As they pass 50, these women forge bonds through biking

Burlington club unites riders via competition

Jane Clark (right) and Annette Kennedy (left) lead their fellow cyclists.

Peggy Barrasso bought her first bike as one means to get over a breakup with a boyfriend. Jane Clark made her initial purchase after she lost a good friend to a mountain-climbing accident, while Annette Kennedy simply saw it as her responsibility to pass on her love for riding to other women.

Different paths in life. Same passion.

"Many of us in the 50-plus age group look to combine competition and camaraderie," said Clark, 58. "As we age, the competitiveness and conditioning are not the sole aspects that give us enjoyment, but instead must be coupled with camaraderie. The mutual support is also a draw. I've found a group of buddies who've become a small family for me."

At 22 years, Clark has the longest membership among women in the Northeast Bicycle Club in Burlington, the largest bike-racing club in New England. The California native joined after a conversation with the man who sold her her first road bike.

"In my 20s and 30s, I was really into high-altitude mountain climbing and rock climbing," said the Cambridge resident. "I stopped because I had friends who were getting killed. I thought I could take $5,000 and spend it on climbing [Mount] McKinley or I could buy a bike. The guy at the bike shop was a touring rider, so he signed me up for my first tour, through Vermont and Maine."

Clark has become one of the strongest riders in the Northeast Bicycle Club's women's 50-plus age group. Every Tuesday, Kennedy and Barrasso join her at the Battle Green in the center of Lexington for a 20-mile spin.

It's become a weekly ritual for Kennedy and Clark. For Barrasso, it's a symbol of how far she's come.

"I dated a guy years ago and we broke up. I bought a mountain bike. I used to ride up and down the trails and fell in love with riding," said Barrasso, a Tewksbury resident. "My first day, I showed up in gym clothes with a mountain bike and a kickstand. I was riddled with fear. I hated it, my legs and lungs were on fire, and I'd hang on for dear life in the back. Cycling brought me from the gym to people who I'd never thought I'd meet. I can now show up anywhere socially and do something because riding made me get over my fears."

She credits one fateful meeting during a singles weekend.

"I couldn't find my friend at lunch one day so I picked a random picnic table with two women at it," said the Tewksbury resident, who will turn 50 later this year. "That choice of tables changed my life because they were two cyclists."

That fall, Barrasso was directed to the Bedford Library, from which Northeast Bicycle Club members would ride on Saturday and Sunday mornings, training during fall and winter for the spring season.

Barrasso's dedication and love of cycling kept her returning to the group, despite 5 a.m. alarms before bone-chilling rides in the dead of winter. When she wasn't riding with club riders, she would hop on her mountain bike for an hour twice a week, no matter the weather forecast or the mental and physical challenges she endured as she transformed from a raw newcomer to a strong, experienced rider.

Kennedy is the glue that holds the group together. A club board member and instructor for its Grassroots Division (for riders between 10 and 12), she leads women's Tuesday night rides. The 53-year-old from Winchester has recruited more than half of the Northeast Bicycle Club's 100 female riders.

She joined the club after members encouraged her to ride in the annual Pan-Mass Challenge. After five years of recreational riding, Kennedy moved into the racing circuit when she was 49.

Burlington's Lee Evans also joins the trio on Tuesday nights. This weekend, Evans, Clark, and Kennedy will compete in cycling at the 21st annual Granite State Senior Games.

"I never really thought I'd race because I was scared it would take the fun out of it," said Barrasso, who will ride in the event next year.

"But, I'm going to try it and see," she said. "Biking grows on you; it teaches you about yourself. Riding in a group brought out a competitiveness I never knew I had. I want to beat that girl next to me, or pass that guy up front. Biking really has changed my life, socially, physically, and personally."