About Velodonnas Cycling

Velodonnas Cycling Club is the first and only female cycling club in Winnipeg. Established in 2003, Velodonnas was the brainchild of former Canadian National Cycling Team member Erin Carter. As a successful competitor with a life-long love of cycling, Erin recognized that Manitoba needed a female-focused cycling club supporting riders of all ability levels. 

“Our Mission is to inform, instruct and inspire female riders of all abilities.” says Karin McSherry, a Velodonnas club leader and one of the club’s founding members. “We want to see more women become effective leaders in our cycling community. So, we provide opportunities for girls and women to gain riding confidence on the road and trail. Our riding time together focuses on skill development and we’re all about having a good time and supporting each other.”

Over the years the Velodonnas club has brought female cyclists together for road, mountain bike and cyclocross clinics and weekly rides as well as creating Manitoba’s first (and only) Women’s only bike race – The Dirt Skirt. Moni Robertson and Kim Mitchell, local cyclists who organized The Dirt Skirt race series from 2012 to 2015 had this to say about why Velodonnas is so popular. “We’ve met many women over the years who would like to ride more – with their club, with their partners – but don’t, mostly due to a lack of confidence. We know that confidence increases when skills & fitness are improved.”