As more than 200 women crunched together Oct. 5 for the start of the 11th annual Women on Wheels Ride in Main Street at Lakewood Ranch, Village Idiots Cycling Club President Dawn Zielinski followed her race instructions with a great reason to participate.
"If you came by yourselves ..." Zielinski said. "...you're going to leave with a lot of friends."
Indeed, it was smiles all around as the riders came to Women on Wheels to support their fellow female riders along with the nonprofit Selah Freedom.
"It's great to see women coming together," said Village idiots Board Member Meredith Smith. "This sport traditionally is dominated by men. We can all lift up other women. If I am riding along and a see another rider (struggling), I will slow down to help bring her pace back up.
"We're riding here in Lakewood Ranch on great roads, in great neighborhoods."
"We have men who don't think we need a day," Zielinski said. "But it is phenomenal to get the women together."
Zielinski emphasized that the male members of the club come together to support and set up the event.
"It's nice to be taken care of for one day," Zielinski said.
The event was divided into 20-, 40- and 62-mile rides.
The Women on Wheels Ride participants were pumped up before the start of the 11th annual event Oct. 5 on Main Street at Lakewood Ranch.
Photo by Jay Heater
Village Idiots Cycling Club Board Members Meredith Smith, Dawn Zielinski and Ann Drummond prepare for the Women on Wheels Ride Oct. 5 in Lakewood Ranch.
Photo by Jay Heater
North Port's Marie Hendry and Sheri Chejlyk, and Sarasota's Terri Mitchell and Kathy Nix are all smiles before they begin the Women on Wheels Ride in Lakewood Ranch.
Photo by Jay Heater
Dorys Ribeiro of Clearwater came to support the Women on Wheels Ride as a member of the co-sponsoring St. Petersburg Bicycle Club.
Photo by Jay Heater
Eight women from Orlando made the trip together to Lakewood Ranch for the Women on Wheels Ride Oct 5.
Photo by Jay Heater
Dorys Ribeiro of Clearwater adds a little color to the top of her helmet to identify herself as a member of the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club.
Photo by Jay Heater
Alisa Ousley, Gail Hardy and Katherine Hinsch came from Lakeland. Hardy says "we would come just for the awesome jersey" that is given to participants.
Photo by Jay Heater
Kris Woodcock of the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club shows off the jersey presented to participants at the Women on Wheels Ride in Lakewood Ranch.
Photo by Jay Heater
Harper Culpepper 2, and her brother Greyson Culpepper, 3, aren't riding, but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy the Women on Wheels Ride atmosphere.
Photo by Jay Heater
Dawn Zielinski, the president of the Village Idiots Cycling Club, which presented the Women on Wheels Ride with the St Petersburg Bicycle Club, gives final instructions.
Photo by Jay Heater
St. Petersburg Bicycle Club members Ginger Williams, Jen Underhill and Tanel Andry were in no hurry to begin their 20-mile ride.
Photo by Jay Heater
Those who rode in the Women on Wheels Ride Oct. 5 were supporting the nonprofit Selah Freedom, an anti-human trafficking organization.
Photo by Jay Heater
Riders head out on the 62-mile Women on Wheels Ride Oct. 5 in Lakewood Ranch. Riders also could choose from 20- and 40-mile rides.
Photo by Jay Heater
More than 200 women bicycle riders packed Main Street at Lakewood Ranch Oct. 5 for the Women on Wheels Ride.
Photo by Jay Heater
Stephanie Garrison of the Village Idiots and the Sarasota Manatee Bicycle Club, begins the Women on Wheels Ride in Lakewood Ranch Oct. 5.
Jay Heater is the managing editor of the East County Observer. Overall, he has been in the business more than 41 years, 26 spent at the Contra Costa Times in the San Francisco Bay area as a sportswriter covering college football and basketball, boxing and horse racing.
