Athlete Louisa Jenkins: Reflections Of A Pro Cycling Career

Retired professional bike racer Louisa Jenkins’ love of cycling began as a child growing up on Coronado Island, outside of San Diego. “Everyone had a bike,” she says. “You could get to one side of the island from the other on a single-speed cruiser in five minutes.” The highest elevation on the island was 26 feet, an easy climb for Jenkins.

As a teenager, she began cycling greater distances; she would borrow a 10-speed bike for those rides before realizing she needed to purchase her own 10-speed. She would ride the 7-mile Silver Strand peninsula from the island into San Diego, cycling to a certain point, before turning around to ride back to Coronado to complete a 30- or 50-mile day ride.

In California, Jenkins joined a cycling club, began riding with more people, learned how to race and ride in a pack. Eventually her peers urged her to enter a bike race. “I said, ‘okay, how do I do that?’” Jenkins recalls. It was 1988, and the rules at the time required acquiring a license from the U.S. Cycling Federation in Colorado Springs. Racers also had to be affiliated with a club. That year she rode the Coors Classic, a world-renowned bike race that was founded in Grand Junction.

Jenkins joined the San Diego Bike Racing Club, with whom she raced for two years before moving up the ranks to compete nationally and internationally for other clubs. With the San Diego club she won the overall district championship in California, as an individual competitor. Jenkins loved the travel, which included races in Japan, Switzerland, Germany, France and Spain.

“It’s so much fun because your whole life is bike racing with these people who become your best friends,” says Jenkins, who beams when talking about that time in her life. She traveled throughout the United States to compete in races, sometimes returning home between events, while other times remaining on the road where she says she would continue to train in-between races. Some were multiple-day stage races, while others were one-day races of 65 miles. “We did everything,” she says. “The hillier the better; anything with big climbs was my forte.”

Team managers would recruit Jenkins after a race to join their teams — they’d pay all expenses, on top of the prize money, sponsorship money and bonuses from other sponsors, enabling Jenkins to make a living as a cyclist.

Louisa Jenkins celebrating as she wins the 1997 National Championships in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She broke away with 600 yards to go and was able to keep that lead all the way to the finish line.

Jenkins, 58, rode professionally from 1988 to 1998, retiring from cycling when she grew weary of the sports scene. She moved to Boulder where, still young, she worked at various jobs, including a stint driving for UPS. She also worked for a small tofu company called White Wave, then later in the food industry overall where, as an independent contractor, she helped with branding and marketing. “Being an athlete, and the marketing object, you learn a lot,” she says. “You’re a star if you win. Companies want to pick your brain.”

Retirement from the sport has freed up time for other athletic pursuits, such as team adventure racing where competitors use navigation tools like a map and compass (no GPS allowed!) while rafting, cycling and running. “It’s super fun,” she says.

Also, since retiring she’s traveled across country to compete in off-road triathlons that involve lake swimming, mountain biking and trail running. She’s also participated in long-distance trail marathons. At home, she runs occasionally, and for work, she pours wine at Colorado Vitners and Cliff Dweller Wine Co. in Palisade.

Jenkins moved to Grand Junction from Boulder in 2021, seeking a slower pace of life. “Grand Junction is the way Boulder used to be 30 years ago,” she says.

She loves riding her bike to do errands, and also enjoys mountain biking (although she was not riding in June, due to a broken wrist after a mountain biking fall). Normally, “I try and ride four days a week,” she says. “I love the Colorado National Monument; it’s probably my favorite ride.”

Originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of Spoke+Blossom.