Mountain Bike for Her Issue 4 - Dec/Jan 2015 | Page 13

Rad Women

CYCLING FAST TALK WITH
JESSICA KLODNICKI OF
BRG SPORTS
Words by Karen Kefauver

I

admit it took many years before I got
down and dirty on the singletrack trails
– I mean building them, not just riding
them. I always found a way to avoid local
trail work outings with my mountain bike
club. I believed I was giving back to the
community in other ways, like writing
about bicycling! Finally, the time was
right: I had to help build a trail in order to
give back to the sport I love.
On a sunny Saturday morning in
Santa Cruz, California, I put on a hardhat
and gloves, raked debris and shovelled
dirt for a new trail. Guess what? It was
fun! I got a great workout, pizza lunch,
and strong sense of community.
Best of all, I made a new cycling gal
pal, Jessica Klodnicki. When we met,
Jessica was pushing a big wheelbarrow of
dirt up a steep hill.
“Don’t tell my husband I can do this
kind of hard labour,” she grinned. She
had recruited a group of fellow riders
from her office to volunteer that day.
Only later did I discover that Jessica is
the Executive Vice President and General

Manager of Bell and Blackburn brands
(formerly Easton Bell).
In fall 2014, Jessica was invited to
be keynote speaker at the Outdoor
Industries Women’s Coalition annual
awards presentation held at Interbike in
Las Vegas.
I interviewed Jessica and learned
about her role as an executive in the
bicycling industry and her passion for
bicycling. Here’s an excerpt from our talk.
KK: You were invited to speak at Interbike.
What did you talk about?
JK: My talk was called, “The Chicken or
the Egg: Hatching a Plan to Grow the
Cycling Industry.” It’s about the need to
build women’s participation in cycling… I
also pointed out that effective ways to do
that include things as seemingly simple
as making women feel welcome in bike
shops. I also challenged our industry to
keep a more open mind about who and
how we hire to ensure that we get a more
diverse pool of candidates.

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