Fortitude is another name for motherhood!

Anticipating mothers are supposed to listen to classical music as it can encourage development in their fetus. However, this study is completely rebuffed by mountain biking queen Marla Streb. Three months back she gave birth to a baby girl, Nicoya but even she could not stop her passion for biking. Marla Streb is a three-time national champion and two-time world champion who makes the country’s arduous courses seems as smooth as a Sunday ride. Her entire skeleton system has received major and minor fractures not only her right shoulder collapses at will. However, she does not consider them as injuries. ‘Broken bones are nothing’, she says. It was because of the same spirit she won a bronze World Cup medal in 1997 with an injured ankle. Recently, on Friday at the National Mountain Biking Series race at Brian Head, Streb took a bad spill during the Super D, a short race that tests fitness and downhill abilities, and broke three ribs and suffered a concussion. Even then, she is looking forward to her next biking expedition. Streb has a master’s degree in microbiology and was a researcher in AIDS before she went ahead with her ‘biking’. Throughout her pregnancy, she rode her bike cutting the stony strewn path of the mountains. Six weeks after giving birth, Streb was again gliding through the mountainous grooves landing third at the National Mountain Bike Series at Mt. Snow in Vermont. While others celebrated with champagne, Streb breast-fed. She was on the course of another winning expedition but a rock caught with her front tire and she end up with three broken ribs, one badly shattered, and another concussion. However, she did not take any painkillers, as she has to look after her baby. Overall, she is quite satisfied with her present life.