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When Michele started riding, there were hardly any snowboarders on the mountains, say nothing about female riders. "It was a sisterly deal," explains Michele. "When you'd see other girls on the mountain, it was cool. Now, it blows me away how good these women are. I love it. I don't think any sport is just 'for men.' Snowboarding's proving that." Michele goes on to explain how lucky she is to be on the "cutting edge of women's sports." How when she's a grandma, she'll be able to tell her grandkids that she was a part of the women's evolution into pro sports. "We are among the beginning of a new era," continues Michele. "This is the most dramatic change. We are giving future women a place." But entering a new frontier, "going places [women] have never gone before," there are always kinks in the system--even on the Starship Taggart-prise. Being the backyard hoops player that she is, Michele brings up Sheryl Swoops and her contract with the WNBA, for an example. Swoop's pregnancy was something the NBA hadn't really thought about before. "I faced that issue with Salomon," compares Michele (who isn't pregnant). "It almost shocked me. I don't think [pregnancy] will be an issue in 50 years--it'll be illegal to bring it up in a woman's contract." So how did she face it today? She calls herself naive, explaining that she never thought about it because it's just a natural thing for women. To her, becoming pregnant in the future has nothing really to do with being a pro. "I mean, there's no clause for taking time off for injury or for men who have kids. I'm hoping to mean more to a company than just an athlete," she explains. "If I were injured, I'd do other things, design, help with retailers while I rehabilitated. I should think that if I had a kid, it should be a joyous occasion, and it would enhance everything, and they should be glad to have you back because maybe you're a stronger rider because you have a new joy in your life. You know?" We know.
Far more tame than her other hobbies, (yet she still dares to grow zucchini and blueberries) Michele is usually growing fresh vegetables and flowers in her little garden of Eden. But gardening does remind her of her friend, Monica Steward, who used to live next door, and who died two years ago from breast cancer at the age of 29. Monica is the inspiration behind W.i.g.'s Boarding for Breast Cancer event, and behind Michele's desire to keep her garden growing. "We had a commune here," says Michele about her neighborhood's gardens. "We'd yell from each other's rooftops and I used to run up the street for a chitchat and we'd spread bark in each other's places. Or, we'd rock-out in her tree house banging on drums and writing songs. I miss her so badly." So do we.
So Michele just got a new motorcycle, which I can't even tell you about because I know nothing about motorcycles, but it sounds super cool and fast and scary. She loves it. After three times on the beast, she competed in the Morrow Dirt Flyer Challenge. At the starting line, while the other girls were revving their engines and blasting out of the starting gate, she panicked and waited for them all to go before put-putting behind, barely making it around inside the track because she kept hitting the gas when she meant to hit the brakes. Crossing the finish line was like a "Dukes of Hazard" re-run, except that instead of Boss Hogg racing in a souped-up Duster, Michele played Daisy riding an out-of-control motorcycle. First, she took out some banners and therefore, couldn't really see where she was going, which made her pop a jump and run over a few other things before hitting the gas while trying to find the brake to stop. In her optimistic Mary-Tyler-Moore fashion, her only comment to this new hobby was that "It's coming along!"
We love her.
photo: quinn shields |
On Life as a Pro:
