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Kathryn Bertine

Home
New Book: STAND
Newsletter
Media
BIO
Books & Film
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Gallery
Contact

There's no smiling while climbing! Except for team photo shoots. Especially when you're a 37-year-old who just signed her first pro contract. The early days of Colavita Pro Cycling 2012.

2007 U.S. National Championships in Seven Springs, PA. Left: clueless newbie rider with pro team aspirations. Right: Amy Dombroski kindly lets me share her tent.

Left: Huub Harings, Dutch cyclocross champion and Tour de France rider of the 1960s. Right: SKN team mechanic.

Snap goes the radius! Cyclist vs. stray dog. Kept it quiet from our director, so as not to endanger my chances of being cut from the team.

Amy Dombroski, always with us.

On the bike for Colavita Pro Cycling in 2013. After being benched by Wynona, I often raced solo in men's events.

Half the Road as a fetus! Science might not tell you this, but Post-It Notes are the mitochondria of activism.

This is how we edited Half the Road in Hood River, OR during 2013. No doubt cinematographer/editor Kevin Tokstad loved sharing an office with me barking sweaty orders from a turbo trainer.

With Chrissie Wellington in Costa Rica. She gave one of the best interviews in Half the Road. We didn't always agree on everything during Le Tour Entier, but that's the strength of true friendship. It’s healthy and normal to disagree and still love

Behold, the Little Purple Bloggie! This $99 camera traveled in my pocket for two years as we made Half the Road. Because of LPB, I caught an interview with Patrick Dempsey.

Half the Road sold out premiere at The Loft Cinema, in Tucson, AZ in 2014. Seven pro cyclists, L to R: Nicky Wangsgard, Addy Albershardt, Alisha Welsh, Amber Pierce, me, Jade Wilcoxson, Robin Farina, Lauren Hall.

Our official poster for Half the Road! Watching it hang in movie theaters gave me the best chills. ©Todd Olson

Much to the chagrin of outdated traditionalists who believe “women are slower,” I garnered an overall win at the Fire Road 100 in 2013.

The 2013 UCI World Championships in Florence, Italy. When it comes to standing for equal opportunity, if you give me a stage, I will give you a show. The UCI fined me €50 for holding up an equal sign.

The massage from hell. Colavita Pro Cycling, 2013. My brain and heart still wince when I see this.

This is where we launched the ASO petition in 2013. I was in upstate New York. Didn't have wifi. Never underestimate the power of strong flowerbeds and kind neighbors.

Le Tour Entier founding members: me, Marianne Vos, Emma Pooley, Chrissie Wellington. Or, as the media often preferred, "Three world champions and that other lady." Here's to all the other space dust bus drivers out there... remember: We ALL have the

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Le Tour Entier's secret meeting with ASO in 2013. L to R: Marianne Vos, Chrissie Wellington, me, Kristy Scrymgeour, Marion Clignet, Emma Pooley.  Tracy Pinder is taking the photo.

Marianne Vos modeling our Equality Kit with Castelli. Our iconic kit now benefits the Homestretch Foundation. Want one? Let’s be twins. Get it here:  www.homestretchfoundation.org/store

Day before La Course by Tour de France, Rochelle Gilmore surprised me with new jerseys. She added my St. Kitts and Nevis national champion stripes. A huge honor in cycling. I couldn't stop smile-crying.

The New York Times photo for their piece on La Couse by Tour de France. (The wrinkles on my jersey are a good indication of the stress-related weight deficit that summer). On the upside, NYT put a woman on the front page of Sports!

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Storming down the Champs Elysees on July 27, 2014. An historic day as women race La Course by Tour de France. I am in there somewhere, equal parts healed and broken.

Always wave to your dreams. Sometimes they wave back. Rounding the Champs Elysees at La Course by Tour de France. Greatest flat tire of my life.

With the indomitable Emma Pooley after La Course by Tour de France 2014. Racing in Paris is beautiful. And very, very dirty. A perfect metaphor for activism.

Rolling to the start line of La Course by Tour de France. The photo I hung on my laptop writing this book. All smiles and strength. All lies and heartache.

“Women’s racing is boring,” said no one in this century who isn’t a dinosaur. Sprint finish at La Course by Tour de France. Vos takes the win, followed by Kirsten Wild and Leah Kirchmann.

A stranger came up and asked for a selfie at La Course. Four years later, Daphne Karagianis became a pro cyclist and resident at Homestretch Foundation. Never underestimate the power of influence and reach.

Elbow Crater. Redlands, CA. 2015. Luckily my health care went into effect just days beforehand, thanks to Cyndi the Angel Accountant.

In 2015, I won the Caribbean Championships. What's far more impressive is that UCI President Brian Cookson did not strangle me when placing the medal  around my neck. Thank you, Brian.

While my arm was in a cast healing from Elbow Crater, my dad made my ponytail every day. May every woman have a dad who helps her reach for the stars. And sometimes her hair. I totally won the dad lottery. Love you so much, PKB.

With the good folks of Change.org in NYC, 2015. Our petition was one of their most successful in 2013.  Morgan Fletcher is third from left.

2015 Redlands teammate, Erica Greif. With us in spirit. Long may you ride.

April 2016. La Paz, Mexico. I'll wake up three days later. Joseph is holding my hand. Pizza slices, collarbone screws, and cracks n’ light from coup-contrecoup brain injury.

The sign on my hospital bed. Catherine Varziny, March 4, 1981.

My last professional race, Cascade Classic 2016. L to R: me, Krista Doebel-Hickok, Erica Zaveta, Carmen Small. Cylance Pro Cycling.

During recovery, I was allowed to ride inside. Dad and I started going to spin class together every Wednesday. We did it for four years. Sometimes we showed up wearing the same shirt. ♥

At the end of the season, I gave away all my pro cycling kits to the girls of El Grupo Youth Cycling. This organization—and these kids—will always hold a special place in my heart.

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On the cover of Bicycling Magazine, September 2016. Honored and humbled.

Out for a ride one day in 2018, I met my Shero: The indefatigable Gabby Giffords. She didn’t know then how much she played a role in my journey, but I told her in 2020. Now we’re buddies. I’m forever her biggest fan.

Thank you for everything, Christina-Taylor Green and Robin Williams.

As of 2021, Homestretch Foundation has helped 70 athletes from 16 countries. We also won our fight to have UCI create a base salary for Women’s World Tour pro teams.

The mirror with my La Course by Tour de France numbers and reminders of positive encouragement. I don’t have such a hard time looking into it now.

For this domestique, that day was July 27, 2014. There are no “no ones” in this world. We all have the power to create change. Go get your day. Let me know. I’ll be cheering & waving. #TeamStand.

© Copyright Kathryn Bertine 2020, All rights reserved.