Meet the Forum Speakers: Tara McCarthy, USA Cycling

Often there’s an unfortunate gulf between the worlds of advocacy and racing. That won’t be the case at the National Women’s Bicycling Forum.

We’ve got an incredible line-up of speakers, including Tara McCarthy, Race Director Certification Manager at USA Cycling. After attending our Women’s Summit in September, McCarthy was fired up to share her work to increase the number — and leadership — of women in event directing.

Learn a bit more about McCarthy below and sign up for the National Women’s Bicycling Forum today!

Who taught you to ride a bike and where?
My dad taught me how to ride a bike in our backyard. It was a steel, green, solid plastic wheel bike with no training wheels.

How did you get into racing and what kind of racing do you do?
My racing started with triathlons because a friend did them, and now I race road, mountain and cyclo-cross.

There’s a stereotype that the racing world is predominantly male — is that changing?
I think this is changing. There are many organizations and events that cater specifically to women and the number of women participating is very encouraging.

What’s your role at USA Cycling — and what excites you about engaging more women in event directing?
I’m the race director certification manager so I get to help event directors make their events better through education.

What’s been your biggest success or source of pride in your work in the past, oh, year?
Building an education program from the ground up.

Who inspired you to get on your bike?
My good friend SyRae and my mountain bike club WMBA of Colorado Springs.

What’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen or done in a race?
Watching Georgia Gould at the Windham World Cup run her bike into the finish for third place after a flat on the last lap. While it was incredibly sad to see, her competitive spirit was phenomenal.

What’s one word that describes biking for you?
Challenge

Fill in the blank: In a perfect world, biking is _____?
Accessible

Where did you ride today?
Unfortunately, on my rollers – I’m just getting over being sick!

Learn more, see the preliminary list of speakers and register for the National Women’s Bicycling Forum here!