Velocity has been profiling Seattle-area cycling athletes for about five years now, and Rosalyn Zylkowski’s (2018 update: Her last name is now Rombauer) story is perhaps the most compelling and inspiring to date. Rosalyn comes from an athletic family–her mom ran track at University of Oregon in the Steve Prefontaine era–and she was a competitive swimmer as a kid.
Unfortunately, as a young adult she got into an relationship that became abusive. The situation spiraled downward to the point of becoming potentially deadly. Thankfully, she connected with some strong women in the Seattle-area cycling community who helped extricate her from the relationship. As a result, she’s been able to combine her natural athleticism with the residual negative emotional energy from the abusive relationship into a positive, competitive force on the bike.
Her talent on the bike has gotten attention at the highest levels of the sport, and Rosalyn has been invited to the 2013 USA Cycling Women’s Talent I.D. Camp, July 10-14, at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs.
Whew! Congratulations to Rosalyn and the women who stepped up to support her!
Age: 27
Hometown: Burien, WA
You have more nicknames than anyone I’ve met. Which one do prefer?
Ha! well since being married I sort of like “Ziggy”, but many call me Rosy: “RAW + ZEE”
Education:
I go to Washington State University (online) where I am trying to get edumacated ;). Hopefully I will stay with it long enough to one day get my PhD in Human Development.
I am into plants and sometimes consider switching over to the agriculture Master’s to learn about plant diseases. Maybe after my PhD.
Profession:
I own a large daycare center in Burien–Millennium Kids Creative Center LLC (with my family). I am passionate about early learning education!
Year started cycling:
2009
How did you get into cycling?
I started racing at the same time as several other “Hagens girls”—Lindsay Felker, Jocelyn Setter and I started a year after Jennifer Wheeler. Wheeler helped me become the cyclist I am today, and Tricia Bailey taught me how to be a smart cyclist.
Cycling holds a very special place in my heart. I was allowed to borrow a steel frame shifter road bike during a trip in Alaska and fell in love with it, came back and bought a road bike and decided I wanted to race bikes.
Before cycling I was in an abusive relationship where I was slowly cut off from the world. When I started cycling I realized people actually liked me. Other riders would invite me places, or ask what I was doing. Random experienced cyclists would give me pointers and tips and help me! I had low self-esteem as a result of being in the abusive relationship, but my self-esteem improved the more I got into bicycle racing.
Racing is tough at first, because you sort of suck until you race a few times. There is always a person or two who will yell at you for one thing or another, but the friends you make along the way are what make cycling great for me.
My first season was tough because I kept getting dropped or not doing as well as I wanted—my performance was really inconsistent—which probably had to do with being in an abusive relationship.
Many of my Hagens/Broadmark teammates were track cyclists, so I decided to try that. Track is what gave me confidence in riding. They made me race and upgrade in the men’s categories to get experience riding in the pack. The men were so encouraging with me as well, and while they may be “elbowish” with each other, they were always extra forgiving with me!
Track develops riders at a pace that enables them to excel. They don’t just let you upgrade because you “ride away,” they put you in a group where you can get experience, the officials give you pointers, and teammates and other racers assist you as well.
Many people think track is scary because there are no brakes, but that’s one of the best parts about learning to be a safe, strong cyclist—learning to not use the brakes!
I upgraded to from category 3 to 2 during my 2nd season. Man, was I so scared to race with the “big girls.” I went through the same process of getting dropped the first couple races, which is hard to handle as an athlete. Going from riding away in the cat 3’s to getting shelled off the back in the 1/2’s sucked, but I stuck with it and I got stronger. Tactics and teamwork then becomes the game, and it’s what I now love about cycling: Working with others and collectively having one of your teammates win. Watching my dear teammates cross the line first feels just as good as if I were to, if not better, because I get to watch!
What were your athletic experiences before cycling?
