An army master sergeant, a pilot, an ER doc. The women in this cycling group are insane

dana hunsinger benbow, indianapolis star

Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 11:53 AM·10 min read

CARMEL – After the workday has finished and evening begins to fall, U.S. Army Master Sergeant Michelle Smith arrives at the parking lot of Indiana Members Credit Union in Carmel.

She is there to meet dozens of cyclists. They put on their helmets, step onto their bikes and set off on rides that take them on long, glorious miles of rejuvenation. Smith and the members of her women's cycling group are here to refresh, to bond, to sweat, to put behind them the pressures of the powerful jobs they hold.

They call themselves the Divas, but that name really doesn't do justice to the women in this IU Health Momentum Indy cycling club. They aren't high-maintenance.

But they are powerful − and a bit intimidating. The Divas' roster includes business executives, attorneys, fitness gurus and neuroradiologists. There is Smith, the army master sergeant, there is a commercial pilot and there is an emergency room physician.

In its first few months, IU Health Momentum Indy Divas has quickly gained a following, with nearly 70 cyclists showing up for weekly training, going on rides that range from 14-24 miles.

Last week, the Divas gained, perhaps, their most well-known rider, albeit a temporary one. Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller was in town for a race, and he joined the women on a ride.

More: Reggie Miller cycled 100 miles in Indiana then talked about Pacers, coaching and being 57

"I love the Divas," said Miller, who was in Indiana to compete in the Dust Bowl 100. "My main mission, why I love cycling, is I always want to get more women, more kids and more people of color on bikes."

When Miller learned about the Divas, "I was like, 'Say no more.'"

When he arrived in Indy last week, he rode with the women on a modest course, but the "joy on their faces after they completed it said it all," Miller said.

The Divas group is, after all, about empowering women to take time for themselves, to push themselves and to find joy outside their demanding careers.

"I’m in a male-dominated field all day long," said Smith, 44. "At my level of the Army, only 2% of us are female, so it’s refreshing to be with and cycle with women of the same strength and caliber."

Strong women coming together. Meet three of them.

Army Master Sergeant Michelle Smith, right, arrives for a group ride with the IU Health Momentum Indy Divas cycling group on Thursday, July 16, 2023, in Carmel, Ind.

The Army Master Sergeant

Smith was born in Roanoke, Virginia, and raised in Denver. She calls herself a "mountain kid," and is pretty sure that's why she loves the woods and cycling.

When she was 12, Smith moved from Denver back to Roanoke to live with her grandmother, a strong woman who always encouraged Smith to consider military service. Smith has four uncles and an aunt who retired from the Army as high-ranking sergeants.

As high school ended, and when there wasn't enough money for Smith to attend college, she decided to try the military.

"I'm kind of 'round head, round hole,' it suits me," said Smith, who is stationed at Fort Ben in Indianapolis. "I had no intentions of staying this long."

Michelle Smith is a U.S. Army master sergeant.

Nearly 25 years later, Smith has risen to master sergeant, just one level below the highest ranking of sergeant major. But it hasn't always been an easy road.

"There are moments where it's tough. I've had to assert myself and stand my ground with a lot of men," Smith said. "You've got to learn to navigate that coming up. You really just don't get to see a lot of yourself."

But Smith has been blessed with high-ranking female Army mentors who help dust her off when she faces trials.

Army Master Sergeant Michelle Smith is photographed just before a group ride with the IU Health Momentum Indy Divas cycling group on Thursday, July 16, 2023, in Carmel, Ind.

Smith is grateful for so much the Army has given her, including being the catalyst that led her to cycling. Smith's favorite sport has always been running, starring in high school track. But her running and road marches eventually got to her knees.

Smith had her first surgery in 2015. The ortho surgeon looked at her and said: "You need to hang up your running shoes and take up cycling."

She loved it. She began to join cycling groups, but they were mostly male groups. When she moved to her post in Indianapolis, Smith learned about the Divas.

"Female empowerment and fitness, that's like the coolest thing I've ever seen," said Smith, mother of Jordan and Aidan and married to Matthew, who retired from the Army three years ago. "Women hanging out, breaking bread, strong athletic empowering women? It's refreshing.

"I'm dominated by male strength all the time and that's great. I don't mind it. But I love all these super brilliant women." Including her cycling cohort Melissa Culp.

The Commerical Airline Pilot

Culp is a captain at Endeavor Air, part of the Delta family, and flies a CRJ 900 (79 passengers). Growing up in Indianapolis, she never dreamed she would fly as a career.

Raised on the east side of the city, Culp went to Tech High and was set on becoming a veterinarian. She worked at an emergency vet clinic for 10 years, including throughout college.

But as Culp began her pre-vet classes, she struggled a bit, especially with chemistry and biology, barely pulling a C average. Her college counselors encouraged Culp to find a new career path.

When she was 21, going to Hawaii for her honeymoon, Culp flew for the first time. Her family didn't have the money to fly when they traveled. Anywhere they went was within driving distance.

Culp, 49, will never forget that feeling as the plane soared into the air. "It was like nothing you've ever felt before," Culp said. She absolutely loved it.

Melissa Culp is a captain at Endeavor Air, part of the Delta family, and flies a CRJ 900. In January she will become a Delta pilot.

