From ACTION, the
publication of Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and
Sport and Physical Activity
I was always interested in mechanics so first I
worked on my own bike and then I had my own bike shop for nine years in
Mount Tremblant, Que. It was getting so big that I was doing more
administration and paper work than mechanics so I sold it and started
working with cycling teams. Last year I joined the national team and I
work with them from April to October, most of the time in Europe That's
why I like the job - it helps me to work where cycling is as big as
hockey is here.
You're not a team mechanic for the money so in the
winter I teach bike mechanics. It's my own little school for bike shop
technicians. I put together six different levels, hire someone, and we
go to different areas in Quebec. Now we are starting to work with the
Maritimes. And no, I've never seen any other women doing what I'm doing.
More women should be mechanics because it is a job
where you cannot cut corners; you have to be very meticulous because of
all the small detail on the bicycle. When I had my bike shop the best
technicians were women. They'll work until the job is done without being
asked.
To keep up to date, I go to the big bike shows.
I've been doing that for 15 years so people know me and what I do. Being
a female, it's not tough to be recognized. I get to know the products a
year before they go on the market.
There's friendship and real camaraderie between
mechanics - we call ourselves the 'wrenching gang'. Any mechanic will
help another one.
Until last year I worked only with the men's team,
both road and track. Last year was my first experience with women, at
the Tour de France, and at the Commonwealth Games I worked with men and
women, road and track. That's way too much but I guess it's a budget
thing. Track is easy. The riders are quite self-sufficient because they
never have a mechanic travelling with them. I do the little extras like
changing bearings, greasing, and repairing wheels. Some like to do
things for themselves - it's part of their mental preparation - others
want someone else to do it all.
On the road you can have a cable breaking at the
start, gears not working, bent wheels, wheel alignment. If it's a
circuit race, then I'm at the pit waiting for them. When it's a road
race, we have a caravan and usually I follow in a car.
I like the life because there's no routine. It's
not always exciting and it's lots of work, sometimes 14-hour days. You
never know what to expect. You could sleep through a whole race or be
called upon every hour.
