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South Lake Tahoe woman to bike cross-country, interviewing inspiring women

J.P. Kelsey
jpkelsey@tahoedailytribune.com
South Lake Tahoe resident Kerry Gross is gearing up for a 17-week-long cross-country bike trip that will take her from the South Shore to Maine. The trip is part of the "Women Who Dare" project she recently launched, where she will bike across the US, compiling interviews from inspirational women into a podcast.
Courtesy Photo/ Kerry Gross |

In an effort to find the untold stories of women who are doing things that inspire, South Lake Tahoe resident Kerry Gross recently launched a cross-country interview project that she’s calling “Women Who Dare.”

As part of the project, Gross, an adventure racer and all-around outdoors woman originally from Maine, will spend a large portion of the spring and summer cycling her way cross-country, interviewing daring and courageous women along the way. The interviews will be compiled into a podcast that she plans to release later this year.

Gross explained that the inspiration for the project was randomly sparked last year while reading the back of a CLIF bar.



“I read the back of a CLIF bar before going out for a workout and I thought this guy was cool, but where are all the women who are doing these cool things?” said Gross. “I would see stories of guys doing things, like the guy who founded CLIF bar, Gary, that are easy to come by. I’m hoping to make women’s stories as easy to come by.”

She explained that she received even further motivation when she noticed it was mostly men competing in a lot of these races and outdoor marathons she was participating in. Gross said she’s not limiting it to just women who dare to compete in predominately male athletic events, though.



Gross’ trek is slated to begin in mid-April and will take about 17 weeks to complete. The route will start in South Lake Tahoe and end in Maine. Gross says she will attempt to interview about three women each week. She will be updating her blog and Instagram as the project progresses.

Gross has already received over 100 submissions and will continue accepting them until the end of March. She explained that the only requirement is that the subjects of her project should be women inspiring others.

“I’m hoping that people will take a minute to tell me about the women who inspire them, so I can include them in the Women Who Dare project,” said Gross. “I want to explore a wide-range of inspirational stories to show that strength and courage are within reach for every woman.”

After considering all submissions, Gross will spend a few weeks plotting her route and dealing with all of the logistics associated with spending four months on a bike. Overall, Gross said the journey will cover approximately 5,000 miles.

For Gross, making this project a successful venture has two parts: “One is that people will listen to the podcast and are interested in these women’s stories,” said Gross. “And the other part is that they take that interest and inspiration and do something in their own lives that may be daring or a stretch or something that’s scary for them.”

Gross also said that the momentum behind things like the Women’s March in January have helped fuel her passion.

“I think it’s [total] serendipity that my project happens to be happening right now,” she said. “I think I’m channeling a lot of the energy of the women’s marches. I think this is my way of contributing.”

For information about the project visit kerrygross.com or email Kerry.m.gross@gmail.com.


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