When she got back from her honeymoon, Culp enrolled in a discovery flight course in Greenwood, where she took the controls of the plane with flight instructors by her side.

"I was instantly hooked, just the freedom of being up in the sky away from the rest of the world," she said. "It was like a stress relief."

Culp switched her major from pre-vet to aviation, attending Vincennes University, which had an apprentice pilot program at Indianapolis International Airport. After earning that degree, Culp learned that if she wanted to be an airline pilot, she needed a bachelor's degree.

She went to Indiana State to get her commercial rating. Through the years, she has worked as a flight instructor, an independent pilot for corporate planes, flying planes for skydivers and piloting commercial airlines. She doesn't see a lot of women in her position as a captain.

"It's absolutely more men," she said. "Out of all the pilots in the U.S., 18% are women."

Culp, who is married to Thomas and has one daughter, has always had to be strong mentally. But she also always wanted to be strong and healthy physically. She began cycling and competing in triathlons.

Commercial airline pilot Melissa Culp has risen through the ranks of aviation and is an avid cycler and triathlete.

When IndyStar talked to Culp on a Monday morning at her hotel in Allentown, Pa., she was doing a cooldown on the treadmill after having finished a triathlon Saturday and flown five legs through midnight Sunday.

"You want to preserve your fitness, you want to stay young," she said. "My job is so hard on my body because I sit so much. It's a constant battle being sedentary."

So, when Culp is in Indy, she always tries to ride with the Divas. She loves the camaraderie and passion of her cohorts. "It's just a bunch of women getting out there and working," she said.

Taking a collective exhale from their demanding jobs.

The emergency room doctor

Physicians are under a lot of stress, especially emergency room doctors. "We have the responsibility of having somebody else’s life in our hands," said Shira Yahalom, an ER physician at Eskenazi Health.

When Yahalom started cycling, it was as much for her mental health as her physical health.

"I could clear my mind," said Yahalom, 48. "It gives you an opportunity to be with yourself, inside your head, think and to process. You can just be out there quiet, thinking and healing inside."

Yahalom believes in fitness so deeply that she always reminds her patients to keep their bodies moving after they leave the ER. She often asks what they like to do for exercise. For those who say they don't exercise, Yahalom offers to start walking with them, to keep them motivated.

"I don't think the doctor-patient relationship needs necessarily to end in the emergency room," she said.

Yahalom wants to always be there for her patients. That is, after all, exactly what she learned from her parents.

Shira Yahalom is an ER physician at Eskenazi Health and avid cyclist.

Yahalom was born in Israel to parents who were both physicians. Her father, Joachim, is a radiation oncologist, and her mother, Rina, a primary care doctor with a family practice.

Growing up, Yahalom said she remembers the amazing care her parents gave to their patients. Her mom, during off hours, would take care of people inside her home. Her dad would take calls from patients at all hours.

Seeing their passion and how they helped so many people, it was hard to imagine Yahalom would do anything else.

As a teen, she worked for the Israel EMS and loved it. But when she graduated high school and began her military duties, Yahalom was still trying to figure out her college major.

One day, on leave from the military, Yahalom was riding in the car with her mom when the vehicle in front of them crashed and rolled over. The two pulled over, ran to the car and began first aid on the victims. Yahalom stayed at the scene as her mom rushed to her practice just minutes away to get medical supplies.

By the time the ambulance arrived Yahalom and Rina had stabilized the victims.

"That was the day," Yahalom said. "I knew what I wanted to do."

Shira Yahalom with her mom, Rina, cycling in Israel.

After getting her medical degree, she moved to New York for her residency then came to Indiana, working at various hospitals, before landing her dream job. Yahalom recently took a position at Eskenazi Hospital, a public health system.

Yahalom said that's where she feels the most needed and where she can make the biggest difference. "It's a job with more heart," she said.

But it is an extremely stressful job. Yahalom decided to take up cycling again, with no desire to become a member of a group. She was content cycling solo, being in her own mind. But a friend told her that group rides were fun.

Yahalom, a divorced mother of two, tried one. It was mostly men, high-level riders, and she hated it. "It wasn't what I needed. I couldn't keep up with them. I couldn't enjoy it," she said.

Months went by and then Yahalom heard about the Divas. "I was hesitant, but I said, 'You know what? I'm going to give it a try.'"

It was amazing. Yahalom likes that the cyclists are at every level and that the rides are adjusted for each group's abilities.

"Nobody puts me down. Nobody cares how fast you are," she said. "It's all positive mentality. Just women being there for one another."

Join The Cycling

The Divas’ season culminates with the Honor Major Taylor Fondo Aug. 26. Open to everyone, the ride has distances of 14, 30 or 62 miles with rest stops and routes featuring points of interest, such as the Major Taylor mural and the Major Taylor Velodrome. The ride also includes a brunch with live music.

After the ride, pros and top amateurs will race through downtown streets for Indy Crit, part of the American Criterium Cup series. All of these events are part of IU Health Momentum Indy, which features two criterium races for cyclists from across the U.S.: the Mass Ave. Crit the night of Aug. 25 and the Indy Crit in the afternoon Aug. 26.