Girls Bike NYC 2022 Holiday Party
WE DID IT! We made it through the 2022 season! To celebrate, Kate and the other leaders decided we should all get together at Union Hall and rather than exchanging gifts, we were all asked to write a card, note, or quote that would have helped us at some point this year. All the notes and cards would be collected and we would each draw one at the end of the night for a piece of encouragement to carry with us in the new year.
I met Kate there a bit early to try and hold down a spot in the bar for everyone. It was crowded but we lucked into a couple of couches that freed up and we took over the corner! There was such a big turnout and it was a great way to get all of us together in one place, especially since the group for our weekly rides changes, based on everyone’s schedules. We all chatted and caught up with one another and squeezed in a few games of bocce ball.
I wound up spending a lot of my night talking to Tanya, someone I’ve never really had the chance to chat with during our rides. She got to tell me about her solo bikepacking trip that she undertook earlier this year and I was so impressed by everything she shared with me. She told me stories about the people she met along the way and what the journey was like, having never attempted something like this before. It was incredibly inspiring to hear about Tanya’s trip, so we got to talking about planning some of our own bikepacking trips for next year! Joe’s 718 tours for 2023 are already all sold out, but it would be great to try and plan a trip with a few other experienced people - I’d probably make it out there if I was alone, but the company of a few others will help improve my survival chances, so I’m gonna go that route.
Before the night could end, we needed to share the gifts that our club members bought for our leaders Kate, Jamie, Lexa, and Elizabeth. Sivan was so thoughtful in organizing this effort and purchasing the gifts, so I helped by screaming to get everyone’s attention and taking blurry photos for the gift-giving portion of the evening.
We managed to convince someone to take an absurd number of group photos of us, only a few of which are featured below.
As the night ended, people began picking messages from the bag. I reached in and, fittingly, received Tanya’s card:
Take the chance while you still have a choice.
