Riding for Business and Fun
Written by Mary Welch Saturday, May 22 2010
Almost every weekend Erin Wolf puts her bicycle in the car and drives to Cartersville, Ga., from Atlanta to bike with some friends. Really bike – like 50 miles at a time.
“Well, it’s fun,” she says. “I love sports, and I enjoy meeting people.”
Wolf, managing partner at Suite Track, an Atlanta-based company that is dedicated to developing and advancing female leaders, was always involved in sports. And she finds that through sports, particularly biking, she gets to meld her love of sports with doing business.
She’s not alone. Increasingly businesswomen are using sports to network, get some fresh air, and fire up that competitive drive.
Wolf, a former nationally ranked tennis player, went to college on a tennis scholarship. “Sports paid for my education, and it’s always been a big part of my life,” she says. “And my children are athletic as well. We did a lot of sports in my family.”
Following a divorce and a pleasant bike trip in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Wolf turned to sports again. She went to Atlanta Cycling and found out about bicycling treks. “I went to meet people – not men,” she says. “I just wanted to meet people who liked biking.”
She soon made friends with other bikers. “Well, you have three or four hours to talk when you’re biking so you become close. You have a lot to talk about. The scenery is beautiful, of course, but basically it’s going out and being with friends.”
Inevitably the subject comes around to business. “You can only talk about the scenery, your dating situation, and shopping for so long. It always comes back to business. I met one woman, Chris, and I’ve really become a mentor to her. We talk business.”
Mary Gill, an attorney with Alston & Bird, Atlanta, is often on those biking treks. “I started running in law school (30 years ago) as a way to stay in shape and relieve the stress of law school. Although I still run, my passion is now biking,” she says. “Biking satisfies many needs and senses in a way that running simply does not. For example, consider the exhilarating rush that comes with speeding down a winding hill, which you simply do not get with running. It brings back some of the simple joys of childhood. The sight of a string of multicolored jerseys stretching down the road between pastures of horses under a blue sky is a beautiful sight to behold.”
Gill also believes that biking provides a wonderful opportunity for leisurely social and potential business interaction. “My biking comrades include an in-house lawyer with Coca-Cola, a former assistant U.S. attorney, an Emory Law School classmate, who is now general counsel for software company, and a woman's business coach, among others. A 50-mile bike ride allows you plenty of time to establish and expand relationships that may translate into business opportunities.”
Both women would agree that one of the advantages of biking is that a woman in good physical condition is not at a disadvantage with a man.
Unlike other sports, biking affords women competitive equality with men that you do not find in many other activities, Gill says. “A good woman biker can easily cycle at speeds comparable to her male peers.”
Wolf believes that men enjoy doing sports with women. “I was before Title IX but I see that women today are fit, and they know how to play golf, tennis, bike, and other sports, and men really enjoy that. It especially helps in business.”
Wolf is a firm believer in understanding sports and being able to talk the game. “It’s a huge advantage when women know sports,” she says. “I mean, it doesn’t take a lot to keep up with March Madness, but you will get invited to more conversations if you can talk about it. In fact, I think men get a kick out of it.”
So on any given Saturday, Wolf and Gill will be biking around the North Georgia mountains, getting exercise, and talking business. “It’s a great system. The emails start going out midweek to see who will be biking,” Wolf says. “I always know that there will be six to eight people at least there. When I started, maybe three people would show up, now the mailing list is at least 20.
“I just know that there will be someone there every Saturday,” she says, “and it’s one of the best parts of my week.”
Mary Welch is Atlanta city editor of Womenetics: and a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dawson Times, Plan Your Meeting magazine, and Atlanta Business magazine. She was editor-in-chief of Atlanta Woman magazine and editor of Business to Business and Catalyst magazines.
