one another. As the women’s advocate, Martin leads group rides in the Pottstown area, hosts special events and manages the “Women on Wheels – Trek Bicycle Pottstown” Facebook page and group.
“It’s basically to get more women on bikes,” Martin said. “We give our feedback to Trek about what type of riding women in our area want to do.”
Martin also said that advocates and the women in the riding groups give feedback on Trek products such what type of bikes they’re looking for and what type of biking gear would suit them. Trek has a page dedicated to women on their website with information about bikes and apparel designed specifically for ladies. There’s also a Trek Women Facebook page and newsletter.
“We give feedback on products so Trek can better serve the community,” Martin said.
She said Trek is also serving the community by offering group rides specifically created for women.
“There’s nothing better than getting a bunch of women together,” Martin said.
She said the rides aren’t aggressive or competitive but are designed so women can come together and be supportive of one another.
“The idea is to make it more comfortable for women,” Martin said adding that there’s a Facebook group where ladies can ask questions that they might not want to share with men. She said the Facebook group and rides brings like-minded women together for cycling and encouragement.
Since July, Martin has been offering a weekly Thursday morning ride and Monday evening ride. She said the Monday night ride is more for beginners and begins at Riverfront Park in Pottstown then continues on the Schuylkill River Trail. Participants are asked to arrive at 5:45 p.m. to get gear together and check tire pressure then the ride begins at 6 p.m. The Thursday morning rides begins form Trek Bicycle Pottstown which is located at 355 Upland Square Drive. Martin said this ride is designed for the more experienced rider since the route is on-road and includes hills. Participants are asked to arrive at 7:15 a.m. then the ride begins at 7:30 a.m.
Christa Bender, 39, of Birdsboro has been joining the group rides in Pottstown since they started.
“Anytime I can get some riding in then I’m happy,” she said.
Bender has started cycling more in the last year since recovering from a serious knee injury. About two years ago she tore her ACL and had it reconstructed. She did physical therapy for a year before beginning to ride again.
“I started cycling because it was a lot easier on my knee than running or anything else,” she said.
Bender said she likes the route of the Pottstown rides because she gets to experience on-road sections that she’s never cycled along before.
“I come to Pottstown every now and then but not that often so I kind of like that it’s a different view,” she said.
“There’s nothing better than getting a bunch of women together,”