Spokes Woman - Carole Rockland

It’s quite easy to imagine that Palmyra’s Carole Rockland, bicycling enthusiast extraordinaire, is pumping the blood of a pioneering female cyclist through her well conditioned veins. The 19th century rebel, having traded her dangerously voluminous skirts for the rather risqué bloomer costume, would have thrown caution to the wind, hopped on “the wheel”, as it was called back in the day, and sedately pedaled her butt around town. Oh my have we ever come a long way, baby.

Carole, accompanied by her husband Ed, ventured into the world of bicycling in 1990 as a safeguard against empty nest syndrome. Both immensely enjoyed the activity, and after 60-something-year-old Carole retired five years ago from her music teaching career at Londonderry Elementary School the pace of their pleasure really picked up. Carole’s first big goal: bike across the USA. So she and Ed did just that, and have biked in 38 states. Now their goal is to hit all 50 states; meanwhile, they’ve found time to cycle their way through a few other countries. The couple recently returned from a wonderful trip to Greece, and they have also ridden in Italy, Costa Rica, Holland, Spain, Ireland, and New Zealand. Carole and Ed have ventured into foreign countries on their own, but they mostly travel with Experience Plus. “This company is all about the culture," said Carole. “We stay at small locally owned hotels and eat at local restaurants. The touring company feels that it is very important to understand the culture.” And what better way to meet the locals than on two wheels? Carole and Ed have met many welcoming and hospitable people they believe they never would have met traveling in anything powered by fossil fuel. “You just see people and places differently on a bike. Now, whenever we want to travel, we ask ourselves if we can go on our bikes.” Carole thinks people view cyclists as non-threatening, which leads to more interaction. A standout memory for Carole occurred in Spain, when she was biking a pilgrimage route and she encountered many spiritual pilgrims walking the route. Being on a bike allowed Carole the freedom to talk and mingle with those people as opposed to seeing them as a blur from a vehicle. Up next is a three-week, four capital trip to Europe in August, which will take the Rocklands to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Bratislava.

Carole has found that Europe is well equipped to handle bikes, featuring cycling lanes which often have their own traffic signals. A lot of other states in the USA are also more biker-friendly in terms of roads and bike lanes; having said that, Carole points out that Pennsylvania drivers are courteous and genial to their two-wheeled companions. She and Ed ride the local rail trails and often travel on state, county, and local roads.

Carole is one of the multitudes of women who have accounted for the bike industry’s surge in sales to females in the past few years. Jim Kramer of the in Gear bicycle shope in Hummelstown said that sales to women has recently jumped to nearly 45%. “Companies started building feminine frames,” explained Kramer. “Women asked big companies like Trek and Cannondale to build mountain and road bike for women, and the companies listened.” The bike frame is smaller, and the seat, handlebars, pretty much everything is built around a woman’s body. Woman aren’t built like men, so why should they ride a man’s bike? That was exactly the problem Carole, who is petite, faced until four years ago when she acquired a women’s frame. The new bike made a huge difference in her comfort level and allows her to pursue her passion even more fervently. Plus, the bike apparel companies know women want to look good, too, and now offer clothing and shoes in fun colors and prints instead of boring old black.