Swimming was a big deal when I was a kid, but by the time I got to high school I was burned out, and I discovered that I preferred to be involved in multiple sports rather than focus on one sport. During high school I played varsity soccer, lacrosse, and I also swam.
I played lacrosse as an undergraduate at University of Washington, and went to lacrosse collegiate nationals my first year.
Since you have been active in so many sports, do you do any cross-training?
Up until recently I was running and even ran a sub 5:00/mile 5km in a duathlon, but had to stop because of a knee injury.
Triathlons are fun, but I focus on cycling because I prefer not to have to train that much, and I want to have balance in my life. I only train a max of 5 hours a week, BUT those 5 hours hurt–a lot. I train with a purpose and don’t do “junk miles,” they just make me tired and cranky!
Really? You only train 5 hours per week? Tell us about your training philosophy.
Having a coach who is smart is VERY important. I like to go to bed at night not crying my eyes out in cranky fatigue. I have never put out such crazy strong numbers until I started the program I am on now. I am more consistent, and it allows me to enjoy more than just one thing in life!
What bike(s) are you currently riding?
Cervelo R3, Jamis TT, Blue TR 250 track bike, Blue Norcross cx bike (my rain bike), and Raleigh Furley for my “racing cross” bike—it’s heavy steel, but man do I love the single speed!!
Any other cycling gear you love at the moment?
Zipp 404 Firecrest clincher wheels & Wheelbuilder Disc Cover. I don’t need any other wheels, and the Wheelbuilder is lighter and in my opinion better than an expensive disc. I also love my Descente wombat winter gloves (I have gotten frostbite on the fingers in the past) and these are the only things I use in bad weather. I stick handwarmers in them and I am golden! I also am obsessed with my Smith sunglasses.
Tell us about the cycling events that have been most meaningful to you.
I got the silver medal at collegiate nationals for the individual time trial this year. That was a cool moment. I totally cried on the podium.
I mostly don’t like to be the designated winner in cycling races where mass starts happen. I like to be more of a lead-out queen or workhorse. I think most of the time my goal is to be completely messed up about 50m before the finish for my sprinter. In collegiate racing I didn’t ever have any teammates, so I had to race my own race and had really good results, although I still prefer giving awesome teamwork over winning.
Some of the most meaningful races have actually been ones where I have had horrible results! Doing the Alpenrose Challenge is a great “out of Seattle” track experience. After doing Alpenrose you are like: “Marymoor is a dragstrip.”
Mt. Hood Cycling Classic has great memories for me because it’s where my husband and I unofficially started hanging out. We were shacked up in the same twin futon, and I didn’t really know him other than a “hi” here or there. I thought we were just “training cycling partners” until 2 months later when he invited me to be his girlfriend via Facebook.
Racing the Cascade Classic was an eye opener. I quickly realized I was racing with people who were being paid to race. While many race for fun, it’s a completely different dynamic. It’s not just tactics, but if they can’t get you physically, they try to beat you down mentally. It’s tough, and takes some time getting used to. Cycling is sometimes about sticking it through and reaping the rewards after hitting “many lows.” With perseverance, you learn what works, and get to know good people along the way. Some of the fastest girls in the world are the nicest people you will ever meet; you just got to get over the initial humps!
What led to the invitation to the 2013 USA Cycling Women’s Talent I.D. Camp?
I actually have no real idea other than my performance at collegiate nationals. I don’t consider myself “exceptional” at cycling compared to many others I know! Actually, I am not one who usually puts out good results (because I like to work for others, and I am not patient) but I am pretty solid at time trialing.
In time trials I’m able to channel the emotional energy I have from the abusive relationship: I think about how much pain and sadness I felt when being thrown against a wall or being told I deserve to be raped and killed. The time trialing pain disappears and I sort of zone into a different place. It’s like my body will go numb and I can push it right to the limit.
