Ok, how rad is this?
SPECIALIZED WOMENS AMBASSADOR!!!!!
What!?!?
I
spent a lot of time on my application to Specialize Women for their Women’s
Bike Ambassador Program. When I saw the opportunity online – I really wanted
the opportunity to put my 20 years of Mountain biking to good use.
When I learned that I had
been one of 5 women to represent in the country - I was a squealing girl
jumping up and down! What a dream come true to be picked to represent women
cyclists by Specialized Bikes.
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| Amazing ladies - Chery (MTBiker), Mandy (Road Biker), Stephanie (Road Biker), Jen (MTBiker) and Carrie (Road Biker) |
Specialized Bikes flew me
and 4 other women selected to their Women’s Ambassador Summit at Specialized HQ
in Morgan Hill, CA. We were all treated to a concentrated weekend of education,
tours, bike fittings, bike rides, and bonding time throughout the beautiful
region of Santa Cruz and Morgan Hill, California.
Day one, we were picked up
and shuttled to Morgan Hill for our day of Specialized boot camp. It started
with a tour of the building and surprise visit from owner Mike Sinyard. The
five ladies toured the global headquarters in bewilderment.
Women’s Product Manager
for Specialized, Erin Sprague, gave us a brief history and future sneak peak of
their women’s product line. Even some of the employees were seeing these bikes
for the first time. It was very exciting to learn about all the amazing
specialized products that were specifically designed for women only.
Another perk with being
selected is receiving a free bike. Yup, a free women’s Specialized bike of our
choice. Out of the 5 ambassadors, three women selected were road cyclists. One
other lady and I am a mountain bikers,
so we were interested in the trail bikes that offered sweet single track
features. For me, it was a full suspension MTN bike and a 29inch wheels. This
would be my fantasy bike. For years I have been waiting my turn in my family
for a new mtn-bike. My husband and I save our pennies mostly for our kids to
have really nice gear (which they grow out yearly).
Another perk of the day
was the Body Geometry Fit to our bikes. This is when we witnessed our bikes for
the first time. There was a lot of women jumping up and down with delight. The
30+ year old women were 6 years old again. We learned about the Body Geometry
Fit (BGFit) concept. We went through an extensive “interview” process where we
discussed my riding history, injuries, preferences, reasons for riding, and
more. My reasons for riding would dictate the set-up of the bike.
After the interview, we
went back to the bike, where the physical exam and bike fit began. We measured
some flexibility, leg discrepancies, motion…all seemed pretty normal. Whew. The
bike fitting itself took almost two hours combining art and science. We
discussed my body issues with lower back pain, pinching in the shoulders, and
my circulation disorder in my hands and feet.
These issues were all considered step by step until we finally figured
out the most comfortable (and fast) position possible. We changed saddles,
altered cleat placement, manipulated the stem and the saddle. “Millimeters can
make a difference,” he said. And, he’s right. After two hours, we had a bike
that fit like a glove.
After our extenstive Body
Geometry Fit, the ambassadors enjoyed a fun photo shoot and then late lunch in
the “feed zone” cafeteria complete with a salad bar, smoothies, hot bar all
within the Specialized headquarters. At lunch, we were all impressed with the
Specialized employees heading out for lunch time road rides. All the
Specialized employees seemed to radiate health and excitement for the company.
It didn’t take long before many of the women selected to be ambassadors started fantasying about moving to Santa Cruz to bike and work for Specialize.
After lunch, we then had
a crash course in Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, hashtags, trends, and
everything else that comes along with living in the world. Catalina and Carrie,
presented social media best practices. I learned a lot about being mindful with
technology. Fortunately, it’s simple when you are representing a brand that you
are passionate about like Specialized Women’s products.
After the social media
presentation, they held a “specialized” Friday afternoon happy hour in our
honor where we were lucky enough to meet other members of the staff…Global
Marketing, PR, IT, Engineering…all amazing people who genuinely seem to love
their work and their work atmosphere.
It was crazy to be followed around by a professional photographer documenting our every move. We had formal photos taken too along with video interviews. I sincerly hope that I didnt sound like a crazy person _ I was so excited about the whole experience!
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| Happy Jen in the the Specialized Van - good and muddy. |
I am Specialized.
