We were lucky to catch up with Krys Marie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Krys, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

My passion is what I do and invest in for our San Antonio community. I do this because I love bringing women together and I love finding ways to have fun in an active way being in nature. It’s so good for us physically and mentally.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

During covid in 2020 I started cycling more for exercise. I wanted other likeminded women to ride with so I took the leap and started a women’s cycling group here in SA. We are still active 4 years later. I would see ladies on the trail and wanted to say hello but everyone is focused on their ride and it seemed impossible to connect with others while riding. So I posted on a local fb cycling page, SATX Social Ride and asked if there were any ladies interested in meeting up for rides and wow the response was incredible. We blew up quick.
Started scheduling rides almost every day, leading, coordinating, promoting and even hosting coed rides.

We are a women’s group so we make sure we offer a safe place for all who identify as a female and we are all inclusive. We don’t just ride fast, we host beginner rides, social rides, long rides and we give back to our community in different ways. Any ladies can join our group, we have all ages and all levels. I love that we offer so much to meet the needs of our riders.

I started to realize there was a demand for women connections and women focused events. So we started including wellness events, brunch and lunches, hikes, road trips, dancing and more.

I am huge about women being kind and loving towards one another and I make sure our missions and goals keep that at the forefront because that is a big part of what makes us unique and so fun. Nothing but good vibes! This is what I am most proud of. Women coming together just having fun and enjoying life.

Miles and smiles.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Women unity. Women kindness towards one another. Women support without the hassle, just genuine love for helping each other because they want to. Because they care. Women empowering women.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

SALR is a community women’s organization. We are a noprofit and we are alive because of teamwork and all the helping hands. This is not a one-person job. We need help creating routes, leading rides, marshaling, promoting, taking pictures, communicating with our members and welcoming newbies, keeping it fun and staying on track of everything going on and of our social media platforms.

I now say, I am the Founder not the leader, we are a team. There’s a lot of work that goes into keeping our group moving. Some people are only in it for self-gain and don’t help or bring good energy in. They don’t follow our mission and goals and it can create setbacks when we have ladies who don’t help or don’t behave in a mature manner. Any workplace, business etc., has issues here and there but, SALR is for fun and fitness, so I strive to make sure we are all staying focused on being positive, helping out, participating in a kind way and just no drama.
When we get busier more help is needed and I’ve noticed a pattern when this happens some flock away to other mostly coed bike groups where they don’t have to do anything but show up. Stemming from needing and asking for help turns into some walking away and gossip to make them look innocent versus just giving a helping hand.

I have been taken back by this common behavior and it has opened my eyes more and taught me a lot about how to navigate through this struggle, but then I am reminded there are some angels who have no problem helping because they believe in our mission and women supporting women and participating in a positive way and that is what keeps us blessed.

Life is way too short. We focus on living life to the fullest. And all the good above. I trust that God has His hands over our beautiful organization and as long as we keep striving for good and doing good, we will keep thriving. <3

Contact Info:

• Instagram: San Antonio Lady Riders
• Facebook: San Antonio Lady Riders- Ladies only ; SALR Community- All can follow.

Image Credits
Krys Marie, I take most of our photos. :)