Every hard race (which is 99% of them) I feel like dying or crawling into a ball and crying: There are 2 options, either give up and go home, or tell yourself to hang in 30 more seconds…and keep doing that…eventually the negative thoughts go away, and you could even end up winning a race! Another strength is that I’m able to stay calm before a race. I don’t warm up and find talking a much better way to prepare myself for a time trial. I know the difference between real, serious emotional and physical pain and the temporary pain that happens during competition, and I’m able to suffer through the temporary pain.
Do you know what’s in store for you at the camp?
They sent a confidentiality notice to me about this, so I am a little hesitant to go into too much detail, but basically “physiological testing to determine where you fit in” to be done at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Some track work will be happening.
You are a gifted athlete with Olympic possibilities, and are passionate about kids and human development. How do these different passions fit together for you right now?
If you find balance happiness will come.
I love my family, I want to have a good relationship with my husband, and I want to make a difference with children. I am passionate about working with children because they are our future, and our world needs good people in it! I focus on developing children’s self-esteem, autonomy, empathy and cognitive development, which gives them good wiring so they can have a bright future.
Giving back is what makes life fulfilling.
I love my Keller Rohrback Cycling Team because we are all selfless and race with an open competitiveness, which makes it rewarding. Lifelong friendships and a competitive fix is what cycling brings to me, along with helping myself and others achieve healthy lifestyles.
Training can be exhausting on the system, and you need to have balance to be consistent. I only do races that get me excited. You don’t need to become the best all at once—slowly upgrade and enjoy your successes as long as you can—because, remember as soon as you upgrade you’ll be getting dropped for a while. Eating a cookie (in moderation of course!) once in a while because you feel like it instead of being so concerned about weight and fitness. At the end of the day as you drive home from a race: Where do you want to go?, what want to do? Do you want to go home to loved ones, to a stable house, have a conversation about something other than cycling? I do! I want to be a full person, which I think makes me a better cyclist anyways because I don’t let sucking in my bad races get to me!
Your great grandmother Irma Rombauer wrote “The Joy of Cooking.” How do her recipes compare to what you eat as an athlete?
Nutrition for athletes is very important. It may be surprising to hear, but I never follow a recipe, even one of “Granny Rom’s.”
But, I do take her recipes and put an athletic twist to them—like vegan rice puddings and “no bonk bagels.” And unlike her I don’t normally go out and kill livestock for my meals.
You have held some impressive international Strava QOMs—Mount Ventoux, and L’Alpe d’Huez.
Yes, while cycling in France, I beat my husband up L’Alpe d’Huez. I am not competitive or anything! Basically I dropped him and he disappeared! 😉
It looks like you’ve named quite a number of Seattle-area Strava segments. What Strava QOMs are you constantly battling for, or that are particularly challenging?
Hah! I mostly battle to beat my own QOMS! I trademark my Strava like a dog marks his territory. Any segment with “Bos” “Bossy” or “Bos” is one that I created. If you take it, I will hunt you down and smoosh your time. During the off season I use my cross bike with thick-as-they-make-’em tires and try to beat my QOMS, then during race season, taking them over is easy (or at least hurt like hell but are easier to break compared to using a cross bike)!
What is your favorite ride in the Seattle area?
I like rides that don’t involve cars. I like hills. I like steep, steep long hills, but since they don’t really exist too much around here, I settle for 5-minute hills. In Normandy Park I can get almost 3k ft of climbing in an hour without repeating a single climb. For TT intervals I use the Green River Trail.
For someone who is relatively new to cycling, you have developed quite close connections with others in the cycling community. You even married your “training partner.”
I met my husband at the “meet the team” ride for Hagens Berman. Forever I thought we were just training partners, but apparently he thought we were dating. I found out over a Facebook girlfriend invitation. When I got the invite, Lindsay and I were rooming together while racing the Alpenrose Challenge, I started screaming and ran throughout the house. Lindsay jumped out of the shower naked thinking the house was on fire. I told her there wasn’t a fire; Nick just wanted to be my boyfriend. It was funny.
