Tandem para-cycling pair Carla Franson and Rachel Henderson promote female fun ride
NATIONAL para-cycling champions Carla Franson and Rachel Henderson have put their training aside momentarily to encourage more women to get on their bike and simply have fun.
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NATIONAL para-cycling champions Carla Franson and Rachel Henderson have put their training aside momentarily to encourage more women to get on their bike and simply have fun.
The pair are ambassadors for Bike SA’s ‘Gear up Girl’ program which aims to get 1000 female cyclists riding their bike together in Adelaide on November 22.
“The big goal is to get 1000 women involved on the day,” Franson said.
“If people aren’t confident going out on their bike by themselves, this gives them a chance to ride in a group, go for a casual cruise and have a chat.”
Franson, 20, is a pilot rider for visually impaired Henderson, 23, who together have claimed national titles on the road and track aboard their tandem bike.
They admit next year’s Rio Paralympics remain a “long shot” and are more focused on making the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
“We teamed up in 2013 and after a couple of national titles decided we’d start to take it a bit more seriously,” Franson said.
“At the moment we’re looking towards the road nationals in Clare in February which is part of the qualification for Rio but they can only take six male and female athletes.
“So hopefully we can get some international experience and aim to race on home soil on the Gold Coast in 2018.”
Gear up Girl offers cyclists a river, beach and hills course varying from 15-50km in length and catering for all abilities.
The 50km hills ride will take participants on a police escort through the city then the bike path up to Crafers. The river ride follows Linear Park around the River Torrens and the beach ride visits Outer Harbour. Registrations can be made online at bikesa.asn.au.
Originally published as Tandem para-cycling pair Carla Franson and Rachel Henderson promote female fun ride
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