Interview by B Vivit

You might recognize Michaela Albanese from the QBP materials about the scholarship from last year, the pink hair is pretty hard to mistake for someone else. Albanese won the scholarship in 2016 and has one of the stories that we as instructors, always love to hear. Albanese used the scholarship as a turning point in her own career, applying to and continuing in a different capacity in the bike industry. Now one of the Field Representatives for Trek, Albanese uses that gregarious personality and knowledge to set up demos in the Northeast. Be sure to say hello and ask about her experience!

Interview by B Vivit

Danielle Fry had just become Director of the Ogden Bicycle Collective, or OBC for short. Fry is the perfect person for that job; smart as a whip, kind, and professional. Her experience with non-profit organizations only needed to add a new facet; bicycle mechanics. The OBC offers classes in bicycle mechanics to the community as well as reasonably-priced components to upkeep them. Most everything they have and do is based on donations from riders in the community. Additionally, the OBC provides refurbished bicycles to people who need them for transportation and provides re-training for folks looking for a new job.

On Watermelon Candies

I interviewed Elyse Bejasa about her experience in the industry, during the scholarship, and how that affected her life after she returned to Dashing Bicycles in New Orleans to put her new skills to use. Bejasa currently races for Urban South Racing p/b Rouler and collaborated with NOLA Cx creating a new cross event called BAWSECross that focuses on skillbuilding and inclusion of all groups of people, explicitly inviting those new to the sport.

From Levi’s to PrettyDamnedFast to Sun and Air: Anna Maria Wolf - 2016 UBI Scholarship Winner

Interview by B Vivit

For a while after being hired at UBI, I kept thinking, Anna Maria.. Anna Maria.. Why do I know that name? Anna Maria Wolf (previously Diaz-Balart) is the driving impetus behind Pretty Damned Fast, pretty much the only cycling blog I actually keep up with. She is also a QBP Women’s Mechanic Scholarship winner from January 2016.