Kate Van Roekel started commuting and racing bikes three years ago when she got back from a stint in the Peace Corps.

She used the last bit of her Peace Corps money to buy her bike. At the time she was commuting and racing on the same bike, but now the Category 3 racer is riding a dedicated commuter bike she built at BICAS.

She says building her own bike allowed her to learn and become more connected to her bikes because she could work on them herself.

She says she always wanted to ride bikes because she always thought cyclists were cool.

Now that she is one, she can’t imagine not riding and learned that riding makes her feel better.

“When I was in a car, I was crabby,” Van Roekel said. “When I rode, I was happy.”

For Van Roekel cycling is a creative outlet that lets her think things through and allows her to be more creative in her English as a Second Language job at the University of Arizona.

He favorite thing about riding in Tucson is the community of women riders. She says there are a lot of “awesome” women riders who push her to be better.

Her least favorite thing about riding in Tucson are the “giant trucks.”