The 37th edition of the venerable Cinderella Century takes place on Saturday, April 6. This ride can bring out as many as 2,500 participants and is probably the largest women-only ride in the country, if not the world. Last year’s ride was bombarded with heavy rain and horrific, near-horizontal winds. But this year’s prolonged drought is making it look like it will be a delight time (well, at least for cyclists). Riders can do the 65-mile metric “Classic” or push their limits with the 95-mile “Challenge.” Both rides explore the Livermore and San Ramon valleys. Registration is still open but if you’re at all interested in doing the ride, don’t delay as the Cinderella can sell out. To request a registration form, point your browser to this site: http://valleyspokesmen.org/email.php?email=cinReg
Despite never having ridden the Cinderella, I have always been a big supporter of this ride. Roger and I are also members of Valley Spokesmen (sic), the sponsoring club, and we have worked the event for years, usually doing registration. Like AIDS LifeCycle, the Cinderella Century is more than just having a good time; a significant portion of the proceeds is donated to women’s organizations throughout the Bay Area including the Women’s Cancer Resource Center, Big Sisters of the East Bay, Stand Against Domestic Violence, and Planned Parenthood. So, it’s a fundraiser as well albeit on a different model than LifeCycle.
Although boys can’t ride, they can participate by volunteering to help put the event on. The Valley Spokesmen puts out an annual appeal to its members and it seems to get enough volunteers, perhaps just barely. But it certainly won’t hurt to contact them if you are eager to help out. You can contact the team at: http://valleyspokesmen.org/email.php?email=cin
Different Spokes has for years put on its own ride, the Evil Step Sisters, on the same day, a romp over Mt. Tam. It’s not on the ride calendar yet but hopefully someone will step forward to lead it this year.
The Chain Letter 