Operating under the slogan “Girls Geared to Give,” sporting jerseys with that very slogan, and giving back to the community through cycling, the Bodacious Biking Babes (BBB),

a Folsom/El Dorado Hills-based nonprofit, are having the ride of their life. Founded nine years ago by current member Vicki Summers, BBB is now co-captained by Susan Young and Kathy Hurd, and sponsored by Bicycles Plus of Folsom.   

The Bodacious Biking Babes – an all-volunteer female team with members of all cycling abilities and backgrounds ranging in age from 30 to over 60 – supports a variety of causes and a pair of annual charity cycling efforts. The first is Folsom’s Ride for a Reason, which raises funds and awareness for both Parkinson’s disease research, cancer survivorship programs and cancer research through the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The second is Breathe California’s Emigrant Trails Trek, a three-day ride through the wine country to benefit the Trek’s namesake nonprofit, which advocates clean air and supports the cause with related education and programs.   

“The Babes delight in volunteering to assist with Ride for a Reason logistics and event organization,” say a trio of group members that includes Young and Summers. “Some ride in the event and others support it financially.” When it comes to the Breathe California Emigrant Trails Trek, all Babes are required to raise a minimum of $450 to ride.

In assisting other nonprofits to accomplish their goals, BBB cycles together year-round for fun, exercise and support. “We workout our bodies as well as issues we may be facing in our lives such as unemployment, struggles with our kids or husbands, illnesses, etc.,” group members explain. “Team members become friends. We accomplish more than a physical workout on our rides.”

Bodacious Biking Babes 2009

In doing so, BBB not only offers an incredible support network for its membership (when two Babes were critically injured last year by a drunk driver, their fellow cyclists were there to help their wounded friends through the rehabilitation process), but also for the causes they champion. Thus far, BBB has raised more than $200,000 for several high-profile charities – the American Lung Association, Breathe California, the American Diabetes Association, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of California, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Davis Phinney Foundation, and the American Cancer Society among them.   

Locally, BBB members are committed to fulfilling their promise to be healthy role members for both their families and members of their communities. This latter aim is what prompts the organization to conduct bike safety clinics and skill-building workshops, and offer training led by qualified instructors who also happen to be physical therapists. “We are not professional cyclists, but we are competent and capable amateur cyclists,” explain group members, who add that advancing their own fitness, improving their riding abilities and increasing their knowledge of bicycle maintenance encourages them to do the same for others.  

Prospective new Babes are accepted January 1 through May 1 of every calendar year for purposes of organizing, training, camaraderie development and gearing up.

For more information about the Bodacious Biking Babes, email Susan Young at [email protected].