When my husband Nick and I eloped at the court house—everyone thought we were pregnant, but in reality we did it to buy a house together—I sort of froze, Nick thought I was going to bail, but then I started crying and the judge gave me a tissue, which got caught in my eye during the ceremony. I didn’t have to worry about having watery eyes for the rest of the day. The judge had to stop for like 5 minutes while she tried to help me remove the tissue.
Tell us about your history with domestic abuse and the role the cycling community played in helping you get out of that situation.
I was with my ex for a few years. At first it was totally normal, but things slowly worsened over time. He told me I was weak for wanting to be close with my family, and he would make me feel guilty for calling my mom. Things like that slowly isolated me. I eventually essentially became brainwashed, felt like I was a horrible evil person for doing something like leaving a light on. When he hit me or called me a name I felt like I deserved it. As things got worse he locked me in a closet, choked me every night, spit in my face and yelled: “You are so f—ing ugly.” I was hospitalized a few times. I still have nightmares dealing with the memories.
The cycling community rewired me to remember what it is like to be human, to know what it is like to feel loved, and be liked. I learned that if I wouldn’t do something to a child, why should I let someone do it to me? I honestly think the emotional abuse is the hardest part, and rewiring the positive is a long a slow process. Letting my friends and family back in was essential toward becoming whole. I learned to never keep secrets because I am embarrassed or ashamed or anything!
You can never fix someone, and you can never convince someone to get out of an abusive relationship if they are in one. Just be supportive and tell them genuine things; i.e. don’t just say, “you’re nice” to someone who has low self-esteem, be honest, say things that they actually do that make them nice or special.
The cycling community is full of people who are genuine, who are honest, and who let you in when you need help. I always hear (about victims of domestic abuse) “why do they stay?” But when you are in it, you either always hope it will get better, or you don’t even realize how wrong it is. Being around people who are genuine, made me realize how bad my situation really was.
One day it was like the sheet was taken over my eyes, and I realized how sick I was being treated. I still can’t believe what I went through, it’s almost surreal, like watching a horror movie go on in your head. I LOVE cycling, not because I can win every 1 of 100 races I do or because I get a team deal on gear, but I love cycling for what it is made of—PEOPLE. AWESOME, GENUINE, GOOD people.
My husband Nick is on the board for the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) and it is my favorite organization. While it’s not a domestic abuse organization per se, it helps promote “being loud” and being open, which is crucial in creating change in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors about violence, as well as instilling the courage people need to speak out about sexual assault.
My hard efforts on the bike are my therapeutic release in a way, and battling out horrible memories on the road has really helped me overcome and manage PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). It’s crazy, you don’t even realize it sometimes, but something completely unrelated can remind you of being hurt and almost paralyze you with fear or sadness. Being able to overcome hardships both mentally and physically at the same time happens when I am on the bike.
A few women in the Seattle cycling community helped me immensely. Jennifer Wheeler basically took me under her wing and made sure no contact was going on between me and my ex, which was crucial in “seeing reality” and getting away from his brainwashing comments. People like Jessica Cutler (whom I had never even met!) were instantly there for me like I was family. People at the track, the men on Broadmark, my female teammates on Hagens/Broadmark, and others were all there to protect me.
Some of the scariest times were actually after I left. I remember the judge calling me up in court and asking me if he owned a gun, which he didn’t but he knew how to use one. The judge told me that my case was the worst she had seen and the woman was still alive. At that moment I finally felt a deep fear for my life. Before, whether being told I was going to be killed, being beaten, or being choked, I was never really afraid of dying per se, but more so riddled with guilt on how I could be so bad of a person to have made this person so upset.
Fear is an intense emotion, and overcoming the negative thoughts can be much more challenging that overcoming that hill, or that race. I am so, so lucky: I have been given a big gift. I think I see the world with a little bit more vibrant colors now than most. Smells even seem much more strong. I have experienced a contrast: To feel deep pain truly allows you to know what extreme happiness is. To experience pure evil and be haunted by the blackness that resides in a horrible person’s eyes has, in a way, allowed me to really appreciate and be humbled my kindness. I can see such light in some people’s eyes, many of whom are cyclists and people in my community where I live in SeaTac, and of course my family! You only get one life in your body, and you might as well fill it with loving people who truly appreciate you!
