What in the world is a granny gear?

A granny gear is a bicycle part.  Certain bicycles are fitted with a third set of gears, used for climbing steep hills.  Macho bikers, laughingly call this set, the "granny gear". 

The "Granny Gears" are something else...

The Granny Gears are a circle of friends, women between the ages of 55 and 75, whose children have grown and flown. We share a common bond in our enjoyment of life and the world around us.

We participate individually and as a group in a number of activities, including cycling, hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, boating, singing, and dancing. We know that good times are  times shared with friends.

The term "circle" aptly describes our structure.  We have no leaders and no followers.  We each have an equal voice.  We toss out ideas, sift, and select.  The person who came up with the idea, usually assumes the lead, doing the planning and coordinating for an event, or else we ask for volunteeers, or just talk somebody into it.

Due to our very active lives, we are rarely able to schedule an event in which all of the Granny Gears can participate at the same time.  We average about five people per outing.

Cycling is the activity that drew us together. We are all avid bikers and make a special effort to attend cycling events.   Our interest in cycling is reflected in the name we selected for the group.   We decided to call ourselves, "Granny Gears", because we need our granny gears to climb "those hills" and face "that wind".  Incidentally some of us are grandmothers, some of us are not.

To date, there are nine of us. On occasion, we cross paths with a kindred spirit and our number grows. So far, we haven't lost a Granny, but a few have been misplaced. That is, one moved to Lake Tahoe and another to Chicago.

You will be introduced to five of the original Granny Gears on this Web site. They are, Jane, Evelyn, Ellen, Jan, and Laurel.  You will also meet Kathleen, one of the kindred spirits mentioned above.   Anita, Jean and Paula won't be joining us on this trip, but YOU can come along.  
Just Click on "The Granny Gears" and away we go...