Vanderkitten's Robyn Sheedy Takes Beantown 16-Miler Victory

Robyn Sheedy, one of our Vanderkitten multisport Athletes, competed in a 16 mile (running) road race this past weekend. "I ended up winning my age group (30-39). It was a pretty hilly course and it was in the middle of a snowstorm to boot! But all in all it was fun and good training for Boston [Marathon]. I ended up running a 2:00:20 which breaks down to 7:32/mile. Given that I had ridden a hard 3 hours on Sat. I was pretty happy with the result."

"More importantly, I got a big-ass beer stein for my efforts and was wearing my VK wear at the awards ceremony. So attached is a photo of me getting my (empty) beer stein (which was filled later) with the race director. Unfortunately the glass is blocking the VK logo! I did, however, get some questions from people about what the deal is with "that cat" and I was quite pleased to inform them of Vanderkitten"

Thank you Robyn for the race update and pic! Although it is quite a large stein, we are sure your Vanderkitten Post Race Training enabled you to down that one with no problem!! =)

Through out 2008 we will be bringing you updates and stories from Robin Sheedy as she travels the globe racing bikes, running and swimming to spread the good word of Vanderkitten!

CYCLE TO.com

We are very excited to be participating in this hot new site for Cycling Freaks! Take a look inside the lives of Elite Women Racers. Share the cheers and tears and see what life is like for these emerging athletes.

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You will get a unique opportunity to get the inside scoop on products, racers, lifestyle, events, etc. Results only tell a small portion of the story, now get the rest!

I Hate You for Being Hot, and Fast!

There are more and more girls out in the world not playing by the rules, embracing their beauty AND kicking ass! Introducing Emily Phillips. You heard it here first, Emily is going to be a household name in a couple of years.


Emily contacted Vanderkitten last year in suggestion that she too kicked ass on 2 wheels. The only difference is her 2 Wheels have engines and up t0 35 HP. Emily races Motocross, and when she's not racing, she is going to school and modeling.

Emily is making the trek out to NorCal from her current home of Texas (she is a So Cal Native) this week to me her extended Vanderkitten Family of Jennie, Dave, Mark, Liz, Hanan and Flavia. Check back often to see what trouble we can stir up with the hottest girls in Cycling AND Motocross!

With All of this Talk About Equality...

Maybe the UCI, the international governing body of cycling, made a New Year's resolution to equally compensate women professional athletes in prize money... but most likely they didn't.
Mountain biking phenom and current MTB National Champion Georgia Gould created a petition to the UCI that has been wildly broadcast to increase female prize money to match that of men. There are few professional women's sports that have achieved this, and we need to look no further than Tennis to see this gap closed.

A more likely achievement would be to garner compensation and endorsement packages like the surfing and snowboarding/skiing industry have. But where will the money come from?



Let's look at the numbers for a minute. There are 1.7 Million men, women and children in the USA who SURF, yet SURFWEAR is a multi-billion dollar industry. In fact, 95% of all of the people who own clothing or accessories from a "surfwear" company will never, in fact, surf. The cycling industry boasts amazing numbers in comparison. There are 44 million women in the USA who ride bikes, yet professional women make a FRACTION of what a professional female surfer earns. So, when we want equal pay... where does the money come from?

Cycling is ready for a MAKEOVER in a BIG WAY!



I love the sport, but it's been dorky at best over the last decade (save for the gravity girls). The cost of entry is extreme compared to a lot of other sports, the fashion is very far behind (see above), and the image is not one that marketeers find, well, marketable (see above). The age of people making decisions in the cycling industry is increasing, and the touch with todays trends is far removed. But cycling has something no other sport has- the ability to do it anywhere, in practically any weather. There is no Powder Day there is no Big Swell. There is not that one thing you wait for everyday of your life, that makes the attainment of said condition prestigious and godlike. Does this limit Cycling's allure? Can we shoot videos of the perfect road descent?

If any of you have ever surfed, you know you can get to the beach to find it flat, blown-out, overly crowded, choppy, glassy or perfect. The reality is that perfection is always being chased because the sport is 100% dependent on a perfect combination of being in the right place at the right time. On any given day, there is no surf. On any given day, there is always cycling. The lifestyle of being laid back, waiting for surf, is very appealing to us all. Surfing is natural, powerful, amazing. I feel the same way about skiing: I can hit speeds over 50 miles an hour on a piece of wood wrapped with some fiberglass- No wheels, no shifting and the only thing with mechanical workings are my bindings, and that's just so I don't break my legs! Everytime I go, it costs A LOT of money to ski.

So, why then is cycling not of interest to the public at large? Its the largest recreational fitness activity in the US next to WALKING! I think cycling needs a make-over. The button-up, corporate racer drone doesn't vibe with the public at large who buy the products and services bigger sports promote. What if cycling was presented in such a way that it is accessbile, causal, exciting and beautiful?

Cycling is HOT


Leah is a professional bike racer from Canada. She is one of the young women that is changing the face of the sport. She is fast, wins big races and looks like a supermodel.


Liz is hot, she is real, down to Earth, a crowd favorite. She does not look like your female cyclist of the 90's, and she is arguably much tougher, too.


Mandy stops grown men in their tracks. She is sassy, classy, intelligent, FAST and beautiful. She is fast, fun and promotes women's cycling all day long!


Flavia is a dynamo on and off the bike. She speaks her mind, is confident and focused. She knows what she wants from life.


Leigh is hard working, fashionable, fast and wide-smiling. She and her pro-boy know VK is the new hot thing in cycling. Her hard work has made Vanderkitten Racing a reality for 2008!

These are just some of the fast women who are changing the face of Women's Cycling with Vanderkitten Racing in 2008. You will get to know them all over the coming weeks. We are excited that we can bring the level of fashion, excitement, talent and personality to the sport of cycling that does not exist. In fact, many call Vanderkitten "the Roxy of cycling"... I can't think of a more flattering compliment.

Happy New Year!

2008 presents another year of endless opportunities for Vanderkitten! To the right is a poll for you to fill out! The idea is to help us identify the products YOU want most! We have all of these items in development, so it's just a matter of prioritizing them for delivery!

Thank you for taking a minute to select your favorite items!!