Women Cycling For a Cause

One of the best cycling “Girls’ Weekend” activities you will find in the country is in Logan, Utah, which is about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City. The event is the Little Red Riding Hood Ride and it is the largest and longest all-women’s bike ride in the country.

The ride offers route distances of 15, 35, 45, 62, 80 and 100 miles and all the funds raised from Little Red go to support women-specific cancer research. The ride has attracted women from all over the USA and a few other countries as well, including Canada, Mexico, Italy and Australia. It’s a welcoming atmosphere for all types of cyclists; you’ll see mothers, daughters and grandmothers cycling side by side.

Click here for registration information

How It Started:

LRRH is in its 24th year. The ride’s founder, Alice Telford, was inspired by the Cinderella Classic Ride in Alameda County, CA. When she started Little Red  there were just 25 women for that first ride. With the support of the Bonneville Cycling Club, it has grown steadily since then. The route of the ride winds through the beautiful countryside of northern Utah, in an area called Cache Valley. It offers a flat course for the shorter rides and a few gently rolling hills on the longer routes. In years past, it started in Wellsville, Utah but this year the ride has been moved to Lewiston, a town 19 miles north of Logan.

They’ve got a Sense of Style:

Ride organizers have had a lot of fun with the Red Riding Hood theme over the years. Little Red is artistically portrayed on the stylish jerseys and participation tee shirts every year. Little Red is the heroine and she always gets the best of the Big, Bad Wolf, which since 1999 has come to represent cancer. The last few years in particular they have had fun with the theme: a cowgirl theme, a Hawaiian theme, and now, this year’s Super Hero theme with Little Red portrayed as “Super Red.” The jerseys are fun and well designed and becoming collectibles. The tee shirts come in fitted and looser fitting sizes and they are so cute you will want to wear them in the months and years ahead. For the 2010 Little Red event there will be other items you can add to your wardrobe: specially embroidered hoodies, hats and red boleros made by the Terry cycling clothing company, one of the sponsors of LRRH.

A Great Get-Away Weekend for You & Your Girlfriends

The Little Red Riding Hood Ride has become a two-day event with a dinner, entertainment and an expo the night before. This year’s entertainment will be a musical and comedy group called the Saliva Sisters. During the ride you’ll be well treated at various rest stops offering beverages and snacks along the way, as well as a bountiful lunch. Costumes are part of the fun so expect to see a few on your fellow cyclists and to see Little Red herself with some male volunteers good-naturedly dressed as big, bad wolves. Afterwards, enjoy the sisterly camaraderie of your fellow cyclists in the park with the expo, more food and a silent auction (proceeds go to cancer research). Last year’s staggered start times were a hit and have enabled LRRH to accommodate up to 3000. Penny Perkins, one of the ride’s organizers, said the demand last year was very high and they were full by mid-March. If you want to be sure to get in this year, she recommends you sign up early. She also announced there would be an additional outlet for those who’d like to do more fundraising in the fight against cancer: a pledge page.

Registration begins Monday, February 1^st on their website.

Thanks to Robin Perkins for his photos of the LRRH 2009!