Do you have any advice for women getting into cycling or thinking about racing?
In cycling there is only 1 winner, and everyone else is a loser. If you are thinking you want to be in a sport where you win all the time, cycling is probably not your thing, BUT, if you want to be in a sport where you are part of something, something bigger than just 1 race, than cycling is something to consider. It doesn’t have to be road cycling, maybe it’s track.
Remember that every time you upgrade, it will be hard. TAKE YOUR TIME. Enjoy your top finishes. Just finishing in the pack is awesome, just finishing is even more awesome. I have been DFL in enough races to tell you…it’s harder to finish DFL than it is to finish first, and if you can finish last while pushing yourself as hard as you can, you can get first too.
You just need to figure out the game and where to save energy! You only get so many matches, so use them wisely! Save it to serve it when it counts. No one remembers that person who was off the front in lap 1, but everyone remembers that person who was off the front that won. Take risks. What’s the worst that can happen? You get dropped by being too risky? Well, worst case is you learn a lesson on what your limits are! Attack when you don’t think you have it, if it hurts for you, it hurts for them too. Having a tough time keeping up on a hill climb? Attack off the front way before and get a head start! You will get caught most likely, but you will have gotten to take the climb at your own pace, which is well worth it sometimes! Be aggressive, it will make you stronger. Don’t make an attack half a$$, and when you do attack, believe in it.
Stay relaxed about cycling; stressing about gear and crap will hurt your performance. I would say I have a bike maintenance problem with my bike in 99% of the races I do. In the beginning it used to stress me out, but then I just said F it, and there has been a race or two where my shifting broke and I couldn’t shift and I still won.
You’ve just got to relax, focus on riding straight, and the rest will come! Forget about “the race” aspect if you are nervous about the competition side, just go to meet people, and join a community! If you are competitive, well, welcome to the world of type A personalities! (There are all kinds of course, especially depending on what area of cycling you focus on). You may just find that you have never been able to push yourself so hard before. It’s like you constantly have a carrot to chase, someone is always pushing you to make you stronger, make you ride faster. But, if that’s not you, you can do some local cyclocross races and go more at your own pace.
If you are a triathlete, there is no better training than a road race or TT. Seriously, the best thing about early season races, is that they are a great way to get yourself out in the rain and train! Not the endurance type? Track may be the best for you! You have 3 3-5 minute races and that’s it! Plus lot’s of socializing and on Friday there is a beer garden. Maybe you don’t even own a snazzy bike—great! Rent one at the velodrome!
Even at road races, we all start out with beater bikes, and don’t be intimidated by flashy new ones. I ride a Cervelo R3, which is apparently not even a race bike anymore! Bikes are expensive, and you don’t need an expensive bike to win!
One time my husband and I did a tandem race on a cheap, used bike. All the other tandem riders had these snazzy aero helmets, carbon bikes, and some even had walkie-talkie things, but we crushed! (Team Z!) Expensive gear is super-helpful on things like time trials, but they mostly make a big difference at the elite level. For beginner races, focusing on the flow of a race is more beneficial than snazzy stuff.
Best way to get fast? Get some aero booties or buy a used TT helmet off Craigslist/Ebay. Practice drinking from a water bottle and eating food while riding fast! It took me A LONG TIME to gain that skill; many races I would cramp up and get dropped because I was too afraid to eat/drink and ride at the same time!!
All I can stress is, just stick it through one season of racing consistently, try track, try cyclocross, try mountain. You will find a group of people that you will fall in love with, and you will find a sport within cycling that is the best fit for you. Road cycling is not for everyone, but there are many other disciplines within cycling!
Hang in there, you will love it!
