Where is your homebase, Cortney?

North Chattanooga

What type of races do you enjoy?

Mountain Biking, Triathlon, Trail Running, Swimming

What have been your 5 race highlights so far?

Great Wall of China 1/2 marathon 2008, ran with my Dad on the Great Wall

Fall Creek Falls Olympic distance triathlon2013, favorite triathlon course

Frantic Frog Sprint Triathlon 2012 & 2014, 1st and then 2nd in age group

Night Shift Mountain bike race 2014, furthest I’ve ever ridden a mountain bike

What is a cycling dream of yours?

I’d love to do a mountain bike tour in Idaho ending at a different hot spring each night. I won bike touring maps of the area from Adventure Cycling at the Tennessee Bike Summit last year.

What is your favorite place to be around Chattanooga?

I love the wide variety of places to play outside from the proximity of Stringer’s Ridge for trail running and mountain biking to the Tennessee River for launching a canoe on a warm summer day, to T Wall where you can often rock climb in a t-shirt in the summer.

What has been your best moment on the bike so far this year?

I really love my new Lynskey road bike that my boyfriend Corbin built. One day I came home hauling a heavy load of groceries on my steel commuter bike. When I got home and switched to my ti bike for a road ride, it felt like I was flying!

What is the first cycling memory you have?

I learned to ride a bike as a kid in south Texas. My mom says she remembers watching me do a U-turn in the middle of the street in front of an oncoming semi-truck and being scared out of her mind. I was completely oblivious.

What is your favorite piece of gear?

I recently inherited my Dad’s old garmin, which still needs some calibrating, although I kind of like to pretend that I actually reached a max rpm of 235.

Why do you like to ride & work-out with other women?

Sometimes I try to show off for boys, especially my boyfriend. When I ride with the ladies, the pressure is off.

What has been your best moment with the Velo Vixens so far?

Rina and I organized a Halloween cemetery ride together. I loved every moment of it from mapping put the ride together, to refining the route on our practice rides, to the ride itself. I especially enjoyed getting to know Rina better meeting new ladies, seeing their creative costumes, and introducing them to low-traffic routes that they can use to get across the city.

What’s your advice for a future Velo Vixen?

Even if you have a lot on your plate, don’t hesitate to join the Vixens, because you can be as involved as you want to be. You won’t be pressured to over-commit yourself.